Theater events: Kokandy revives musical homage to Gertrude Stein

'Loving Repeating'

Kokandy Productions revives "Loving Repeating," a musical homage chronicling the life of writer Gertrude Stein from her student days during the late 19th century to her life in Paris with "the lost generation" as well as her longtime romance with partner Alice B. Toklas. Adapted by Frank Galati, this chamber musical pairs Stein's words with music by Stephen Flaherty ("Ragtime," "Once on This Island"). Caron Buinis stars as the adult Stein, Amanda Giles plays Stein's younger self and Goldberg plays Toklas in director Allison Hendrix's revival. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Monday, July 20. $25, $38. (773) 975-8150 or kokandyproductions.com.

Game time

Veteran improvisers from The Second City compete in a series of classic game shows involving feuding families, making deals and filling in the blanks as part of the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's comedy series. Audience members are invited to participate in this adults-only "game night." Performances begin at 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 17, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $25, $30. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

'SNL' star at Zanies

"Saturday Night Live" head writer and "Weekend Update" co-anchor Colin Jost headlines Zanies in Rosemont. A graduate of Harvard University and editor of the Harvard Lampoon, Jost's first film, "Staten Island Summer," opens this summer. 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 17, at MB Financial Park, 5437 Park Place, Rosemont. $25 plus a two-item food/beverage minimum. (847) 813-0484 or zanies.com.

Other theater events

• Previews begin Friday, July 17, for The Brown Paper Box Co.'s production of "[title of show]" by composer/lyricist Jeff Bowen and writer Hunter Bell about struggling artists named Jeff and Hunter who are writing a musical about their experiences writing a musical. Yando Lopez and Matt Frye star in director M. William Panek's production, which opens Sunday, July 19, at Rivendell Theatre. 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. See brownpaperbox.org.

• Hell in a Handbag Productions stages "Bette, Live at the Continental Baths," which re-creates Bette Midler's 1970s cabaret act at the Continental Bathhouse in New York City. Caitlin Jackson stars as Midler. The show begins previews Friday, July 17, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago, and opens July 24. See handbagprodutions.org.

• Citadel Theatre hosts its second annual benefit gala titled Broadway Under the Stars beginning at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at the David Adler-designed Mundelein home of Adrian and Nancy Smith. Tickets are $195 and include tours of the residence, live and silent auctions, dinner and entertainment consisting of musical numbers from Tony Award-winning musicals. See citadeltheatre.org.

• Chicago Shakespeare Theater's annual Shakespeare in the Parks series titled "Shakespeare's Greatest Hits" begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 17, at Polk Bros. Park at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The free performances consist of Shakespeare's characters in a mashup of scenes from "Romeo and Juliet," "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew" and "As You Like It." Performances continue at 18 Chicago parks through Aug. 16. See chicagoshakes.com for the schedule.

• Barrel of Monkeys takes its weekly revue "That's Weird, Grandma," conceived and written by Chicago public school students and performed by company members, to Nicholas Park, 1355 E. 53rd St., Chicago, for a free performance at 6:15 p.m. Friday, July 17. For a complete schedule, see barrelofmonkeys.org.

• When three city council members are kidnapped from a meeting, audience members team up with Sherlock Holmes to solve the case in Filament Theatre's workshop production "Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Portage Park" by Chicago playwright Jessica Wright Buha. Audience members will travel by foot or on bicycle throughout Portage Park to find clues as part of this interactive production. Performances begin at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Showtimes are at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19. The performances run 75 minutes. Also at Filament, multi-instrumentalist Beth Patterson performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, as part of the company's concert series. (773) 270-1660 or filamenttheatre.org.

• The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers hosts CLLAW XXII, comprised of arm-wrestling matches between outrageously clad female contestants, at 10 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Ave., Chicago. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, which helps incorporate arts into public school classrooms, and CLLAW creator Sideshow Theatre Company. See cllaw.org.

• Fox Valley Repertory hosts its third annual All About the Girls fundraiser Sunday, July 19, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. The event begins at noon with a jazz champagne brunch, followed by shopping and a 2 p.m. performance of "The Bikinis," a salute to 1960s girl groups. The $69 ticket includes the performance, brunch, tax and gratuity. Group rates available. Proceeds benefit the LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva and FVR. (630) 443-0438 or foxvalleyrep.org.

• Huggable Riot opens its new sketch comedy show "Oedipal Arrangements," about accepting one's family and finding one's roots, on Wednesday, July 22, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• The Snack Boys, a comedy duo comprised of Adam Levin and Mike Migdall, perform their sketch comedy show "Snack Boys' Present" beginning Wednesday, July 22, at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Also at The Annoyance is the return of "Improvised Twilight Zone," running Wednesdays through Aug. 19. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, has extended its production of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," playwright Charles Durang's witty riff on the plays of Anton Chekhov. Performances continue through Aug. 2 for the comedy about three middle-aged siblings looking back on missed opportunities and unrealized ambitions. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• The Neo-Futurists announced its 2015-2016 season will begin Feb. 4, 2016, with "Pop Waits," in which creators Malic White and Molly Brennan "call upon the powers of Iggy Pop and Tom Waits" in a clown-inspired quest to write the perfect song. That's followed by Jessica Anne's "Mike Mother" (April 28-June 4, 2016), about a woman inspired by Marsha Norman's "'Night, Mother" to write her own two-hander for herself, a guy named Mike and a couple of guinea pigs. The season also includes the company's long-running show "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes." The company will also launch The Arrow, a quarterly performance workshop, and Neo-Lab, to foster original works. Performances take place at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• Strawdog Theatre Company announced recently that it will leave the Broadway Street venue that has been its home for 25 years. Real estate developments prompted the relocation, according to a prepared statement from the company, which will vacate its current Chicago home in June 2016 at the close of the company's 28th season and its 110th production, "Once in a Lifetime," by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

• The Q Brothers' "Othello: The Remix," a hip-hop adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Othello," has been selected to be part of the National Alliance for Musical Theater's 27th Annual Festival of New Musicals, which takes place Oct. 15 and 16 in New York City. The show had an extended run at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2013.