Spotlight: Court Theatre revives 'Gospel at Colonus'

Kane Rep returns

Kane Repertory Theatre returns with "On An Average Day," John Kolvenbach's two-hander about estranged brothers who reunite to examine their shared, tragic history. James Hendley plays Bob, a sociopath facing jail time, and Brian Koester plays the seemingly successful Jack who battles his own demons.

7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through May 21 at Moonlight Theatre, 7 S. 2nd Ave., St. Charles. $25-$45. Masks optional. kanerepertorytheatre.com.

Court's 'Gospel'

Court Theatre concludes its 2022-23 season with "The Gospel at Colonus," a musical adaptation of the Oedipus myth conceived and adapted by Lee Beuer with music by Bob Telson. Kelvin Roston Jr. stars as Oedipus, Aeriel Williams plays Antigone and Timothy Edward Kane plays Creon in Court's revival directed by Mark J.P. Hood and Charles Newell.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, and May 17-19, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 20. $28.50-$82. Masks recommended. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

First tuner

Oil Lamp Theater stages its first musical, the pop-infused "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," the pleasant off-Broadway show by writer/lyricist Joe DiPietro and composer Jimmy Roberts about modern romance in all its incarnations, from dating to divorce. Jay Pastucha directs.

Previews at 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20, at 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview. The show opens May 20. $20-$45. Masks optional. (847) 834-0738 or oillamptheater.org.

In other news

Check with venues about COVID-19 precautions.

• Just in time for Mother's Day, female comedians known as the Bad Momz bring their adults-only comedy to area venues. They perform Friday, May 12, at The Laughing Academy, 3230 Glenview Road, Glenview; Sunday, May 14, at Zanies, 1548 N. Wells St., Chicago; and Monday, May 15, at Harbor Brewing Company, 136 Cedar Ave., Lake Villa. chicagocomedyworks.com/shows.

• In celebration of Mother's Day, Blue Man Group offers 20% off select performances at the Briar Street Theatre, 3133 N. Halsted St., Chicago, for tickets purchased by May 31. blueman.com/chicago/offers.

• Comedian Fahim Anwar ("Late Night With Seth Meyers," "Conan") headlines The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, at 7:15 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 12. Masks recommended. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.

• Comedian/writer and Evanston native Emilia Barrosse, daughter of Practical Theatre Company co-founder Paul Barrosse, headlines Studio5, 1938 Dempster St., Evanston, at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 13, and 6 p.m. Sunday, May 14. studio5.dance.

• Moms attending the 2 or 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 14, performances of Dr. Riccardo Rosenkranz's magic show "Physician Magician" at the Rhapsody Theater, 1328 W. Morse Ave., Chicago, will receive a complimentary beverage and pink playing cards. rhapsodytheater.com.

• Angela Ingersoll, Donica Lynn, Caitlin Jackson, Lillian Castillo and Sawyer Smith are among the theater artists participating in "Belting for Life," a benefit concert supporting the AIDS Foundation of Chicago at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 15, at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, 721 Howard St., Evanston. Joseph Jefferson Award-winning director Christopher Pazdernik produces. In-person tickets are $40. $20 streaming tickets are available post-concert. action.aidschicago.org/event/belting-for-life-2023.

• "Disney's Aladdin," the stage adaptation of the hit animated musical by Oscar-winning composer/lyricists Alan Menken and Howard Ashman returns to Chicago for a limited run Thursday, May 17, through May 28 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. broadwayinchicago.com.

• Performances begin Thursday, May 18, for Trap Door Theatre's U.S. premiere of "Bowie in Warsaw," Dorota Maslowska's absurd comedy about self-expression in Soviet-era Poland in a translation by Soren Gauger commissioned by Trap Door. The show runs through July 1 at 1655 W. Cortland St., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

• Shattered Globe Theatre hosts its Spring Soiree at 6:30 p.m. May 19 at the Ravenswood Event Center, 4043 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. The annual fundraiser includes dinner and beverages, a performance and an auction. sgtheatre.org.

• The Chicago Children's Theatre has added performances for its family-friendly "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14 and 20-21, at 100 S. Racine, Chicago. (312) 374-8835 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Filament Theatre announced performance artist Osiris Cuen, actor/educator Abby Thompson and playwright Phanésia Pharel will be artists in residence as part of SPARK, the theater's new work development initiative.

• Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's 2023/2024 main stage season begins Sept. 14 with "The Addams Family: A New Musical" in which Wednesday Addams brings home her boyfriend to meet her eccentric family. The holiday favorite "A Christmas Carol" runs Nov. 30 to Dec. 24 followed by "9 to 5: The Musical" (May 2-June 8, 2024) adapted from the film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton as female employees who take revenge on their sexist male boss. Next up is the jukebox tuner "Million Dollar Quartet" (July 11-Aug. 17, 2024) a fictionalized account of the real life 1956 meeting of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley at Sun Records in Memphis. A concert version of "The Music Man" runs Feb. 2-24, 2024. And the season concludes with "Hooked on a Feeling: Michael & Angela Ingersoll in Concert" (February 23-March 3, 2024) a cabaret featuring Michael and Angela Ingersoll along with special guests. Performances take place at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. Current season subscription renewals begin June 5. New subscriptions are available beginning June 26. Subscriptions start at $70 for previews. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• Writers Theatre launches its first season under artistic director Braden Abraham on Sept. 21 with Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice" about the doomed newlywed who must decide whether to stay in Hades with her father or return to earth with her husband, Orpheus. The production marks Abraham's Writers directorial debut. The terrific "Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol" returns Nov. 16 to Dec. 24. Next up is the Chicago-area premiere of "The Band's Visit" (Feb. 8-March 17, 2024), the Tony Award-winning musical about an Egyptian band on tour in Israel who get lost and end up spending the night in a small desert town. It's produced in cooperation with TheatreSquared. Pianist and storyteller Hershey Felder channels Frederic Chopin in his solo show, "Monsieur Chopin" (April 10-May 12, 2024). The season concludes with "The Hot Wing King" (June 20-July 21, 2024), Katori Hall's Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy about friends whose preparation for Memphis' annual hot wing festival is interrupted by the arrival of a troubled young man. Performances take place at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. Subscriptions range from $120 to $240. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• Babes With Blades' 2023 season opens June 17 with the company's "Fighting Words Festival" at The Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa, Chicago. The fest showcases in-development scripts. The company follows that with a production of John Webster's 17th-century Jacobean tragedy "The Duchess of Malfi" (Sept. 8-Oct. 21) about a widow who decides to remarry outside her social class, prompting her toxic male relatives to intervene. Those performances take place at The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St., Chicago. babeswithblades.org.

• The Chicago premiere of "The Lehman Trilogy," the Tony Award-winning tale of the rise and fall of one-time financial powerhouse Lehman Brothers, launches TimeLine Theatre Company's 27th season on Sept. 19 at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. That's followed by the Chicago premiere of "The Lifespan of a Fact" (Nov. 1-Dec. 23 at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago,) about an intern at a magazine assigned to fact-check a famous writer's essay, which he learns is fabricated. Next up is the Chicago premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's "Notes From the Field" (Jan. 31-March 24, 2024, at 615 W. Wellington Ave.), a piece of documentary theater about the school-to-prison pipeline in which the dialogue comes from real accounts from students, prisoners, victims and activists. The season concludes with the premiere of "Black Sunday" (May 8-June 30, 2024) Dolores Diaz's 1935-set drama about the days leading up to the tragic dust storm known as Black Sunday. Season subscriptions range from $119 to $275. (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or timelinetheatre.com.