Theater spotlight: 'August Rush' makes Paramount premiere

Posted April 17, 2019 6:00 am

Sydney Shepherd and George Abud - who play August Rush's birthparents - rehearse for the world premiere of "August Rush: The Musical," beginning previews Wednesday, April 24, at Aurora's Paramount Theatre. Courtesy of Justin Hoch at NEW 42ND STREET® Studios

Paramount premiere

Paramount Theatre premieres "August Rush: The Musical," adapted from the 2007 film about an 11-year-old musical prodigy who's determined to find his biological parents: a classical cellist mother and rock singer father who don't know he exists. Celebrated director John Doyle ("Company," "Sweeney Todd") helms the production in which the actors also serve as the orchestra.

Previews at 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23; 7 p.m. Thursday, April 24; and 8 p.m. Friday, April 25, and through May 2 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The show opens May 3. $36-$69. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

Tim Kidwell and Amanda Caryl Fink star in First Floor Theater's Chicago-area premiere of Halley Feiffer's domestic drama "I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard." Courtesy of Sam Doyle Photography

Father-daughter night

A young actress desperately wants to make her playwright father proud in Halley Feiffer's dramedy "I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard" in its Chicago-area premiere at First Floor Theater. Amanda Caryl Fink and Tim Kidwell play Ella and David, who spend a drug-fueled evening rehashing family history as well as professional triumphs and failures.

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

Ross Lehman tells the story of his parents' romance in the solo show, "Sentimental Journey: A Story of Love and War," at Citadel Theatre.

'Sentimental Journey'

Chicago-area favorite Ross Lehman, a regular at Marriott, Writers, Goodman and Chicago Shakespeare theaters, tells the story of his parents' romance and marriage in the solo show, "Sentimental Journey: A Story of Love and War," the final production in Citadel Theatre's season. Written and performed by Lehman, the show chronicles, in 20th-century pop songs and stories, his parents' meeting, courtship during World War II and married life,

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, April 23-25, at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. The show opens April 26. $20-$45. (847) 735-8554, ext. 1, or citadeltheatre.org.

'Me ... Jane'

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences brings its family-friendly musical "Me ... Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall" to the McAninch. It's adapted from Patrick McDonnell's book "Me ... Jane," about the childhood of the famed primatologist. The world's foremost authority on chimpanzees and a conservation and animal welfare advocate, Goodall is renowned for her 50-plus years studying social interactions in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. The musical chronicles how her youthful attachment to a chimp named Jubilee led to her lifelong devotion to animals.

7 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $14, $20. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.

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