Theater spotlight: Janet Ulrich Brooks stars as Maria Callas in TimeLine's 'Master Class'

Posted October 16, 2018 6:00 am

Callas' 'Class'

TimeLine Theatre ensemble member Janet Ulrich Books stars as opera diva Maria Callas in the company's revival of Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play, which was inspired by master classes Callas conducted at The Juilliard School in 1971. Ostensibly there to coach the next generation of opera professionals, Callas instead reminisces about her past successes and failures in McNally's play with music, directed by Nick Bowling with music direction from Doug Peck.

Previews at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20; 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21; and Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 23-24, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, Oct. 25. $27.50-$56.50. (773) 327-5252 or timelinetheatre.com.

First-timers

Four up-and-coming Chicago-area comedians headline Aurora's Comedy Shrine. Ronnie Ray hosts the show, which features Darrick Jones, Melissa Richelle, Marcus Shakes and Corey Wood.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at 4034 Fox Valley Center, Aurora. $20. (630) 585-0300 or comedyshrine.com.

Legend revisited

Felipe Carrasco, Carlyle DePriest and Gabriel Fries play more than 20 characters in Adventure Stage Chicago's family-friendly production "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Former 500 Clown ensemble member Adrian Danzig directs this modern twist on the medieval legend.

The preview is at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble St., Chicago. The show opens at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. $7-$17. (773) 342-4141 or adventurestage.org/.

Jayson Lee, left, and Jaylen Gilbert play 14-year-old boys who exist in two different worlds in First Floor Theater's "Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies." Courtesy of Sam Doyle Photography

Being black

Two African-American teens - one a street-wise kid from Baltimore and the other a prep-school kid from one of its affluent suburbs - find themselves in a holding cell in Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's "Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies." First Floor Theater stages the Chicago-area premiere of Chisholm's social commentary in which one of the teens instructs the other on how to reclaim his "blackness."

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20; 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21; and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens Wednesday, Oct. 24. $8-$25. See firstfloortheater.com.

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