Theater

Spotlight: E. Faye Butler helms Drury Lane’s revival of ‘Nunsense’

Posted June 01, 2026 1:20 pm

Barbara Vitello

Actor/director E. Faye Butler helms Drury Lane Theatre’s revival of “Nunsense.”

A ‘divine’ tuner

E. Faye Butler helms Drury Lane Theatre’s revival of the off-Broadway hit “Nunsense.” Aurora Boe, Rachel Carreras, Kelly Felthous, Cory Goodrich and Sharriese Hamilton star as nuns trying to raise money to bury their fellow sisters who died after inadvertently eating poisoned vichyssoise.

Previews at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 10; 1:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11; 7 p.m. June 12; 3 and 8 p.m. June 13; and 2 and 6 p.m. June 14, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The show opens June 17. $85-$150. (630) 530-0111 or DruryLaneTheatre.com.

Lili Galluzzo and Abraham Deitz-Green star in Oil Lamp Theater’s revival of the two-hander tuner “The Last Five Years.” Courtesy of Oil Lamp Theater

A roller-coaster romance

Oil Lamp Theater’s season continues with a revival of “The Last Five Years,” writer/composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown’s two-hander chronicling Jamie and Cathy’s courtship, marriage and its dissolution. Abraham Deitz-Green, fresh off his starring role in Metropolis Performing Arts Centre’s “The Wedding Singer,” plays Jamie opposite Lili Galluzzo’s Cathy. Christina Ramirez directs.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 5, and 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6. $30, $55. OilLampTheater.org.

Ayden Lopez, left, and Seth Kobs star in the Chicago premiere of “Smiley” at Open Space Arts.

Plays for Pride

• Open Space Arts presents the North American English-language premiere of “Smiley,” a queer, 2012 romantic comedy by Spanish playwright Guillem Clua. The two-hander tells the story of bartender Alex and architect Bruno who meet because of a misdirected voicemail. Seth Kobs plays Alex and Ayden Lopez plays Bruno in director Jack Dugan Carpenter’s production.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 5-6, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 7, through June 21 at 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago. $25, $30. openspacearts.org.

• A Bible Belt theater’s announcement that it will stage a play called “Rapture in America,” complete with seven seconds of male nudity, sends a city into a frenzy in “Southern Rapture,” Eric Coble’s adults-only satire about artistic freedom, censorship and common sense. Jason Palmer directs Tin Drum Theatre Company’s production.

The preview is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 12. $15-$30. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org or tindrumtheatre.com.

Just for kids

The Second City remounts “No Grown Ups Allowed,” its comedy show for kids 6-13 this summer. The show consists of family-friendly songs, sketches and improv hijinks.

11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays, June 6 through Aug. 29, at 1616 N. Wells St., Chicago. $29. (312) 337-3992 or secondcity.com.

Omari Collins (aka “Scarlett D. Von’Du”), left, plays Lola and Noah Silverman plays Charlie in the national tour of the musical “Kinky Boots,” which premiered in Chicago in 2012. Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

‘Kinky Boots’ is back

“Kinky Boots,” the Tony Award-winning musical by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein, returns to the city where it premiered nearly 14 years ago. Inspired by the 2005 film, the based-on-true-events tuner is about struggling shoe factory owner Charlie who partners with a drag queen named Lola to create stylish footwear for drag performers.

7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, June 9-12; 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 13; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. June 14, through June 21, at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. $49-$126. BroadwayInChicago.com.