Theater

Spotlight: Janus adapts Ibsen classic ‘An Enemy of the People’

Posted May 06, 2026 8:50 am

Dustin Ayers, right, plays dedicated Dr. Thomas Stockman, who warns his brother and the town’s mayor Peter (Herb Metzler) about a pending catastrophe in Janus Theatre’s reimagined production of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People.” Courtesy of Janus Theatre Company

Telling the truth

Janus Theatre Company’s “Greed is Good: A Season of Corruption” continues with Henrik Ibsen’s classic “An Enemy of the People,” about a doctor who discovers a catastrophe in the making that threatens everyone in the town. But when he raises the alarm, powerful elites, including his brother, try to silence him. Artistic director Sean Hargadon adapted and directs the production, which features Dustin Ayers as the devoted Dr. Thomas Stockmann, Elyna Mellen as his daughter Petra and Herb Metzler as Peter, his brother and the mayor.

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 10, and through May 24, at the New Elgin Art Showcase, 220 DuPage St., Elgin. $25. janusplays.com.

A classic satire revived

The Conspirators stage “Tartuffe, or, The Charlatan,” Moliere’s 1664 satire on piety and naïveté. It centers on the titular religious charlatan who insinuates himself into the home of a wealthy man named Orgon, then schemes to marry his daughter, seduce his wife and take over his property. Wm. Bullion directs.

Previews at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, at Stars & Garters, 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens May 14. $15 previews, $30 regular run. ConspireWithUs.org.

An evening with Elizabeth

Kayla Boye channels Elizabeth Taylor in PrideArts’ revival of “Call Me Elizabeth,” the solo show by Boye in collaboration with Taylor’s grand-nephew Guy Masterson. Act One, set in 1961, centers on the actress’s career up to the filming of “Cleopatra.” Act Two, set in 1985, focuses on Taylor’s relationship with Richard Burton and her fight against AIDS.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 10, at 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. $35. pridearts.org.

Hell in a Handbag Productions premieres “The Golden Girls: The Cheese Pyramid” starring Grant Drager, left, Ed Jones, David Cerda and Kelly Bolton. Courtesy of Rick Aguilar Studios

Handbag Productions’ latest premiere

Hell in a Handbag Productions premieres the next in its popular “Lost Episodes” series parodying “The Golden Girls” TV sitcom with “The Golden Girls: The Cheese Pyramid.” Written by artistic director David Cerda, this installment finds Rose (Ed Jones) investing in a business supplying people with St. Olaf cheese and finding herself with a garage full of unsold cheddar. Enter Blanche (Grant Drager), Dorothy (Cerda) and Sophia (Kelly Bolton), who help their friend organize an “unforgettable cheese party, with the audience invited as guests.”

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, May 8-10 and May 15, at 4335 N. Western Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 16. $32-$59. handbagproductions.org.

Young People’s Theatre

The Young People’s Theatre of Chicago concludes its fourth season with Thelma Lynn Goodin’s “The Hula Hoopin’ Queen.” The family-friendly tale centers on Kameeka, a spunky girl who loves hula hooping and agrees to participate in a winner-take-all hula-hoop contest on the same day as Miz Adeline’s 80th birthday, forcing her to decide what matters most: winning or celebrating a friend.

Previews at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 9, and 10 a.m. Sunday, May 11, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 11. Tickets start at $32.50 for adults, $21.50 for kids 12 and younger. (773) 404-7336 or yptchi.org.

The “Les Miserables” national tour returns to Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre. Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

‘Les Mis’ returns

The national tour of “Les Miserables,” the nearly sung-through musical by composer/librettist Claude-Michel Schonberg, librettist Alain Boublil and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, returns to Chicago for a brief run. Based on Victor Hugo’s 19th-century novel, the mega-tuner centers on the impoverished Jean Valjean, sentenced to prison for stealing bread, who escapes custody and is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert.

7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, May 12-15, also May 19, 21 and 22; 2 and 7:30 p.m. May 16 and 23; 1 and 6:30 p.m. May 17; 1 and 7 p.m. May 20; and 1 p.m. May 24 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. $49-$140. broadwayinchicago.com.