Spotlight: Janus Theatre revives ever-timely ‘An Iliad’ with all-female cast

Janus remounts modern 'Iliad'

Ten years after Janus Theatre first staged “An Iliad,” the Elgin theater company remounts Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s 2012 adaptation of Homer’s epic poem in which a character known as The Poet chronicles the Trojan War. Artistic director Sean Hargadon helms the production, which stars ensemble members Jennifer Reeves Wilson and Tiffany Jasinski, along with Susan P. Anderson, Elizabeth Ley, Lauren Sullivan and Aneesah Jemei.

Preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at The New Elgin Art Showcase, 220 Elgin. The show opens Sept. 4. $28. janusplays.com.

‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ readings

Williams Street Repertory stages abridged readings of “What the Constitution Means to Me,” Heidi Schreck’s autobiographical examination of the U.S. Constitution’s failure to protect those excluded from consideration during its drafting, specifically women, people of color and members of the LGBTQIA community. Andrea Uppling stars as Heidi.

8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake; 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the West Dundee VFW Hall, 117 S. 1st St., West Dundee. Free. rauecenter.org/williams-street-rep.

To be (born) or not to be (born)

For its second production, Black Cat Theatre ponders what it means to be an artist in “Elephant in the Womb,” Katy Smith’s absurdist play about the pending birth of a genderqueer clown who’s pondering whether to be born.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, and through Sept. 13, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or blackcattheatrechi.com or theaterwit.org.

Last summer performance of ‘The Last Word’

iO Theater’s “The Last Word,” a combination craft cocktail tasting and screenplay read-through, concludes its summer run this weekend. The adults-only event comes with one cocktail for each of the script's four acts.

7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. $23.40, $54.92 with drinks. (312) 300-3350 or ioimprov.com.

TimeLine’s 30th season and a world premiere

TimeLine Theatre launches its 30th season with “The Birth of the Pill,” its premiere of Jessica Huang’s play adapted from Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago author Jonathan Eig’s book about the creation of the oral contraceptive that gave women autonomy over their reproductive futures. Sandra Marquez directs a cast that includes TimeLine ensemble members Janet Ulrich Brooks and David Parkes along with Rammel Chan, Mitchell J. Fain, Mary Beth Fisher and María Victoria Martínez.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 2-4, 8 and 9; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5; 2 p.m. Sept. 6, at 5035 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens Sept. 10. $40-$100. (773) 281-8463, ext. 1 or timelinetheatre.com.

Kafkaesque thriller gets local premiere

Promethean Theatre Ensemble stages the Chicago premiere of “Blood of the Lamb,” Arlene Hutton’s two-hander examining reproductive rights. It centers on Nessa, a pregnant woman flying from California to New York who’s diverted to Dallas, Texas, where she’s trapped in a room with lawyer Val. Two alternating casts are directed by Anna C. Bahow.

Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 3 and 4, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 5. $25, $35. (773) 697-3830 or prometheantheatre.org.

A dark fable

Trap Door Theatre premieres “The Man Who Fell With the Rain,” Andrei Kureichik’s play based on a darkly comic short story by Gabriel García Márquez about a mysterious old man (played by Rich Cotovsky) with enormous wings who falls from the sky into an ordinary couple’s back yard. Kay Martinovich adapted and directs John Freedman’s translation.

8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 3-5, and through Sept. 26, also 7 p.m. Sept. 13, at 1655 W. Cortland St., Chicago. $25. trapdoortheatre.com.