On stage: TimeLine premieres dust bowl drama, Metropolis revives ‘9 to 5’
Dirty Thirties revisited
TimeLine Theatre premieres “Black Sunday,” a climate change-inspired play by Chicago playwright Dolores Diaz. Developed through TimeLine’s playwrights collective, the play unfolds in 1935 Texas during one of the worst dust storms in U.S. history and centers around a dust bowl family trying to keep their farm afloat while dealing with a series of environmental disasters. Previews at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, May 8-10; 4 p.m. May 11; and 2 p.m. May 12 at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 15. $35-$67. (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or timelinetheatre.com.
Stronger together
Three female colleagues concoct a plan to get rid of their conniving, sexist boss in “9 to 5,” the musical by Dolly Parton and writer Patricia Resnick based on the 1980 film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. Janelle Sanabria, Melissa Crabtree and Savannah Sinclair play Doralee, Violet and Judy, respectively, and David Gordon-Johnson plays the horrible Mr. Hart in Metropolis Performing Arts Centre’s revival, directed by Landree Fleming. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, and 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4. $30, $45. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.
Chicago playwright saluted
Sweetback Productions, in collaboration with Labyrinth Arts Collective, presents “Hamburgers and Disappointment: Plays About Enoughness,” a festival showcasing works by Chicago-based playwright Barrie Cole. The four short, two-character plays will be performed in repertory as double bills. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, May 2-19, at the Labyrinth Club, 3658 N. Pulaski Road, Chicago. $20. sweetbackproductions.com.
Assassination of an archbishop
City Lit Theater closes its season with “Murder in the Cathedral,” T.S. Eliot’s verse drama about the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket by knights loyal to King Henry II, who fell out with his former chancellor over taxes and clergy rights. James Sparling plays Becket in outgoing producer and artistic director Terry McCabe’s production. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 3-4, and Saturday, May 11, and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.
Definition Theatre premiere
Several years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Manhattan immigration worker Alba Guerrero learns an immigrant she admitted into the U.S. committed mass murder. As her life unravels, people from all over the world help her cope with guilt and the fallibility of our government systems in Juan José Alfonso’s “An Educated Guess.” Definition Theatre’s premiere is directed by artistic director Tyrone Phillips. Previews at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4; 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6, at 1160 E. 55th St., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, May 9. Tickets start at $30. definitiontheatre.org.
New play fest
Chicago Writers Bloc hosts its biennial festival of new works, which includes staged readings of five new plays and five new musicals from 14 Chicago-area playwrights, composers and lyricists. Featured writers include Joseph Jefferson Award-winner John S. Green, former Chicago Tribune feature writer Fran Zell, Chloe Bolan and Joanne Koch, among others. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5 (opening night benefit) through Wednesday, May 8, and May 12-14 and May 19, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. $20, $25 for the opening night benefit. writersblocfest.org.
‘Gods & Monsters’ premiere
Nearing the end of his life, a famous director reminisces about his career and fantasizes about a young landscaper in a new stage adaptation of “Gods & Monsters,” based on Christopher Bram’s 1995 novel “Father of Frankenstein,” about 1930s British film director James Whale. Chicago director Tom Mullen’s stage version of the novel emphasizes race and follows, by 25 years, writer/director Bill Condon’s 1998 film adaptation, which starred Ian McKellan, Brendan Fraser and Lynn Redgrave. Writer/actor Paul Oakley Stovall directs the production featuring Norman Woodel as Whale, Doreen Calderon as his housekeeper and Rashun Carter as the young man. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, May 9-10, and 2 and 8 p.m. May 11 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 12. $12.75-$47.75. (773) 975-8150, theaterwit.org or godsandmonstersonstage.com.