Theater events: 'La Havana Madrid' reopens in Chicago

• As they prepare to send their oldest son to college, a couple who emigrated to America from Ethiopia struggle with memories that threaten their new lives in "EthiopianAmerica" by Sam Kebede. Definition Theatre Company premieres the play at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Previews begin Friday, May 10. The play, directed by Sophiyaa Nayar, opens Tuesday, May 14. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

• The 20th anniversary tour of "Rent," Jonathan Larson's rock musical about a group of young artists struggling with AIDS, poverty and relationships, returns to Chicago for a brief run. It begins Friday, May 10, at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Blue Man Group offers a 25 percent Mother's Day discount on the purchase of four tickets through Sunday, May 12, with use of the code FAM4. Performances are at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Friday, May 10; 2, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 11; and 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 12. Blue Man Group is in an open run at the Briar Street Theater, 3133 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (773) 348-4000 or blueman.com.

• The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, presents comedian Joel Kim Booster, a Chicago-bred, Los Angeles-based comedian and writer. The veteran of "Conan," "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and Comedy Central performs at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 10-11. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.

• It's twice the laughs thanks to comedian/musicians Tim Cavanagh, who appeared on ABC, Showtime and WGN America, and Tim Walkoe, winner of ABC-TV's "America's Funniest People." They team up for "The Tale of Two Tims" to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre this weekend. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• Teatro Vista and Collaboraction remount "La Havana Madrid," Sandra Delgado's play-with-music chronicling the lives of Chicago's Latino immigrants who patronized the titular 1960s Chicago nightclub. Actor/playwright Delgado reprises her role as chanteuse and the spirit of the club, which serves as a second home to Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian immigrants. Previews begin Saturday, May 11, at The Den Theatre. 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 17. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.

• Previews begin Saturday, May 11, for Black Ensemble Theater's original revue "Style and Grace in Tribute to Lena and Nancy," celebrating seminal singers Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson. Kylah Williams wrote and directs the production, which features Aerial Williams and Chante Joy as younger and older Lena Horne and Jayla Craig and Rhonda Preston as younger and older Nancy Wilson. The show opens May 18 at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 769-4451 or blackensemble.org.

• Improvised Jane Austen, an all-female ensemble whose members improvise on audience suggestions in the style of the 18th-century novelist, performs this weekend at the Improv Playhouse Theater, 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. Shows are at 7:30 (family-friendly) and 9 p.m. (adult) Saturday, May 11. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

• Armie Hammer ("Hotel Mumbai," "Call Me By Your Name") hosts Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2019 gala at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at Rockwell on the River, 3057 N. Rockwell Ave., Chicago. James Franco ("The Disaster Artist," "127 Hours") serves as guest auctioneer for the event, which includes a cocktail reception, dinner, an auction, entertainment and dancing. (312) 654-5632 or specialevents@steppenwolf.org.

• The Neo-Futurists celebrate Mother's Day with "The Egg Wrench: 30 Egg Plays in 60 Egg Minutes," a holiday version of their signature show, "The Infinite Wrench." Showtime is 7 p.m. Sunday, May 12, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $25. Proceeds benefit the Chicago Women's Health Center, which provides women and trains people with access to health care and education. See neofuturists.org.

• Our Perspective: Asian-American Play Readings, a series sponsored by the AA Arts Incubator Program of Asian Improv Arts Midwest, returns Monday, May 13, with a reading of Matthew C. Yee's "Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon." The play is about Chinese-American newlyweds who plot an armed robbery to afford a honeymoon. The reading is at 6:30 p.m. at the Steppenwolf 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (773) 972-6745 or our-perspective.com.

• The Passage Theatre concludes its inaugural season with "The Lessons," a collection of solo performances conceived and performed by ensemble members, all of which reveals a bit of the performer's personal history. Abigail Phelps directs the production, which runs Monday, May 13, through Saturday, May 25, at Berry United Methodist Church, 4754 N. Leavitt St., Chicago. See thepassagetheatre.com.

• Pride Films and Plays hosts Nominee Night, showcasing non-equity Joseph Jefferson Award musical theater nominees, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 13, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Nominees scheduled to perform include cast members from Theo Ubique's "The Bridges of Madison County" and Underscore Theatre Company's "Haymarket" among other productions. Tickets are $20 general admission, $35 for VIP admission, which includes a premium seat and drink ticket. (866) 411-4111 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• The International Voices Project, a five-week celebration of international plays taking place at the Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio St., Chicago, continues Tuesday, May 14, with a pair of Italian plays. "A Notebook for Winter" by Armando Pirozzi is about a literature professor who encounters a burglar. "Events Horizon" by Elisa Casseri is about a woman stuck in a studio apartment from which she cannot escape. The series continues Thursday, May 16, with Rabiah Hussain's "Spun," about two British Pakistani young women and university graduates whose lives are upended after a terrorist attack in London causes one to embrace her Muslim roots and the other to avoid them. Performances are at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. See ivpchicago.org.

• Remy Bumppo Theatre Company presents the Chicago-area premiere of "Bloomsday," Steven Dietz's love story set in Dublin, Ireland, against the backdrop of James Joyce's novel "Ulysses." J.R. Sullivan directs the production, which features ensemble members Annabel Armour and Shawn Douglass along with Jack DeCesare and Bryce Gangel. Previews begin Thursday, May 16, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 20. (773) 975-8150 or remybumppo.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, May 16, for AstonRep Theatre Company's revival of "The Crowd You're in With," Rebeca Gilman's dramedy (whose title comes from a Bob Dylan lyric) about families, friendships and the decision whether to have a family. Co-artistic director Derek Bertelsen directs the production, which opens May 18 at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 828-9129 or astonrep.com.

• Corn Productions parodies the "High School Musical" franchise with a revival of "Storefront Theater Musical," a show that also sends up Chicago's storefront theater scene. It centers around three struggling companies sharing a venue who band together to raise money to fix the building code violations. Performances begin Thursday, May 16, at the Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. See cornservatory.org.

• Exit 63 Theatre presents Steve Yockey's "Wolves: A Predatory Fairy Tale." Performances begin Thursday, May 16, for the adults-only, deconstruction of "Little Red Riding Hood," about two roommates, one of whom brings home a big, bad wolf for a one-night stand. Performances run through June 2 at The Frontier Theater, 1106 W. Thorndale Ave., Chicago. See exit63theatre.com.

• Performances continue for Congo Square Theatre's "Single Black Female," a two-hander that examines the lives of middle-class, African-American women. Tiffany Addison and Ginneh Thomas star in the Congo Square Theatre production, which runs through May 19 at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. See congosquaretheatre.org.

• The Annoyance Theatre presents "I Wanna Believe! An X Files Musical Parody," in which federal agents Mulder and Scully investigate a deadly dancing epidemic spreading among suburbanites. The show by Emily Hyatt runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through June 13 at 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (772) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Otherworld Theatre Company announced that Katie Ruppert, the company's sketch and improv curator, has taken over as the new managing director. She replaces Mary-Kate Arnold, who assumed the dual role of associate artistic director and casting director.

• Artemisia, A Chicago Theatre will open its 2019-2020 season Nov. 1 with The Suffrage Plays comprised of three, one-acts from The Suffrage Theatre. Active from 1907 to 1914, the theater played a significant role in Great Britain's women's suffrage movement. Evelyn Glover's "A Chat with Mrs. Chicky" unfolds as a conversation between an upper-crust woman and a suffragette cleaning lady. Glover's "Miss Appleyard's Awakening" is about an anti-suffragette who sees the errors of her ways. The bill also includes George Bernard Shaw's farcical "Press Cuttings" which ridicules anti-suffrage arguments. The season continues June 5, 2020, with Lauren Ferebee's "Every Waiting Heart," about a daughter whose rebellious streak prompts her mother to attend a speed-dating event that strains their relationship. Performances take place at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See artemisiatheatre.org.