Buffalo Theatre Ensemble to premiere 'Beautiful Day'
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble presents the American premiere of Iain MacLeod's tragicomic "I was a Beautiful Day," about a traumatized Gulf War vet and a schizophrenic who meet in a psychiatric hospital on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.
Facts: Opens Friday, May 1, at McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.
New Directors Series
New World Repertory Theater marks the debut of its series showcasing emerging directors with an evening of three one-act plays centered around American home life. They include: Jimmy Brunelle's "The Politics of Sleep," Jack Phillips' "The Artist and the Thief" and Ernest Thompson's "The Valentine Fairy."
Facts: 7 p.m. Friday, May 1; 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at 923 Curtiss St., Downers Grove. (630) 663-1489 or newworldrep.org.
Williams time
It's never too early for Tennessee Williams' summertime scorcher. Lisle resident Doug Long directs Village Players' production of "Suddenly, Last Summer," a semi-autobiographical tale of manipulation and repression about a dowager desperate to protect her late son's reputation at the expense of her emotionally fragile niece.
Facts: Opens Friday, May 1, at the Village Players Performing Arts Center, 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. (866) 764-1010 or village-players.org.
What's new
• A pair of playwrights tries to resolve the romantic entanglements that involve their show's composer, the leading lady and lead actor during a steamship voyage from Britain to America in "Rough Crossing," Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Ferenc Molnar's "Play at the Castle." Piccolo Theatre revives the comedy beginning Friday, May 1, at the Evanston Arts Depot, 600 Main St., Evanston. (847) 424-0089 or piccolotheatre.com.
• Sansculottes Theater incorporates audio art in its environmental production "STATIC: A Headphones Tour," a collaborative piece partly inspired by the headset tours available at museums. The play centers on a young couple trying to unravel the mystery of the ghost that haunts the objects collected by a pair of elderly eccentrics. According to the news release, the audience experiences the play by listening to the headphones while moving through the space. It opens Friday, May 1, at the North Lakeside Cultural Center, 6219 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. (773) 540-3576 or sansculottes.org.
• Writer/director Bob Fisher combines 1950s noir and Grand Guignol in his play "Devils Don't Forget" about an amnesiac convinced that he took part in a horrific crime. The Mammals Theatre Company production opens Friday, May 1, at the Rorschach Space, 4001 N. Ravenswood, Suite 405, Chicago. (866) 593-4614 or themammals.blogspot.com.
• Oracle Theatre presents the future-set play "Zero" by British playwright Chris O'Connell about a translator at a military camp who uncovers officials using torture tactics and his attempts to expose it. The show opens Saturday, May 2, at 3809 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 244-2980 or oracletheatre.org.
• "Daredevilry," about competing female thrill seekers at the turn of the last century, opens Saturday, May 2, at the Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 561-4665 or annoyanceproductions.com.
• Kathleen Puls Andrade explores egg donors, surrogate mothers and adoption in her show about her quest to get pregnant, "Journey to the Center of the Uterus: Adventures Infertility." The show opens Sunday, May 3, at Laugh Out Loud Theater, 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg. (847) 240-0386 or kathleenpuls.com.
• Poet, playwright and blind judo world champion Lynn Manning premieres his new solo show, "Quiet as it's Kept" as part of Victory Gardens Theater's next Crip Slam series. The show finds Manning, who is blind, examining his upbringing as he prepares for his first judo tournament. The performance is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-0682 or victorygardens.org.
• Infamous Commonwealth Theatre hosts its seventh annual karaoke contest, from 8 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, at The Spot, 4437 N. Broadway, Chicago. Single performers only and contestants should arrive early to secure a spot. First prize is a weekend getaway at a Michigan vacation home. $15 entrance fee helps support the theater. (312) 458-9780 or infamouscommonwealth.org.
• The George and Ira Gershwin musical "Crazy for You," about a young man from a wealthy family who defies their wishes in favor of pursuing a career on Broadway, begins previews Thursday, May 7, at Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Ind. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.
• Saturday nights are girls' night at the Improv Playhouse, 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, when an all-female improv comedy team Girls are Gonna Have Fun takes the stage. Performances are at 8 p.m. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.
• The stage version of "The Who's Tommy" closes Saturday, May 2, at the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, 3801 S. Central Ave., Cicero. (708) 656-1800 or jpactheatre.com.
• Urban Theater Company's production of "Broken Thread," Wysteria Edwards' play about the impact a missing child has on her parents, the media and the community, closes Sunday May 3, at 2635 W. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 239-8783.
- Barbara Vitello