Spotlight: Live improv returns to Schaumburg's Laugh Out Loud Theater

Laugh live

Schaumburg's Laugh Out Loud Theater resumes live performances of its improv show "20,000 Laughs Under the Sea." Temperature checks are required for all patrons and face coverings must be worn during the show and inside the building except when patrons are eating. Food and beverages are limited to 30 minutes before showtime. Physical distancing should be maintained at all times.

7:30 (all ages) and 9:30 p.m. (adults only) Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18-19, at Streets of Woodfield, 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg. Performances continue through Oct. 31. $30 for two people. $60 for four people. Advance ticket purchase is required. (847) 240-0386 or laughoutloudtheater.com/schaumburg.

Quarantine film

Theatre Y debuts its film interpretation of Young Jean Lee's 2011 play with music "We're Gonna Die" in which a female singer pairs stories recounting terrible life experiences with peppy tunes titled "Lullaby for the Miserable" and "Horrible Things." Ensemble member Héctor Álvarez directed the film, which was created by 12 artists who rehearsed, designed, composed and recorded their contributions remotely. "As the global pandemic continues to claim lives and ravage communities ... we want to offer a visual meditation on absence, a musical memento mori that helps us mourn what has been lost and find comfort in the beauty of what we still have," said theater representatives in a prepared statement.

7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Sept. 18-20. Screenings continue through Oct. 4 at theatre-y.com. Donations will be accepted. (773) 908-2248.

Oscar & the Bard

Otherworld Theatre and The Stupid Shakespeare Company collaborate on "The Merchant of Sesame Street," a virtual parody adapted from William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" with characters from the beloved children's show re-imagined as Ernenzo, Bertsanio and Osclar the Grouch.

According to director/producer Katie Ruppert, the themes of racism and intolerance are secondary to the story of Venetian party boys who've blown through a fortune before the play begins.

"It's an ultimate example of white privilege but is understandably confusing," she said in a prepared statement. "Grumpy Shylock's tormentors are written as being rich, beautiful and admired. In case anyone didn't notice, Portia and her entourage are raging racists. We've replaced them with literal monsters."

Screenings begin Saturday, Sept. 19, on Otherworld's YouTube platform at youtube.com. Type in Otherworld Theatre to access the company's digital platform. Donations accepted at otherworldtheatre.org.

16th Street audio play

16th Street Theater streams an audio play version of "Rastus and Hattie," Lisa Langford's comedic examination of the legacy of racism. The relationship between longtime friends Needra, who is Black, and Marlene, who is white, is tested when Marlene's husband introduces two realistic-looking robots dressed as slaves to Needra and her husband. The production, directed by Lanise Antoine Shelley, is paired with illustrations by Roy Thomas.

7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 24-25, and 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26; runs through Oct. 24. $10-$30. (708) 795-6704, ext. 107, or 16thstreettheater.org.

In other news

• E. Faye Butler stars as civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Goodman Theatre's "Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!" an abridged version of Cheryl L. West's play "Fannie," which was developed during Goodman's 2019 New Stages Festival. Artistic associate Henry Godinez directs the production, which co-stars musician Felton Offard. Free, outdoor and physically distanced performances run through Oct. 3 at various Chicago parks. See goodmantheatre.org/speakonit.

• Silk Road Rising, in cooperation with the Swedish Consulate, the Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance and the Swedish American Museum hosts a virtual screening of the documentary film "Balloons Over Babylon" at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. The film by Swedish filmmaker Folke Rydén is about an Iraqi man named Murtada Al-Hachami, whose father was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein's regime and five friends hanged causing the family to flee the country. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Murtada moved back to Iraq "where he dreamed of populating the Babylonian sky with hot air balloons as symbols of hope and possibility for all Iraqis." See silkroadrising.org.

• Northwestern University's Imagine U Storytime series consisting of 15-minute videos of family-friendly stories performed by NU faculty, alumni and students returns on Sunday, Sept. 20, with "Straw Hat Statues," a traditional Japanese storytelling form performed by Alvin Chan. Pete Seeger's story-song "Abiyoyo" about a young boy who protects his town from a giant follows on Sept. 27. Next up on Oct. 4 is "The Rainbow Fish," based on the book by Marcus Pfister about a proud fish that doesn't like to share. "Frozen: a sing and dance along adventure" featuring Northwestern undergraduates takes place on Oct. 11. Free performances stream at 6 p.m. Sundays. Search the Wirtz Center on youtube.com.

• TimeLine Theatre presents programs inspired by its postponed productions of "Relentless," Tyla Abercrumbie's play about a Black family set in 1918, and "Campaigns, Inc.," Will Allan's behind-the-scenes political drama. Both plays were developed through the theater's playwright's collective. Abercrumbie, director Ron OJ Parson and other artists discuss "Relentless" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, on YouTube at youtube.com/timelinetheatre. Admission is free. That's followed at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 by Abercrumbie's seminar exploring oral history and family titled "Behind the 'Line: Preserving the Stories of Our Ancestors." Admission is $50. "Campaigns, Inc." dramaturges Maren Robinson and Katie Jacobsen present "Beyond the 'Line: Cultivating Your 'Navigating the News' Superpower," a dramaturgical approach to "fake news" at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 and 20. Admission is $25. The series concludes at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 with a conversation inspired by "Campaigns, Inc." titled "The Journal from 'The Jungle' to 'The Swamp'" at youtube.com/timelinetheatre.

• Filament Theatre, a company whose productions are for children up to age 12, named Krissi Ann McEachern its new managing director. McEachern comes to Filament from Chicago Shakespeare Theater where she was the producing project manager responsible for the company's Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks series. Prior to that she worked with Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Company.