Spotlight: Goodman assembles all-star cast for ‘Betrayal’ revival
Goodman revives a classic
Oscar-winner Helen Hunt joins Robert Sean Leonard and Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Ian Barford for Goodman Theatre’s revival of “Betrayal,” Harold Pinter’s reverse chronology drama about self-deception and self-absorption. Artistic director Susan V. Booth directs the play featuring Hunt as an unfaithful wife, Barford as her husband and Leonard as her lover. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 12-14; and 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Feb. 17. $25-$165. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.
Family-friendly reggae tuner
Young People’s Theatre of Chicago presents the family-friendly, reggae-inspired musical “Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds,” based on the children’s book by Marley’s daughter Cedella Marley. It’s about a fearful young boy who learns from three feathered friends that with a little bravery “every little thing is gonna be all right.” 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8; 1 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 9 and 16; 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Feb. 15, 22 and 23 and March 1 and 2, at Greenhouse Theatre Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $21.50 for kids 12 and younger; $30 for adults. (773) 404-7336 or yptchi.org.
‘Waitress’ on Paramount’s menu
Small-town server and pie-maker extraordinaire Jenna searches for the ingredients for happiness in “Waitress,” the musical by singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles and book writer Jessie Nelson about a woman “trapped in a small town between the life she’s living and the life she wants.” Michelle Lauto stars as the titular Jenna and Kelly Felthous and Teressa LaGamba play her best friends Dawn and Becky in Paramount Theatre’s Midwest premiere. Previews at 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 12 and 19; 7 p.m. Thursdays, Feb. 13 and 20; 8 p.m. Feb. 14; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15; and 1 and 5:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The show opens Feb. 21. $28-$85. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.
The bugs are back
Fifteen years after it premiered, Cirque du Soleil’s family-friendly, insect-themed spectacle “Ovo” returns following a metamorphoses. This restaged version features new acrobatic acts and characters, a new set and reimagined music. 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Feb. 13-14; 3 and 7 p.m. Feb. 15; and 1 and 5 p.m. Feb. 16, at NOW Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Pkwy., Hoffman Estates. $50-$109. cirquedusoleil.com/ovo.
World premiere
First Floor Theater ensemble member Omer Abbas Salem examines trust in professional relationships in his new play “One Party Consent,” about a midyear review between a graduate student and the student’s adviser where one records the meeting without telling the other. Nadya Naumaan directs First Floor’s premiere. Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, and Feb. 15 and 19, and 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens Feb. 20. $10-$35. firstfloortheatre.com.
Theatre Y film premieres
Since 2018, Theatre Y has worked with actors, filmmakers and individuals from DePaul University, The Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project and 25 men serving life prison sentences to create original works of art while promoting trauma rehabilitation through movement therapy. The culmination of their efforts is “Not to Be,” a film created inside Stateville Correctional Center, which closed last fall. The film premieres next week at FACETS. 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago. Pay-what-you-can, $5 suggested minimum. theatre-y.com or facets.org.
Hail and farewell Jack Helbig
Former Daily Herald theater critic, playwright and beloved educator Jack Helbig died last week after suffering a heart attack. He was 66.
A shrewd critic possessed of a genial demeanor, Helbig championed small and emerging ensembles in the city and the suburbs. To that end, Elgin’s Janus Theater Company produced several of his short plays in 2015 under the title “You Don’t Know Jack: The Helbig Plays.” That same year, Janus performed Helbig’s 2014 one-act “Thinking of Her Made Him Think of Her” (which premiered at the Elgin Fringe Festival) at the Piney Fork Theater Festival in New York City.
Helbig also co-authored the solo show “Here Lies a Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A Pretty True Story” with performer/writer Melody Jefferies that played the Elgin and Boulder, Colorado, fringe festivals.
Since 2022, the Oak Park resident taught English and composition at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield. Before that he taught English and theater for more than 17 years at Chicago’s Holy Trinity High School, where he also served as the department chair.
Online, theater artists praised Helbig’s wit and insight. More than 100 social media posts from school colleagues and current and former Rochelle Zell and Holy Trinity students recalled his passion, kindness and inspiration.
In addition to the Daily Herald, Helbig wrote for the Chicago Reader, Newcity, The Wednesday Journal in Oak Park and Performink.