Theater events: 'Fefu and Her Friends' opens Halcyon's 11th season

Halcyon's 'Fefu'

Halcyon Theatre opens its 11th season with its sixth production of a Maria Irene Fornes play, an examination of feminism titled "Fefu and Her Friends." Artistic director Tony Adams helms Halcyon's production, which unfolds in 1935 at Fefu's country house during a daylong rehearsal for a charity performance. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3253 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago. The show opens Aug. 28. $20. (773) 413-0454 or halcyontheatre.org./fefu.

Drury Lane cabaret

Some of the Chicago area's top musical theater actresses help Drury Lane Theatre inaugurate its new cabaret room this weekend. E. Faye Butler, Heidi Kettenring, Christine Mild, Meghan Murphy and Leryn Turlington perform as part of Drury Lane's new series Leading Ladies of Chicago Theatre. Jeremy Kahn serves as accompanist under music director Roberta Duchak. 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, and 6 and 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. $25-$45, with a $25 food and beverage minimum. (630) 530-0111 or drurylanetheatre.com.

'Comedy of Errors'

Janus Theatre teams up with the Unrehearsed Shakespeare Company for a free outdoor performance of "The Comedy of Errors," a farcical tale of two sets of identical twins separated at birth. Actors will work from "scrolls" for this production, which incorporates unrehearsed performance techniques. Audience members should bring a lawn chair or blankets for seating. 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Mural Alley, 66 S. Spring St., Elgin. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. See janusplays.com or comedyoferrors.eventbrite.com.

Upcoming events

• Collaboraction, in association with the Chicago Park District, opens its first Peacebook Festival on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 12-13, at Hamilton Park, 513 W. 72nd St., Chicago. The free city-wide festival celebrates the arts at various Chicago parks Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 27. Each performance consists of world premiere pieces of theater, music, dance and spoken word. Featured performers include GQ of the Q Brothers and spoken-word artist Ray A. Williams among others. (312) 226-9633 or collaboraction.org.

• Hell in a Handbag Productions remounts perennial favorite "Bette, Live at the Continental Baths," a tribute to singer/actress Bette Midler that re-creates her early performances at New York City bathhouses. David Cerda and Caitlin Jackson adapted the show, which stars Jackson as the Divine Miss M. Performances begin Friday, Aug. 12, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com or handbagproductions.org.

• "Saturday Night Live's" Katie Rich and The Second City's Holly Laurent - veteran improvisers and iO Chicago alumni - headline iO Chicago's main stage, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12. Also at iO Chicago, "Having It All: Stories and Improv About Being Female" returns Wednesday Aug. 17. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• In a university classroom, a discussion of feminism among five female academics is disrupted by the sound of gunshots and then the shooter entering their classroom. That's the plot of Kristiana Rae Colon's "good friday," whose world premiere comes courtesy of Oracle Theatre and director Tara Branham in her Oracle debut. The production opens Saturday, Aug. 13, at 3809 N. Broadway St., Chicago. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. See publicaccesstheatre.org.

• Raven Theatre hosts a discussion on Saturday, Aug 13, following its 3 p.m. matinee of "Direct From Death Row The Scottsboro Boys (An Evening of Vaudeville and Sorrow)," a play by Mark Stein, with songs by Harley White Jr., about the wrongful conviction of nine African-American teenagers who were falsely charged with assaulting two white women in 1931 Alabama. Elizabeth Clarke, executive director of the Juvenile Justice Initiative hosts a discussion with democratic Cook County State's Attorney candidate Kim Foxx and Lanetta Haynes Turner, executive director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

• The solo performance series LIVINGroom returns to Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14, with "Boiling Point," in which solo artists rant about what they can no longer stand. The showcase consists of individual, autobiographical, spoken word and musical performances on select Sundays through Dec. 11. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• Cast members from "The King and I," "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical," "Something Rotten!" "Finding Neverland" "Fun Home" and others join R&B vocalist Deborah Cox and composer/lyricist Stephen Trask ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch") for Broadway in Chicago's free summer concert at 6:15 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., Chicago. "For many, it's the favorite concert of the year bringing together thousands of our dedicated theatergoers and introducing them to some of the greatest musicals of the decade," said Eileen LaCario, BIC vice-president in a prepared statement. See broadwayinchicago.com.

• Performances begin Tuesday, Aug. 16, for Walkabout Theater Company's interactive, parade-style performance piece "Tall Girl and the Lightning Parade" featuring more than 30 multidisciplinary artists performing in both Spanish and English. The free, family-friendly production takes place at five Chicago venues as part of the Chicago Park District's "Night Out in the Parks" series. The production is inspired by a Tzutujil Mayan story adapted by Martin Prechtel in his book, "The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun" about a courtship between the Tall Girl and the Hummingbird Boy. See walkabouttheater.org/tall-girl for locations and details.

• Stage Left Theatre's annual Drekfest takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the ComedySportz Theatre, 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The fest is Stage Left's annual search for the worst 10-minute play penned by good writers who intentionally produce bad plays for fun and sport. 2016's finalists include Beth Hyland's "The Chicago Style, Or, Once a Woman Hurt Me, Then I Found a Different Woman"; Eileen Tull's "Moist: A Mermaid Play"; Joe Zarrow's "Mother Goose: The Royalty-Free Jukebox Musical"; and Joe Foust's "The Old-timey Radio Drama Hour." The competition consists of staged readings Aug. 16 before a panel consisting of theater critics. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• WildClaw Theatre Company, a Chicago ensemble devoted to horror theater, presents Nicks and Cuts: A WildClaw Salon from Aug. 18 21 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The evening's centerpiece will be a staged production of "Shave and a Haircut," filmmaker and special effects artist Ryan Oliver's tale of a barbershop owner in debt to a corrupt group who have his small town in their clutches. The salon also includes a performance of "Meat" by Brooke Allen and "Worm Food" by Joseph Zettelmaier. See wildclawtheatre.com.

• Kokandy Productions announced its fifth season will launch in March 2017 with a revival of "The Wiz," the musical retelling of L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" by composer/lyricist Charles Smalls and writer William F. Brown. That's followed by the Chicago premiere of "Little Fish" (July/August 2017), a musical by composer/lyricist Michael John LaChiusa. Based on Deborah Eisenberg's short stories "Days and Flotsam," "Little Fish" is a post 9/11 parable about a thirty-something writer who discovers "she has spent her life running away." In September/October 2017, Kokandy presents the Chicago premiere of "Bonnie and Clyde," a chronicle of the outlaws' love story by writer Ivan Menchel, composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Don Black. The season concludes in 2018 with a production to be announced. Performances take place at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Season subscriptions and single tickets go on sale at a later date. See kokandyproductions.com.

• American Theater Company announced its restructured 2016-2017 season begins Jan. 6 with the regional premiere of Jaclyn Backhaus' "Men on Boats," about explorers traversing the rapids of the Green and Colorado rivers during the American government's first expedition into the American West. That's followed by artistic director Will Davis' re-imagined version of "Picnic," William Inge's classic drama about small town life, love and longing (March 17-April 23, 2017). The season concludes with the world premiere of Dan Aibel's "T." It's a dark comedy inspired by the skating controversy involving Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan and her rival Tonya Harding. Performances take place at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. Early-bird season subscriptions range from $60 to $90 before Aug. 31 and from $70 to $105 after that. Under-35 season subscriptions start at $40. Reserved seating subscriptions for all three productions are $112.50 and are available through Jan. 31, 2017. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.