Theater events: Hypocrites remounts Sean Graney's 'All Our Tragic'

'Tragic' returns

The Hypocrites remounts director/adapter Sean Graney's epic production "All Our Tragic," which combines all 32 surviving Greek tragedies into one well-crafted, hugely entertaining marathon event. Graney has revised the show, adding the character Hecuba and tweaking the ending. Among the suburban cast members are Wheaton native Emily Casey (Helen), Elmhurst native John Taflan (Oedipus) and Palatine native Ann Delaney, who plays Odd Job Alice, a member of "Tragic's" Greek chorus. Previews begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 20, at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens July 4. Performances are 12 hours long with multiple intermissions and meal breaks. $100-$150. See the-hypocrites.com.

Local fave at Zanies

Zanies regular Ralphie Roberts headlines the Rosemont club Friday. A Chicago native who now lives in the "minivan hungry suburbs" with his wife and daughters, the youthful-looking Roberts' observational-style comedy includes original parody songs. 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, June 19, at Zanies, MB Financial Park, 5437 Park Place, Rosemont. $22 plus a two-item food or drink minimum. (847) 813-0484 or zanies.com.

Durang at Goodman

For its first Christopher Durang production, Goodman Theatre selected the playwright's Tony Award-winning comedy "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" to close out its 90th season. Artistic associate Steve Scott directs the Chicago-area premiere of this dysfunctional family comedy about siblings Vanya and Sonia, longtime caretakers for their ailing parents, whose lives are upended by the arrival of their movie star sister Masha and her younger lover Spike for the weekend. Ross Lehman and Janet Ulrich Brooks star as Vanya and Sonia alongside Mary Beth Fisher's Masha and Jordan Brown's Spike. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 20, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens June 29. $25-$86. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

Other theater events

• Performances begin Friday, June 19, for "Black River Falls," a new play by Bryn Magnus premiering at Curious Theatre Branch, at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. Bryn's sister Jenny Magnus directs the play, which is set in 1978 and centers around the complicated relationships between a group of people in a small Wisconsin town. See curioustheatrebranch.com.

• The New Colony's summer Side Stage series continues Friday, June 19, with the world premiere of associate company member Erika Hakmiller's "Lost and Found" about an unhappy sales associate inexplicably drawn to a man who lives off the grid in the California woods. Performances continue through June 27 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See thenewcolony.org.

• The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, debuts "Sweetie Maude," a lesbian version of the musical "Sweeney Todd" by writer/director Sabrina Harper and writer Margaret Hicks, on Friday, June 19. Also running at The Annoyance: "Egos, Subconsciouses, and People That Think," an adults-only sketch comedy show inspired by the absurdity and self-indulgence found on social media. Lastly, "ORAL: A Storytelling Hour," showcasing tales from local sketch and improv comedians, continues Wednesdays through July 8. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• GayCo Productions, the LGBTQ sketch comedy ensemble, presents its annual improv and storytelling series "Daughter of Pridezilla" as part of the Pride Month celebration. The adults-only shows run Fridays and Saturdays, June 19-20 and June 26-27, at The Playground Theatre, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago. See gayco.com.

• iO Theatre previews its new, subterranean Blue Velvet Lounge, a dinner-theater cabaret showcasing original sketch comedy and original music, on Friday, June 19. Located at 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, the lounge officially opens June 26. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• Chicago actresses Missy Aguilar, Harmony France, Amanda Horvath and Danni Smith perform in "No One Here But Us Witches," a witch-themed cabaret conceived by France running at 8 p.m. Mondays, June 22 and 29, at Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway St., Chicago. Geoffrey Bleeker directs and Aaron Benham serves as musical director for the shows in which the stories of Elphaba, Maleficent, Ursula and Glinda collide in a show featuring songs from "Wicked," "Frozen" and "The Little Mermaid" among others. See uptownunderground.net.

• Previews begin Tuesday, June 23, for Pride Films & Plays' 20th anniversary production of Guillermo Reyes' one-man show "Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown." PFP artistic associate Nelson Rodriguez performs Reyes' collection of monologues about Latino immigrants and the culture shock they encounter here. Teatro Vista ensemble member Sandra Marquez directs the show. It opens Thursday, June 25, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6100 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Chicago playwrights Brett Neveu and Ike Holter participate in a panel discussion on premiering new plays in Chicago at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. Red Orchid artistic director Kirsten Fitzgerald joins the writers for a discussion moderated by writer/WGN radio host Rick Kogan. Tickets are $50 and include a post-conversation dinner at Kamehachi. Proceeds benefit the theater. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• A new comedy show titled "Spiked Punch" begins a limited run at ComedySportz Theater, 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, on Thursday, June 25. Part of ComedySportz's late-night lineup, the game-show style performance pits two teams of comedians and improvisers against each other. (773) 549-8080 or comedysportzchicago.com.

• Writers Theatre has extended for the second time its acclaimed production of "The Diary of Anne Frank," adapted by Wendy Kesselman from the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Sophie Thatcher stars as the titular character in director Kimberly Senior's revival. It runs through Aug. 16 at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• Profiles Theatre, 4139 N. Broadway St., Chicago, announced an extension of its Midwest premiere of "Our New Girl," Nancy Harris' drama about the dark side of parenthood. Artistic director Joe Jahraus directs the drama, which unfolds in a tidy London home where a surgeon husband has embarked on a charitable mission in Haiti leaving his pregnant wife to cope with a failing business and a troubled son. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

• Windy City Playhouse has extended its revival of "Stick Fly," Lydia R. Diamond's dramedy about a young African-American writer meeting for the first time her fiance's accomplished, wealthy family during a weekend at Martha's Vineyard. Performances run through July 19 at 3014 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. (312) 374-3196 or windycityplayhouse.com.

• Profiles Theatre announced its 27th season will include Midwest premieres by Beth Henley and Neil LaBute as well as the return of its acclaimed production of Will Kern's slice-of-Chicago-life dramedy "Hellcab." The season begins Aug. 21 with Henley's new dark comedy "The Jacksonian," about a respectable Jackson, Mississippi, dentist whose downward spiral in 1964 leads him to move into a seedy motel. That's followed by the return of "Hellcab" (Nov. 6-Jan. 10, 2016), about a Chicago cabdriver whose long shift on a cold Christmas Eve brings him face-to-face with funny and dangerous Chicago denizens. This marks the fourth year Profiles has remounted the show, which ran for nine years at Famous Door Theatre. "Vices & Virtues" (Jan. 15-March 6, 2016) marks the 13th collaboration between the theater and resident artist Neil LaBute. It consists of two evenings of short works, centered on the theme of love and running in repertory. Next up is the Midwest premiere of Jez Butterworth's Tony Award-nominated comedy "Jerusalem" (Feb. 12-April 3, 2016). It's about Johnny "Rooster" Byron, a man living in rural England about to be evicted from the caravan he calls home and where he plays host to local teens supplying them drugs and booze. The season concludes with the Midwest premiere of Penelope Skinner's "The Village Bike" (May 6-June 26, 2016). It centers on Becky, a newly pregnant, sexually frustrated wife who purchases a bike to burn off excess energy and ends up on a remarkable adventure. Season subscription options include a five-ticket Flex Pass for $125 or a 10-ticket pass for $200 if purchased by Aug. 31. Tickets can be used in any combination of quantity and time. Single tickets range from $30 to $40. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

• First Floor Theater's 2015-2016 season begins Nov. 15 with the world premiere of "Animals Commit Suicide" by J. Julian Christopher, about a young gay man who picks up some bad habits after delving into the city's "seedy, sexual underbelly." That's followed by the Chicago premiere of Ken Urban's "The Awake" (Feb. 14-March 12, 2016), a fantastical tale in which a devoted son, an Eastern European actress and an Arab-Canadian on the run discover their mysterious connection. The season concludes with the Chicago premiere of "World Builders," (June 5-July 2, 2016) Johnna Adams' tale about two participants in a test study of a new drug to combat schizophrenia, who must decide whether to pursue their own fantasies or a future together. First Floor also announced the addition of new company members: lighting designer Amanda Cantlin and production manager Helen Benke-Hanson. For ticket information, see firstfloortheater.com.