Theater events: 'The Gathering' returns to Improv Playhouse

Annual 'Gathering'

For the eighth year, the Improv Playhouse remounts "The Gathering," a contemporary re-imagining of the Last Supper by Josephine Raciti and Rolf Forsberg. David Brian Stuart directs the production, which features Shahab Astabraghpour and Tyler Ankey in the role of The Teacher. Opens at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. $17.50-$25. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

American Buddhist

First Folio Theatre presents the world premiere of "Fooling Buddha," a one-man show about a young boy who battles the neighborhood bully with magic and misdirection, created by and starring actor/magician David Kovac, a veteran of Hollywood's Magic Castle. Patrick New directs. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. The show opens Saturday, March 26. $22-$39. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

Silk Road premiere

Silk Road Rising presents the world premiere of "Mosque Alert," founding artistic director Jamil Khoury's play inspired by the controversy over the 2010 proposal to build an Islamic community center near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Khoury's dramedy centers on three Naperville families whose lives are upended when they learn that an Islamic center will be built on the site of a local landmark. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at the Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. The show opens April 2. $25-$35. (312) 857-1234, ext. 201, or mosquealert.org.

Other theater events

• Performances continue for Strawdog Theatre's world premiere stage adaptation of the classic film noir drama "D.O.A." Adapted from Rudolph Mate's 1950 film by director Elizabeth Lovelady, the play centers on Frank Bigelow (Mickey O'Sullivan) who walks into a police station to report his own murder and has only a few hours to untangle the mystery and find his killer. Performances run through April 5 at Strawdog's Hugen Hall, 3829 N. Broadway St., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or strawdog.org.

• The Hypocrites revive off-Broadway's "Adding Machine: A Musical," which premiered in 2007 at Evanston's Next Theatre. Previews begin Friday, March 18, for the show adapted from Elmer Rice's play about an everyman who shows up at work to find he's been replaced by a machine. Ensemble member Geoff Button directs the show by composer/lyricist Joshua Schmidt and writer/lyricist Jason Loewith. Previews begin Friday, March 18, at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 28. See the-hypocrites.com.

• TUTA Theatre Chicago presents the local premiere of "The Edge of Our Bodies," a coming-of-age drama about a 16-year-old aspiring writer in New York City by Adam Rapp ("Red Light Winter," "Blackbird"). Performances begin Friday, March 18, at 4670 N. Manor Ave., Chicago. See tutato.com.

• On a summer night in 1975, friends Lola and Roxy make a series of bad decisions, beginning when they agree to transport a mysterious package in "The Last Big Mistake," by Ernie Deak. Manny Tamayo directs The Factory Theater's premiere, which begins previews Friday, March 18, at its new theater at 1623 W. Howard St., Chicago. The show opens March 25. See thefactorytheater.com.

• The all-female group Shebeast returns to The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The adults-only show opens Friday, March 18, and runs through April 22. Also at The Annoyance, "AWK Presents: Rejected," a show made up of stories, improv and comedy all based on the theme of rejection, has been extended through March 29. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Previews begin Saturday, March 19, for Circle Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of "35 mm: A Musical Exhibition," an immersive, multimedia show in which photographs inspire the songs. The show opens Wednesday, March 23, at the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See circletheatrechicago.org.

• "Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans," Emerald City Theatre's adaptation of Mary Pope Osborne's children's book series, opens Saturday, March 19, at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. The story centers on Jack and Annie, time-traveling kids who venture back to 1915 New Orleans where they meet a young Louis Armstrong. The book and lyrics are by Will Osborne and Murray Horwitz, with music and additional lyrics by Allen Toussaint. Performances run through April 10. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• K.G. Campbell's children's book "Lester's Dreadful Sweaters," about a young boy who's desperate to rid himself of the hideous-looking, pom-pom covered sweaters that his well-meaning Cousin Clara knits him, inspired a musical adaptation by Lifeline Theatre. Previews for Lifeline's KidSeries world premiere begin Saturday, March 19, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The musical by lyricists Aly Renee Amidei, Julie Tallarida and Scott Tallarida opens Sunday, March 20. Ensemble member Heather Currie directs. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.

• Barrel of Moneys presents "That's Weird, Grandma: The Musical," featuring stories conceived and written by Chicago public school students. Performances begin Monday, March 20, at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. See barrelofmonkeys.org.

• The national tour of the Tony Award-winning "Matilda The Musical" begins performances Tuesday, March 22, at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. It's based on the novel by Roald Dahl about a young girl - dismissed by her parents and terrorized by her headmistress - who discovers she has extraordinary powers. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Remy Bumppo Theatre Company has eyed Bertolt Brecht's "The Life of Galileo" since the company performed it as a staged reading at the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2008, said artistic director Nick Sandys in a prepared statement. Eight years later, the company revives the drama, translated by David Hare, examining the conflict between science and religion. Artistic associate Shawn Douglass plays Galileo Galilei, forced to recant his confirmation of the heliocentric model of the solar system under pressure from the church. Previews begin Wednesday, March 23, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by Sandys, opens March 28. (773) 404-7336 or remybumppo.org.

• Halcyon Theatre concludes its 10th season with the world premiere of "Dreams of the Penny Gods," Callie Kimball's drama about a 13-year-old girl in hiding with her criminal family who transforms herself into a high priestess and manages to raise the dead. Previews begin Thursday, March 24, at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3253 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by co-founder Jennifer Adams, opens March 31. (773) 413-0454 or halcyontheatre.org.

• Victory Gardens Theater's next Backstage at the Biograph event takes audiences behind the scenes of Lucas Hnath's "Hillary and Clinton," a drama set in 2008 that examines the sacrifices people make to achieve power. The backstage event takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Admission is free, but reservations are required. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

• The Neo-Futurists have extended "Pop Waits," a clown-inspired show created by Molly Brennan and Malic White that looks at how the music of Iggy Pop and Tom Waits help them through despair. Performances run through March 19 at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee announced it will combine the categories for new work and new adaptation, meaning that all world premieres will be judged as new plays or new musicals. Because the categories are noncompetitive, multiple winners may occur. The categories become effective April 1 for non-Equity productions and Aug. 1 for Equity productions. "The Jeff Awards has been faced with determining whether new works opening in Chicago should be classified as new works or new adaptations, depending on the source material and the extent of its use in the work," said Jeff Awards chairman David Liesse in a prepared statement. "We recognize that our classifications affect the designations of other award programs as the works are produced at other venues." See jeffawards.org.

• Theatre-Hikes announced its summer season of family-friendly entertainment will commence in June with "The Jungle Book," adapted from Rudyard Kipling's stories by Tracy Power. Jay Hopkins and John Hunter's "The Iliad, The Odyssey and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less!" a condensed version of the classics opens in mid-July. That's followed in August and September by Alfred Uhry's "Driving Miss Daisy," about the friendship that develops between an elderly white Southern matriarch and her African-American driver. Theatre-Hikes' season concludes in October with Don Zolidis' "10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse." Dates and locations will be announced later. See theatre-hikes.org.

• Remy Bumppo Theatre Company has titled its 2016-2017 season, the ensemble's 20th, "An Age of Enlightenment." It begins Oct. 5 with Tom Stoppard's re-imagined version of Luigi Pirandello's "Henry IV," an examination of madness in which a man imagines himself to be the Holy Roman Emperor. That's followed by George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" (Nov. 23-Jan. 8, 2017), a social critique about a phonetics professor who wagers he can pass off a Cockney flower seller as a duchess. The season concludes with Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday" (March 22-April 30, 2017), about a corrupt millionaire businessman in Washington, D.C., embarrassed by his unsophisticated girlfriend, who hires a journalist to smarten her up. Performances take place at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Season subscriptions are on sale. Single tickets will be available in August. (773) 404-7336 or remybumppo.org.

• Also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year is TimeLine Theatre Company, which opens its season in August with the Chicago-area premiere of Stephen Sachs' "Bakersfield Mist," about an unemployed bartender who buys an ugly painting as a gag gift and discovers it may be an undiscovered masterwork by Jackson Pollock. That's followed by the U.S. premiere of Kate Hennig's feminist drama "The Last Wife," about Katharine Parr, the sixth and surviving wife of King Henry VIII who serves as mother to his three children and an unofficial adviser to the king. January marks the Chicago-area premiere of "A Disappearing Number" (January-April 2017). Created by the London-based touring theater company Complicité, the time-jumping drama juxtaposes events of 1913, when a clerk in rural India presents groundbreaking mathematical theorems to a famed mathematician, with the present day when a math professor and a businessman fall in love. The season concludes in May 2017 with the Midwest premiere of Dominique Morisseau's "Paradise Blue." Set in 1949, the play with music is about a musician/owner of a troubled Detroit jazz nightclub who's considering a buyout from city officials, while regulars contemplate their fate after the club closes. Performances take place at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago, and at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Four-admission FlexPass subscriptions priced from $80 to $204 are available. (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or timelinetheatre.com.

• Court Theatre opens its 62nd season with the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cristofer's "Man in the Ring" (Sept. 15-Oct. 16), based on the true story of world champion boxer Emile Griffith whose sexual identity was questioned by his archrival Benny "Kid" Paret. That's followed by Nicholas Rudall's translation of Sophocles' "Electra" (Nov. 10-Dec. 11), about a daughter's quest to avenge her father's murder and reclaim his throne. Opening Jan. 12, 2017, is a revival of Pearl Cleage's "Blues for an Alabama Sky." Set in Harlem during the Great Depression, the play centers on a trio of friends dealing with life's hardships while struggling to achieve their dreams. Next up is the Chicago-area premiere of Tom Stoppard's latest, "The Hard Problem" (March 9-April 9, 2017), about a young psychologist trying to determine where biology ends and personhood begins. The season concludes with Mary Chase's comedy "Harvey" (May 11-June 11, 2017), about mild-mannered Elwood P. Dowd whose best friend is an invisible rabbit named Harvey. Performances take place at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. Three-, four- and five-play subscriptions range from $90 to $280. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• City Lit Theatre opens its 37th season Sept. 23 with 19th-century playwright Dion Boucicault's "London Assurance," about a young woman who intends to marry an elderly man for his money but has second thoughts upon meeting his son. An unnamed world premiere adapted by Paul Edward follows on Jan. 6, 2017. Next up is the world premiere of Douglas Post's comedy "Forty-Two Stories" (April 14-May 28, 2017), about the residents of a high-rise condo building. The season concludes June 9, 2017, with an adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse's novel "PSmith, Journalist," about a British dandy who - on a trip to New York City - takes over editing a small periodical and finds himself in the middle of a scandal involving boxers and gangsters. Performances take place at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.