Spotlight: Chicago Shakes stages North American ‘Brokeback Mountain’ premiere
North American premiere
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the North American premiere of the stage version of “Brokeback Mountain.” Adapted by Ashley Robinson from the 1997 novella by Annie Proulx, the play with music is about two Wyoming ranch hands, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, who meet in 1963 and embark on a decades-long secret affair. Harrison Ball plays Ennis and Jack Cameron Kay plays Jack in director Jonathan Butterell’s production, which features songs by Dan Gillespie Sells played live on stage.
Previews at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, May 28-30, and June 2-3, and 2 p.m. May 31 at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 4. $65-$120. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
Play ball!
Die-hard baseball fan Joe Boyd sells his soul to see his beloved Washington Senators beat the New York Yankees in the musical “Damn Yankees” by composer/lyricists Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and book writers George Abbott and Douglass Wallop. Daryl D. Brooks directs Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s revival, which stars Thomas M. Shea as Joe; Luke Nowakowski as his younger self, baseball phenom Joe Hardy; Tommy Thurston as the devilish Mr. Applegate; and Jenny Couch as his assistant, Lola.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 22-23, and 6 p.m. Sunday, May 24, at The Fred Anzevino Theatre, 721 Howard St., Evanston. $33-$66. (773) 939-4101 or theo-u.com.
A family saga
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre opens its season with “Gee’s Bend,” Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s 2008 play chronicling the experiences of an American family living in Alabama from 1939 to 2000 who experience both segregation and the Civil Rights Movement. The story unfolds in the real-life community of Gee’s Bend, which is known for the hand-stitched quilts made by generations of its female residents. Producing artistic director Tim Rhoze directs.
Preview at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. The show opens at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $33, $20 students and seniors. (847) 866-5914 or fjtheatre.com.
Jackalope Theatre premiere
Jackalope Theatre Company stages the world premiere of “Andy Warhol Presents: The Cocaine Play,” written and directed by Terry Guest. Described as a fake story about real people, the play examines the price people are willing to pay for fame. It centers on Andy Warhol (not that Andy Warhol), who meets an actress named Marilyn Monroe (not that Marilyn Monroe) who “sends him down an epic path of madness, murder, betrayal and the desperate pursuit of fame, sex and beauty.”
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, May 28-29, and 2 p.m. May 31 at Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N. Broadway St., Chicago. The show opens June 2. $15-$45. (773) 340-2543 or JackalopeTheatre.org.
Four cocktails, one story
As six actors read through an action-comedy script, audience members indulge in a selection of craft cocktails, one for each act, as part of iO Theater’s “The Last Word.”
7 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. $23.40, $54.92 with drinks. (312) 300-3350 or ioimprov.com.