Theater events: Buffalo Theatre ends 25th season with 'Drawer Boy'

'Drawer Boy' at BTE

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble concludes its 25th anniversary season with Michael Healey's “The Drawer Boy.” Set in 1972 on a farm in rural Canada, the play is about a pair of World War II veterans and farmers whose lives are interrupted by a young actor who wants to observe them for a role, and who uncovers some truths about their complex relationship. Kurt Naebig directs Robert Jordan Bailey, Jonathan Craft and Jacob Abbas.

Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, July 13, at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $25-$33. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.

Theater fest continues

Steel Beam Theatre presents the stage adaptation of “The Awakening Time,” a screenplay by Beth Raines about a middle-aged woman who withdraws into herself after the death of her husband, until a quirky French woman offers her solace. The production is part of St. Charles' second summer theater fest.

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 13-14, and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 15, at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $20. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

Mary-Arrchie's 'Donuts'

Chicago's Mary-Arrchie Theatre remounts its acclaimed production of Tracy Letts' “Superior Donuts” at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. The play centers on an aging, 1960s anti-war activist who runs a failing donut shop in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, and his new hire, a fast-talking young man who says he's penned the next Great American Novel. The show is part of the new Metropolis series that brings productions from Chicago storefront theaters to Arlington Heights for limited runs.

7:30 p.m. July 17-19 and 23-26 at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $25. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Other theater events

Ÿ A Yorkshire coal mining family struggles with changing economics in John Godber's “Salt of the Earth,” the latest production from Ka-Tet Theatre Company. The show opens Friday, July 13, at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or katettheatre.org.

Ÿ An Egyptian revolutionary and an American antiquities collector confront a reanimated mummy in “The Mummy and the Revolution,” a new political farce from Yussef El Guindi running Friday, July 13, through Sunday, July 15. Stuart Carden (Writers' Theatre) directs Silk Road Rising's staged reading at the Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. (312) 857-1234, ext. 201, or silkroadrising.org.

Ÿ Skokie's Gorilla Tango Theatre, at 7924 Lincoln Ave., hosts several new productions including Amazing Sammo Productions' “The Useless Secret Weapon of Jacob Thompson,” a play by Jenna Little about an unhinged inventor whose android creation goes awry. It runs Friday, July 13, to Saturday, July 21. Also on tap is the first show by the Fringe Theater Company titled “The Fifth Wall,” by Mandy Thoenen. The play follows the lives of two different girls experiencing remarkably similar situations about 100 years apart. It runs Friday and Saturday, July 13-14. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

Ÿ The Neo-Futurists offer students enrolled at Chicago-area colleges a $5 discount to their long-running “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes” on their school's dedicated weekend. Lake Forest College students receive the discount from Friday to Sunday, July 13-15. Dominican University students receive the discount Friday to Sunday, July 20-22. Shows are at 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

Ÿ Previews begin Saturday, July 14, for Circle Theatre's revival of “Reefer Madness,” the musical by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney inspired by the 1936 cult film classic about an innocent teen seduced by marijuana into promiscuity, insanity and murder. The show, directed by Matthew Gunnels, opens Friday, July 20, at 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. (708) 660-9542 or circle-theatre.org.

Ÿ BackStage Theatre Company artistic director Matthew Reeder directs the season-ending production of James Saunders' “A Scent of Flowers,” beginning Saturday, July 14, at the Building Stage, 1044 W. Kinzie St., Chicago. The 1965 play centers on a young girl named Zoe who awakens in a strange room and finds herself on a journey through the most important events of her life. See backstagetheatrecompany.org for information and tickets.

Ÿ The return of Radio Goggles concludes Oracle Productions' second season as a public access theater where admission is free, but donations are accepted. The show is comprised of three vintage radio shows adapted for the stage, including “The Parade” (1955) about a man claiming to be from Mars; “The Hitchhiker” (1942) about a mysterious man following Orson Welles across the country; and “Hoppy Meets His Match” (1951) about actor Hopalog Cassidy who's mistaken for a foreign head of state. Performances run from Saturday, July 14, through Saturday, Aug. 4, at 3809 N. Broadway, Chicago. See oracletheatre.org for information and tickets.

Ÿ John McGivern brings his one-man show “Summer Stories” about the family vacations, summer camps and other adventures youngsters experience between Memorial Day and Labor Day. McGivern performs at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 15, at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Ÿ TUTA Theatre Chicago marks the beginning of its 11th season with a revival of Harold Pinter's one-act play, “The Dumb Waiter,” directed by artistic director Zeljiko Djukic. The play centers on a couple of hitmen holed up in a basement waiting for their new assignment. The show runs Thursday, July 19, to Saturday, Aug. 18, at 2032 W. Fulton Ave., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or tutato.com.

Ÿ Previews begin Tuesday, July 17, for Emerald City Theatre's family-friendly “Alice in Wonderland,” about a practical girl who puts her problem-solving skills to use after she tumbles down the rabbit hole. The show opens Saturday, July 21, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The cast and crew invite theatergoers to ice cream socials following the 11 a.m. performances on July 21, 28 and Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Single tickets for the ice cream social and performance are $16 for children, $19 for adults. Tickets for regular performances are $13 for children, $16 for adults. (773) 529-2690 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

Ÿ Theater on the Lake continues its 60th season on Wednesday, July 18, at the theater at Fullerton Avenue and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, with Stage Left Theatre's remount of “Farragut North,” Beau Willimon's play about behind-the-scenes machinations during a political campaign. The show runs through Sunday, July 22. The 2012 season marks the debut of co-artistic directors Michael Patrick Thornton (ABC's “Private Practice”), co-founder of The Gift Theatre, and Meghan Beals McCarthy, associate artistic director of Chicago Dramatists. (312) 742-7994 or chicagoparkdistrict.com.

Ÿ Riverfront Theater, 650 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, presents the U.S. premiere of “La Soiree,” a combination cabaret, circus sideshow, burlesque and variety show. The show runs under the 70-foot circus tent through Sunday, Aug. 5. (888) 556-9484 or riverfronttheater.com.

Ÿ Goodman Theatre has extended its production of the gospel musical “Crowns.” Performances continue through Sunday, Aug. 12, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Additionally, Chicago area gospel vocalists and local church choirs will perform preshow concerts in the Goodman lobby on select days. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

Ÿ “Million Dollar Quartet,” the jukebox musical inspired by a 1956 jam session with Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley at Sun Records in Memphis, has been extended to its fifth year. Performances continue through Jan. 6 at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6100 or milliondollarquartetlive.com.

Ÿ TimeLine Theatre Company recently announced the addition of actresses Mildred Marie Langford and Mechelle Moe and dramaturge Maren Robinson to the company. They join current members Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, David Parkes, PJ Powers and Ben Thiem. For information on the company's upcoming season or its current production of investigative reporter John Conroy's “My Kind of Town,” see timelinetheatre.com.

Ÿ Goodman Theatre reports that artistic director Robert Falls' acclaimed revival of “The Iceman Cometh,” starring Nathan Lane, Brian Dennehy and Canada's Stephen Ouimette, is the most successful production in the company's 87-year history, playing to 100 percent capacity during its extended run. Attendance topped 42,000, with audience members hailing from Australia, China, Italy, South Africa and Canada, Goodman reported. “I am enormously proud of what Nathan, Brian and our brilliant ensemble case have achieved with this once-in-a-lifetime experience that is certainly one of the highlights of my life in theater,” said Falls in a prepared statement.

— Barbara Vitello