Theater spotlight: Firebrand Theatre opens its season with 'Caroline, or Change'
'Caroline, or change'
Firebrand Theatre, a company committed to expanding opportunities for women on and offstage, opens its season with a revival of the Jeanine Tesori-Tony Kushner musical "Caroline, or Change" in partnership with TimeLine Theatre. Rashada Dawan plays the titular character, a maid working for a Southern Jewish family in 1963 Louisiana. Alejandro Medina plays the young boy grieving the loss of his mother, who turns to Caroline for comfort. Lili-Anne Brown directs. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $25-$45. See firebrandtheatre.org.
Fall fest
Artemisia Theatre hosts a fall festival consisting of staged readings of six new feminist plays, one of which will be chosen for development. Explaining the need for the festival, founding artistic director Julie Proudfoot pointed out that many plays lack complex, three-dimensional female characters. "Women are long overdue to be recognized on a level equal to men especially in terms of leadership, humanity, complexity and agency," she said in a prepared statement. The plays include (in order) Charly Evon Simpson's "Scratching the Surface," J. Thalia Cunningham's "Witch Camp," Anthony Fiorentino's "Cash Cows," Callie Kimball's "Things That Are Found," Carolyn Cras' "Mine and Yours" and Lauren Ferebee's "Every Waiting Heart." A talkback follows each staged reading. 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Sept. 24-26 and Oct. 1-3, at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago. $10, $25 for three admissions. See artemisiatheatre.org.
Hellman revival
The surviving siblings of a wealthy Southern family contrive to make themselves even wealthier in 1900 Alabama in "The Little Foxes," Lillian Hellman's morality play criticizing greed and cutthroat capitalism. Kristina McCloskey directs Citadel Theatre's revival of the domestic drama, which stars Saren Nofs Snyder as Regina, who more than holds her own opposite the men who are neither as smart nor as powerful as they imagine. Previews at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 25-27. The show opens at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. $20-$45. (847) 735-8554, ext. 1, or citadeltheatre.org.
Devil's bargain
The Devil visits a sleepy village and makes a bargain with two young people while an outcast - who everyone believes is a witch - stands her ground in "Witch," Jen Silverman's updated version of "The Witch of Edmonton," a 17th-century drama by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford. Libertyville native Marti Lyons directs Writers Theatre's production, which stars Audrey Francis in the titular role. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, and run through Oct. 2. Opens Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. $35-$80. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.