Theater events: Maniscalco headlines Zanies Saturday
Local boy comes home
Northern Illinois University graduate Sebastian Maniscalco headlines Zanies St. Charles club this weekend. A veteran of “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Show With Craig Ferguson,” Maniscalco co-starred in Vince Vaughn's 2006 documentary, “Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days — Hollywood to the Heartland.”
8 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com.
‘Sweeney' in Oak Brook
The all-star cast director Rachel Rockwell has assembled for Drury Lane Theatre's revival of “Sweeney Todd” — Stephen Sondheim's masterful tale of vengeance, madness and corruption — includes Tony Award nominee and Chicago native Gregg Edelman in the title role. The cast also includes Broadway veteran Liz McCartney as Mrs. Lovett and local favorites Kevin Gudahl and Heidi Kettenring as Judge Turpin and the Beggar Woman respectively.
Previews begin Thursday, Aug. 11, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The show opens Aug. 17. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.
More Hwang
Playwright David Henry Hwang gets another revival courtesy of Halcyon Theatre, which opens its sixth season with “Family Devotions.” Halcyon's production of the comedy, about the East-West conflict among several generations of a Chinese-American family, marks the third in a Hwang trilogy presented by Goodman, Silk Road and Halcyon theaters.
Performances begin Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or halcyontheatre.org or greenhousetheater.org.
Other theater events:
Ÿ The latest installment in Victory Gardens Theater's Fresh Squeezed series finds the theater collaborating with the teen poetry slam, Louder Than a Bomb. “English Class Heretics: Louder Than a Bomb in Concert” features current poets and storytellers performing original works at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5-6, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.
Ÿ The Annoyance Theatre takes a look at the life and career of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in its latest show, “(Expletive) I Love You, Bye: The Rahm Emanuel Story.” The show previews Saturdays, Aug. 6, and 13, and opens Aug. 20 at 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. Also at the Annoyance, the new original showbiz musical, “Broads on Boards,” by Lauren Dowden and Amanda Blake Davis, previews on Saturday, Aug. 7, and runs Saturdays Aug. 14 through Sept. 4. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.
Ÿ Fresh from the Just For Laughs comedy festival, “Side Mullet Nation” comes to the Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Cameron Esposito's glimpse into Chicago's alternative art and music scene runs Fridays, Aug. 5-19, at the theater. (773) 871-3793 or the-playground.com.
Ÿ Theater Wit, in association with the League of Chicago Theaters, hosts its second annual Chicago Theater (anti-) Conference from Friday to Sunday, Aug. 5-7, at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Topics covered include new work development, fundraising and audience building. Registration is $45 in advance, $75 at the door. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.
Ÿ Inconceivable Theatre presents the premiere of Jessica Puller's “The Trojan War: Or How One Bad Apple Spoiled the World.” The dark comedy inspired by the Greek myth of Paris and Helen and the start of the Trojan War begins performances on Sunday, Aug. 7, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6100 or inconceivabletheatre.org.
Ÿ Previews begin Thursday, Aug. 11, for Idle Muse Theatre Company's revival of “The Lion in Winter,” James Goldman's drama about the battles royale between Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their three sons over the future of England's monarchy. The show opens Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Side Project Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or idlemuse.org.
Ÿ Hobo Junction debuts a new sci-fi comedy, “In Pursuit,” about a pair of alien immigrants from another world whose efforts to settle down in Wisconsin get sidetracked by intergalactic snafus and out-of-town guests. Performances begin on Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Second Stage Theater, 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or hobojunctionproductions.com.
Ÿ The Neo-Futurists' 10th annual staging of the worst-ever films continues Thursday at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. “It Came From the Neo-Futurarium X: Battle for the Neo-Futurarium” features 1984's “Red Dawn” about a group of high school students who team up to resist a Communist invasion. The performance is at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.
Ÿ Chicago Shakespeare Theater has extended “Murder for Two — A Killer Musical,” an Agatha Christie-inspired whodunit in which one actor plays the inspector and the other plays all the suspects. Performances continue through Sunday, Sept. 4, at Navy Pier, E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5633 or chicagoshakes.com.
Ÿ “The Ladies Ring Shout,” a multimedia celebration of women of color combining spoken word, movement and music, continues through Saturday, Aug. 6, at Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery, 1136 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Felicia Holman, Meida Teresa McNeal and Abra M. Johnson created and star in the production. See brownpapertickets.com.
Ÿ Ben Fuchsen has taken over as executive producer of Oracle Productions, which launched its new public access theater initiative this year. Additionally, the company has named Max Truax as its new artistic director.