Theater events: Goodman stages world premiere of '2666'

Posted February 04, 2016 5:00 am

<h3 class="briefHead">Epic drama </h3>

Goodman Theatre artistic director Robert Falls and playwright-in-residence Seth Bockley adapt and co-direct the world premiere of "2666." The posthumous novel by Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño is set in a U.S.-Mexico border town and centers on academics, a journalist and a detective who are among those drawn to the fictional Santa Teresa, where scores of young women have been murdered. Bolaño's novel is "a portrait of the modern world and the artist's role in it," inspired in part by the violence that has plagued Juarez, Mexico, where the murders of hundreds of women killed during the 1990s remain unsolved. The adults-only production includes images of sexual violence. Previews begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Feb. 16. $20-$45. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

<h3 class="briefHead">'Sister Act'</h3>

Fresh from "Spring Awakening," Hollis Resnik returns to Marriott Theatre to play Mother Superior in "Sister Act," the Alan Menken-Glenn Slater musical inspired by the film about a nightclub singer who hides out at a convent after witnessing a mob murder and helps breathe life into the community and its choir. Broadway veteran Stephanie Umok stars as singer Deloris Van Cartier in director Don Stephenson's production. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The show opens Feb. 17. $50-$55. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.

<h3 class="briefHead">Theatre Week 2016</h3>

Paramount, First Folio, Drury Lane, Northlight, Shattered Globe, Goodman, Boho and Victory Gardens are just a few of the theaters participating in the fourth annual Chicago Theatre week, running from Thursday, Feb. 11, through Feb. 21. Tickets to more than 100 shows cost $30 and $15. They're available online at chicagotheatreweek.com or choosechicago.com.

<h3 class="briefHead">Other theater events</h3>

• Before "The Butler" arrived on the big screen, there was "Looking Over the President's Shoulder," James Still's one-man play drawn from African-American White House butler Alonzo Fields, who served presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. American Blues Theater presents the Chicago-area premiere, beginning previews Friday, Feb. 5, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by Timothy Douglas and starring ensemble member Manny Buckley, opens Feb. 11. (773) 404-7336 or americanbluestheater.com.

• Previews begin Friday, Feb. 5, for Porchlight Music Theater's Chicago-area premiere of "Far From Heaven," by composer Scott Frankel, lyricist Michael Korie and writer Richard Greenberg. The musical version of Todd Haynes' 2002 film is about a 1950s suburban Connecticut couple whose seemingly perfect marriage is threatened by the wife's friendship with her African-American gardener and her husband's secret attraction. Rob Lindley directs Summer Naomi Smart, Brandon Springman and Evan Tyrone Martin in the production, which opens Tuesday, Feb. 9. (773) 327-5252 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• After her son vanishes, a mother struggles to pick up the pieces of her shattered life in "In a Word," a dark comedy by Lauren Yee that Strawdog Theatre Company stages as part of a rolling world premiere in coordination with the National New Play Network. Previews begin Friday, Feb. 5, at 3829 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago. The show opens Feb. 15. (866) 811-4111 or strawdog.org.

• "Beau Jest," a comedy by local playwright James Sherman, opens Friday, Feb. 5, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie. The play centers on a woman named Sarah who doesn't believe her parents will accept her gentile boyfriend, so she creates a fictional beau and hires a male escort to play him. The MadKap Production opens Friday, Feb. 5. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.org.

• Belarus Free Theatre, whose members criticized the ruling regime in Belarus, was banned on political grounds and forced to flee in 2011. The company returns to Chicago with its production of "King Lear" as part of a yearlong celebration commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. Performances begin Friday, Feb. 5, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. It runs through Feb. 14. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• (re) discover theatre remounts its adults-only production of "Fifty Shades of Shakespeare," an examination of sexuality, gender roles, relationships and kinks all told through Shakespeare's sexiest scenes. Performances run Friday, Feb. 5, through Feb. 28, at Fizz Bar, 3220 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. See rediscovertheatre.com.

• Dina Facklis performs her one-woman show "Love and Other Stories From the Cutting Room Floor" Fridays in February, beginning Feb. 5, at iO Chicago, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• The Kiss Kiss Cabaret hosts its fifth anniversary party with a special performance beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, at Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway St., Chicago. See uptownunderground.net.

• Health issues forced Donna McGough to step out of The Hypocrites' remount of director Hans Fleischmann's re-imagined production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" last week. Kate Buddeke joined the cast in the role of Amanda, and the opening has been pushed back to Sunday, Feb. 7, at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See the-hypocrites.com.

• The Other Theatre Company presents the world premiere of "Other Letters," an original play by Bryan Renaud and artistic director Carin Silkaitis inspired by A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters." Directed by Silkaitis, department chair of art and theatre at North Central College in Naperville, "Other Letters" chronicles parallel stories of gay and lesbian couples. Two separate scripts will be performed in repertory, with new cast members performing each night. The show runs Sunday, Feb. 7, to Monday, Feb. 29, at The Side Project, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave., Chicago. See theothertheatrecompany.com.

• Previews begin Sunday, Feb. 7, for the limited run of "Marc Salem's Mind Over Chicago." Creator/performer Salem is a mentalist whose series on the National Geographic Channel titled "Mind Games" premieres in May. "Mind Over Chicago" opens Feb. 13 at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6100 or apollochicago.com.

• FWD Theatre Project, a company devoted to developing new musicals, launches its second season Monday, Feb. 8, at City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St., Chicago. Chicago theater artists will perform selections from five new musicals chosen from more than 170 submissions as part of LaunchingFWD: Season 2. Felicia P. Fields hosts the showcase, which features Michelle Aravena, Roberta Duchak, David Girolmo, Larry Adams and other area theater artists. (312) 733-9463 or citywinery.com or fwdtheatre.org.

• "Men are From Mars - Women are From Venus Live!" - a combination theater event and standup performance based on the best-selling book and starring Peter Story - returns to Chicago Tuesday, Feb. 9. Performances run through Feb. 21 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Roundabout Theatre Company's Tony Award-winning revival of the John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff musical "Cabaret" - co-directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, with choreography by Marshall - plays Chicago as part of the show's national tour. Performances run Tuesday, Feb. 9, through Sunday, Feb. 21, at the newly renamed PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. Randy Harrison ("Queer as Folk") plays the Emcee while Broadway veteran Andrea Goss plays chanteuse Sally Bowles and Lee Aaron Rosen plays her writer lover Clifford Bradshaw. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Provision Theater Company continues its 12th season with "Tuesdays With Morrie," Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom's stage adaptation of Albom's best-selling book chronicling his weekly conversations about the meaning of life with his former college professor, who is battling Lou Gehrig's disease. Company members Brad Armacost and Colin Wasmund star as Morrie and Mitch in the production helmed by Provision artistic director Timothy Gregory. Previews begin Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 1001 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago. The show opens Feb. 13. (312) 455-0066 or provisiontheater.org.

• Pivot Arts presents "The Sadness Show: An Alternative Valentine's Celebration," the latest installment of its monthly performance series Pivot@63. Molly Brennan hosts the cabaret-style event, which examines the holiday in all its heartbreaking hilarity. The performance is at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, at Bar 63, 6431 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago. See pivotarts.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, Feb. 11, for BoHo Theatre's season opening "Fugitive Songs," a song cycle by Chris Miller and Nathan Lysen comprised of rock songs chronicling people on the run and the urge many people have to escape their lives by running away. Zachary L. Gray directs the production, which opens Saturday, Feb. 13, at Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or bohotheatre.com.

• The League of Chicago Theatres hosts a "Theatre Thursday" event, where audiences get a glimpse at the creative process behind play creation, at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11. It takes place at The Artistic Home, 1376 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, and includes a performance of Scott Woldman's dark domestic comedy "Interrogation." See chicagoplays.com.

• Thorpedo Productions' "Love in 90 Minutes," a collection of 10-minute plays exploring the many facets of love, continues Wednesdays through Feb. 24 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• "Evicted!" - in which Alex Young and Shannon Noll try to get out of paying rent to their evil landlord - continues Thursdays through March 3 at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The New Colony and Definition Theatre Company's co-production of "Byhalia, Mississippi" has been extended. Performances of Evan Linder's drama about a poor white couple who discover they're about to have an African-American child as a result of the wife's affair continue through Feb. 21 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See thenewcolony.org.

• In honor of Black History Month, Garrett Popcorn Shops announced it will donate 10 percent of all in-shop and online gourmet popcorn tin sales (up to $25,000) during the month of February to Black Ensemble Theater. Also BET's CD "Greatest Hits Volume 1" CD will be on sale at the popcorn shops throughout the month. Garrett will host a performance by the stars of BET's recent show, "Dynamite Divas," at 5 p.m. Feb. 19 at 737 E. 87th St., Chicago.

• Heidi Stillman has been named Lookingglass Theatre Company's new artistic director. Artistic director for new work since 2004, Stillman takes over for Andrew White, who has held the post since 2010. White has been named the company's director of connectivity and engagement. "In Heidi Stillman we have another strong voice who will lead us during an exciting period, as the company approaches its 30th Anniversary during the 2017-18 Season," said executive director Rachel Kraft in a prepared statement.

• Emerald City Theatre has named Jacqueline Stone, the company's education director for the last 10 years, as its new artistic director. Stone, a co-founder of TUTA Theatre Chicago, will continue to serve as artistic director for that ensemble. A 20-year veteran, Stone has directed, performed and/or taught at Chicago Dramatists, The Second City, TUTA and Columbia College Chicago.

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