Spotlight: Paramount Theatre revives Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘South Pacific’

Posted April 21, 2026 2:22 pm

Allsun O’Malley plays nurse Nellie Forbush and Devin Archer plays plantation owner Emile De Becque in Paramount Theatre’s “South Pacific.” Courtesy of Jennifer Heim

‘South Pacific’ revival

Paramount Theatre concludes its 2025-2026 season with a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s World War II-set musical “South Pacific.” The cast of 36 singer/dancer/actors make up one of the Aurora theater’s largest ensembles. Co-directed by Trent Stork and Devon Hayakawa, with music direction by Kory Danielson, the production boasts a 15-piece orchestra. “What’s special to me is the way that this iconic musical also brings a complex story about love, war and race to the stage,” said Hayakawa in a prepared statement. “As a daughter to an Asian American dad and a Caucasian mom, South Pacific means an awful lot to me. When I saw it growing up, it marked the first time I saw myself truly represented onstage — in the most accurate way, with Ngana and Jerome, but also in seeing Asian and Pacific Islander bodies on stage at all.”

Previews at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, April 29-May 1, and May 5-7; 2 and 7 p.m. May 2; and 1 and 5:30 p.m. May 3 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The show opens May 8. $31-$106. (630) 896-6666 or ParamountAurora.com.

Jack Chylinski plays the titular trickster in Lifeline Theatre’s premiere of “LOKI — The End of the World Tour.” Courtesy of Bernaski

Lifeline Theatre premieres rock musical

Loki, the Marvel Universe mischief maker, returns to Asgard, where he tangles with father Odin, mother Freya and brother Thor in Lifeline Theatre’s “LOKI — The End of the World Tour,” a rock musical by composer/lyricist George Howe, with a book by ensemble member Christina Calvit. Ensemble member Heather Currie directs.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, and May 1; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. $45. The show opens May 2. lifelinetheatre.com.

‘Follies’ concert-style

Broadway veterans Michelle Duffy (“Leap of Faith”), Alexander Gemignani (“Assassins,” “Sweeney Todd”), Anthony Rapp (“Rent,” “If/Then”) and Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Angela Ingersoll (“End of the Rainbow”) star in Porchlight Music Theatre’s staged concert version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies.” Other Chicago favorites making up the all-star cast are: Felicia P. Fields, Susie McMonagle, Dennis Zacek, Honey West and Lyric Opera of Chicago chorister John Concepcion.

2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at the Studebaker Theater, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. $104.50-$159.50. PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

New play for pint-sized audiences

Filament Theatre premieres the interactive, family-friendly “Farewell Opportunity” by Chicago playwright Georgette Kelly. Set in 2018, the play centers on Halley and a NASA scientist who develop an unlikely friendship with each other and with Opportunity, NASA’s Mars rover.

Previews at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26; and 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, at 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 2. $7-$21. (773) 270-1660 or filamenttheatre.org.

Amber Mak directs Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's production of “The Wedding Singer.” Courtesy of Time Stops Photography, Bari Baskin

Your presence is requested

Amber Mak makes her Metropolis Performing Arts Centre directing debut with “The Wedding Singer,” the musical based on the 1998 romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler as a musician whose fiance stands him up at the altar. He proceeds to upend subsequent nuptials until a sympathetic server helps him turn his life around. Abraham Deitz-Green plays crooner Robbie Hart and Teah Kiang Mirabelli plays his new love, Julia Sullivan.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, April 29-May 1, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. The show opens May 2. $25-$49. (847) 577-2121 or MetropolisArts.com.

Raven’s first musical

For its first musical, Raven Theatre stages “Octet,” a 2019 a cappella chamber musical by Dave Malloy (“Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”). An examination of internet addiction, the story unfolds in a church basement where eight people gather to share their struggles. Keira Fromm directs.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30, and May 1-2, and 3 p.m. May 3 at 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens May 6. $30-$45. raventheatre.com.

A Neo-Futurist experiment

The 1990s sit-com “Frasier,” a spinoff of the 1980s sit-com “Cheers,” inspired the Neo-Futurists’ new experimental show “Spinoff,” created by Alé Ramirez.

Previews at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, through May 16, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. $25. neofuturists.org/events/spinoff.