Theater events: Wheaton native co-adapts 'Johanna Faustus' for Hypocrites

Classic updated

Wheaton native Emily Casey makes her professional playwriting debut co-adapting "Johanna Faustus" with Hypocrites artistic director Sean Graney. The Hypocrites presents the world premiere of the play, which was inspired by Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus," in a limited run. The Casey-Graney adaptation casts Faust as a woman who questions the choices that enabled her success but not necessarily her happiness. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, May 20, at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $36. See the-hypocrites.com.

Dave Dyer at the Shrine

Comedian/writer Dave Dyer, who has contributed to "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" and "Politically Incorrect," headlines Aurora's Comedy Shrine this weekend. 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at the Fox Valley Mall, 4034 Fox Valley Center Drive, Aurora. $20 plus a two beverage minimum. (630) 585-0300 or comedyshrine.com.

Gilman at Goodman

Rebecca Gilman reunites with Goodman Theatre artistic director Robert Falls for the Chicago premiere of her latest play, "Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976," about a small Wisconsin town whose residents face an uncertain future after a corporation acquires the local cheese plant where most of them work. Falls directs Goodman's eighth collaboration with Gilman, author of "Luna Gale," which premiered there in 2014, as well as the 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist "The Glory of Living," which premiered at Circle Theatre, located for 20 years in Forest Park. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens May 31. $10-$40. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

Other theater events

• Wayward Productions presents the third in Irish writer Sean O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy, "The Plough and the Stars." Set during Ireland's 1916 Easter Uprising, the play examines the effects of a political rebellion on a family caught in the middle. Performances begin Friday May, 20, at Johnny O'Hagan's, 3374 N. Clark St., Chicago. See waywardproductions.org.

• Previews begin Friday, May 20, for Haven Theatre Company's U.S. premiere of "The Distance" by Deborah Bruce. Elly Green directs the drama about a woman who returns home to England after five years away and finds her friends don't support the choices she's made. The production opens Monday, May 23, at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. See haventheatrechicago.com.

• Dandelion Theatre presents "The Hot Dog Stand," 10 new short plays that all take place in front of various Chicago hot dog stands. Performances run Friday through Sunday, May 20-22, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See dandeliontheatre.com.

• Chicago Fringe Opera's revival of Philip Glass' opera "In the Penal Colony," inspired by Franz Kafka's short story about state-sponsored torture and capital punishment, continues Friday through Sunday, May 20-22, at Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. (773) 769-4226 or lillstreet.com or chicagofringeopera.com.

• "Super Picante," the new all-Latin variety show, opens at 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, at the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Continuing at 8 p.m. Tuesday through May 31 is "Cockeyed: Just a Little Bit Off," consisting of short plays written by Amy Haeussler and featuring oddball characters and twisted plots. Lastly, "3 of a Kind," an adults-only sketch and improv show hosted by Jerk Store and Mahalibaes, runs at 10 p.m. Wednesday through June 22. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The all-silent comedy "Bri-Ko" opens at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. A clowning/sketch comedy mashup, this interactive show is family-friendly. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• Filament Theatre takes its show and audiences to the streets for its world premiere immersive show "Sherlock Holmes & The Mystery of Portage Park," beginning Saturday, May 21, and running most Saturday mornings and afternoons through July 23. Playwright Jessica Wright Buha, artistic director Julie Ritchey and director Christian Libonati created the show, which involves audience members ages 8 and older traveling the neighborhood by foot or bike in an effort to help Sherlock crack a case. Meet at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See filamenttheatre.org/sherlock for tickets and a schedule.

• City Lit theater hosts its annual spring tea beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at the Edgewater Beach Cafe, 5545 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. The fundraiser includes tea, a silent auction and a reading of Oscar Wilde's "The Nightingale and the Rose." Tickets cost $35 per person, $55 per couple. (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.

• "Disney's Beauty and the Beast," the stage musical based on the hit 1991 film, with an Oscar-winning score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, returns to Chicago for a brief run. The non-equity tour begins performances Tuesday, May 24, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Goodman Theatre resident director Chuck Smith and New Federal Theatre artistic director Woodie King Jr. will present the Lorraine Hansberry Awards honoring five of the acclaimed Chicago playwright's contemporaries at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. Honorees include composer/lyricist/playwright/actress Micki Grant ("Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope," "Your Arms Too Short to Box With God"); actress and Broadway veteran Lynn Hamilton; former American Ballet Theatre dancer, actress and producer Dr. Glory Van Scott; writer/director educator Shauneille Perry ("Pearl"); and singer/songwriter/actress Camille Yarbrough ("To Be Young, Gifted and Black"). (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org/hansberry.

• Irish Theatre of Chicago concludes its season with the U.S. premiere of Deidre Kinahan's drama "Spinning," about a grieving mother and a newly released convict who are transformed after a chance meeting at a cafe. Joanie Schultz directs the production, which begins previews Wednesday, May 25, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 27. See irishtheatreofchicago.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, May 26, for Steppenwolf Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of British playwright Nick Payne's "Constellations," featuring ensemble member and Waukegan native Jon Michael Hill (TV's "Elementary") and Jessie Fisher (Broadway's "Once"). The play traces the various paths their relationship might have taken over several lifetimes. Jonathan Berry directs the production, which opens June 1 at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• ComedySportz offers a one-day ticket sale from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 26. On that day, between those hours, comedy fans can purchase an unlimited number of $10 tickets to be used for any ComedySportz show through Sept. 5 by calling (773) 549-8080. Additionally, CSz Theater Chicago provides free tickets to active service and military veterans for the 8 p.m. Thursday, May 26, and 6 p.m. Saturday, May 28, shows. Service members can reserve their tickets by phone and must show ID when picking them up at will call. See cszchicago.com.

• A Red Orchid Theatre is extending its production of Ike Holter's "Sender," about a young man who returns to his apartment a year after his supposed death. Performances run through June 4 at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• Broadway in Chicago's world premiere of the family-friendly "The SpongeBob Musical" has been extended before previews even begin. Performances of the show - inspired by the Nickelodeon animated series, with music by Sara Bareilles, The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, Plain White T's and others - begin June 7 at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. The show runs through July 10. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Stage 773 is accepting applications for performers interested in participating in the 4th Annual Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival, which takes place Aug. 11-14 at the Chicago theater. "We're looking for performers who are unapologetic about what they love," said festival producer Aaron Amendola in a prepared statement. Applications are due by June 1. See stage773.com/cncfshows.

• The Joseph Jefferson Committee announced director Kimberly Senior will receive a special non-equity Jeff award in June in recognition for her 21 years in Chicago theater. Although she frequently works at larger, equity houses these days, Senior was a co-founder of Collaboraction, spent a decade as a Strawdog Theatre ensemble member and served as The Hypocrites first board president. The non-equity Jeff Awards take place June 6 at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago. See jeffawards.org.

• The Actors Gymnasium in Evanston announced that Molly Brennan - co-founder of 500 Clown, creator of the Madam Barker Show, and a veteran of Steppenwolf, Goodman, the Neo-Futurists and Lookingglass theaters, among others - will take over as the new director of physical theater in the company's professional circus training program. In other Actors Gymnasium news, the Evanston theater was awarded the NICE Award for Best Interactive Entertainment for its "Cirque du Flambe" event presented as part of 2015's National Restaurant Association Conference in Chicago. Lastly, the company's Joseph Jefferson Award-winning adaptation of "Moby Dick" will go on tour to Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, Atlanta, Georgia's Alliance Theatre and Costa Mesa, California's South Coast Repertory.

• Broadway in Chicago announced the finalists for the fifth annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards. The 12 actors and 12 actresses hail from Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire, Barrington, Lake Zurich, Schaumburg and Elmhurst among other suburbs. One actor and one actress will be selected to participate in the national awards in New York City in June.

• Adventure Stage Chicago recently received a grant from Allstate Insurance Company to expand its Trailblazers youth program, which provides arts and social services for low-income students between the ages of 10 and 15 to enable them to produce art inspired by their experiences. "Allstate's leadership support will enable us to double the number of youth who can participate in the program," said ASC managing director Mary Kate Barley-Jenkins in a prepared statement.

• Chicago public school student Ireon Roach earned first place in the National August Wilson Monologue Competition held earlier this month in New York City. A junior at Nicholas Senn High School, Roach is a member of American Theater Company's youth ensemble and The Yard, and she serves on the Writers Theatre youth council.

• AstonRep Theatre Company announced its 2016-2017 season will begin Sept. 1 with the world premiere of "The Black Slot" by Warren Hoffman. The play is about a dramaturge and an African-American playwright who - after learning his play has been rejected for the theater's "black slot" in favor of an August Wilson drama - work to reveal the racism and hypocrisy in American theater. That's followed by "Eleemosynary" (February 2017), Lee Blessing's examination of three generations of women in the same family. Next up is David Marguiles' "Time Stands Still" (May 11-June 11, 2017) about the relationship between a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent seen through the lens of war. AstonRep's season also includes the 7th Annual Writers Series showcasing works in development, scheduled for November 2016. Performances take place at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Tickets will go on sale at a later date. See astonrep.com.