What’s new in theaters

Family ties

Max Polski makes his Drury Lane Theatre debut as Neil Simon’s alter-ego in “Broadway Bound,” Simon’s comedy about aspiring comedy writers Eugene and Stanley Jerome, whose inspiration comes from their bickering parents. Also making his Drury Lane debut is Jason Karasev who plays Stanley. Joining them are longtime Chicago area favorites Mike Nussbaum, Paula Scrofano, and Carmen Roman.

Previews begin Thursday, June 9, at 100 Drury Lane, Oak Brook. The show opens June 16. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.

Adventure tale

The intrepid Phileas Fogg bets the members of a London gentleman’s club that he can circumnavigate the globe in less than three months in “Around the World in 80 Days.” Fox Valley Repertory presents the stage adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1873 novel chronicling the adventures of Fogg and his faithful pal, Passepartout, as they try to elude the determined Detective Fix. The production marks the start of FVR’s first summer theater festival.

Previews begin Thursday, June 9, at the Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. The show opens Saturday, June 18. (630) 584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org.

Highlands romance

A disenchanted young man falls in love with a spirited Scottish lass whose village awakens for just one day every 100 years in “Brigadoon,” the Alan Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical that opens Light Opera Works’ 2011-2012 season. Robert Hunt and Jennie Sophia star as the century-crossed lovers in the production featuring Clay Sanderson and Maggie Portman in her LOW debut.

Opens Saturday, June 4, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. (847) 869-6300 or lightoperaworks.com.

Ÿ Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, presents the world premiere of “The Boarhound and the Boar,” Alex Odom’s dark comedy about a bitter sibling rivalry that leads to a brother’s death and a subsequent haunting. The show runs Saturdays, June 4, through 25. Also at Gorilla Tango, The Amazing Acrocats performing various feats at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, June 4. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

Ÿ Route 66 Theatre Company will hold a panel discussion on adoption following the 4 p.m. Sunday, June 5, performance of “A Twist of Water.” Director Erica Weiss will moderate the discussion between guest State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, an adoptee; adoptive parent Jackie Kaplan; and Rachel Wright, adoption counselor for The Cradle. “A Twist of Water,” about a widowed father whose adopted African-American daughter seeks out her birth mother, runs through Sunday, June 26, at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport, Chicago. (773) 325-1700 or route66theatre.org.

Ÿ Matt Ulrich, who joined the U.S. Army a few months after the attacks of Sept. 11, recounts his experiences in “I Joined the Army for 5 Years and All I Got Was This Lousy Play.” The show previews on Sunday, June 5, at The Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens Sunday, June 19, and runs Sundays through July 10. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.

Ÿ Chicago Shakespeare Theater hosts its Silver Jubilee Gala to commemorate its 25th anniversary on Monday, June 6, at its home on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Proceeds from the event will benefit CST’s Team Shakespeare education program. The event will honor Sir Peter Hall, founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and film and stage actor, Sir Derek Jacobi. Along with dinner, the gala includes performances by Tony Award winners Heather Headley and Michael Cerveris and CST favorites Kevin Gudahl, Ross Lehman, Greg Vinkler and Larry Yando. (312) 553-2000 or pjhchicago.com/cst.

Ÿ The 2011 Chicago Writers’ Bloc Festival begins with an opening night benefit featuring scenes from award-winning works at 7 p.m. Monday, June 6, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The festival features staged readings of 13 new plays by local writers including John Conroy (whose play “My Kind of Town” is based on his reporting on the Chicago police torture scandals), Jill Elaine Hughes, Kenan Heise, Tara Sparks, Neil Aronson and others. Tickets are $10, $30 for an all-festival pass. Performances run Monday through Wednesday through June 29 and on July 11. (773) 975-8150 or writersblocfest.org.

Ÿ The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee hosts its annual non-equity awards ceremony recognizing achievement by Chicago theater companies not under union contracts at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 6, at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago. See jeffawards.org for more information.

Ÿ Oakton Community College’s Emeritus Arts and Humanities Festival salutes Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson. The six-part lecture series titled “August Wilson: An American Master” begins Tuesday, June 7. Topics include an examination of Wilson’s plot structure, along with in-depth looks at “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “Fences,” two of the plays in Wilson’s acclaimed Pittsburgh Cycle consisting of one play chronicling the African-American experience in each decade of the 20th century. Sessions take place at 7701 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. See oakton.edu/emeritus for a schedule.

Ÿ John O’Hurley (of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Seinfeld”) stars in the national tour of “Chicago,” John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical about a nightclub dancer who murders her sometime lover and enlists the city’s slickest lawyer to defend her. Performances begin Tuesday, June 7, at Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

Ÿ Theatre Y, which had previously confined itself to production of Romanian writer Andras Visky’s plays, branches out with “Vincent River,” Philip Ridley’s examination of homophobia. The show opens Tuesday, June 7, at the Lacuna Artist Lofts, 2150 S. Canalport, Chicago. See theatre-y.com for more information.

Ÿ Barrel of Moneys salutes the young writers who have inspired the company’s sketches and songs over the last year, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 7, at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. BOM actors, student writers and their families will unite for a free performance of the sketches and songs. (312) 335-1650.

Ÿ New Leaf Theatre presents the world premiere of “Lighthousekeeping,” Georgette Kelly’s adaptation of a novel by Jeanette Winterson about an orphan girl apprenticed to a blind lighthouse keeper and what happens to her after the duo are replaced by automation. Performances begin Wednesday, June 8, at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 742-8497 or newleaftheatre.org.

Ÿ Halcyon Theatre presents its annual Alcyone Festival, showcasing plays by emerging female writers, beginning Thursday, June 9, and continuing through July 10 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The theme of the 2011 festival is “remixed,” meaning the featured plays consist of re-imagined versions of classic texts written by women from the 10th through the 19th centuries. Among the featured plays are J. Nicole Brooks’ “Shotgun Harriet” inspired by “Peculiar Sam” by Pauline Hopkins and Teatro Luna co-founder Coya Paz’s “Fa$hion” adapted from Anna Cora Mowatt’s “Fashion.” Tickets range from $10 to $25. An all-festival pass is $50. (773) 404-7336 or halcyontheatre.org.

Ÿ A black soldier comes home to America after serving in the Korean War to find racism is alive and well in Darlette McAlpin’s “Field of Souls.” The production begins Thursday, June 9, at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

Ÿ Previews begin Thursday, June 9, for the “The Violence of My Affection,” a new play by Gaetano Marangelli about what happens when the 25-year marriage between an Italian actress and an American scholar turns sour. The show, from a group that describes itself as “upstart Chicago talent,” opens Saturday, June 11, at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. (866) 811-4111.

Ÿ The sketch comedy group GayCo presents an adults only revue comprised of some of its sexiest sketches on Fridays, June 3, 10 and 24, at the Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted St. Chicago. See gayco.com for information.

Ÿ Pride Films & Plays has announced 22 semifinalists in its Women’s Work initiative to showcase plays or screenplays centered around lesbian characters and/or themes. The Chicago semifinalist includes Barbara Lhota. The finals will include five plays and five screenplays which will be performed as staged readings from July 25 to 31 in Chicago. See pridefilmsandplays.com.

Ÿ Chicago Dramatists, which continues to evolve by expanding its space and staff, will team up with About Face Theatre to produce “The Kid Thing” this fall. Additionally, Chicago Dramatists will work with Goodman Theatre on new play development involving its playwrights ensemble. See chicagodramatists.org for more information.

Ÿ Kristoffer Diaz’s “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” which premiered at Victory Gardens Theater, was awarded the 2011 Obie Award for Best New American Play. The play, a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, also received the Lucille Lortel Award for best off-Broadway play and the National Latino Playwriting Award along with six Jeff Awards.

— Barbara Vitello