Theater

Theater spotlight: Citadel premieres ‘A Jukebox for the Algonquin’

Posted April 15, 2025 9:17 am

Joshua Thomas, back row from left, Ellen Phelps, Kenneth Johnson, Elizabeth Rude, Karla Corona and Bob Sanders, front row, star in Citadel Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of “A Jukebox for the Algonquin.” Courtesy of Ralph Durham

Seniors take charge

Citadel Theatre concludes its season with the Chicago premiere of “A Jukebox for the Algonquin” by local playwright Paul Stroili. Set at the fictional Placid Pines Senior Care Center, the play is about residents’ efforts to raise money to purchase a vintage jukebox for the recreation room. Scott Westerman directs the play, which premiered in 2023 at Michigan’s Purple Rose Theatre, founded by actor Jeff Daniels.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 18-19, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 20, and through May 18 at Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. $45. (847) 735-8554, ext. 1, or citadeltheatre.org.

Shattered Globe Theatre presents Brendan Pelsue's contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic “A Tale of Two Cities.” Courtesy of Jeffrey L Kurysz

Not your parents’ Charles Dickens

Shattered Globe Theatre’s production of Brendan Pelsue’s riff on Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” marks the Midwest premiere of this adaptation of the 19th-century tale of privilege, power and politics that is particularly timely. “This is not your mama’s Dickens,” said director Mikael Burke in a prepared statement. “In turns both hilarious and heartrending, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ holds a striking mirror up to our world and makes us take a long look at the best and worst of ourselves.”

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 18-19; 3 p.m. Sunday, April 20; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, April 24. $15-$22. (773) 975-8150 or sgtheatre.org.

Raymond Anthony Thomas, left, Caroline Stefanie Clay and Cecil Blutcher star in Goodman and Alliance theaters world premiere of “Bust.” Courtesy of Greg Mooney

World premieres

• A Black couple relaxing on their porch watch the police pull over their neighbor as he turns into his driveway in “Bust,” a new dramedy by Zora Howard in which “everything goes as expected, until the unexpected happens.” Goodman Theatre’s premiere is a co-production with Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, Khaliah Neal and Thomas Swayne.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 20; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, April 23-25; 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 26; and 2 p.m. April 27 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens April 28. $25-$85. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Ordinary people try to survive social unrest, economic hardship and political instability during Weimar Germany’s waning days in “Berlin,” Mickle Maher’s adaptation of Jason Lutes’ graphic novel. Charles Newell directs Court Theatre’s premiere of the play, which unfolds against the rise of fascism in which characters must decide whether to flee or fight.

Previews at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 19-20, and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, April 23-25, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 26. $42-$90. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

‘Addams Family’ at the Genesee

The Genesee Theatre presents “The Addams Family,” the 2009 musical based on cartoonist/illustrator Charles Addams’ comically macabre characters in which Wednesday Addams introduces her “normie” boyfriend and his parents to her quirky family.

3 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan. $35-$89. (847) 263-6300 or geneseetheatre.com.

Alton Brown brings his stage show “Alton Brown Live: Last Bite” to the CIBC Theatre for two shows. Courtesy of Victoria Will

What's new at Broadway in Chicago

• Author (“Food for Thought”), foodie and TV personality Alton Brown (“Good Eats,” “Cutthroat Kitchen,” “Iron Chef America”) brings his stage show “Alton Brown Live: Last Bite” to the CIBC Theatre for two shows.

3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. $30-$128. broadwayinchicago.com.

• “Riverdance,” celebrating Irish music and dance, returns to Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre in celebration of its 30th anniversary.

7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, April 22-24; 7:30 p.m. April 25; 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 26; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 27 at 151 E. Randolph St., Chicago. $31.50-$101.50. broadwayinchicago.com.

Love and immortality

Gina and David fall in love at a time when a new medical procedure can grant eternal life to a select few individuals in “Kairos,” a combination dystopian science fiction/dark comedy/love story by Lisa Sanaye Dring. Red Theater artistic director Clare Brennan directs the company’s Chicago premiere, which stars Tamsen Glaser as Gina and Johnard Washington as David.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, April 23-24, at The Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 25. $30. redtheater.org.

Sequel to a tragedy

Weeks after Redtwist Theatre’s production of “Titus Andronicus” closed, the theater begins previews of Taylor Mac’s sequel, “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.” Set immediately after William Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy, “Gary” tells the story of the two servants tasked with cleaning up the bodies.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 24-26, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 27. $35. redtwisttheatre.org.

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