Theater spotlight: BrightSide's 'Hairspray' brings Corny Collins to NCC

Posted June 05, 2018 6:00 am

'Hairspray' revival

It's 1962 and Tracy Turnblad's dream comes true when she's selected to appear on the popular teen dance show "The Corny Collins Show." Not only does Tracy attract the eye of the show's resident heartthrob, her popularity soon surpasses that of the show's reigning teen queen, prompting her to use her newfound fame to right some racial inequalities in the musical "Hairspray." BrightSide Theatre concludes its season with a revival directed by Jeffrey Cass and Barry R. Norton and starring Paige C. Matteson as the irrepressible Tracy. 8 p.m. Friday, June 8; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 9; 3 p.m. Sunday June 10, at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall, North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth St., Naperville. Runs through June 24. $23-$30. (630) 447-8497 or brightsidetheatre.com.

A pirate's tale

Evanston's Music Theatre Works presents the Arthur Gilbert and W.S. Sullivan seafaring operetta "The Pirates of Penzance." It's about Frederic, a young man indentured to pirates, who falls in love with Mabel, the daughter of the Major-General. Artistic director Rudy Hogenmiller helms the production, which stars Ben Barker and Cecilia Iole as the young lovers, James Harms as the Major-General and Larry Adams as the Pirate King. 8 p.m. Saturday, June 9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 10, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. Runs through June 17. $34-$96. (847) 920-5360 or musictheaterworks.com.

Classic revised

Oil Lamp Theater presents Neil Simon's female version of his 1965 comedy "The Odd Couple," about two divorced men - one easygoing and messy, the other uptight and neat - who move in together after their marriages fall apart. In this 1985 update, Olive Madison is a TV producer who opens her home to the high-strung, recently separated Florence. Oil Lamp theater's production stars Sydney Genco as Olive and C. Jaye Miller as Florence. Keith Gerth directs. Opens at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 14, at 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview. $35. (847) 834-0738 or oillamptheater.org.

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