Spotlight: Thriller 'D.O.A.' opens at Steel Beam while 'Big River' musical takes stage at Mercury Theater

Theater noir

Steel Beam Theatre presents "D.O.A.," a thriller adapted by Elizabeth Lovelady from the screenplay of the 1949 film about an accountant named Frank Bigelow who discovers he's been poisoned. With only a few days to live, he races to uncover who killed him and why. Janus Theatre artistic director Sean Hargadon directs the revival, which stars Dean Gallagher as Frank.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 21-22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 23. Runs through May 14 at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $22-$28. Masks recommended. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

An American classic

Mercury Theater Chicago revives the musical "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," adapted from Mark Twain's classic, with music and lyrics by Roger Miller and a book by William Hauptman. The story centers on Huck's efforts to help his enslaved friend Jim escape to freedom. "There are politicians and citizens of this country who are trying to hide our shared American history, making this beautiful, historical musical essential for this moment," said director Christopher Chase Carter in a prepared statement. "I can't wait to bring Chicago on this journey of love, hope and friendship."

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, and Wednesday, April 26; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, April 27. $39-$85. Masks recommended. mercurytheaterchicago.com.

U.S. premiere

After five sex workers are murdered in their suburban London town, residents unite to respond to the tragedy and the media circus that ensues in the new musical "London Road," which is based on a true story and incorporates verbatim dialogue recorded from the citizens of Ipswich, United Kingdom, where five people were murdered by a serial killer in 2006. Shattered Globe Theatre's production marks the show's U.S. premiere.

Previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 22, and Wednesday, April 26, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, April 27. $25-$52. Masks required. (773) 975-8150 or sgtheatre.org/london.

Karen Mason returns

Arlington Heights' own Karen Mason, a Broadway veteran and cabaret chanteuse, returns to headline Chicago nightspot Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret. Her show "Karen's Back ... And All That Jazz" showcases the music of composers/lyricists John Kander and Fred Ebb.

8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 27-29, and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $45, with a two-drink minimum. Masks recommended. davenportspianobar.com.

In other news

Check with venues about COVID-19 precautions.

• Previews begin Saturday, April 22, for Stage Left Theatre's premiere of "In the Back/On the Floor," a play about employees at a big box retail store contemplating unionizing. The show opens April 28 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. $30-$40. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• The Practical Theatre Company celebrates William Shakespeare's birthday at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 23, with readings from his plays and sonnets along with original sketches inspired by his works at 1938 Dempster St., Evanston. $22-$27. studio5.dance.

• Chicago Shakespeare Theater honors founder and outgoing artistic director Barbara Gaines with the Spirit of Shakespeare Award to be presented during the company's annual fundraiser at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 24, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $125. Additionally, CST will stream "To Be," a 25-minute video celebrating the arts and Shakespeare's influence. It will be available Sunday, April 23, at chicagoshakes.com.

• Performer Honey West hosts Porchlight Music Theatre's "New Faces Sing Broadway 1984," featuring theater artists singing selections from musicals that ran on Broadway in 1984, including "Sunday in the Park With George," "Baby," "La Cage aux Folles" and "The Rink." Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, at Space, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston, and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $37. porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• Lifeline Theatre and Pegasus Theatre Chicago team up for "From the Mississippi Delta," Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland's play adapted from her memoir, which traces her journey from her humble beginnings in Greenwood, Mississippi, to obtaining her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Previews begin Thursday, April 27, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 1. Lifeline artistic director Ilesa Duncan directs. Tickets are $25-$45. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com. Additionally, Pegasus Theatre hosts several outreach events during the production's run. pegasustheatrechicago.org.

• The Chicago Puppet Fest hosts its annual "Living Room Tour" beginning Thursday, April 27, at Glessner House in Chicago; on April 28, at a private River Forest estate; and on April 29 at Manual Cinema's studios. Maryland puppet ensemble Alex and Olmsted will perform each night. Tickets range from $150 to $250 per performance. Proceeds benefit the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival and the Free Neighborhood Tour. chicagopuppetfest.org.

• Performances begin Thursday, April 27, for Theatre L'Acadie's world premiere of "If This is The End," Melanie Coffey's "scientific fairy tale" about love on a destroyed planet. Performances run Thursday, April 27, through May 7 at Facility Theater, 1138 N. California Ave., Chicago. facilitytheatre.org.

• Magician Joshua Jay - who's appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon," "The Late Show With James Corden" and "Penn & Teller's Fool Us" - performs his new show, "Look Closer," through April 30 at Rhapsody Theater, 1328 Morse Ave., Chicago. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 2, 7 and 9 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets are $25-$75. rhapsodytheater.com.

• Performances continue for Chicago Children's Theatre's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show," a stage version of Eric Carle's children's book created by Jonathan Rockefeller. The show, which runs at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Saturdays through June 4 at 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago, boasts more than 75 puppets, including the titular caterpillar, Brown Bear, 10 rubber ducks and a very busy spider. Tickets are $35.25. Masks recommended. (312) 374-8835 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• The new musical "Coming of Age in the Age of House" by Campsongs Productions continues at the Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The musical about the origins of house music, tells the story of a young man who finds the courage to come out of the closet after he sneaks into the Warehouse Club, the birthplace of house music. $25-$30. centeronhalsted.org.

• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble has extended its world premiere of "Motherhouse," Tuckie White's dark comedy about a woman who enlists help from her aunts in writing her mother's eulogy. Performances run through May 21 at 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. (773) 334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org.

• The Jeff Awards launched the Jeff Impact Fellowship, a new grant award to help inspire early- to midcareer theater artists of color. Two artists will receive grants of $10,000 each to support their pursuit of artistic excellence in Chicago. Eligible recipients must be people of color, at least 18, reside in Chicago or a suburb and have been working here for at least one year as an actor, director, stage manager, designer, theater technician, cabaret artist, playwright, music director, theater composer, theater musician or improvisational performer. Applications are due by 5 p.m. June 30. Email questions to chair@jeffawards.org.

• Six premieres - three world premieres and three Chicago premieres - comprise Steppenwolf Theatre's 2023-2024 season, which begins Sept. 14 with "Sanctuary City," Martyna Majok's play about the "sacrifices made by DREAMers, lovers and lifelong friends" living in an "adopted country that doesn't love them back." That's followed by the Chicago premiere of "POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumb*** are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive" (Oct. 26-Dec. 3), Selina Fillinger's day-in-the-life comedy about seven women trying to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. Next up is Matthew Paul Olmos' "a home what howls (or the house what was ravine)," a modern myth about a young woman fighting for her family's right to live on their land. It runs Feb. 2 through March 2, 2024. Then it's the world premiere of "Purpose," Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' domestic drama about a politically prominent Black family whose members are forced to reckon with their past when their youngest son returns home with an uninvited friend. It runs March 14-April 21, 2024. That's followed by "The Thanksgiving Play" (April 25-June 2, 2024), Larissa Fasthorse's sendup of "woke America" in which four well-intentioned people try to organize a school Thanksgiving pageant that won't ruffle any feathers. Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello helms a still untitled play by Samuel D. Hunter starring Emmy Award-winning ensemble member Laurie Metcalf that will run June 13 through July 21, 2024. Performances take place at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Flex subscriptions start at $120, classic subscriptions start at $150, and under 30 memberships start at $99. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• Babes With Blades commences its 2023 season with its annual Fighting Words Festival, a showcase of readings of three in-development scripts held June 17-25 at The Edge off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa, Chicago. That's followed by John Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi," about a widowed duchess who finds love again only to have her domineering brothers do everything they can to break up the relationship. The show runs Sept. 8 through Oct. 21 at the Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St., Chicago. babeswithblades.org.

• Court Theatre announced its 69th season begins Nov. 3 with a revival of James Goldman's 12th century-set domestic drama "The Lion in Winter," about the contentious Christmas that Eleanor of Aquitaine spent with her estranged husband, Henry II, and their children. That's followed by Sophocles' "Antigone" (Feb. 2-25, 2024), another domestic drama with political ramifications about the titular character who defies King Creon's order to leave her brother unburied. Next up is "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" (March 29-April 21, 2024), Tom Stoppard's "Hamlet"-inspired comedy starring two minor characters from Shakespeare's play who wrestle with fate, friendship and the question of existence while a tragedy unfolds around them. The season concludes with the premiere of "Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution," Nambi E. Kelly's drama about civil rights activist Kwame Ture, who was born Stokely Carmichael. It runs May 24-June 16, 2024. Performances take place at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. Subscriptions range from $111 to $272. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, in residence at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes Ave., Evanston, announced its 2023 season begins June 10 with "Obama-ology," Aurin Squire's comedy about an African American college student who comes to terms with his sexual and racial identity while working on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. That's followed by "The Light" (Aug. 5-20), Loy A. Webb's two-hander about a marriage proposal that goes awry. Next up is "The Baldwin|Giovanni Experience," Tim Rhoze and Bria Walker's work inspired by the 1971 broadcast conversation between authors James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni that incorporates original music, a mural and choreography. The season concludes Oct. 28 with "This Bitter Earth," Harrison David Rivers' play about the relationship between an introspective Black playwright and his white, Black Lives Matter activist boyfriend who calls him out for his political apathy. (847) 866-5914 or fjtheatre.com.