Spotlight: 'Kinky Boots' steps up at Aurora's Paramount Theatre

Steppin' up

Paramount Theatre resumes live, in-person performances with a revival of the musical "Kinky Boots," about the owner of a failing shoe factory and the drag queen who helps him resurrect his company. The first local staging of the Tony Award-winning show, Paramount's production - directed by associate artistic director and casting director Trent Stork - is among the first to open after the coronavirus shut down live theater 17 months ago.

Previews at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 18-19; 8 p.m. Aug. 20; 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 21; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Aug. 22; 1:30 and 7 p.m. Aug. 25; and 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The show opens at 8 p.m. Aug. 27. $36-$74. COVID-19 precautions: All patrons must show proof of vaccination for admission. Masks will not be required except for kids 12 and younger. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

'Mamma Mia!' live

Music Theater Works resumes live, in-person performances with "Mamma Mia!" The ABBA jukebox tuner is about a daughter's quest to find her biological father in time for him to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. Justin Brill directs.

Preview at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20, and runs through Aug. 29. Tickets start at $39 for standard seating and $48 for preferred seating. COVID-19 precautions: Full vaccination recommended, masks required for all patrons. (847) 673-6300 or musictheaterworks.com or northshorecenter.org.

Australian tuner

PrideArts reopens with the U.S. premiere of the musical "The Things I Never Could Tell Steven" by Australian composer/lyricist Jye Bryant. The sung-through show consists of the titular character's parents, wife and boyfriend sharing intimate details about the man they think they know. Artistic director Jay Españo directs a cast that includes Carl Herzog, Kyra Leigh, Elissa Newcorn and Nate Hall.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 19-21, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23. $30. (773) 857-0222 or pridearts.org.

In other news

• Tickets are available beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 13, for Genesee Theatre's "That Golden Girls Show!" a puppet parody of the 1980s TV series. The performance is on Feb. 6 at 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan. Tickets cost $30-$50. (847) 263-6300 or geneseetheatre.com.

• Tickets for Northlight Theatre's season-opening "Songs for Nobodies," a musical celebration of Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf and other iconic singers, are on sale. The production runs Sept. 23 through Oct. 31 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.

• Tickets for what is being billed as "The Rent 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour" are available online and in-person. The first post-COVID-19 Broadway in Chicago production, the show plays the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, from Oct. 5-10. Tickets start at $25. See broadwayinchicago.com.

• The League of Chicago Theatres announced the Hot Tix location at 72 E. Randolph St., Chicago. will reopen for in-person purchases of half-price tickets on Thursday, Aug. 12, after being shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Hot Tix at Block Thirty-Seven, 108 N. State St., Chicago, will reopen for in-person purchases on Oct. 1. See hottix.org.

• Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks celebrates its 10th anniversary with free performances of "Dream: A Community Reimagining of A Midsummer Night's Dream" featuring actors in collaboration with local artists. They include Teatro Vista ensemble member Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel; actor/fight coordinator Cage Sebastian Pierre; Q Brothers founder GQ; composer/performer Joriah Kwame and others. See chicagoshakes.com/parks for details.

• The Annoyance Theater premiered two new shows recently. A sketch comedy revue "The Early Bird Special" runs at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 26 at 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $15. The improv show "Devil's Daughter" runs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays. Tickets are $10. See theannoyance.com.

• City Lit Theater Company announced it will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination (from those eligible for vaccinations) from patrons attending performances of "Thirteen Days" beginning Sept. 10. Proof of vaccination can be in the form of a vaccination card, cellphone photo of a vaccination card or other electronic proof. Images can be emailed to boxoffice@citylit.org. City Lit employees will follow CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines regarding mask mandates or other precautions.

• Silk Road Rising has established a Polycultural Institute, which its directors describe as a "think and create tank" or "idea generator." The impetus is to build "a diverse community of artists, activists, scholars, and creative practitioners who share a commitment to cultural interchange, the production of knowledge and narrative, and politics that advance multiracial democracy." A website will debut next year along with an online journal and talk show. See silkroadrising.org.

• Collaboraction, an ensemble dedicated to advancing social justice, announced it has established The Light, a new education program that recruits and mentors young Chicago artists. The group includes actors, storytellers, writers and dancers ranging from ages 13 to 18. "These six outstanding young people have the potential to impact generational shifts in attitude and behavior around critical social issues," said artistic director Anthony Moseley in a prepared statement. "Our plan is to invest heavily into their development so they will illuminate social change in Chicago with their talent and activism, while inspiring their fellow youth to find their own voices as well."

• A $3 million renovation is on tap for the Studebaker Theater and the Playhouse Theater at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Additionally, former Greenhouse Theater Center artistic director Jacob Harvey has been named managing artistic director of the historic Chicago theaters.

Established in 1898, the Studebaker Theater initially housed vaudeville performances and expanded in the 1920s to accommodate larger productions. The 600-seat theater received landmark status in 1978 and today hosts nonprofit and touring productions including Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. The 400-seat Playhouse Theater will become a contemporary multidisciplinary arts and event space with a flexible seating format. All renovations are set for completion by spring with live, in-person performances scheduled to resume at the Studebaker Theater in December.

• TimeLine Theatre Company managing director Elizabeth K. Auman will shift from the company's day-to-day management to concentrate exclusively on managing the development and construction of TimeLine's new home at 5035 N. Broadway, Chicago. "We want to create a space and an organization where artists are supported in doing their best work, where the community can thrive, and where the next generation will see themselves," said Auman in a prepared statement. "I believe my skills will best serve TimeLine through leading the effort to make this new home a reality and securing that meaningful future. And after 14 years of leading this organization alongside PJ Powers, I'm inspired by the prospect of a new voice taking that role and seeing the renewed creativity that will surely ignite."

• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble named director/educator/theater artist Denise Yvette Serna - a veteran of Writers, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Strawdog, Prop and other theaters - as its new associate artistic director. "I am looking forward to becoming more deeply connected to the creative, social, and civic passions of Rivendell artists past and present, so that we can collectively do our part to build a just and pleasurable future," Serna said in a prepared statement. "It is a gift to stand with 25 years of feminist storytelling, and to carry that legacy forward with intersectional leadership, global perspective, and community care."

• At First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook, Alaska native Addoris Davis has been named to the newly created position of general manager. Davis will take over the duties of Kate Danziger, who steps down this month after 4½ years. "I'm overjoyed to join the wonderful team at First Folio," Davis said in a prepared statement. "This past year and a half while theater has been dark has been difficult, I think, for all theater folk, and I'm especially excited to get back to doing what I love: helping facilitate the creation of wonderful theater shows."

• The Neo-Futurists kick off the 2021-2022 season on Sept. 18 with the resumption of in-person performances of its late-night show "The Infinite Wrench," consisting of 30 plays in 60 minutes. Its digital counterpart "The Infinite Wrench Goes Viral," consisting of 30 digital plays in 60 analog minutes, continues monthly from September through February 2022. The season also includes quarterly installments of "60 Songs in 60 Minutes" and themed productions of "The Infinite Wrench" running in October, December and June 2022. The Neo-Futurists will participate in The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival in January 2022. The Lucille Ball-inspired show "Wildcats," featuring Nick Hall and Ida Cuttler, premieres in May 2022. The season concludes July 7, 2022, with the premiere of "Elements of Style," a musical about communication rooted in part in the classic "The Elements of Style." Performances take place at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 878-4557 or neofuturists.org.

• Subscriptions and single tickets for Porchlight Music Theatre's 27th season go on sale Aug. 23. The notice accompanied Porchlight's announcement of its season, whose main stage series begins Oct. 30 with a revival of the jukebox tuner "Pump Boys & Dinettes." That's followed by "Blues in the Night" (Jan. 15-Feb. 27, 2022), in which three women share life's highs and lows as expressed through songs by such icons as Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Alberta Hunter and others. Next up is the teenage coming-of-age musical "Spring Awakening" (Apr. 23-May 29, 2022), based on the 19th-century play by Frank Wedekind. The season also includes: Porchlight Revisits: "Nunsense" (Nov. 17-18); Porchlight Revisits: "Passing Strange" (Feb. 16-17, 2022) and Porchlight Revisits: "The Apple Tree" (May 18-19, 2022) along with New Faces Sing Broadway performances. Performances take place at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (773) 777-9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.