Theater spotlight: Metropolis revives 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'
Strawdog Theatre's comic fantasia
Strawdog Theatre Company premieres "Take Me," a musical by composer/lyricist Jon Langford (The Mekons, The Waco Brothers) and former Daily Herald music critic and playwright Mark Guarino. Lombard native Nicole Bloomsmith stars as a woman convinced the solution to her problems is to listen to the strange voices urging her to build an alien-themed amusement park in Roswell, New Mexico. Ensemble member Anderson Lawfer, who worked with Langford and Guarino on their previous musical "All the Fame of Lofty Deeds," directs.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10 and 17, Saturday, May 11, and Thursday, May 16, and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 12 and 19, at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 20. $18-$35. (773) 644-1380 or strawdog.org.
Henry's queens
Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard, Parr. The six wives of King Henry VIII unite to tell their side of history in the new pop musical "Six" in its U.S. premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Abby Mueller, of Evanston, plays Henry's beloved Jane Seymour and Paramount and Marriott theater veteran Samantha Pauly co-stars as Henry's fifth wife, Katherine Howard, in Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss' musical, which also features Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macasaet, Brittany Mack and Anna Uzele plus an all-female band dubbed the Ladies in Waiting.
Previews run at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, May 14-17; 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18; 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19; and 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 22. $32-$55. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
Comedy tonight
Determined to obtain his freedom, the crafty servant Pseudolus works to win the hand of a fair maiden named Philia for his master Hero in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," a musical farce by Stephen Sondheim with a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Tommy Bullington plays Pseudolus in director Lauren Rawitz's revival for the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16 and 23; 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 17; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18; and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. The show opens May 24. $35, $40. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.