Theater spotlight: American Blues Theater stages 'Beauty's Daughter'

A woman's life

American Blues Theater artistic affiliate Wandachristine stars in the company's Chicago area premiere of "Beauty's Daughter," a solo show by award-winning playwright Dael Orlandersmith. Orlandersmith, a Goodman Theatre artistic associate, chronicles a woman's life in New York City's East Harlem neighborhood in this 1995 Obie Award-winning play directed by Ron OJ Parson. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 7, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens July 13. $19-$49. (773) 327-5252 or americanbluestheater.com.

Return to Arden

For First Folio Theatre's production of "As You Like It," director Skyler Schrempp updates William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy about people stumbling into love to a modern-day Arden. Leslie Ann Sheppard plays the exiled Rosalind, who disguises herself as a boy to escape the uncle who has usurped her father's dukedom. She meets Nick Harazin's Orlando, who - forced from the court by his older brother - has joined a merry band of exiles that includes Kevin McKillip's moody Jacques. Previews begin at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 31st St., Oak Brook. The show opens July 15. $23-$39. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

'Peter Pan' prequel

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre concludes its 2017 season with "Peter and the Starcatcher," a coming-of-age dramedy about the boy who wouldn't grow up. Based on the "Peter Pan" prequel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Rick Elice's play (with music by Wayne Barker) celebrates the art of storytelling. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 13, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. The show opens July 21. $30, $38. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Other theater events

• The Annoyance Theatre celebrates the fifth season of "Hitch*Cocktails," a combination improvised series and drinking game, during which an audience member suggests an unusual fear which ensemble members use to create an Alfred Hitchcock-style thriller. Performances of the adults-only show run at 10 p.m. Friday, July 7 through 28, at 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The neo-Nazis' proposed 1977 March in Skokie prompts a young, second-generation American Jew to examine his identity in James Sherman's semi-autobiographical dramedy "The God of Isaac." Grippo Stage Company's revival of the 1985 drama begins previews begin Saturday, July 8, at Piven Theatre, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. The show, directed by Dennis Zacek, opens Tuesday, July 11. (800) 838-3006 or grippostagecompany.com.

• Performances begin Saturday, July 8, for Midsommer Flight's 100-minute version of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" starring Samuel Cheeseman as the grieving prince determined to avenge his murdered father. The performances take place in Chicago parks according to the following schedule: July 8-9, Lincoln Park, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West; July 15-16 and 22-23, Touhy Park, 7348 N. Paulina St.; July 29-30 and Aug. 5-6, Schreiber Park, 1552 W. Schreiber; Aug. 12-13 and 19-30, Gross Park, 2708 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago; and Aug. 26-27, Lincoln Park. See midsommerflight.com.

• Nothing Without a Company kicks off its 2017-2018 season Saturday, July 8, with New Play Festival: 4Plays about squids, bar fights and 2,000-year-old drag queens among other subjects. The one-day festival begins at 7:30 p.m. at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. See nothingwithoutacompany.org.

• Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago, inaugurates its new Theatre for Young Audiences, Saturday, July 8, with "Pride Ever After," a 45-minute show for ages 10 and older, which examines traditional fairy tales "through rainbow-colored lenses." Performances run through July 30. See pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Previews begin Sunday, July 9, for Kokandy Productions' Chicago area premiere of the musical "Little Fish" by writer/composer/lyricist Michael John LaChiusa. Loosely based on Deborah Eisenberg's short stories "Days and Flotsam," the play centers on thirty-something writer Charlotte's attempts to confront past demons. The production, directed by Allison Hendrix, opens July 15, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or kokandyproductions.com.

• Stage Left Theatre presents LeapFest XIV, its annual celebration of new works nurtured through the company's Downstage Left development program. Produced in cooperation with Chicago Dramatists, the festival consists of workshop productions of plays about a rape, a superheroine who gets her own action film, gentrification, the art of making an egg sandwich and international surrogacy by Liam Fitzgerald, Joe Arrow, Isaac Gomez, Dana Lynn Formby and Sam Chanse. Performances begin Sunday, July 9, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. They run in repertory through July 26. Single tickets are $11. An all-access pass is $22. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• The national tour of Broadway's "Something Rotten!" - about a pair of Renaissance playwrights struggling to emerge from Shakespeare's shadow - begins a brief Chicago run on Tuesday, July 11. Performances run through July 23 at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Eclectic Full Contact Theatre presents a concert performance of "Ordinary Days," Adam Gwon's musical about four people struggling to find success in New York City. The performance takes place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at the Pendulum Space, 1803 W. Byron St., Chicago. See eclectic-theatre.com.

• Pegasus Theatre Chicago celebrates African American female theater artists during Muse 2017: Femmes Noires de la Resistance. Along with spoken word and musical performances, the festival features excerpts from plays by Marsha Estell, Loy Webb and Tsehaye Hebert. It runs Thursday, July 13, through July 23, at Chicago Dramatists, 773 N. Aberdeen, Chicago. Tickets are $10 per performance. Festival passes range from $18 to $35. (866) 811-4111 or pegasustheatrechicago.org.

• Chicago's long-running Blue Man Group teams up with Autism Speaks to host an autism-friendly performance at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 16, at Briar Street Theatre, 3133 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show will feature slight modifications to accommodate people with autism. Tickets are $49; $5 from every ticket purchased will go to Autism Speaks. (773) 348-4000 or blueman.com/chicago.

• Griffin Theatre has extended its hit production of "Ragtime," the turn of the last century musical about the many ethnic threads in the American tapestry. Performances run through July 22 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or griffintheatre.com.