Theater events: TUTA remounts 'Radio Culture' drama
Previews continue for Windy City Playhouse's revival of Michael Frayn's backstage comedy-within-a comedy “Noises Off.” This love letter to the theater concerns a hapless theater company touring England's provinces in a third-rate sex farce. Scott Weinstein directs the production, which opens Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 3014 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. (773) 891-8985 or windycityplayhouse.com.
Brown Paper Box Co. concludes its 2018-2019 season with the musical “Little Women,” beginning previews Friday, Jan. 11, at Strawdog Theatre Company, 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age novel about the four March sisters who live with their mother in “genteel poverty” in Massachusetts at the end of the Civil War. Tessa Dettman plays headstrong Jo March in this scaled-back production directed by Stephanie Rohr and co-founder M. William Panek. The show opens Sunday, Jan. 13. See brownpaperbox.org.
TUTA Theatre Chicago remounts its hit U.S. premiere of “Radio Culture” - Maxim Dosko's chronicle of a day in the life of a Belorussian that examines how a person can desire change despite being enmeshed in a culture that resists it. Performances begin Friday, Jan. 11, at 4670 N. Manor Ave., Chicago, and run through Jan. 27. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. See tutatheatre.org.
Tortoise pals Sizi and Kai work together to overcome obstacles, but finding a hat that flatters both of them tests their friendship in “We Found a Hat.” Lifeline Theatre's KidSeries presents ensemble member Jessica Wright Buha and composer John Szymanski's premiere musical adaptation of Jon Klassen's children's book about what people willingly give up to support those they love. Previews begin Saturday, Jan. 12, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The production, directed by Factory Theater co-artistic director Manny Tamayo, opens Sunday, Jan. 13. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.
Eta's Magic Box Series continues from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, with “Queens of House” founded and hosted by DJ SoulKat and featuring herself along with DJ Christa Schrupp from Detroit and Deejay Alicia from Chicago. Eta is at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.
Experts discuss violence against women Sunday, Jan. 13, following the 3 p.m. matinee of Isaac Gomez's “La Ruta” at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Panelists include Linda Tortolero from Mujeres Latinas En Accion. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.
Cast members from Lauren Yee's play “Cambodian Rock Band” perform a scene and song from the production at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13, at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, as part of the program “Exploring the Cambodian Genocide Through Theater and Music.” The performance, which will be followed by a discussion of the Cambodian Genocide, was inspired by the museum's exhibition “Stories of Survival: Object. Image. Memory.” The event is part of a season-long collaboration with Victory Gardens Theater to combat hatred, prejudice and indifference. See ilholocaustmuseum.org.
Collaboraction hosts Encounter, its second annual winter festival of new theater, dance and spoken-word works centered around themes of equity and inclusion. The festival runs Tuesday, Jan. 15, through Jan. 27 at 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $10 for students, artists, educators and seniors; $25 for the general public. All-festival passes cost $60. Encounter consists of three full-length works; four mid-length pieces and one short-work collection. Full-length shows are: “When the Snow Melted Down in Chicago,” exploring the identities of Chicago neighborhoods; “Nice Town, Normal People,” a documentary theater piece examining the idea of home; and “Soul in Suburbia,” about a single black mom whose outburst lands her in anger-management class. Mid-size shows are: “Folded Map,” co-directed and devised by Brighid O'Shaughnessy and Penelope Walker in collaboration with Tonika Lewis Johnson, examining 200 years of segregation in Chicago; Marvin Tate's “A Great Day in the Neighborhood” chronicling his personal musical journey; Laura Biagi's “Open Questions,” about how sound affects people; and “Forecast,” about a young pregnant woman's turmoil devised by the For Youth Inquiry Performance Company. For details, see collaboraction.org.
Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 17, for Court Theatre's production of “Photograph 51,” Anna Ziegler's drama about British chemist Rosalind Franklin, whose work was crucial to the discovery of DNA's double helix structure credited to James Watson and Francis Crick. Chaon Cross plays Franklin in director Vanessa Stalling's production, which opens Jan. 26 at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.
Chicago's biennial International Puppet Theater Festival returns Thursday, Jan. 17, through Jan. 27 at 19 Chicago-area venues including: The American Indian Center, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chopin Theatre, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art, the Institute Cervantes de Chicago and others. Highlights include: IBEX Puppetry's “Ajiaak on Turtle Island,” which incorporates traditions from Ojibwe, Lakota and Cherokee Nations to illustrate the connections between people, earth and sand hill cranes. France's Compagnie Non Nova collaborates with Chicago Shakespeare Theater on “L'après-midi d'un foehn Version I” featuring puppets created from plastic shopping bags. The Spanish company Borja Ytuquepintas presents “JoJo,” about an orangutan separated from his mother in a Borneo jungle threatened by fire. Israeli actress/puppeteer Yael Rasooly presents “Paper Cut” about a lonely secretary's fantasies. Italy's Teatro del Drago presents “Pinocchio. A musical fantasy for puppets and actors.” Self-taught puppet artist Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins from North Carolina performs “Just Another Lynching.” Chicago artists Leslie Buxbaum Danzig and Jessica Thebus perform “Atalanta,” a work in progress inspired by the mythic huntress. Other local participants include The Neo-Futurists' performing Mickle Maher's “Tedium” paired with Mocrep's companion piece “Other Sensations.” Chicago's Rough House Theater teams up with Adventure Stage Chicago for the young adults production “The Stranger and the Shadow,” about an outsider fighting a monster. Tickets range from free to $40. They're available online at chicagopuppetfest.org.
In local theater news: Crystal Lake's Raue Center for the Arts and its resident theater company Williams Street Repertory announced Kent M. Lewis and Joel Bennett received 2018 Broadway World Chicago Awards for their performances in WSReP productions. Lewis earned his award for best actor in a musical for “Ring of Fire” and Bennett received his for best actor in a play for “Sylvia.”
The actor training program Black Box Acting recently announced that Andrew Cutler, Amanda Fink and Eric Gerard will succeed co-founders and co-owners Audrey Francis and Laura Hooper, who established the actor training program in 2009.
Silk Road Rising announced its 2019 season will begin Feb. 21 with the Naperville-set “Obstacle Course,” which co-founder and artistic director Jamil Khoury adapted from his play “Mosque Alert.” “Detour Guide” (Mar. 11-April 7), co-produced with Stage Left Theatre, is a one-man musical tour of the Arab World and Arab America. Staging the Stans Festival (July 12-15) consists of staged readings of plays by Central Asian and Eurasian playwrights. “Twice, Thrice, Frice” (October/November) is about three Muslim women confronting adultery and polygamy. The season concludes with the West Ridge Story Festival (Dec. 14-17) showcasing plays by residents of diverse Chicago neighborhoods. Performances take place at the Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. Memberships are $150. (312) 857-1234 or silkroadrising.org.