Spotlight: Naperville's BrightSide Theatre stages Broadway fave 'Gypsy'
Everything's comin' up Rose
Amy Arbizzani of Naperville stars as Mama Rose, the ferociously ambitious stage mother determined to make her daughters vaudeville stars, in BrightSide Theatre's revival of "Gypsy." Artistic director Jeffrey Cass helms the production of the beloved Jule Styne/Arthur Laurents/Stephen Sondheim musical based on the life of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee.
8 p.m. Friday, June 2; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 3; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 4, and through June 18 at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall, North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth Ave., Naperville. $28, $33. Masks optional. (630) 447-8497 or brightsidetheatre.com.
New tuner
"Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical," celebrating the life and career of the composer of such songs as "Stagger Lee" and "Personality" who shattered the "race records" barrier despite growing up in the segregated pre-Civil Rights South, comes to Chicago. Saint Aubyn, who created the titular role in the 2022 world premiere, reprises his role as the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer who was the first teen to sell more than a million records.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 2-3, and June 5-7 and 9; 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 10; 2 p.m. June 11; and 7:30 p.m. June 12-13 at the Studebaker Theater, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. The show opens June 14. $47-$127. Masks encouraged. personalitymusical.com.
Rhino fest
Curious Theatre Branch announced its 34th annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival will feature more than 30 artists producing works ranging from traditional plays, monologues and spoken word to music, variety and comedy. Festival productions include the return of "The Labyrinth Hour Cabaret" variety show; "Songs by Bob Dylan After His Birthday," a salute to the songwriter on his 82nd birthday; a livestream theater production of "Rope"; a show by The Beast Women ensemble; a modern take on the drama "12 Angry Men" performed with four actors; and "Last Day," a play about climate nihilism inspired by Samuel Beckett.
Friday, June 2, through July 1 at the Facility Theatre, 1138 N. California Ave.; Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave.; Labyrinth Arts, 4477A N. Elston Ave.; and Color Club, 4146 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. Pay-what-you-can with $20 suggested admission. Masks recommended. rhinofest.com.
In other news
Check with venues about COVID-19 precautions.
• Performances continue through June 11 for Iambe Theatre Ensemble's production of George Brant's World War II-set drama "Into the Breeches," about a community theater group striving to stage Shakespeare's Henriad (comprised of "Richard II," "Henry IV, Part 1," "Henry IV, Part 2" and "Henry V") without male actors. Performances take place at the Marquee Theatre, 619 W. Main St., St. Charles. See tinyurl.com/iambe-breeches.
• Puppet artists conclude their eight-month residency with the Chicago Puppet Lab with a mini festival at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. The puppet lab is the experimental arm of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, which hosts the largest puppet festival in the world and helps incubate puppet-centered theater. Performances run through June 11. Tickets are $20. See chicagopuppetfest.org/.
• Comedian/podcaster and "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me" panelist Hari Kondabolu returns to The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, for performances on Friday and Saturday, June 2-3. Also at The Den Theatre, former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Chris Redd, whose first comedy special runs later this year on Max, plays The Den Thursday through Saturday, June 8-10. Masks encouraged. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.
• Moms Demand Action, an organization that works to promote public safety and protect people from gun violence, hosts the Wear Orange Experience from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Named for Wear Orange, an anti-gun violence movement, the event examines how gun violence impacts Chicago and the suburbs through music, comedy and poetry. Recommended donation is $40. See Moms Demand Action New Trier Township on Facebook for details.
• The creatives behind the new rock horror musical comedy "Stabbed in the Heart" (set to premiere next year) host a concert reading fundraiser at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at The Raven Room, 4702 N. Ravenswood Ave., Suite B, Chicago. See the GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/stabbed-in-the-heart-a-new-musical.
• Court Theatre has extended its revival of "The Gospel at Colonus," a play-with-music adapted from the Oedipus myth. Performances run through June 18 at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.
• Mundelein High School student William Gonzalez was named best actor last month during the 12th annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards ceremony. Luke Skorja of Crystal Lake South High School was named runner-up actor. Payton Fraser of Joliet West High School received the best actress award and Jazmin Rhodes of Homewood-Flossmoor High School was named runner-up actress. Gonzalez and Fraser will travel to New York City this month to participate in The Jimmy Awards, also known as The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, which will culminate in a one-night showcase on June 26. Maine South High School also earned a IHSMTA award for its production of "The Addams Family."