Janus Theatre to showcase playettes at Elgin festival
Janus Theatre showcases 10 playlettes (running 10 minutes or less) by writer Theresa Rebeck during its first short play festival running this weekend at the Elgin Art Showcase.
Friday, May 28, to Sunday, May 30, at 164 Division St., Elgin. (847) 841-1713 or janustheatre.wordpress.com.
Sweet on 'Sugar'Drury Lane Theatre revives 1972's "Sugar," the rarely seen Jule Styne-Bob Merrill musical inspired by Billy Wilder's classic comedy "Some Like It Hot." The show centers on a pair of out-of-work musicians who witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and escape the mob by disguising themselves as women and joining an all-female band which features the titular singer. Previews begin Thursday, June 3, at 100 Drury Lane, Oak Brook. The show opens June 12. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.Blues at NorthlightTwo-time Jeff Award-winner Mississippi Charles Bevel ("Fire on the Mountain," "It Ain't Nothing But the Blues") and Tony Award nominee Felicia P. Fields ("The Color Purple") return to Northlight Theatre for the world premiere of "Low Down Dirty Blues," the latest revue from Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman that pays homage to one of America's greatest art forms. Previews continue through June 4 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens June 5. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.What's newbull; Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, previews several new comedies this week. They include: a parody of TV medical dramas called "Home M.D." opening Tuesday, June 1; "The Rise of Emperor Eric," about a fry cook in a fast food joint located in a mythical state opening Tuesday, June 1; "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Love Story," about superheroes dating opening Wednesday, June 2; and "The Terrible," about a middle-aged writer renewing old acquaintances and making new ones during a visit to a bar he once frequented opening Friday, June 4. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.bull; From the creators of "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy" comes "Cirque Dreams Illumination," a spectacle with an urban slant in which acrobats, high-wire artists, dancers and clowns perform in a "magical metropolis." Broadway in Chicago's limited engagement runs Wednesday, June 2, to June 6, at the Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.combull; The Hypocrites artistic director Sean Graney helms "No Exit," Jean-Paul Sartre's classic examination of identity and existence, freedom and hell. Performances begin Thursday, June 3, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. For more information see the-hypocrites.com.bull; The Silver Project, American Theater Company's yearlong 25th anniversary celebration, continues at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 1, at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. The project consists of the world premieres of 30 short plays. The full cycle runs June 16 to 20. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.bull; Oracle Theatre recently announced in a prepared statement its redefinition as a public arts organization "committed to making cultural experiences available to everyone." To that end, the Chicago company's first initiative is to "open its doors to everyone" meaning it will no longer charge admission and will instead subsidize programming through donations, grants and other fundraising efforts. Oracle opens its 2010-11 season Oct. 9 with "The Bee," a thriller by Colin Teevan and Hideki Noda inspired by a Japanese short story in which a man's wife and son are taken hostage by an escaped convict. For more information on the theater's new initiatives, see oracletheatre.org.