Spotlight: Chicago Shakes premieres ‘42 Balloons,’ Theo Ubique debuts ‘Diana’
High-flying tuner
Larry Walters’ 1982 flight above Los Angeles in a lawn chair attached to 42 helium-filled weather balloons inspired the musical “42 Balloons” by writer, composer and lyricist Jack Godfrey. Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the North American premiere directed by Ellie Coote and starring Charlie McCullagh as Larry and Evelyn Hoskins as his longtime girlfriend Carol Van Deusen. Both reprise their roles from the acclaimed run last year in Great Britain.
Previews at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 24; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 25; 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 27; 1 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 28; and 7 p.m. May 29 and 30 and through June 8 at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 10. $48-$132. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
Sci-fi classic on stage
Lifeline Theatre premieres ensemble member John Hildreth’s Chicago-set adaptation of H.G. Wells’ 1898 classic “The War of the Worlds,” about aliens invading earth. Ensemble member Heather Currie directs.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 23-24 and 30-31, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 25, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 1. $20-$45. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.
‘Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues’
Thrown together by circumstances beyond their control, aging white vaudevillian Pompey (Dennis Cockrum) and Black teenager Jet (Justin Banks) learn that human needs transcend race and age in “Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues” by American Blues Theatre artistic affiliate Charles Smith. Ensemble member and Goodman Theatre resident director Chuck Smith directs the Chicago premiere
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 23 and 24, and Wednesday, May 28; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 25 at 5627 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, May 29. $25, $45, $60. (773) 654-3103 or americanbluestheater.com.
Bittersweet regional premiere
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s regional premiere of the musical “Diana,” about the late Princess of Wales, is bittersweet. Following a brief illness, artistic director and co-director Fred Anzevino died shortly after rehearsals began for the Evanston company’s production. Co-director and longtime friend Brenda Didier and the cast decided to move forward with the show in Anzevino’s honor. “Fred Anzevino was deeply involved in shaping this production from its earliest stages through casting, staffing and design, and remained a vital presence in the rehearsal room until his passing,” reads a post on the theater’s webpage. “His artistic vision and love for the theater live on in every moment of this show.”
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 23-24 and May 30, and 6 p.m. Sunday, May 25, at 721 Howard St., Evanston. $30-$60. The show opens May 31. (773) 939-4101 or theo-u.com.
‘Medea’ reimagined
Theatre Evolve premieres “MedeaMedeaMedea,” Olivia Buntaine’s reimagining of Euripedes’ tragedy about a woman who exacts terrible vengeance on the husband who betrayed her. Buntaine imagines Medea in the liminal space between life and death, where she “wrestles with fate, identity and the choice to reclaim herself at any cost.”
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 23-24, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 25, and through June 21 at The Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago. $20. theatrerevolve.com.
Lookingglass premieres dark comedy
Former Niles resident and Maine South High School student Atra Asdou, a Lookingglass Theatre Company ensemble member, examines the relationship between Assyrian women and their mothers from the Ottoman Empire to current-day U.S. in the semiautobiographical, adults-only play “Iraq, But Funny.” Dalia Ashurina directs Lookingglass’ world premiere featuring Asdou, Susaan Jamshidi, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, James Rana and Sina Pooresmaeil.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, May 29-31 and June 4-6, and 1:30 p.m. June 1 at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E. Pearson St., Chicago. The show opens June 7. $30-$90. lookingglasstheatre.org.
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