Spotlight: Rom-com 'Outside Mullingar' closes Buffalo Theatre's season
Spring romance
Robert Jordan Bailey and Kelli Walker play middle-aged introverts living in rural Ireland in John Patrick Shanley's romantic comedy "Outside Mullingar," which concludes Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's season. Goodman Theatre artistic associate and recently retired producer Steve Scott directs the play, about a man and a woman from feuding families who begin an unlikely romance. "I can't think of a better play to present in the spring," said artistic director Connie Canaday Howard in a prepared statement. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, May 4, at McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $37. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.
Love triangle
It's love at first sight for a middle-aged man in the throes of a midlife crisis who meets a stray lab/poodle mix in Central Park. Unfortunately, his wife doesn't feel the same about Sylvia, the titular pooch in A.R. Gurney's relationship dramedy. Williams Street Repertory concludes its season with this revival directed by Joe Lehman. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, May 4, at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. $35.50. (815) 356-9212 or wsrep.org.
Delany sisters speak
Centenarian sisters Bessie Delany and Sadie Delany first reflected on their lives and their triumphs over bigotry in a 1991 New York Times article, which spawned a best-selling memoir adapted for the stage by Emily Mann. Goodman Theatre revives Mann's play, helmed by Goodman resident director Chuck Smith. Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas star as Bessie and Sadie, who became a dentist and a teacher even though their father was born a slave. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 5, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 6, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Opens May 14. $20-$75. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.
Fragmented family
Writers Theatre revives the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Buried Child," an examination of the breakdown of the American family and the demise of the American dream by the late writer/actor/director Sam Shepard. Kimberly Senior directs the drama about a young man traveling across the country with his girlfriend. He stops by his grandparents' failing farm, where he uncovers disturbing family secrets. Writers' all-star cast includes Shannon Cochran, Allen Gilmore, Timothy Edward Kane, Mark L. Montgomery and Larry Yando. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. Opens May 16. $35-$80. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.