Theater events: Magician Brett Schneider brings interactive show to The Den Theatre

Magic to do

Actor and illusionist Brett Schneider, star of Goodman Theatre's "The Magic Play," brings his one-man interactive show "Communion" to The Den Theatre in the wake of his sold-out engagement at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre. The 70-minute performance examines magic "as a proxy for human connection" and includes sleight-of-hand, suggestion and audience participation. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 4-5, and 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $20. See thedentheatre.com.

Absurd humor

Asperger's Are Us, a Boston sketch comedy ensemble comprised of members on the autism spectrum, performs at Laugh Out Loud in Chicago this weekend and at its Schaumburg counterpart later this month. Ensemble members have been performing absurdist and satirical sketches since 2010. According to the website, the troupe came together not to prove people with autism are funny, but to make people laugh, period. 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4, at 3851 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $15. (773) 857-6000. The group performs Aug. 27 at LOL's suburban location at 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg. (847) 240-0386 or laughoutloudtheater.com.

'Trevor' premiere

Writers Theatre presents the world premiere of "Trevor," the musical by Dan Collins (book, lyrics) and Julianne Wick Davis (music) based on director Peggy Rajski and writer James Lecesne's Academy Award-winning short film. The coming-of-age musical centers on the titular character, a sensitive 13-year-old boy, whose discovery of his homosexuality upends his relationship with his family and his best friend. Marc Bruni (Broadway's "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical") directs. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The show opens Aug. 16. $35-$80. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

Other theater events

• Aurora Theatre Works Inc. presents the world premiere of "Monticello," Thomas H. Geoghegan's fictionalized account of what might have had happened had Thomas Jefferson had misgivings about slavery. Geoghegan imagines an ailing Jefferson conversing with young student and budding poet Edgar Allan Poe about the issue. Previews continue through Saturday, Aug. 5, at St. Bonaventure Oratory, 1625 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Aug. 6. See monticellotheplay.com.

• The Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie, hosts "Billy Snow, A Chicago Noir," for one performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4. Written and narrated by David Floodstrand, the show is about an unemployed bartender struggling to get his life together. Set during the 1950s, the multimedia piece includes vintage photographs, classic standards and original music. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.org.

• Theater Oobleck presents "Closed Casket: The Complete, Final and Absolutely Last Baudelaire in a Box" Friday through Sunday, Aug. 4-6, at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. The performances mark the conclusion of the company's seven-year effort to bring to the stage Charles Baudelaire's 19th-century poetry collection "Les Fleurs du Mal" ("The Flowers of Evil"), which deals with decadence and eroticism. The performances of this epic song cycle coincide with the 150th anniversary of the poet's death. See theateroobleck.com.

• Stories, spoken word and music inspire "Told," a new, long-form improv show at iO Chicago, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. The show features a rotating cast of improvisers as well as chef Rick Bayless ("Top Chef Masters"). (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com/chicago.

• Secrets come to the surface after longtime friends learn one of their husbands is having an affair in Fouad Teymour's play "Twice, Thrice, Frice." Silk Road Rising presents a staged reading of the work-in-progress at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5-6, at the Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. (312) 857-1234 or silkroadrising.org.

• Pride Art Center's Theatre for Young Audiences series continues Saturday, Aug. 5, with "Puppet Playdate With Grandma D," at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. Each week, retired inventor Grandma D invites special guests to help her tell stories to young theatergoers. See pridefilmsandplays.com. Also beginning previews on Saturday, Aug. 5, at Pride Films and Plays, is the late-night, sketch-comedy show "26" showcasing 26 short sketches ranging from comedic to dramatic to absurd to surreal. The show opens Aug. 12 and runs at 10 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 23 at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. (800) 737-0984 or prideartschicago.com.

• The House Theatre of Chicago, in cooperation with the University of Chicago's Theatre and Performance Studies Program and the Logan Center for the Arts, hosts an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, on the University of Chicago campus at 915 E. 60th St., Chicago. The free event allows theater fans to see selections from five in-development projects and speak with the artists responsible for them. Featured projects include works by Brett Neveu and Jason Narducy; Jenni Lamb, Tanji Harper and Blu Rhythm Collective; Shawn Pfautsch and Matt Kahler; and Nathan Allen, Lee Keenan and Sandor Weisz. See thehousetheatre.com.

• American Theater Company's Chicago Open Residency Experiment (CORE) program - now in its second year - commences a series of weeklong residencies for various theater artists. It begins Monday, Aug. 7, with "Black Like Me," inspired by John Howard Griffin's 1959 novel. That's followed Aug. 14 with a multidisciplinary piece titled "Kissing." Next up is About Face Theatre's untitled project inspired by James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" on Aug. 21 and "Dig," an in-development work by Theodore Germaine exploring love, trans identities and mental illness. Performances take place at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• Chicago magician David Parra performs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, on The CW TV show "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" during which magicians try to dazzle the duo. "The Magic Cabaret," which stars Parra and Joe Diamond, will host a viewing party of Parra's television appearance at 8 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336.

• Broadway in Chicago offers special deals on tickets to "Aladdin," the hit musical based on Disney's 1992 animated film, in its first North American tour. The price for front orchestra, loge and dress circle tickets is $69 for evening performances Tuesday through Friday. The price for rear orchestra and balcony tickets for the same days is $39. Tickets must be purchased by Tuesday, Aug. 8, and may be used through Sept. 8. "Aladdin" runs through Sept. 10 at The Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The Sarah Siddons Society of Chicago announced it awarded Actor of the Year honors to Broadway veteran Kate Baldwin, 2017 Tony Award nominee for "Hello Dolly!" and former Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle, herself a Broadway veteran and star of the 2016 Broadway tour of "Fun Home," and who currently serves as the president of Actors' Equity Association. Both honorees will perform at the awards ceremony Sept. 18 at the Hilton Orrington Hotel in Evanston. (312) 527-7750 or sarahsiddonssociety.org.

• The Other Theatre seeks play submissions for Other Ways to Resist, its spring festival showcasing new works. The company is seeking works examining activism, social-media-centered protest and acts of unconventional resistance. Writers should send scripts to totcmanagingdirector@gmail.com by Sept. 18. Other Ways to Resist runs April 14 to May 13, 2018, at The Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. See theothertheatrecompany.com.

• Goodman Theatre is partnering with several off-Loop theater companies this summer, including Teatro Vista, whose "La Havana Madrid" is currently running at Goodman. Goodman also teamed up with Victory Gardens Theater for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "An Octoroon." Goodman will also team up with Collaboraction to produce "Peacebook" on Aug. 26 in the Owen Theatre at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. See goodmantheatre.org.

• First Floor Theater begins its 2017/2018 season on Oct. 8 with the premiere of "Two Mile Hollow," Leah Nanako Winkler's satire about a wealthy Caucasian family who reunite to divide belongings after their oceanfront mansion is sold. That's followed on March 4, 2018, by Nathan Alan Davis' "Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea" about an 18-year-old who ventures into the Atlantic Ocean to search for an enslaved ancestor lost during the voyage from Africa to the new world. The season concludes with Cory Finley's "The Feast" (May 13-June 9, 2018), a dark comedy about couple who are happy together until the sewers begin speaking and a storm begins raging. Performances take place at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See firstfloortheater.com.