Theater events: BrightSide finishes season with 'Guys and Dolls'

Luck be a lady

BrightSide Theatre concludes its sixth season, which was devoted to classic Broadway shows, with Frank Loesser's "Guys and Dolls." Ryan Bennett stars as gambler Sky Masterson, who bets floating crap game organizer Nathan Detroit he can woo the prim missionary Sarah Brown (Laura Sportiello). BrightSide artistic director Jeffrey Cass directs. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, June 9, at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth St., Naperville. $24, $27. (630) 447-8497 or brightsidetheatre.com.

Sports to standup

Pat Tomasulo, standup comedian and sports anchor for WGN TV Morning News, headlines Zanies in St. Charles this weekend. 8 p.m. Friday, June 9, and 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $25, plus a two-item food or beverage minimum. (630) 524-0001 or zanies.com/st-charles.

Jacques Brel salute

Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre revives its acclaimed 2008 musical revue "Jacques Brel's Lonesome Losers of the Night," conceived by artistic director Fred Anzevino and Arnold Johnston from Brel's songbook, the inspiration for the long-running off-Broadway revue "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris." The show centers on two soldiers hanging out at a shabby Amsterdam bar who commiserate with the bartender and a female customer about life, love, sex and death. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 18. $20-$34. (800) 595-4849 or theo-u.com.

Other theater events

• The Daily Herald invites readers to join theater critic Barbara Vitello on June 29 for a preview of Steppenwolf Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of "Hir," a domestic comedy by Taylor Mac starring Steppenwolf ensemble members Francis Guinan and two-time Tony Award nominee Amy Morton. A limited number of tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance are available for $20, including a beverage coupon. Reserve a ticket by June 23 at events.dailyherald.com.

• Performances continue through June 17 for Fury Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's "Richard III" at the southeast side of Indian Boundary Park, 2500 W. Lunt Ave., Chicago. Free. In the event of rain, the performance takes place in the field house. furytheatre.org.

• Mother Superior (also known as Vicki Quade, co-author of "Late Nite Catechism") returns to "Put the Nuns in Charge!" for six weeks at the Royal George Theatre where the show premiered in 2005. Quade shares with Kathleen Puls Andrade and Lisa Braatz the role of Sister, who lectures audience members on the seven deadly sins. Performances begin Friday, June 9, at 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. See nuns4fun.com.

• Previews begin Friday, June 9, for City Lit Theatre's production of "London Assurance," an 1841 comedy by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault about an 18-year-old woman who plans to marry a 63-year-old man for his money, until she meets his son. Artistic director Terry McCabe helms the production, which opens June 18 at the Edgewater Presbyterian Church, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.

• Chicago Shakespeare Theater concludes its 30th season with a gala fundraiser on Friday, June 9, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Tony Award winners Heather Headley and Jessie Mueller headline the event, which includes dinner and a tour of The Yard, CST's venue-in-progress. Proceeds benefit the company's education programs and Shakespeare in the Parks series. chicagoshakes.com/gala.

• Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago, hosts SheFest 2017, its sixth semiannual festival showcasing queer female and non-binary artists on Monday, June 12. Standup comedian Shannon Noll hosts the event, featuring spoken word, comedy, clowning and dance. (800) 737-0984 or prideartscenter.com.

• Genesis Theatrical Productions presents a staged reading of Joe Powers' "Old Romeo" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, at the Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. The play is about a short-order cook in a small Texas town who finds himself in "Romeo and Juliet." See genesistheatricals.com.

• The Second City Break Out Comedy Festival continues with a show hosted by Danny Pudi (NBC's "Community" and "Powerless") and featuring guest star and suburban native Parvesh Cheena (NBC's "Outsourced"). Performances are at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, June 9, and 7:30, 10 p.m. and midnight Saturday, June 10, at Up Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. (312) 662-4562 or upcomedyclub.com.

• Barrel of Monkeys hosts its annual Celebration of Authors, which consists of members performing select stories created by students at partner schools during the 2016-2017 academic year. The performance takes place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago. (773) 506-7140 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• Chicago-area dance-theater ensemble Lucky Plush Productions premieres its new piece "Rooming House" during the Door Kinetic Arts Festival showcasing short films, play readings and dance performances. The festival - which also features a talk by Chicago actor/fight choreographer Joe Foust and a reading of Jeffrey Hatcher's "Strongman's Ghost" directed by Steppenwolf Theatre's Eric Simonson - runs June 13-18 in Door County, Wisconsin. See doorkinetic.com.

• Director Bartlett Sher's Tony Award-winning revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "The King and I" begins performances Wednesday, June 14, at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The 1980s sitcom "The Golden Girls" inspired Hell in a Handbag Productions' campy parody "The Golden Girls - The Lost Episodes." The preview is Wednesday, June 14, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, June 15. (800) 838-3006 or handbagproductions.org.

• The seventh annual Going Dutch Festival, celebrating people who identify as female in music, dance, theater and the visual arts, moves from Chicago to Elgin this year. More than 60 artists and ensembles will participate in the festival, which is sponsored by Side Street Studio Arts and runs from Thursday, June 15-18, at 164 W. Division St. Festival passes are $25. Individual tickets are $10. (847) 429-2276 or sidestreetstudioarts.org.

• The Neo-Futurists present the final workshop presentation of its production "Tangles and Plaques" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. Created by ensemble member Kirsten Riiber and memory care therapist Alex Schwaninger, the show examines dementia and memory loss. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• Jessica Sherr plays legendary actress Bette Davis in "Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies." Sherr created the one-character show during which Davis recalls her life in the wake of her 1939 Oscar loss to Vivien Leigh. Performances run Thursday, June 15, through Sunday, July 2, at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. See athenaeumtheatre.org or bettedavisaintforsissies.com.

• Off Off Broadzway - a comedy group that includes Elgin native and comedian Kelly Bolton - performs along with improv veterans Susan Messing and Rachel Mason, sketch comedy ensemble Her Story Theater and others during the sixth annual Chicago Women's Funny Festival. It runs Thursday through Sunday, June 15-18, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Individual tickets cost $15. Festival passes range from $37.50 to $57.50 or $100 for an all-festival pass. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• iO Chicago, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, premieres a new adults-only musical comedy "Safe in My Own Head," about the life of a person trapped in his own head at 8 p.m. Friday through July 21. Also at iO, "The Greatest One Man Show of All Time: An Ensemble Piece" runs at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday beginning June 21. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• Actor/director Kevin Theis, whose first book, "Confessions of a Transylvanian: A Story of Sex, Drugs and Rocky Horror," was published in 2012, has written a second. "Finding Nirvana: A Chicagoan in the City of Angels" chronicles the Oak Park resident's 2016 sojourn to Los Angeles in an attempt to break into TV and film. Theis has posted excerpts from the book, which began as a blog, at kevintheis.com.

• Broken Nose Theatre's "At the Table," Michael Perlman's comedy about a reunion between friends, earned the most 2017 non-equity Joseph Jefferson Awards handed out June 5 in Chicago. The play, which will be remounted later this month, received awards for best production, ensemble, director Spenser Davis and supporting actress Echaka Agba. Top musical honors went to Refuge Theatre Production for "High Fidelity," based on the film about a record store owner trying to make sense of his failed relationships. The musical won awards for musical, director Christopher Pazdernik and set designer Michelle Manni. Both theater companies won in their first year of eligibility.

• Lookingglass Theatre Company will begin its search for a new director next month in the wake of Rachel Kraft's resignation after 12 years with the company. During her tenure, Lookingglass produced 29 world premieres, was awarded the Regional Theatre Tony Award and received a $1 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

• Goodman Theatre received a $100,000 grant from the Disney Company to fund expanding its education programs into elementary schools. Education and engagement director Willa J. Taylor will select five schools to participate this year and another five schools next year. Applications will be available in the fall. (312) 443-5582 or goodmantheatre.org.

• American Theater Company kicks off its 33rd season Oct. 26 with the world premiere of Janine Nabers' "Welcome to Jesus," a dark comedy about high school football in a small Texas town. That's followed by "We're Gonna Be Okay" (Jan. 25-March 4, 2018), Basil Kreimendahl's play about four people's response to the Cuban missile crisis. The season concludes with the premiere of Carlos Murillo's "Diagram of a Paper Airplane" (May 3-June 10, 2018), about a group of people mourning their dead friend who mailed all of them sections of his manuscript before his death. Performances take place at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. Season subscriptions range from $40 to $114. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.