Theater events: Light Opera Works revives 'The Fantasticks'

'The Fantasticks'

Light Opera Works stages "The Fantasticks," Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's legendary chamber musical about two fathers' attempts to play Cupid for their children, whose romance doesn't play out as perfectly as they hope. Rudy Hogenmiller directs the show, which features a 23-piece orchestra conducted by Roger L. Bingaman. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, June 6, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. $34-$94. (847) 920-5360 or lightoperaworks.com.

Musical noir

Marriott Theatre revives the noir-inspired musical comedy "City of Angels," a detective tale about a writer named Stine (Rod Thomas) hoping to turn his novel into a Hollywood hit and whose every scene comes to life with his film alter-ego Stone (Kevin Earley) as star. Director Nick Bowling reunites with his "The King and I" music director Ryan T. Nelson and choreographer Tommy Rapley for the show, which co-stars Meghan Murphy, Summer Naomi Smart, Devin DeSantis and Gene Weygandt among others. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The show opens June 17. $50-$55. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.

Beach weather

The Jersey girls who made up a fictionalized 1960s girl group reunite to rekindle friendships and raise money for a mobile home resort in the beach party-inspired musical revue "The Bikinis." Fox Valley Repertory revives the show by producers/directors James Hindman and Ray Roderick and featuring tunes like "Heat Wave" and "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." Kyrie Anderson, Kristine Burdi, Alexandra Gonzalez and Colette Todd star. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. The show opens June 20. $32-$42. (630) 584-6300 or foxvalleyrep.org.

Other theater events

• Wheaton native Dana Black is among the cast members in About Face Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of "Abraham Lincoln was an (expletive)." Bixby Elliot's comedy is about a 17-year-old boy who, believing his favorite president was gay like him, embarks on a quest to prove it during a trip to the nation's capital. Previews begin Friday, June 5, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens June. 11. (773) 404-7336 or aboutfacetheatre.org.

• eta Creative Arts Foundation, one of Chicago's oldest African-American theater companies, reopens Friday, June 5, with the Chicago-area premiere of off-Broadway's "Liberty City," by April Yvette Thompson and Jessica Blank. The one-woman play centers around a young girl's attempts to get her and her brother to safety as rioting engulfs the city of Miami. Loyola University professor Jonathan Wilson directs the show, which runs through July 12 at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

• The Hypocrites hosts its fundraiser Epic Bash beginning with a VIP reception at 6 p.m. Friday, June 5, at the National Hellenic Museum, 333 S. Halsted St., Chicago. The main event includes hors d'oeuvres, raffles, entertainment from Hypocrites ensemble members and a sneak peek at the company's upcoming "The Ring Cycle." Tickets start at $150. See the-hypocrites.com.

• Nealshow Productions debuts its latest, "Camping: The Musical!" about a father-son camping trip, on Friday, June 5, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Previews begin Saturday, June 6, for Griffin Theatre Company's Chicago-area premiere of Conor McPherson's 2009 thriller "The Birds." Based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier - which was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's film of the same name - "The Birds" is about a group of survivors who take refuge at a remote cabin after birds begin violently attacking people. Ensemble member Kevin Kingston directs the production, which opens June 14 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or griffintheatre.com.

• Barrel of Monkeys announces its annual Summer Block Party, a series of new stories adapted from ideas by Chicago public school children. The shows run at 8 p.m. Mondays, beginning June 8, at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Clark St., Chicago. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• Chicago Shakespeare Theater hosts its annual fundraising gala beginning with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 8, at the company's Navy Pier home at 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Theater artists including Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad and British writer/director Simon Callow will be honored at the event. Tickets start at $1,000 per person. Proceeds benefit CST's education programs, including Shakespeare in the Parks. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• Theatre Y presents the U.S. and English language premiere of "The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez," Peter Handke's two-person "prose-poem ... about how and what we talk about when we talk about love." Zeljko Djukic directs the translation by Michael Roloff and Scott Abbott. Previews begin Tuesday, June 9, at 2649 N. Francisco, Chicago. The show opens June 13. See theatre-y.com.

• Lookingglass Theatre Company ensemble member David Catlin adapts and directs the company's world premiere of "Moby Dick," based on Herman Melville's epic tale of man vs. beast. Former Downers Grove resident Anthony Fleming III plays Queequeg in the production, which features Kareem Bandealy as Starbuck and Jamie Abelson as Ishmael. Monica West of St. Charles plays one of the Fates. Previews begin Wednesday, June 10, at the Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 20. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

• Leading lady Heidi Kettenring headlines the Artists Lounge Live series at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. Kettenring, who starred in Marriott Theatre's "The King and I" and "My Fair Lady" among other shows, performs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 11. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• A young man finds his calling and in the process sends his friends and family into a spiritual crisis in "Body & Blood," a new play by Gift Theatre co-founder William Nedved, who developed his play at the Gift under director and Libertyville native Marti Lyons. Previews begin Thursday, June 11, at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 18. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.

• Chicago Dramatists, in association with Goodman Theatre, presents the world premiere of Elaine Romero's "A Work of Art," about a woman whose life changed after her brother was killed in Vietnam, forcing her years later to confront the ghosts of her past. Previews begin Thursday, June 11, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Goodman resident director Henry Godinez helms the production, which opens June 19. (312) 633-0630 or chicagodramatists.org.

• Maggie Goodman and Liz Joynt Sandberg bring their new sketch comedy show "South by Midwest" to MCL Chicago, 3110 Sheffield Ave., Chicago, for a brief run beginning Thursday, June 11. The show, which examines the relationship between big and small cities, runs through June 25. See mclchicago.com.

• The female-centered variety show "Bring on the Ladies" runs at 10 p.m. Wednesdays through June 17 at the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Also at the Annoyance is another variety show, "#JKLOL," hosted by the improv group Baby Teeth and featuring standup comedians and sketch and solo performers. The adults-only show runs at midnight Saturdays through July 16. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Performances continue for Linchpin Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of "Other Hands," a play by British writer Laura Wade about love in the technological age. The show runs through June 15 at the Josephinum Academy, 1500 N. Bell Ave., Chicago. See linchpintheatre.com.

• Seven singer-songerwriters share their stories as they search for "three chords and the truth" in the new musical "Borderlands," by L.C. Bernadine and Erik Olsen. Underscore Theatre Company's production runs through June 28 at Jackalope Frontier, 1106 W. Thorndale Ave., Chicago. See underscoretheatre.org.

• "The Pied Piper," Strawdog Theatre Company's world premiere adaptation of the Robert Browning children's tale, opened this week at 3829 N. Broadway St., Chicago. Ensemble member Josh Sobel directs the production about the piper who used his magic flute to clear the town of its rats then, after the town leaders refused to pay him, did the same to the community's children. Performances for ages 10 and older run through June 30. (866) 811-4111 or strawdog.org.

• Writers Theatre announced an extension of its acclaimed production of John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt: A Parable," a drama about power and tradition centered around a nun who believes a parish priest has sexually abused a schoolboy. Performances of the site-specific production continue through Aug. 2 at Glencoe Union Church, 263 Park Ave., Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, has extended its production of Joshua Harmon's comedy "Bad Jews" through June 21, and added Wednesday evening and Saturday matinee performances. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org. The production will transfer to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, on June 26. (847) 673-6300 or northshorecenter.org.

• Citadel Theatre announced its 2015-2016 season, dubbed "lucky 13," beginning with the stage adaptation of the domestic drama "Ordinary People" (Sept. 18-Oct. 18). That's followed on Nov. 20 by the Lionel Bart musical "Oliver!," the Dickensian tale of an orphaned boy. "Botanic Garden," local playwright Todd Logan's two-hander about a widow trying to move on to a new relationship with help from her dead husband, is the bonus show running from Jan. 7-17, 2016. Next up is Willy Russell's comedy "Educating Rita"(Feb. 12-March 14, 2016), about a young British hair stylist who decides she wants to go back to college and enlists a boozy professor to help her achieve her goal. Stephen Sondheim's musical comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" opens April 23, 2016. It's inspired by the ancient Roman farce by Plautus about a slave who attempts to win his freedom by helping his master win the love of a lady. Performances take place at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. (847) 735-8554 or citadeltheatre.org.

• Adventure Stage Chicago announced its 2015-2016 season will begin in November with Dennis Foon's "New Kid" about a young boy who copes with being a newcomer in his family's adopted country. In April 2016, ASC premieres "Part Two of the Prometheus Project," a science-fiction tale by Tom Arvetis about a community that chooses to live underground. The season concludes in spring 2016 with two original pieces from ASC's youth ensemble. Performances take place at 1012 N. Noble St., Chicago. (773) 342-4141 or adventurestage.org.

• Black Ensemble Theater, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Teatro Vista and Victory Gardens Theater are among 10 Chicago arts organizations that recently received grants ranging from $225,000 to $300,000 from The Joyce Foundation to support artists of color and diversity efforts.