Theater events: Citadel's 'Romeo and Juliet' unfolds under the stars

Star-crossed love

William Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers unfolds outdoors courtesy of Citadel Theatre, which brings its production of "Romeo and Juliet" to three North Shore parks. Daniel Chenard and Amanda Hays star as the young lovers. 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, July 28-30, at Lake Forest Open Lands, 350 N. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest; Aug. 4-6 at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, 21850 Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods; and Aug. 11-13 at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, 760 E. Westleigh Road, Lake Forest. $15. (847) 735-8554, ext. 1, or citadeltheatre.org.

Improv in Libertyville

Ready to laugh? The Improv Playhouse ensemble presents new improvised comedy shows every weekend. The early performance is suitable for families while the late show is for adults-only. 7:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. $20, $5 students; Groupon advance purchase is $10. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

Coming soon: Victory Gardens' Ignition Fest

Victory Gardens Theater's 2017 Ignition Festival featuring six new plays in staged readings includes a performance of "Tuvalu, or The Saddest Song," a coming-of-age story by Antoinette Nwandu, whose "Pass Over" premiered recently at Steppenwolf Theatre. Also included in the fest are Kristiana Rae Colon's "Suspension," about two African-American girls who stage a coup at their charter school, and Ken Weitzman's "Spin Moves," about a young woman from Bosnia who dreams of playing in the WNBA. The festival begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 6, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Free. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org/ignition.

Other theater events

• City Lit Theater hosts its 10th annual Art of Adaptation festival, consisting of nine premiere adaptations from source material including Greek myths, poems, short stories and fairy tales. Theater professionals will evaluate the works and award the best in show a $500 prize. The festival runs Friday through Sunday, July 28-30, at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.

• The work of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking inspired "A Life With No Limits" by the acrobatic dance theater company Aura Curiatlas Physical Theatre. They perform the piece Friday through Sunday, July 28-30, at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago. See acphysicaltheatre.com.

• The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, presents "Life in 35 mm: An Improvised Documentary," in which the cast sends up self-important documentaries. Performances begin Saturday, July 29. Also at the Annoyance: "Sad Clown," a show in which people talk candidly about their experiences dealing with mental illness. It runs Sundays through Aug. 20. Lastly, Huggable Riot presents "Judgmental Institutions" framed around a wedding that no one wants to attend. It runs Wednesdays through Aug. 30. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Sideshow Theatre Company presents the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers CLLAW XXVII: Summer Smackdown on Saturday, July 29, at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Ave., Chicago. The Grips of Wrath, Crazy Dukes and Hermione Danger are among the wrestlers participating in the event, which benefits Sideshow and the Chicago Women's Health Center, which assists women and transgender people in accessing health care and health education. The first match begins at 9:30 p.m. See cllaw.org. In other Sideshow news, the company hosts a free reading of J. Nicole Brooks' new work "Hela" as part of the company's new play development program. The reading is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 31, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. See sideshowtheatre.org.

• Pride Films and Plays has extended its Chicago-area premiere of "The Nance," Douglas Carter Beane's 2013 backstage dramedy about a gay performer who exploited gay stereotypes onstage for burlesque audiences but was forced to hide his true self offstage. Vince Kracht, a former improviser with The Comedy Shrine in Naperville and Aurora, stars as Chauncy Miles. Performances run through Aug. 13 at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. (800) 737-0984 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• City Lit Theater's 38th season will begin Sept. 1 with John Millington Synge's "Deirdre of the Sorrows," inspired by the Irish legend of a beautiful woman betrothed to the King of Ulster as a child. She rejects the marriage and flees Ireland with her lover. That's followed on Oct. 27 by Archibald MacLeish's "J.B.," a retelling of the biblical Book of Job. Next up is Oscar Wilde's classic "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (March 2-April 15, 2018), about a man who engages in an irresponsible, hedonistic life while his aging portrait "takes on the weight of his sins." The season concludes with Nicholas Rudall's premiere translation of "Prometheus Bound" (April 27-June 10, 2018). It's inspired by Aeschylus' tale of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods for humans and was subsequently chained to a mountain for it. Performances take place at 1020 Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. Subscriptions are $68 for previews and $90 for regular performances. They're available at citylit.org.

• Strawdog Theatre's 30th anniversary season centered around the theme of identity begins Aug. 17 with the Chicago premiere of Robert O'Hara's "Barbecue" at Steppenwolf Theatre's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The comedy centers on an American family that decides to hold an intervention for one of its members during a summer barbecue. "Pillars of the Community," Samuel Adamson's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's "The Pillars of Society," runs Jan. 19-March 3, 2018. The play is about a fugitive brother whose return imperils his wealthy sibling when long-hidden secrets emerge. Next is the world premiere of Bennett Fisher's "Damascus" (May 11-June 24, 2018), a thriller about a Somali-American airport shuttle driver in Minneapolis who's offered a lot of money to take a stranded teenager to Chicago. The season concludes with "Take Me" (dates to be determined), an in-development musical by Mark Guarino and Jon Langford (The Mekons) about a woman who moves to Roswell, New Mexico, to build a theme park honoring aliens. Except for "Barbecue," all performances take place at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago. See strawdog.org.

• The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, announced its 2018 season. It begins Jan. 5, 2018, with Ten, the theater's annual celebration of 10-minute, world premiere plays. Feb. 9, 2018, marks the world premiere of "Hang Man," Stacy Amma Osei-Koffour's drama about a remote Southern town grappling with the murder of an African-American man found hanging from a tree. William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" follows on June 1, 2018. The season concludes with the Midwest premiere of ensemble member David Rabe's absurdist comedy "Cosmologies" (Oct. 12-Dec. 9, 2018), about a young man whose efforts to arrange a date go very wrong. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.

• Theatre at the Center announced its season will begin Feb. 22, 2018, with "Steel Magnolias," about indomitable Southern women. That production will be followed on May 3, 2018, by "Forever Plaid," about a determined doo-wop group gearing up for the biggest performance of their lives. In 1975 Chicago, advice columnist Ann Landers shares letters and memories in "The Lady With All The Answers" (July 12-Aug. 12, 2018). "Ghost the Musical," adapted from the 1990 movie, runs Sept. 13-Oct. 14, 2018. The season concludes with "Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical" (Nov. 15-Dec. 23, 2018). Performances take place at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. Season subscription renewals begin Aug. 20 and run through Sept. 24. New season subscription sales begin Oct. 12. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.

In other theater news:

• Naperville's BrightSide Theatre launched a new website funded in part by a grant from the Michael J. Schroeck Fund of the DuPage Foundation.

• Broadway in Chicago announced Tony Award nominee Montego Glover will take over the role of Angelica Schuyler from Karen Olivo in the Chicago production of "Hamilton," in an open run at the PrivateBank Theater, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. Additionally, Broadway company member Gregory Treco will take over the role of Aaron Burr on Aug. 20.

• The Neo-Futurists welcomed new ensemble members Neil Bhandari, Trent Creswell, Joanna Jamerson, Jasmine Henri Jordan and Connor Shioshita Pickett. In August, the group expects to reach a milestone of 10,000 original works performed since the 1988 debut of its late-night show consisting of two-minute plays.

• Brandon Cloyd, former program director for Barrel of Monkeys. has been named the ensemble's new artistic director.