Theater spotlight: Steel Beam updates 'Importance of Being Earnest'

Posted June 26, 2018 6:00 am

'Earnest' with a twist

Steel Beam Theatre updates "The Importance of Being Earnest," Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners, with a midcentury twist. Director Sean Hargadon, of Elgin's Janus Theatre, resets Wilde's tale of Victorian-era bachelors - who create fictional alter egos to romance two upper-crust women - in the 1960s. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 29-30, and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 1, at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. Performances run through July 15. $22-$28. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.org.

Zachary Stevenson, center, plays the titular role in American Blues Theater's remount of its acclaimed "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story." Michael Mahler, left, and Kieran McCabe also appear in ABT's production. Courtesy of Michael Brosilow

'Buddy' encore

American Blues Theater presents an encore of its hit revival of "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story" starring Zachary Stevenson as Buddy Holly, the seminal rock 'n' roll singer/songwriter whose brief but prolific career yielded hits including "Peggy Sue," "That'll Be the Day," "Rave On," "Everyday" and others. Lili-Anne Brown directs the bio-musical, which features Vasily Deris as the Big Bopper and Cisco Lopez as Ritchie Valens. 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 29; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 30; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 1, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Performances run through Sept. 15. $29-$49. (773) 327-5252 or americanbluestheater.com.

Musical whodunit

Noel Carey and Jason Grimm star in Marriott Theatre's production of "Murder for Two." A musical whodunit by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, it's about a small-town policeman trying to solve the murder of a famous novelist. Two actors perform 13 roles and play the piano. Recent Joseph Jefferson Award winner Scott Weinstein (Griffin Theatre's "Ragtime") directs. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 3; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 5; 8 p.m. Friday, July 6; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, July 7; and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday, July 8, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Opens July 11. $50-$60. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.

'Cat' is back

Joseph Jefferson Award-winning director Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Drury Lane Theatre's "Smokey Joe's Cafe") returns to Drury Lane to helm its revival of Tennessee Williams' classic "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Genevieve Angelson (Showtime's "House of Lies," Amazon's "Good Girls Revolt") plays the sexually frustrated Maggie opposite Anthony Bowden's sexually repressed Brick and Matt DeCaro's domineering Big Daddy, the patriarch of a greedy, scheming family whose skeletons surface during his milestone birthday party. Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 5; 8 p.m. Friday, July 6; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 7; and 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, July 8, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. $38-$58. Recommended for ages 13 and older. (630) 530-0111 or drurylanetheatre.com.

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