Theater: What's new this week
Griffin Theatre, a company whose provocative shows inspired by novels for young adults also resonate with older audiences, continues its season with “Port.” A working-class family drama by British playwright Simon Stephens, “Port” centers on Rachel who hates her Stockport home, her “dead mental” dad and longs to escape from both. Caroline Neff stars in the production which begins previews Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Jan. 16. (800) 838-3006 or griffintheatre.com.
Writer/filmmaker Neil LaBute, who has established an impressive creative partnership with Chicago's Profiles Theatre, will perform selected readings from his works on Saturday, Jan. 8, at the theater located at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. Additionally, ensemble members Darrell W. Cox and Eric Burgher perform selections from LaBute's newest piece, “Romance.” The evening begins with a 6:30 p.m. reception, followed by the readings and a talk-back beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $60. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.
The Annoyance Theatre sends up 1970s TV variety shows with “Moe Phangromm's Smokin' Grove Time Variety Show” opening Wednesday, Jan. 12. The show featuring magicians, clowns, singers and comedians and other talented folks runs through Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 561-4665 or theanoyance.com.
Shattered Globe Theatre returns after a too-long hiatus with its revival of Martin McDonagh's dark comedy “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” set in rural Connemara, Ireland, and centered on the dysfunctional relationship between an elderly mother and her daughter desperate for one final chance at love. Directed by Goodman Theatre's Steve Scott, the production stars ensemble members Linda Reiter and Eileen Niccolai as the quarrelsome mother and the resentful daughter who cares for her. Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Jan. 16. (800) 982-2787 or shatteredglobe.org.
WildClaw Theatre presents the world premiere of Aly Renee Greaves' adaptation of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's 19th century gothic novel “Carmilla” a vampire tale about a young woman living on a remote Eastern European estate who becomes enthralled with the enigmatic Carmilla as a series of grisly, unsolved murders terrorize the community. The preview is Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago. The show opens Friday, Jan. 14. (312) 742-8497 or wildclawtheatre.com.
Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 13, for Court Theatre's production of “Three Tall Women,” Edward Albee's semi-autobiographical reflection on a woman's life from multigenerational perspective of her youth, middle age and final days. Artistic director Charles Newell directs 2010 Jeff Award winner Mary Beth Fisher, Lois Markle, Maura Kidwell and Joel Gross. The show opens Saturday, Jan. 22, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.
Clock Productions opens “Six More Scary Tales,” its latest in a series of chilling fables on Thursday, Jan. 13, at the National Pastime Theater, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. This incarnation features tales about vampires, monsters and super powers. Performances continue through Saturday, Feb. 26. (773) 327-7077.
Silk Road Theatre Project's “Dawn's Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi” is the latest in-development production featured as part of Millennium Park's “In the Works” series where audience members can observe the evolution of a new work. Jeanne Sakata's “Dawn's Light” examines the case of a Japanese-American undergraduate who defied the 1942 executive order removing and interning Americans of Japanese descent living along the West Coast. Performances run Thursday to Saturday, Jan. 13-15, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 742-1168 or millenniumpark.org or srtp.org.
Profiles Theatre remounts its celebrated Midwest premiere of “Jailbait” in its new space dubbed the Second Stage (formerly Stage Left Theatre), located at 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. Profiles opened the Second Stage in part as a way to extend successful productions like “Jailbait,” which played to sold-out houses during its initial seven-week run last fall. Set at a nightclub, Deirdre O'Connor's play follows two high school sophomores looking to meet college men and two thirtysomething men — one recovering from a breakup — desperate to be 21 again. The show runs through Sunday, Feb. 27. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.