Divorce, Tudor style

Divorce, Tudor styleBeing the wife of a 16th century British monarch wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Consider for example the wives of Henry VIII, which the women of Piccolo Theatre do in the company's latest, "Six Dead Queens and an Inflatable Henry!" Created by England's Foursight Theatre in 1999, the show details the battle in the afterlife between three Catherines, two Annes and a Jane for the title of true queen. Opens Friday, April 16, at the Evanston Arts Depot, 600 Main St., Evanston. (847) 424-0089 or piccolotheatre.com.Classic rock 'n' rollThe musical revue "Smokey Joe's Cafe," featuring 40 songs from the 1950s and '60s, including "Jailhouse Rock" and "Stand By Me," comes to the Paramount Theatre for one performance only. 8 p.m. Saturday, April 17, at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.Bellie directs 'Bee'Kevin Bellie, artistic director of Circle Theatre, returns to Noble Fool to direct the charming "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," by composer/lyricist William Finn and writer Rachel Sheinkin, about bright, overachieving middle school students who learn about tolerance, respect and disappointment over the course of a daylong competition. Peter Storms is the music director. Previews begin Thursday, April 22, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. The show opens May 1. (630) 584-6342 or noblefool.org.bull; A boxer haunted by his past learns if he goes down for the full count, he'll never get back up in "The Meatlocker," the latest from The Mammals Theatre Company. The show opens Friday, April 16, at Zoo Studio, 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. (866) 593-4614 or themammals.blogspot.com.bull; Bailiwick Chicago presents a concert reading of the new musical "Bloom," inspired by the recent housing crisis but set in the 17th century to a baroque-inspired score. Performances are on Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St., Chicago. (773) 969-6201 or bailiwickchicago.combull; A prizefighter, who as a result of angel error receives his eternal reward about 60 years early, gets his soul transplanted into the body of a business tycoon about to be murdered in Harry Segall's "Heaven Can Wait." Attic Playhouse's production begins Friday, April 16, at 410 Sheridan Road, Highland Park. (847) 433-2660 or atticplayhouse.com.bull; Society blogger Candace Jordan, radio host Peter Sagal and Second City co-founder Bernie Sahlins are among the Chicagoans who've penned 10-minute plays to be performed at Victory Gardens Theater's 20th Chicago Stories fundraiser, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, April 16, at the Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago. Tickets are $300 each and include dinner, performances, and live and silent auctions. Proceeds help underwrite Victory Gardens' world premiere productions. Call (773) 328-2146 or e-mail koberhausen@victorygardens.org.bull; Collaboraction kicks off its 10th annual Sketchbook Festival with its annual Carnaval: The Dome of Doom fundraiser Saturday, April 17, at 437 N. Wolcott, Chicago. The party features music, video, dance. Proceeds help offset the costs of the company's annual short plays festival June 10 to 27 at the Chopin Theatre. (312) 226-9633 or collaboraction.org.bull; Previews begin Saturday, April 17, for ShawChicago's production of "The Doctor's Dilemma," George Bernard Shaw's play about a physician who has discovered a cure for tuberculosis but has only one place left in the clinical trial. Whom does he choose for it? The show opens Monday, April 19, at the Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. (312) 742-8497 or shawchicago.org.bull; BackStage Theatre hosts a 10th anniversary celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. Tickets for the event, which features performances from ensemble members, are $10. (800) 838-3006 or brownpapertickets.com/event/106268.bull; Lifeline Theatre recreates the floating market from Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" for its 27th anniversary gala from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Monday, April 19, at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. Tickets are $100 in advance, $135 at the door for the fundraiser, which includes music, refreshments and scenes from the company's upcoming stage adaptation of "Neverwhere," beginning previews April 30, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. For tickets call (773) 761-4477 or ovationtix.com/trs/pe/7901545.bull; Friends of Michael Cullen, producer ("Pump Boys Dinettes," "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road") and owner of the Mercury Theater, host a benefit to help offset the medical expenses he incurred following his stroke earlier this year. It takes place at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 19, at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. For information, see michaelcullenrecoveryfund.org.bull; The Neo-Futurists present "Too Much Lady Makes the Baby Go Blind" - an all-female version of their long-running show - at 8 p.m. Monday, April 19, at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.bull; Dirty Water, ComedySportz, ph Productions and Pimprov are among the Chicago ensembles participating in the 13th annual Chicago Improv Festival Monday through Sunday, April 19 to 25, at 12 venues through the city. The festival honors Harold Ramis, Dick Schall and the late Severen Darden with lifetime achievement awards on Wednesday, April 21, at Second City ETC, 1608 N. Wells St., Chicago. That event also honors Susan Messing, named improviser of the year, and ensemble of the year winners Improvised Shakespeare Company. Tickets for most events range from $10 to $20. For information, see chicagoimprovfestival.org.bull; Remy Bummpo Theatre presents a staged reading of "Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark," Ariel Dorfman's adaptation of Kerry Kennedy Cuomo's book consisting of interviews with human rights activists Elie Wiesel, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and others. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, at Lookingglass Theatre, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Proceeds benefit Human Rights Watch. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.bull; The Hypocrites host a benefit for their production of "Cabaret" from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, at the Sopo Lounge, 3418 N. Southport, Chicago. Tickets are $40. "Cabaret" runs through May 23, at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago. See the-hypocrites.com for more information. bull; "The Man Who Saved New Orleans," Thomas Meloncon's play about an 85-year-old blind man uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, opens Thursday, April 22, at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.bull; Theater Wit inaugurates its new venue at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, with its world premiere of "Spin," Penny Penniston's comedy about an advertising executive who decides to remake himself after losing his job and his wife. Previews begin Thursday, April 22. The show opens April 28. Additionally, Theater Wit hosts an open house of its new home from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 25. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.bull; A man helps his best friend consummate his lifelong passion for the girl of his dreams in "Edge and Back," an absurdist comedy originally featured as part of Annoyance Theatre's Triple Feature series. The show opens Thursday, April 22, at 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.bull; Bernie Yvon and Heidi Kettenring star in Theatre at the Center's production of "I Do! I Do!" - the two-person musical that looks at the ups and downs of a longtime marriage. Previews begin Thursday, April 22, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. The show opens April 25. (800) 511-1552 or theatreatthecenter.com.bull; Oak Brook's First Folio Theatre, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., has added two performances of its new show, "Will Rogers: An American Original," at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 25, and May 2. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.orgbull; Northlight Theatre has extended "A Life," Hugh Leonard's drama about an acerbic Irish civil servant (John Mahoney) trying to determine what he amounts to. Performances run through May 2, at the North Shore center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org. bull; "The Pillowman," the redtwist theatre production that keeps on going, has been extended for the fourth time. Performances continue through May 14, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.bull; National Pastime Theater has extended its revival of "Street Scene," Elmer Rice's drama depicting the struggles of immigrants in the early part of the 20th century, through May 8, at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 724-1554 or npt2.com.