Spotlight: In Glenview, a fable unfolds, while in St. Charles, it's Shakespeare under the stars

Siblings in love

Oil Lamp Theater presents “Failure: A Love Story,” Philip Dawkins' play-with-music about three sisters living above their family's clock repair shop in 1928 Chicago. Xavier Custodio directs this musical fable about the triumphs and tragedies of the three sisters who never saw death coming.

Previews at 8 p.m. Friday, July 22, and 3 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview. The show opens at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 23. $35, $45. COVID-19 precautions: masks required for Saturday matinees; masks recommended for all other performances. (847) 834-0738 or oillamptheater.org.

New at Laugh Out Loud

Comedy Dance Chicago, an ensemble that combines sketch comedy and word play along with music and dance, performs at Laugh Out Loud Theater this week.

8 p.m. Friday, July 22, at 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg. $25. COVID-19 precautions: vaccinations and masking encouraged, but not required. (847) 240-0386 or loltheater.com.

'Twelfth Night'

Kane Repertory Theatre, in cooperation with the St. Charles Park District, presents William Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night.” “Twelfth Night” centers on Viola, who washes ashore after a shipwreck and disguises herself as a boy named Cesario. She falls in love with Duke Orsino, who is in love with the noblewoman Olivia, who has fallen in love with Cesario in this romantic comedy about love and identity.

7 p.m. July 28-30 and Aug. 6, 11 and 12; 2 p.m. July 31 and Aug. 7, outdoors at the pavilion at Pottawatomie Park, 8 North Ave., St. Charles. $15-$30. COVID-19 precautions: masks not required, but encouraged. See kanerepertorytheatre.com.

In other news

Check with venues about COVID-19 precautions.

• Mentalist/mind reader Ross Johnson performs his show “A Funny Thing Happened Tomorrow” at 8 p.m. Wednesday and 3 p.m. Sunday through July 31 at the Rhapsody Theater, 1328 Morse Ave., Chicago. Also, the magician known as Zabrecky performs his show “The Zabrecky Hour” at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday at Rhapsody through Sept. 24. COVID-19 vaccinations are not required, but patrons are advised to wear masks. (888) 495-9001 or rhapsodytheater.com.

• Open Space Arts presents its inaugural production, the premiere of “The Kramer Project,” adapted and directed by David Zak from playwright Larry Kramer's speech, “The Tragedy of Today's Gays.” “In this season of anti-trans legislation, looming Supreme Court decisions, and orders to 'don't say gay,' I found myself wondering 'What would Larry Kramer say?'” said Zak in a prepared statement. “'The Tragedy of Today's Gays' calls out to be shared in a new way even now, two years after his death.” Performances begin Friday, July 22, at The Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. See centeronhalsted.org or openspacearts.com.

• The New Coordinates present a workshop production of “American Side Efectos,” a memoir about the American dream by Debbie Baños that centers on a woman examining her immigrant mother's journey from El Salvador to Arkansas. Performances run Friday, July 22, to July 31 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Admission is pay-what-you-can. See thenewcoordinates.org.

• Previews begin Saturday, July 23, for Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre's production of “The Mamalogues,” a series of monologues by Lisa B. Thompson in which three Black women share their experiences parenting their children. The show opens Sunday, July 24, at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and masking required. (847) 866-5914 or fjtheatre.com.

• The Sarah Siddons Society, an organization that funds scholarships to theater arts students at Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Roosevelt University and Northwestern University, hosts its Siddons at Seventy Soiree beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, July 25, at Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Each year the organization presents the Sarah Siddons Award to an outstanding Chicago area theater artist. Past award recipients Kate Baldwin and Heidi Kettenring headline the anniversary celebration. Tickets are $125. See sarahsiddonssociety.org.

• Free Street Theater and partner The Chi Clowns present the family-friendly “A Mild Goose Chase” as part of the Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks. In the play, a girl searches for her lost friend Rutabaga. Performances are: Tuesday, July 26, at Davis Square Park, 4430 S. Marshfield Ave.; Wednesday, July 27, at Gage Park, 2411 W. 55th; Thursday, July 28, at South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive; and Friday, July 29, at Fuller Park, 331 W. 45th St. See freestreet.org.

• Lookingglass Theatre Company presents “Sunset 1919,” an event commemorating Chicago's 1919 race riots following the murder of Eugene Williams, a Black teen, and honoring Black people who were impacted by the deadly racial attacks that occurred during 2020. The free event — which features spoken word, music and dance — takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at the Eugene Williams Memorial Marker, 125 Fort Dearborn Drive, Chicago. Email boxoffice@lookingglasstheatre.org.

• The Story Theatre has extended its Chicago area premiere of “Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes,” ensemble member Terry Guest's examination of Black liberation through the lens of the French Revolution. Performances run through July 24 at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and masking required. (773) 338-2177 or thestorytheatre.org.

• Refracted Theatre Company announced playwrights Adonis Holmes, Alicia Daine Benning, Ryan Oliveira, Amy Crider and maiya a. corral and dramaturge Kenya Ann Hall will participate in the theater's 2022 Refraction Lab for emerging Chicago area playwrights. The lab will conclude in December with a two-night showcase.

• A Red Orchid Theatre's 30th season begins Sept. 29 with the premiere of ensemble member Brett Neveu's “The Malignant Ampersands,” his unofficial sequel to Orson Welles' “The Magnificent Ambersons,” in which a once wealthy and prominent family faces disease and misfortune while its younger members continue to believe the best days are ahead. That's followed by the Chicago premiere of “Is God Is” (April 6-May 28, 2023), Aleshea Harris' examination of the roots of violence in which two sisters receive a letter from the mother they thought was dead and swear vengeance. Performances take place at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. The season pass for previews is $50. The season pass for regular performances is $70. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• A Theater in the Dark, an audio theater ensemble established in 2019 and inspired by radio mysteries of the 1930s and 1940s, produces in-person and online audio plays. Its 2022-2023 season begins this month with a streaming production of the detective play “A Matter of Red Herrings,” about a pair of detectives trying to hunt down a priceless artifact in 1920s Chicago. The play is available for streaming now. Next up is “A Murder in the Court of Xanadu” (streaming fall 2022), in which the court of Kublai Khan's Xanadu is transposed into the 21st century as a major, multinational corporation threatened from within by a savvy financial executive and an inattentive, alcoholic leader. The season concludes with “The White City: An Audible Exhibition on H.H. Holmes, Murderer” (streaming in early 2023). This tale focuses on the only victim serial killer H.H. Holmes was convicted of killing, his business partner Ben Pitezel. Access is $10 per stream or $25 for the entire season. For an additional $3.25, patrons have access to the theater's entire company of audio plays. See theatreinthedark.com.