Theater events: Steppenwolf's 'Byhalia' explores race, class

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"Byhalia, Mississippi" - The New Colony and Definition Theatre Company's Joseph Jefferson Award-winning examination of race, class and love - gets a remount courtesy of Steppenwolf Theatre. Set in the titular community, Evan Linder's drama is about a poor couple, "proud white trash," whose first child is the product of the wife's relationship with an African American man. Original director Tyrone Phillips directs the original cast. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Friday, July 22, at 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show opens Monday, July 25. $30-$35. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Comedy 101

Eclectic Full Contact Theatre brings the "History of Comedy" to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Conceived and written by Andrew Pond and Michael Woods, the show is a "highly unscientific survey of comedy through the centuries." Performances begin at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $25. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

A 'Shrew' tamed

Oak Park Festival Theatre commemorates the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death with "The Taming of the Shrew." Adrianna Cury directs this comic battle of the sexes in which Petruchio (John Crosthwaite) woos and subdues the fiery Kate (Jhenai Mootz). Or does he? Opens at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at Austin Gardens, 167 Forest Ave., Oak Park. $15-$29. (708) 445-4440 or oakparkfestival.com.

Other theater events

• Theatre-Hikes presents the satirical "The Iliad and the Odyssey and all of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less" at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at Horner Park, 2741 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago, and at 1 and 3 p.m. July 30 and 31, at North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski Road, Chicago. Admission is free. See theatre-hikes.org.

• Goodman Theatre's "Women Rule the Stage" showcase of free readings of works by the members of its playwrights unit continue through Saturday, July 23, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Featured plays include: Sandra Delgado's "La Havana Madrid," a play inspired by the 1960s Chicago nightclub, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 22; Calamity West's "Tony Kushner Considers Writing a Gay Fantasia Based on National Themes," about a young playwright struggling with characters yet to be at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 23, and Kristiana Rae Colon's "Florissant and Canfield" about the challenges a new coalition of protesters face, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23. Admission is free but reservations are recommended. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Brown Paper Box Co. opens its sixth season with the Chicago premiere of "Now. Here. This." by composer/lyricist Jeff Bowen and writers Hunter Bell and Susan Blackwell. Set at a natural-history museum, the musical is about four friends who ruminating on their past and future. Previews begin Friday, July 22, at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by M. William Panek, opens Saturday, July 23. See brownpaperbox.org.

• The Arc Theatre begins its seventh year at Shakespeare on the Ridge with William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." Mark Boergers directs the comedy about Rosalind, an exiled young woman who dresses as a boy for safety's sake, who meets and falls in love with young Orlando. Performances begin Friday, July 22, at Ridgeville Park, 908 Seward St., Evanston. Admission is free. See arctheatrechicago.org.

• Ryan Chiaverini, co-host of ABC 7's "Windy City Live," makes a guest appearance Friday, July 22, on "Will You Accept This Rose? An Improvised Parody of 'The Bachelor'" at Under the Gun Theater 965 W. Newport St., Chicago. (773) 270-3440 or undertheguntheater.com.

• Joseph Jefferson Award winner Max McClean ("The Screwtape Letters"), returns to Chicago with his new play "C.S. Lewis Onstage: The Most Reluctant Convert." Adapted by McLean from Lewis writings, the solo show chronicles Lewis' journey from atheism to Christianity. Performances begin Saturday, July 23, at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (773) 325-1700 or mercurytheaterchicago.com.

• "The Dead Boy Scout Musical," a dark comedy about boy scouts who survive a plane crash on route to a camping trip, opens Saturday, July 23, at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The Waltzing Mechanics convene We Hear, a docu-theater style evening of performances and conversation about the recent deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile outside St. Paul, Minnesota and the murder of a total of eight police officers in Dallas, Texas and Baton Rouge. The gathering takes place at 7 p.m. Monday, July 25, at the Berger Cultural Center, 6205 N Sheridan Road, Chicago. Part open mic, part performance showcase and part conversation, the event is free. See waltzingmechanics.org.

• Slate and The Second City present the national tour of "Unelectable You," a sketch comedy show inspired by the political season. The limited run begins Thursday, July 28, at Up Comedy Club, Piper's Alley 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. (312) 662-4562 or upcomedyclub.com.

• Returning to Chicago for a brief run is "Disney's Newsies," the musical by composer Alan Menken, lyricist Jack Feldman and writer Harvey Fierstein inspired by New York City's 1899 newsboy strike when a group of young newspaper boys led a two-week strike against the publishing barons. The national tour opens at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, on Thursday, July 28. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Improvisers Greg Hess, Bill Cochran, Brendan Jennings and Mark Raterman, known as the Cook County Social Club, return to iO Chicago, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, for four shows beginning Thursday, July 28. Also at iO Chicago, the remount of "Desert Cool: A Comedic Hollywood Noir," runs at 8:30 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 19. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• Goodman Theatre hosts its fifth annual Scene Soiree fundraiser beginning at 8 p.m. July 29, at Ovation, 2324 W. Fulton St., Chicago. A salute to Chicago's neighborhoods, the event features craft beers and local food, along with dancing, an auction and entertainment from beatboxer Yuri Lane. Tickets are $95. Proceeds from the event support Goodman's summer youth program PlayBuild Youth Intensive, a seven-week program that assists students ages 14 to 18 in developing critical thinking, literacy and storytelling skills. See goodmantheatre.org/scenesoiree.com.

• Grippo Stage Company has extended its world premiere of "The Ben Hecht Show," a one-man show about the life of the famed newspaperman turned playwright and novelist, written and performed by James Sherman. Performances continue through Aug. 14, at Piven Theatre, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. (800) 838-3006 or grippostagecompany.com.

• The Gift Theatre recently announced three world premiere plays by female playwrights will make up its 2017 season which begins Jan. 5, 2017, with Ten, the Chicago company's annual showcase of 10-minute plays by ensemble members and guest artists. That's followed on Feb. 10, 2017, with Mona Mansour's "Unseen" about a photojournalist who wakes up in her girlfriend's Istanbul apartment after being found unconscious at the scene of a massacre she was photographing. Next up is "Pilgrims" (June 2-July 30, 2017), Claire Kiechel's future-set drama about a soldier and a young woman on their way to colonize a newly discovered planet who are quarantined in their quarters in the wake of an outbreak with only an outdated robot and each other for company. The season concludes October 13, 2017, with Janine Nabers' time-jumping "A Swell in the Ground" chronicling 17 years in the lives of four college friends. Season subscriptions begin at $75 and include 2016's two remaining productions. The Gift also announced its new play development series 4802, will begin accepting applications online on Sept. 1. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.

• Chicago Dramatists recently announced its new name Chicago Dramatists: The Center for New Play Development, which better reflects its revamped programming, workshops and fellows program. The name change also marks the end of Chicago Dramatists as a producing agency. The center holds its first showcase of new resident playwright's works on Sept. 17. That will be followed by a daylong playwriting conference including panel discussions and sessions on the business of theater on Oct. 1. See chicagodramatists.org.