Spotlight: Goodman, Theater Wit and 16th Street theaters stream performances
Shows must go on
With live performances canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several Chicago-area ensembles have come up with alternatives to delivering live theater.
• Goodman Theatre is streaming for free its 2016 world premiere of "2666," a wildly ambitious adaptation of Roberto Bolano's sprawling, 900-page novel. Adapted and directed by Goodman artistic director Robert Falls and playwright Seth Bockley, this 5½-hour production is a meditation on obsession, love, violence and the function of the artist, whether we can ever know his or her intent. See goodmantheatre.org/watch2666.
• Theater Wit is streaming its local premiere of "Teenage Dick," Mike Lew's dark comedy about a high school student's ruthless quest to become class president. Videotaped performances of the play - inspired by William Shakespeare's "Richard III" - run at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through April 19.
Patrons select a "remote view" date to view the performance. Ten minutes before it begins, viewers will receive an email with a private URL and password to watch the performance on a Vimeo stream. After the performance concludes the video will no longer be accessible. Tickets are $28 to allow Theater Wit to pay the cast and crew during the run of the show. For tickets, call (773) 975-8150 or see theaterwit.org.
• Berwyn's 16th Street Theater streams a video of writer/actor Steven Strafford's "Methtacular!" autobiographical solo show chronicling the three years he spent addicted to crystal meth. The adults-only show streams at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday through April 4. There's also a 3 p.m. performance on Sunday, March 29. Tickets are $12. Once viewers purchase a ticket for a performance, an hour before the show starts, they will receive a password-protected link to the video. See 16thstreettheater.org.
• Chicago's Griffin Theatre has on its website clips of past productions, including "Letters Home," the company's original production comprised of letters written by U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan; Lanford Wilson's "Balm in Gilead"; and Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's "Spring Awakening," among others. Note: Some clips contain adult language and mature subject matter. See griffintheatre.com.
Production updates
• Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, in residence at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, has canceled the final play of its season - "Naperville" by Naperville native Mat Smart - that was scheduled to begin April 30. BTE, like many arts organizations, has asked subscribers and ticket holders to convert their tickets to a donation. See btechicago.com to donate.
• On a related note, Chicago's Remy Bumppo Theatre has also canceled its upcoming production of Smart's "The Agitators," scheduled to begin April 30.
• Williams Street Repertory has rescheduled its production of "Native Gardens," Karen Zacarias' comedy about a property-line dispute. Performances begin Jan. 15 at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. (815) 356-9212 or wsrep.org.
City Lit season
City Lit Theater announced its 41st season will begin Oct. 16 with the premiere of "The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains." It's adapted by L.C. Bernadine and Spencer Huffman from the 1902 novel by writer/historian Owen Wister, considered the father of American literature's "western" fiction and of the cowboy archetype. The play, postponed from this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, centers on an unnamed man who struggles to maintain his honor during a conflict with a former ranch hand turned rustler.
That's followed by "The Playboy of the Western World" (Jan. 15-Feb. 28, 2021), John Millington Synge's classic about an Irish man who becomes a local hero after he claims he killed his father with a shovel.
Next up is "Emma's Child" (March 12-April 25, 2021) by resident playwright Kristine Thatcher. It's about a Rogers Park couple whose plans to adopt the child of Emma, a pregnant teenager, begin to threaten their marriage.
The season concludes with the musical "Aztec Human Sacrifice" by composer/lyricist Kingsley Day and writer Philip LaZebnik. The tuner, which begins previews May 7, 2021, unfolds the night before the Aztec empire's new millennium when the young man chosen to be sacrificed to ensure the world's continuation runs off with the high priest's daughter.
Performances take place at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. Subscriptions range from $68 to $180. They're available at (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.