Spotlight: Court Theatre streams Titanic courtroom drama

Survivor's story

Court Theatre presents a digital production of "Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912)," a courtroom drama by Owen McCafferty that recounts the sinking of the HMS Titanic from testimony taken from the court investigation of the wreck. Vanessa Stalling directs a cast that includes Ernest Bentley, Nate Burger, Ronald L. Conner, Alys Shante Dickerson, Xavier Edward King, Andy Nagraj and Bri Sudia.

Streams on demand Monday, June 14, through Sunday, July 11, at courttheatre.org. Tickets are $20 for one viewer younger than 30; $35 for general viewer; $50 for two or more viewers. (773) 753-4472.

Oil Lamp under the stars

Oil Lamp Theater's season under the stars begins with "Talley's Folly," Lanford Wilson's romantic two-hander about two middle-aged people - bookish accountant Matt Friedman and nurse Sally Talley, both of whom had about given up on romance - taking their first steps toward love.

Opens at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 17, outdoors at St. David Episcopal Church, 2410 Glenview Road, Glenview. Performances take place at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through July 18. $45. (847) 834-0738 or oillamptheater.org.

Goodman 'Live'

Goodman Theatre's Live Series consisting of livestreamed productions continues with the "Ohio State Murders." Adrienne Kennedy's play centers on Suzanne, one of a handful of Black freshman entering Ohio State University in 1949, who finds the academic institution is as unsafe as any other for people of color, a reality she shares years later when she returns to the university to speak about her work. Tiffany Nichole Greene directs a cast that includes Jacqueline Williams as present-day Suzanne and Eunice Woods as younger Suzanne.

Streaming live online at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, June 17-18; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 19; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 20, at goodmantheatre.org/live. $25 per production or $40 for a two-play membership.

In other news

• Silk Road Rising co-founder and co-executive artistic director Jamil Khoury, a Mount Prospect native, hosts an online salon at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at silkroadrising.org. The topic is "Breaking Fast," a romantic comedy by writer/film director Mike Mosallam about a Muslim man recovering from a breakup and his relationship with an "all-American guy," Kal. The film is available on Hulu and at breakingfastfilm.com.

• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble invites subscribers and donors to a virtual reading of "Spay," a play about addiction and autonomy by Madison Fiedler. The reading takes place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 16. See rivendelltheatre.org.

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its first virtual season dubbed Steppenwolf Now with a production of "Where We Stand," by Donnetta Lavinia Grays, whose Baltimore Center Stage performance is captured on film. The story, which incorporates poetry and music, is about a man shunned by his town who makes a deal with a mysterious stranger and must then ask his town for forgiveness. After the play concludes, the audience can weigh in on whether to punish or absolve him. The 70-minute play begins streaming Wednesday, June 16, at steppenwolf.org/now. Access is available with a Steppenwolf Now $75 membership, which includes all six virtual Steppenwolf productions.

• City Lit Theater has created a multipart audio recitation of Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper." The tale is available online, chapter by chapter, in weekly installments on YouTube.

• A Red Orchid Theatre's multidisciplinary, virtual production "American Bottom," an "experimental audiobook" named for a southern Illinois lowland region, runs through June 27 at aredorchidtheatre.org. Conceived by playwright Brett Neveu, director/sound designer Neil Verma, composer Matthew Muniz, foley artist Ele Matelan, artist Rich Sparks and digital editor Frankie Pederson, the play is about a man named Kevin, who disappeared in rural Illinois near the Cahokia Mounds and whose life story unfolds through thoughts shared by the people who knew him.

• First Folio Theatre's online bedtime tales series resumes with "Me ... Jane," Patrick Donell's children's tale inspired by the life story of primatologist Jane Goodall. Artistic Associate Diana Coates reads the story, which is suitable for ages 2 and older. Bedtime tales stream online through July 15. See firstfolio.org.

• Door County, Wisconsin's annual Door Kinetic Arts Festival goes virtual this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival, which features films, including a filmed spoken-word performance by Harold Green, runs online through Saturday, June 12, at doorkinetic.com.

• Chicago actor/director/filmmaker Jay Españo has been named artistic director of PrideArts. A veteran of the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company, a leading ensemble in the Philippines, Españo worked extensively in Southeast Asia before moving to Chicago in 2008. "My goal is to continue PrideArts' tradition of telling a diversity of queer community stories that not only entertain, but also encourage the audience to reflect on their own views, beliefs and biases," he said in a prepared statement.

• Metropolis Performing Arts Centre executive director Joe Keefe has been named chairman of the board for Meet Chicago Northwest, a marketing association that promotes tourism to the Northwest suburbs including Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Itasca, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Wood Dale.

• Season of Concern, an organization that assists Chicago-area theater artists struggling with illness, injury and mental health issues, established the Malcolm Ewen Fund. Named for Steppenwolf Theatre's longtime production manager who died in 2019, the fund provides emergency financial support for needy theater artists.

• "Late Nite Catechism" will reopen in September at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Written by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, the show - which unfolds as an interactive comedy/catechism class presided over by a nun known as Sister - debuted in May 1993 at Live Bait Theatre in Chicago. Tickets are $35. See nuns4fun.com.

• Theater Wit returns to live, in-person performances Aug. 27 with a remount of "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play," Anne Washburn's pop culture comedy about a post-apocalypse band of survivors struggling to keep civilization going. Tickets for the open run are $20 to $45. That's followed by the Chicago premiere of "Who's Holiday" (Nov. 26-Dec. 26), an adults-only comedy by Matthew Lombardo in which Cindy Lou Who recalls her life after her fateful meeting with the Grinch on Christmas Eve. The season concludes with the Chicago premiere of "Hurricane Diane" (opening June 2022), Madeline George's play about the Greek god Dionysus who returns as a gardener named Diane to avert an environmental catastrophe with help from four New Jersey housewives. Performances take place at 1229 N. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.