Theater news
Chicago Kids Company Theatre for Children opened its musical version of "Alice in Wonderland" this week at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago. The one-hour show is suitable for children ages 2 to 12. (773) 205-9600 or www.chicagokidscompany.com.
Pulitzer and Tony winner John Patrick Shanley ("Doubt") examines growing up in the Bronx during the 1950s and '60s in his surreal, autobiographical "Beggars in the House of Plenty." Mary-Arrchie Theatre's production opens Sunday at Angel Island, 735 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago. (773) 871-0442 or www.maryarrchie.com
Bailiwick Repertory showcases up-and-coming directors as part of its 21st annual Directors Festival, featuring world and Chicago premieres and neglected works by Dorothy Parker, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Virginia Woolf. The festival begins Monday at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, and continues through June 25. (773) 883-1090 or www.bailiwick.org.
Found Objects Theatre and the Side Project team up to produce two one-acts at the Side Project Studio, 1520 W. Jarvis, Chicago. Mark Chrisler's "Torvald and I" center's on Chrisler's attempt to rehabilitate Torvald by rewriting the last scene of Ibsen's "A Doll's House." Chris Bower's "Promises to Keep: The Poems of Robert F. Kennedy" is a fictionalized account of RFK's life drawn from invented poems fabricated by Bower. The plays open Monday for a brief run. (773) 484-7980.
"The Kid From Brooklyn: The Danny Kaye Musical," based on the life of triple-threat singer-dancer-actor, begins previews Wednesday in advance of its anticipated 2009 New York opening. The show officially opens its limited engagement here June 7 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (773) 325-1700 or www.thekidfrombrooklynmusical.com.
The Annoyance Theatre's "Triple Feature" series showcasing three new 20-minute musicals opens Wednesday at 4830 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago. The series runs Wednesdays through Aug. 6. (773) 561-4665 or annoyanceproductions.com.
Rivendell Theatre returns from its hiatus with "Psalms of a Questionable Nature," Chicago playwright Marisa Wegrzyn's two-person psychological thriller about estranged sisters trying to decide what to do with their dead parents' decaying house. Previews begin Wednesday at Live Bait Theater, 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. The play opens May 31. (773) 334-7728 or www.rivendeltheatre.net.
Last chance
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's production of Marie Jones' two-actor tour-de-force "Stones in His Pockets" closes Sunday at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. (630) 942-4000.
-- Barbara Vitello