Theater events: Ireland's Druid Theatre revives 'Waiting for Godot'
Rob Lowe brings his solo show, “Stories I Only Tell My Friends: Live,” to the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, for one performance. Inspired by Lowe's memoirs “Stories I Only Tell My Friends” and “Love Life,” the show chronicles his career from his time as a Brat Packer to his tenure on “West Wing” and “Parks and Rec” and beyond. Lowe performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 19. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.
Tony Award winner Renee Elise Goldsberry (“Hamilton”) headlines Goodman Theatre's Ruby Night, a black-tie fundraiser beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago. The event begins with a cocktail reception followed by Goldsberry's performance, a three-course dinner and dancing to the Gentlemen of Leisure. Tickets start at $1,000. Proceeds help support Goodman productions, educational efforts and community programs. (312) 443-3811, ext. 586, or goodmanteatre.org/gala2018.
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and ABC journalist Leah Hope are among the Chicago-area women performing in Black Ensemble Theater's “The Soul of a Powerful Woman,” a one-night-only benefit performance that begins at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. Tickets are $150 and $250. Proceeds benefit the theater company. For tickets, call or email Natalie Richards at (773) 754-3917 or nrichards@blackensemble.org.
Pride Films and Plays showcases non-equity Joseph Jefferson Award nominees during its Nominee Night concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 21, at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. Tickets cost $20, $30 for VIP admission, which includes a drink ticket. Among the nominees scheduled to perform are Max DeTogne from Arlington Heights, nominated in the principal category for his performance as Clyde in Kokandy Productions' “Bonnie and Clyde,” and Denzel Tsponang, from Batavia, nominated in the same category for his performance as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Griffin Theatre's “Ragtime.” (773) 857-0222 or pridefilmsandplays.com.
A Red Orchid Theatre hosts its Spring Fundraiser at 7 p.m. Monday, May 21, at the American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $100 and include a performance by ensemble member Jennifer Engstrom from her one-woman show “Excuse My Dust (A Dorothy Parker Portfolio).” Proceeds benefit the theater and the museum. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.
The International Voices Project showcasing plays from Spain, Serbia, Poland, Syria, Finland, Canada, India and Germany continues at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio St., Chicago. French Canadian playwright Mishka Lavigne's “Haven,” about a grieving daughter and a man trying to uncover his past who meet at a sinkhole, will be performed Tuesday, May 22. Rasaka Theatre presents Indian playwright Anand Rao's “A Muslim in the Midst,” about a wealthy American-Indian couple visiting India who offer a ride to a poor, stranded Muslim family. Show time is 7 p.m. The festival runs through May 31. See ivpchicago.org for a schedule.
A grandson chronicles his grandfather's experiences during World War II in “The Accidental Hero.” John Patrick Dewane created the one-man, multimedia show from typewritten accounts, photographs and rare film footage, which he discovered after his grandfather's death. Dewane performs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, at The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. Admission is free for this pre-Memorial Day performance, but reservations are required. Also at the Metropolis, the 1930s-style interactive, murder-mystery dinner “A Star is Dead,” which unfolds during auditions for a motion picture during which one of the actors winds up dead. Tickets are $60 for the dinner and show, which begins at 6 p.m. Friday, May 25, at the theater. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.
Previews begin Wednesday, May 23, for Theatre Y's premiere of “Stories of the Body” by Romanian playwright Andras Visky, which marks the first production under the company's new free performance initiative. The production tells the stories of a Budapest sex worker, Mother Teresa, and the West's first professional female painter among others. The show opens May 25 at The Ready, 4546 N. Western Ave., Chicago. See theatre-y.com.
Ireland's Druid Theatre brings its revival of Samuel Beckett's “Waiting for Godot,” directed by Tony Award-winner Garry Hynes, to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of its WorldStage series. Performances begin Wednesday, May 23, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Marty Rea plays Vladimir and Aaron Monaghan plays Estragon, two clowns waiting on the road to nowhere for the mysterious Godot. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
Trap Door Theatre presents “Monsieur D'eon is a Woman,” a “madcap romp” by Canadian playwright Mark Brownell about an 18th-century French diplomat, soldier and transgender rights activist. Performances begin Thursday, May 24, at 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.
Jessica Sherr returns to Chicago with her one-woman show “Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies,” in which the Oscar-winning actress muses on past lovers, her battles with film studio executives for control of her career and her fight against ageism and sexism in Hollywood. Performances run from Thursday, May 24, through June 17 at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. See athenaeumtheatre.org or bettedavisaintforsissies.com.
The impact of incarceration animates “Jack &,” a performance piece examining the struggles former prisoners face upon re-entering society. Cornell Alston stars in the piece by writer/designer Christopher Myers and composer Rucyl Mills. It runs Thursday through Saturday, May 24-26, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. (312) 397-4010 or mcachicago.org.
Redtwist theatre has extended its production of Peter Morgan's “Frost/Nixon,” which centers on the 1977 interviews British broadcaster David Frost conducted with disgraced former President Richard Nixon. Performances run through June 3 at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.
Mark Toland announced an extension of his one-man show “Mind Reader,” during which he reveals audience members' thoughts. Performances run through July 25 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org or marktoland.com.
A pair of revivals and a Chicago premiere make up The Artistic Home's 2018-2019 season. It begins Oct. 3 with a revival of Tom Stoppard's “Rock 'n' Roll,” about a Czech graduate student who returns to his homeland in 1968 just as Soviet tanks roll into Prague. Co-founder and artistic director Kathy Scambiatterra directs. That's followed by a revival of Rod Serling's wrenching drama “Requiem for a Heavyweight” (Feb. 13-March 31, 2019). First seen live on TV in 1956, it's about an aging prizefighter undone by his unscrupulous manager. The season concludes with the Chicago-area premiere of Lauren Gunderson's “Ada and the Engine” (June 19-Aug. 4, 2019), about the notorious Lord Byron's daughter Ada Byron Lovelace who sees potential in the “analytic engines” that preceded computers. Performances take place at 1376 W. Grand Ave., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or theartistichome.org.
Saint Sebastian Players opens its 38th season with “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (Oct. 26-Nov. 18). Based on Charles Dickens' unfinished final novel, Rupert Holmes' musical play-within-a-play is about two men, romantic rivals for the same woman, one of whom winds up dead. The season concludes with Delia Ephron and Nora Ephron's “Love, Loss and What I Wore” (April 26-May 19, 2019), comprised of monologues in which women recall significant life events and rights of passage. Performances take place at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago. Three-play subscriptions are $45 before July 1, $50 after. (773) 404-7922 or saintsebastianplayers.org.
Firebrand Theatre, a company committed to expanding opportunities for female theater artists both on stage and behind the scenes, opens its 2018-2019 season in September with “Caroline, or Change” by composer Jeanine Tesori and writer/lyricist Tony Kushner. Set in 1963 Louisiana, the musical is about an African-American maid to a Southern Jewish family and her relationship with the family's young son. The season concludes with Michael John LaChiusa's “Queen of the Mist” (May 2019), inspired by the story of Anna Edson Taylor who in 1901 attempted to become the first woman to navigate Niagara Falls in a barrel of her own design. Dates will be announced later. Performances take place at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Memberships range from $70 to $150 and include tickets and other benefits. See firebrandtheatre.org.
City Lit Theater's upcoming season spans the 17th to the 21st centuries and includes a George Bernard Shaw classic and a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. The 2018-2019 season begins Sept. 7 with Shaw's “Arms and the Man.” Dubbed an “anti-romantic comedy,” the play is about a reluctant Swiss soldier who escapes battle by hiding in the bedroom of a Bulgarian heiress, upsetting her cavalry officer fiance. That's followed by the premiere of a City Lit commission “The Safe House” (Nov. 2-Dec. 16), about a woman who sees her hometown and family differently after she returns home for a visit. Next up is Terry McCabe's adaptation of “Fuente Ovejune” (Jan. 4-Feb. 17, 2019) by Lope de Vega. It's the tale of a 15th-century Spanish woman who leads the residents of her village in a rebellion against the military governor, who is sexually exploiting women. The season concludes April 12, 2019, with a double bill of one-act, courtroom-inspired works. It consists of Stephen Vincent Benet's short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's “Trial By Jury.” In the former, a New Hampshire farmer sells his soul to the Devil then hires attorney Webster to get him out of the deal. It's paired with the operetta about a woman who sues her former fiance after he jilts her for another woman. Performances take place at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. Subscriptions are available for $68 for previews and $90 for regular performances. They're available online at citylit.org.