| The Queen of Spades Feb 15 - Mar 1, 2020 |
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Lyric Opera
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| Tchaikovsky's broodingly romantic thriller is a tour de force for a great tenor in this production at Chicago's Lyric Opera House. He plays the terrifyingly obsessed Gherman, an unhappy soldier desperate to know a secret hidden by a mysterious old countess - the mystery of winning at cards. The tension turns truly unnerving as Gherman's obsession begins to overwhelm him. It leads to devastation both for him and for the countess's granddaughter, Lisa, whom Gherman loves. Tchaikovsky's music is the height of Russian romanticism in its melancholy soulfulness, its white-hot passion, and the sweeping grandeur of its orchestra - a masterpiece from the genius who gave the world Eugene Onegin and Swan Lake. |
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| Mlima's Tale Feb 15 - Mar 21, 2020 |
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Griffin Theatre at
Raven Theatre
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| Taking us on a journey from the heart of Africa and around the world, MLIMA'S TALE is the story of Mlima, a magnificent elephant trapped in the clandestine international ivory market. Following a trail of greed and desire as old as trade itself, Mlima leads us through memory and fear, history and tradition, want and need, and reveals the surprising and complicated deals that connect us all. Nottage, who won the Pultizer Prize for her plays Ruined and Sweat, brings us a powerful story that makes us question whether unconditional virtue is nonexistent within the international system of economic power, culture and politics. |
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| Plano Feb 16 - Mar 28, 2020 |
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First Floor Theater at
Steppenwolf Theatre
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| Tonight, and later, and earlier, three sisters (no, not those ones) are stricken with a series of strange plagues: Isabel's got pains. Anne's got slugs. And Genevieve doesn't want to talk about hers. She just wants you to eat the damn hummus (she made it!). Fresh from its wildly successful Off Broadway debut and remount, PLANO is "as funny as it is powerfully disturbing" (VULTURE) that TimeOut NY called "experimental theater perfection." Steppenwolf ensemble member Audrey Francis returns to direct at First Floor Theater, where she previously co-directed FFT's first production in 2012. |
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| The Greatest Story Never Told Feb 16 - Mar 22, 2020 |
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YaYa Productions at
Newport Theater
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| A narrator walks on stage to discover a storybook with no text inside and learns the actors are all stuck in traffic and won't make it to the show today! The solution? Have children from the audience volunteer to come on stage and become a character in: The Greatest Story Never Told!
Along with the help of "The Greatest Interns" (professional adult improvisers), kids from the audience put on silly costumes and make up a story on the spot. Every child that volunteers will have an opportunity to perform at some point in the show. There is no forced participation. |
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| Dex and Abby Feb 20 - Mar 29, 2020 |
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Pride Arts Center - The Broadway
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| When two men fall in love, what happens if their pets don't get along? Dex and Abby are dogs with unique personalities, and when their owners move in together, all four members of the family have to figure out the rules of this new territory. Funny, touching, and a heartwarming tribute to our relationship with our furry best friends, DEX & ABBY is a comic delight. |
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| The Layover Feb 20 - Mar 22, 2020 |
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The Greenhouse Theater Center
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| Ever wonder who that stranger is sitting next to you? What is their story? What are they hiding? Shellie and Dex dare to answer these questions after their flight is delayed on a snowy Thanksgiving night. What they discover about themselves, and each other, sends both of their lives into upheaval. From the writer of Bachelorette and the hit Netflix series Russian Doll comes this sexy psychological thriller. |
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| Multiple Exposure Feb 21 - Apr 11, 2020 |
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Pendulum Theater Space
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| MULTIPLE EXPOSURE, Theatre Momentum's signature production, is an instant theatre production, unfolding in harmony. These talented actors will thematically blend three individual one-act plays, overlapping with one another like a multiple exposure photograph. Six Improvisors. Three stories. One stage. Real time. |
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| Charley's Aunt Feb 21 - Mar 15, 2020 |
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Saint Sebastian Players at
St. Bonaventure Church
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| In Charley's Aunt, Jack and Charley invite their young ladies to meet Charley's wealthy aunt from Brazil, who will serve as their chaperone. But when she cancels her visit at the last minute, the millionaire aunt sends the boys into cataclysmic confusion. What do they do now? They solve the problem by drafting their feckless Oxford undergrad pal into a black satin skirt, bloomers and wig. |
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| The Ghost In Gadsden's Garden Feb 22 - Mar 22, 2020 |
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The Actors Gymnasium at
Noyes Cultural Arts Center
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| Within the walls of an abandoned hilltop estate, the reclusive groundskeeper Gadsden keeps the garden marvelous and lush. He's happy to, as his love Vivian adores him for it. There's just one problem: Vivian is a ghost! When Kid, new to town, accepts a dare to find out what's really going on at the suspicious old mansion, Kid finds more than anyone could have imagined. |
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| Robert Dubac's The Book Of Moron Feb 25 - Mar 1, 2020 |
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Broadway Playhouse
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| Robert Dubac's newest Off-Broadway hit, THE BOOK OF MORON, has been described as one of the most "Hilarious" "Intelligent" and "Scorching" satirical attacks on idiocracy since Mark Twain. (And "idiocracy" isn't even a word. How dumb is that?) Having been brainwashed by a culture that worships Kardashians over character, delusion over truth and selfies over self-effacement; Dubac finds himself stuck in a coma of stupidity. His IQ has dropped to Q. In order to wake up he has to ask himself the big question. Who am I? What do I believe? What's the point? Okay, that's three questions but suffice to say, he has no answers. Just voices. Inner voices who come to life with precision and wit. One by one they pull him into a bizarre metaphysical universe of goofy critical thought in search of the bigger picture. |
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| Hedda Gabler: A Play With Music Feb 25 - Mar 29, 2020 |
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TUTA Theatre at
Strawdog Theatre
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| In TUTA Theatre's HEDDA GABLER, the past and present collide, modern music and classical text intersect, in ways that reinvent the tale we think we know. In a time of rapidly shifting social and sexual paradigms, no work rings with more unflinching insight than that of the great Norwegian writer. Ibsen rose to prominence in large part through his refusal to follow the rules; writing plays for thinkers, for citizens, for people willing to question the moral compass of the universe. |
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| An Iliad Feb 26 - Mar 22, 2020 |
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Court Theatre at
Oriental Institute
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| Timothy Edward Kane returns to reprise his jaw-dropping, award-winning performance in this highly anticipated revival of Artistic Director Charles Newell's critically acclaimed 2011 production. A one-man adaptation of Homer's Iliad created by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare (TV's True Blood), An Iliad returns Homer's epic poem to the voice of the lone poet as he recounts a story of human loss and folly that echoes across three millennia of war and bloodshed. An Iliad will once again illuminate this ancient classic by taking a harrowing look at the human cost of war. |
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| I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Feb 26 - Mar 21, 2020 |
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Steppenwolf Theatre
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| A world premiere adaptation of Erika L. Sanchez's award-winning novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter follows Julia, a Chicago high school student as she navigates trials and tribulations of following her dreams of becoming a writer alongside the death of her older sister, Olga-who might not have been quite as perfect as she seemed. This poignant and vibrant new work is a love story to young Chicanas who, in trying to find the truth about the people and the world around them, end up finding themselves. |
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| The Pillowman Feb 27 - Mar 29, 2020 |
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The Gift Theatre
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| THE PILLOWMAN is a dark, twisty and utterly unforgettable masterpiece from one of Ireland's most treasured writers. In an interrogation room in an unnamed totalitarian dictatorship, Katurian Katurian, a writer, is being interrogated by two detectives. The detectives want to know why Katurian's stories feature gruesome plots about child murder and torture, and in particular, why they seem to mirror a string of recent child murders in the area. |
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| Day of Absence Feb 27 - Mar 22, 2020 |
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Congo Square Theatre Company at
Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph
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| Winner of coveted Vernon Rice and Obie Awards, Day of Absence recounts the uproarious emergencies that occur when a Southern town is faced with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of all its black citizens. Day of Absence was written and directed by Douglas Turner Ward in 1965 and helped launch the New York-based Negro Ensemble Company, whose overall mission is to present live theatre performances by and about black people to a culturally diverse audience that is often underserved by the theatrical community. Day of Absence is traditionally performed as a 'reverse minstrel show,' with black actors in whiteface. |
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| Middletown Feb 27 - Mar 22, 2020 |
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Apollo Theater
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| An exhilarating and universal depiction of love and friendship, MIDDLETOWN follows the story of two couples who endure the roller coaster of life together, including the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Staged without a set or props, the stars read directly from scripts, as if reading from the book of their own lives - and ours. |
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| Red Kite, Brown Box Feb 28 - Mar 21, 2020 |
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Chicago Children's Theatre at
The Station
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| Red Kite, Brown Box is a live theater experience that leads children on the autism spectrum on an imaginative journey where simple cardboard boxes transform into a magical world full of treasures and joyous play. Conceived and directed by CCT Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell, Red Kite, Brown Box is a transformative educational experience created for young people with autism and sensory sensitivities, their families and caregivers. Before coming to the theater, each child and adult is sent a Social Story that walks families through the experience of attending the show, from arriving at the location to the people they'll meet, to the adventure itself. A limited number of tickets is sold for each performance to keep the experience focused, intimate and in tune with the particular needs of each child. |
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