Theater events: 'Holding the Man' makes Chicago premiere

• Victory Gardens Theater presents its 10th annual IGNITION Festival of New Plays Friday through Sunday, Aug. 3-5, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The mini-fest consists of readings of six in-development plays. They include: Robert Askins' "Prosthesis," about a young man who sews an iPhone into his neck; Laureen Yee's "Untitled Road Trip Play," about an immigrant who re-creates the cross-country road trip he and his wife took 20 years earlier; and David Harris' "White History," about a white couple who moves into a new neighborhood and encounter an exiled KKK member. The lineup also includes Lily Padilla's "How to Defend Yourself," about college students' response to a sorority sister's rape; Nick Malakhow's "Seeing Eye," about a blind man who gets involved in a whirlwind romance; and Lee Edward Colston II's "The First Deep Breath," about a pastor forced to confront ugly family secrets. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org/ignition.

• The Neo-Futurists presents an accessible performance of their long-running show "The Infinite Wrench" as part of Steppenwolf Theatre's LookOut Series. The performance takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at the 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The space is wheelchair accessible and has an induction hearing loop. The performance includes open captioning, a touch tour, audio description, American Sign Language interpretation and programs in Braille and large-print formats. Tickets are $10. (312) 335-1650, steppenwolf.org or neofuturists.org.

• Professional adult actors and child and teen performers team up for Windy City Performs' summer production of "Shrek The Musical," inspired by the animated film about an ogre, who - with help from his sidekick Donkey - rescues a spunky princess then falls in love with her. Performances for ages 4 and older begin Saturday, Aug. 4, and run through Aug. 26 at 4766 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (312) 324-3700 or windycityperforms.org.

• Drag performer Coco Sho-Nell hosts Coco's Carnivale, an adults-only evening of drag, burlesque and circus performers in conjunction with Red Tape Theater. It takes place at 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at 4546 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Admission is free, but reservations are required. See redtapetheatre.org.

• Theatre at the Center puts a new spin on "The Three Little Pigs" fairy tale as part of its Imagination Discovery event for young audiences. It takes place at 10 a.m. and noon Saturday, Aug. 4, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. In addition to the performance, the event includes activities and prizes. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• Previews begin Sunday, Aug. 5, for Pride Films and Plays Chicago-area premiere of the Australian drama "Holding the Man," Tommy Murphy's adaptation of Timothy Conigrave's memoir about his 15-year romantic relationship with a boy he met as a teenager. Jude Hansen and Micah Kronlokken star in the production, which opens Monday, Aug. 6, at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Red Theater Chicago's revival of "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity" gets a limited remount as part of the Theater on the Lake's Summer Theater Festival. Set in the world of professional wrestling, Kristoffer Diaz's Pulitzer Prize-nominated dramedy examines racism, politics and morality through the character of wrestler Macedonio Guerra. Performances run Tuesday, Aug. 7, through Aug. 10 at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago. (312) 742-7994 or redtheater.org.

• Surging Films & Theatrics stages "Shrek The Musical" adapted from the animated film about a gruff but lovable ogre who falls in love with Fiona, the imprisoned princess he rescues with help from his sidekick Donkey. Performances run Thursday, Aug. 9, through Aug. 12 at the Harper College J Theatre, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. See surgingfilms.com.

• The SAG/AFTRA Senior Radio Players return to Chicago with another radio classic. The ensemble performs "The Farmer's Daughter" adapted from the 1947 film about a young farm girl who moves to the city to attend nursing school and winds up a political candidate. The performance is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at the Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Admission is free for the radio play, which is augmented by live sound effects. See cityofchicago.org.

• Writer/performer Libby Marshall examines motherhood, widowhood, reincarnation and the first lady in her one-woman sketch-comedy show "Delicate Decay." It runs at 8 p.m. Mondays through Aug. 13 at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Running at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 30 is the double feature of the sketch-comedy show "DANKS" and "The Mole," in which a saboteur tries to upend the improv show. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Mercury Theater Chicago has extended its revival of "Avenue Q," the Jeff Marx-Robert Lopez musical - described as "Sesame Street" for adults - about twentysomethings navigating careers and romance in New York City. Performances run through Nov. 4 at 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (773) 325-1700 or mercurytheaterchicago.com.

• In other theater news: Libertyville's Improv Playhouse announced it will tour select Chicago Public Libraries with its young audiences' production of "Ranger Tales: True Stories From America's National Parks."

• Skokie's Northlight Theatre announced its Arts for Everyone initiative providing free tickets to its 2018-2019 season to partner organizations including Y.O.U. (Youth & Opportunity United), the YWCA Evanston/North Shore and Family Focus. "This breakthrough program addresses Northlight's commitment toward equitable access for all audiences to experience theater without the barrier of race and privilege," said executive director Timothy J. Evans in a prepared statement.

• CityLit Theater is partnering with ParqEx to provide private parking spots for patrons of the theater located at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. Patrons can use the ParqEx app to rent spots by the hour or the day.

• AstonRep Theatre Company's 2018-2019 season begins Oct. 18 with a revival of Martin McDonagh's "The Lonesome West," about brothers whose petty squabbling threatens to spiral into "vicious and bloody carnage." That's followed on Dec. 1 by the company's 10th Annual Writers Series showcasing between five and seven in-development works by local and regional writers. The season concludes May 16, 2019, with a revival of Rebecca Gilman's "The Crowd You're in With," a backyard drama about three couples debating whether to have children. The plays take place at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. The writers series takes place at the Vagabond School of the Arts, 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. Tickets go on sale at a later date. See astonrep.com.

• Chicago-area director/choreographer Linda Fortunato, artistic director for Theatre at the Center, announced the company's 2019 season will begin Feb. 14, 2019, with the jukebox tuner "Million Dollar Quartet," which is partly inspired by an impromptu 1956 jam session between Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley at Sun Records in Memphis. That's followed by the rarely revived musical "Dames at Sea" (May 2-June 2, 2019) about an aspiring Broadway hoofer who falls in love with an aspiring songwriter and sailor who helps her get her big break. Next up is Tom Dudzick's semi-autobiographical comedy "Over the Tavern" (July 11-Aug. 11, 2019) about the struggles of the Pazinski family, whose members live in a tiny apartment above the tavern they own. Next up is "The Pajama Game" (Sept. 12-Oct. 13, 2019). Set at the Sleep-Tite pajama factory, the musical is about the conflict between a new supervisor and the head of the union whose members request a 7½-cent raise. The season concludes Nov. 14, 2019, with a revival of "Irving Berlin's White Christmas - The Musical," adapted from the Bing Crosby-Danny Kaye film. Performances take place at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. Season subscribers may renew subscriptions between Aug. 19 and 23. New subscribers may purchase subscriptions beginning Oct. 9. Individual tickets go on sale Dec. 11. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.