Spotlight: Elgin's Janus Theatre presents walkabout production 'Shakespeare's Sister'

Walkabout in Elgin

Janus Theatre Company resumes live, in-person performances with a walkabout production of "Shakespeare's Sister." Adapted from Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own," the play asks the questions: What if William Shakespeare had a sister who wanted to be a writer? How would she accomplish that? Sean Hargadon directs a cast that includes Jennifer Reeves Wilson, Julie Bayer, Heidi Swarthout, Galen Malick and Richard Pahl.

Walking tours/performances at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, June 25-27, in Lord's Park, 220 Grand Blvd., Elgin. Reservations required. $10. janusplays.com.

Virtual festival

For its new interdisciplinary, interactive, online festival "Map of Now," Lucky Plush Productions combines dance, music, theater and comedy with a video game aesthetic. The multivenue, virtual event takes place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Links Hall, Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre, and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. Featured performers include M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Sojourner Zenobia, BAPS Comedy, Jeremy Owens, Nire Nah, Omar Khalil Dyette and others.

"In addition to dreaming up a new platform to showcase Chicago's diverse artists and venues, The 'Map of Now' will explore community connectivity in an all-new way," said Lucky Plush founder and artistic director Julia Rhoads in a prepared statement. "When an audience member's avatar draws close to someone else's on the map, a video chat function pops up that allows them to engage in conversation, and maybe even catch up with someone they haven't seen in a long time."

Viewers can register for virtual performances every half-hour between 5 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 25-26. The fest concludes with a Zoom post-show dance party at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Performances take place on the gather.town online platform. Tickets range from $5 to $50 with a suggested price of $25. See luckyplush.com/map-of-now.

Historic love

Steel Beam Theatre salutes one of the nation's founding couples in a streaming performance of "Dear John/Dear Abigail: An Incandescent Match." Adapted by John David Westby from the celebrated correspondence of John and Abigail Adams, the letters sent between 1774 and 1776 reflect not only the couple's profound love and devotion but also their revolutionary ideas as well.

Streams Saturday and Sunday, July 3-4, at steelbeamtheatre.com. $10.

In other news

• The Artistic Home introduces a series of staged readings and open rehearsals of three contemporary plays. Dubbed "Summer on the Patio," the series begins Friday, June 25, with a Zoom rehearsal of Maria Irene Fornés' "Mud." That's followed on Saturday, June 26, by Martyna Majok's "Ironbound" and on Sunday, June 27, by Craig Wright's "The Pavillion." The Zoom rehearsals take place from 6-10 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. In-person rehearsals will begin in July at 3054 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See theartistichome.org.

• Porchlight Music Theatre's production of "New Faces Sing Broadway 1979," featuring songs from the musicals "Evita," "Sweeney Todd" and "They're Playing Our Song" and filmed in-person at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, will stream online Friday, June 25, through Sunday, July 25. Tickets are $25 to $50. (773) 777-9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• MadKap Productions announced it will celebrate the reopening of the Skokie Theatre, at 7924 Lincoln Ave. in Skokie, with free concerts at 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday, June 26. The socially distanced events will celebrate health care professionals, first-responders and human services volunteers for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daryl Nitz and Andrew Blendermann co-host. Reservations required. (847) 677-7761, ext. 1, or skokietheatre.org.

• PlayMakers Laboratory begins streaming its latest fundraiser, "That's Weird, Millennials! Real Stories with a Je Né Sai Quoi" at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 26. Instead of stories by schoolchildren, ensemble members will adapt stories by adults. The event will stream on Facebook and Zoom. Tickets for the adults-only production range from $15 to $25. They're available at playmakerslab.org.

• First Folio Theatre's online storytelling series continues with executive director David Rice reading "The Cremation of Sam McGee," Robert W. Service's poem about a man's attempts to fulfill his best friend's dying wish. That and other readings stream online through July 15 at firstfolio.org.

• Mercury Theater Chicago named cabaret artist Honey West as the new director of the Venus Cabaret, at 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The theater will mark its reopening with an open house on July 10 and 11 that will also introduce incoming artistic director Christopher Chase Carter and managing director Shane Murray-Corcoran. Held in conjunction with Southport Arts Fest, the open house will feature performances by Mercury Theater Chicago veterans.

• "The Magic Parlour," starring magician and mind reader Denis Watkins, resumes live performances Aug. 6, at The Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe St., Chicago. Capacity is limited to 40 people and masks will be optional for people who show proof of vaccination. "I absolutely cannot wait to perform again in-person and feel the powerful connection of a shared experience between families, friends and strangers. People who come together at the Palmer House on any given day - that's what really makes the show fly," said Watkins in a prepared statement. Tickets are $79, and they're on sale through Oct. 29 at themagicparlourchicago.com or (312) 300-6803.

• Chicago's Black Ensemble Theater received a $5 million grant from writer/philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. made news recently through her donation of $2.74 billion in grants to 286 organizations. In her announcement of the grants, Scott stated it was "a signal of trust and encouragement, to them and to others," according to BTE founder and executive director Jackie Taylor in a prepared statement. "This statement gave me great pride in knowing that our work to eradicate racism and its devastating effects was being recognized, supported, and respected in such a significant way," Taylor said.