Spotlight: Teenage con man eludes the feds in Marriott’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’
Inspired by real life
• JJ Niemann, whose Broadway credits include “Back to the Future” and “Hamilton,” makes his Marriott Theatre debut as Frank Abagnale Jr., the young man who posed as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer during the 1960s and the real-life con artist who inspired the musical “Catch Me If You Can.” Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Nathaniel Stampley plays Frank’s pursuer, FBI agent Carl Hanratty, in Marriott’s revival directed by Jessica Fisch and featuring Chicago-area favorites Sean Fortunato, Alex Goodrich, Alexis J. Roston and James Earl Jones II.
Previews at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 27-28; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 29; 4 and 8 p.m. Aug. 30; and 1 and 5 p.m. Aug. 31 at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The show opens Sept. 3. $73.02-$97.50. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.
• PrideArts revives “A New Brain,” composer/lyricist William Finn’s 1998 musical inspired by his own battle with AVM (arteriovenous malformation), an abnormal connection between arteries and veins that often occurs in the brain. Jay Españo directs the tuner, which finds songwriter Gordon Schwinn (played by Dakotta Hagar) preparing for brain surgery while imagining his boyfriend and the songs he has yet to write.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show opens Monday, Aug. 25. $25, $35. (773) 661-0770 or pridearts.org.
World premieres
Strawdog Theatre Company premieres “The (expletive) House,” a two-hander by Susan H. Pak developed through the theater’s BIPOC playwright’s residency. The play centers on a Korean American teen named Mo (Emily Zhang), who in middle school wants nothing more than to be “normal,” and her best friend Steff (Olivia Lindsay), who wants to be “special.” Christina Casano directs.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 28-30, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. $10-$80. (773) 975-8150, theaterwit.org or strawdog.org.
Obama’s back
“44: The Musical,” composer/writer/director Eli Bauman’s satirical take on the rise and presidency of President Barack Obama and the eccentric politicos he met along the way (as recalled by Joe Biden), returns to Chicago for a limited run. T.J. Wilkins (“The Voice”) stars as Barack Obama, Shanice plays Michelle Obama, and Chad Doreck plays Joe Biden.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23-24, and Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 26-27, at The Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. $44-$128.40. 44theobamamusical.com.