Spotlight: Tony Award-winning ‘Parade’ plays CIBC Theatre
Tony-winning tuner plays Chicago
The North American tour of the 2023 Tony Award-winning revival of the musical “Parade,” an examination of racism, class conflict, political corruption and media manipulation by writer Alfred Uhry and composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown, comes to Chicago. The musical is inspired by the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager who was falsely accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl in 1913 Atlanta and was subsequently lynched. Max Chernin, who performed in the Broadway revival, stars as Leo and Talia Suskauer is his wife, Lucille.
Preview at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, at the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. The show opens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6. $35-$125. broadwayinchicago.com.
Secret society explored
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre and CPA Theatricals collaborate on “Sentinels,” a play with music by writer/lyricist Marilyn Campbell-Lowe and composer/lyricist Kim D. Sherman. The work was commissioned by CPA Theatricals, a not-for-profit group dedicated to developing new plays and musicals. The show centers on members of a female secret society who have been clandestinely meeting since 1945, contributing to such achievements as NASA’s moon launch and the development of the polio vaccine.
7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Aug. 1-2 and 8-9, and 3 p.m. Sundays, Aug. 3 and 10, at 721 Howard St., Evanston. $30. theo-u.com.
World premiere by local playwright
Lucid Theater premieres “Buddha’s Birthday,” Chicago playwright Amy Crider’s drama about a college professor who — besides dealing with career and family crises — is planning an 80th birthday for her overbearing mother. Unfortunately, neither medication nor Buddhism can soothe her anxiety over the party and the other challenges she faces. Kristie Berger stars as the insecure professor Pamela. Iris Sowlat directs.
The preview is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2. $40. lucidtheater.com.
Goodman salutes Indigenous artists
Goodman Theatre, in partnership with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, hosts The Sweetest Season: A Gathering of Indigenous Creativity, a celebration of Indigenous culture, artists, scholars and performers. Participants include artists Negwes White (Ojibwe/Diné (Navajo)) and Jennifer Stevens (Oneida/Oglala Lakota); poet and storyteller Vince Romero (Pueblo Laguna); writers Elise Paschen (Osage Nation), Aaron Golding (Seneca Nation, Beaver Clan) and Jim Terry (Ho-Chunk); musicians Brandi Berry Benson (Chickasaw Nation), Mark Jourdan (Oneida/Ho-Chunk), William Bucholtz (Algonquin/Metis) and Michaela Marchi (Isleta Pueblo); and stand-up comedians Damon Howard (Navajo) and Chelazon Leroux (Canadian Dene), who is also a drag performer.
Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, and 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Most events are free, but reservations are required. Tickets for the Indigenous drag show are $18-$23. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org/sweetest.
‘Fiddler’ revival
Music Theater Works revives the classic “Fiddler on the Roof,” the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick-Joseph Stein musical about Jewish milkman Tevye, his wife Golde, their five daughters and their community who struggle to retain their traditions in the face of Russian militia attacks on their small town in 1905 Russia. Walter L. Stearns directs.
The preview is at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8. $19.50-$89. (847) 673-6300 or musictheaterworks.com.
Arts Judaica’s Chicago premiere
“Female, Ashkenazi With a Sewing Machine,” a play with music by Jamie Greenblatt, has its Chicago premiere courtesy of Arts Judaica, which launched last year. The 2017 play is about a young San Francisco adoptee whose diagnosis of ovarian cancer leads her to discover the family heritage she never knew. The score is by Richard Jennings.
7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 7-8, and 3 p.m. Aug. 9 and through Aug. 23 at the Berger Park Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. $20, $25. artsjudaica.com.