'Caveman' coming to Noble Fool
'Caveman' returns
The caveman Rob Becker created comes to Noble Fool as the west suburban theater presents the one-man show "Defending the Caveman," a comedic look at contemporary gender wars.
The show opens Friday at Pheasant Run Resort & Spa, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or noblefool.org.
'Dancing' under the stars
Oak Park Festival Theatre concludes its season with "Dancing at Lughnasa," Brian Friel's memory play set in 1936, about the last three weeks a young boy and his mother spent with her four sisters, their brother and the boy's often absent father in a small town in northwest Ireland.
The play opens Friday at Austin Gardens, Ontario and Forest avenues in Oak Park. (708) 445-4440 or oakparkfestival.com.
An intimate 'Merchant'
Bohemian Theatre Ensemble's Peter Robel examines fear and duality in his version of Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." The set's inspired by John Singer Sargent's paintings and the cast of nine doubles most of the roles in this production staged in the tiny Heartland Studio.
The play opens Friday at 7016 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (773) 791-2393 or bohotheatre.com.
What's new
Redtwist Theatre certainly adds a twist to its revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross," David Mamet's scathing dissection of the cutthroat world of sales, by staging the Pulitzer Prize-winning play in a gender-blind production. It opens Friday at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a staged reading of "Romeo y Julieta," its newly commissioned bilingual adaptation Shakespeare's tragedy. Karen Zacarias adapts, Teatro Vista's Henry Godinez directs and film actress Elizabeth Pena performs in readings Friday and Saturday at Theatre at Little Village Lawndale High School, 3120 S. Kostner Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5460 or chicagoshakes.com.
Five writers combine their autobiographical stories into the drama in "Yes, This Really Happened to Me," a world premiere commissioned by Theatre Seven of Chicago opening Friday at Chicago Dramatists Theatre, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 853-3158 or theatreseven.org.
The DP 24 Hour Project, Dramatis Personae's one-day theatrical event in which six teams of directors, playwrights and actors write, stage and perform six 10-minute plays within the span of 24 hours. Casting takes place Friday, followed by writing and rehearsals. Plays will be performed at 10 p.m. Saturday at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.
Northwestern University's joint professional/student production of "Dangerous Beauty," inspired by the 1998 film and the latest offering from the university's American Music Theatre Project. Set in Venice, the musical centers on a 16th century poet who realizes her only access to education and culture depends upon her becoming a courtesan. Performances begin Friday at the university's Ethel M. Barber Theatre, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. (847) 491-7282.
Signal Ensemble Theatre marks the beginning of its sixth season with a 50th anniversary revival of Harold Pinter's 1958 suspense comedy "The Birthday Party," about a retired pianist whose quiet boardinghouse is overrun by strangers. Previews continue through Sunday. "The Birthday Party" opens Monday at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. (773) 347-1350 or signalensemble.com.
A night of burlesque centered around Sunday's opening of "Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief," Paula Vogel's risque re-imagining of the last days of Othello's doomed wife marks the opening of the Mill's new season. Previews are Friday and Saturday at Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. Tickets at (800) 838-3006 or themilltheatre.org.
Shattered Globe Theatre remounts its smoldering and sensuous production of Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly, Last Summer" about a wealthy southern maven's attempts to whitewash the unsettling death of her son at the Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake at Fullerton Avenue and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Performances begin Wednesday and run through Aug. 3. (312) 742-7994 or chicagoparkdistrict.com.
Poet/activist Kevin Coval, of HBO's "Def Poetry" series, performs excerpts from "Everyday People," his latest book of poems July 31 and Aug. 1 at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.
American Theater Company ensemble member Stef Tovar launches his new Route 66 Theatre Company Wednesday with previews of its inaugural production "On An Average Day," John Kolvenbach's dark comedy and family dysfunction drama about the complicated relationship between two estranged brothers. Previews of this joint production with Los Angeles' Vs. Theatre Company continue through Aug. 1 at Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The play opens Aug. 2. (773) 871-3000 or route66theatre.org.
Last chance
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's production of "The Melville Boys" closes Sunday at McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.
Sarah Ruhl's latest, "Dead Man's Cell Phone" closes Sunday at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 355-1650 or steppenwolf.org.
Drury Lane Oak Brook's production of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," closes Sunday at 100 Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace. (630) 530-8300 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.