Theater & Performance Search
The Planetary Defense Force: Rise of the Dinosaurs
Mondays, 8 p.m.Theater & Performance
Easy communication and a sharp wit may be the foundations for good improv, but if you want to see what a troupe is really made of, take a look at how they handle a shaky premise. Having watched cast members sustain this Links Hall/Chicagoland Games show while rolling around in Nerf gear to avoid a tyrannosaurus rex made of PVC pipe, I'm pretty sure they've got it. Amiable host Aaron Amendola ushers an audience member through a series of onstage challenges geared toward overcoming a megalomaniac hell-bent on ushering in a dino-apocalypse. The obstacles—which may involve brushing a Wiffle Ball off somebody's shoulder—are too slight to provide any real stakes. It's clear, though, that this crew has the crowd and stage skills to create something special. —Dan Jakes $5
773-281-0824Dinner with the Family
Fri 1/25 8 PMTheater & Performance
This interactive theatrical dinner tells the story of dueling gangs in 1930s, post-Prohibition Chicago with song, dance, and pizza. $50
Boobs of the Dead: A Walking Dead Burlesque
Through 1/25: Fri 9 PMTheater & Performance
When I told my wife (and yes, I told my wife) that I was going to see a zombie-themed strip show called Boobs of the Dead, she made a face and laid out a picture for me of gray, rotting dugs without so much as a hint of perk. Well, that's not how it turned out. This parody of the Walking Dead franchise features eight remarkably healthy-looking infectees. In fact, as a lab-coated scientist points out, the zombifying process actually makes them sexier, magically clothing them in bustiers and fishnet stockings. Even a bearded old codger gets transformed. Gorilla Tango burlesques are always smart and playful, but this edition shows a developing sophistication. The dancers are more confident, Erica Reid's choreography is more resourceful (starting with an awfully sexy reverse strip and culminating in a full-out production number), and, um, standout performances are getting more common. Paly Flames, in particular, does some honest-to-god show-stealing here. —Tony Adler $35
Tapman: Origin
Through 1/25: Fri 7:30 PMTheater & Performance
Tapman Productions' debut musical has humor, charm, and lots of fabulous tap dancing. But, as directed and choreographed by Tristan Bruns, it comes up seriously short on storytelling. A sketchy script full of throwaway lines buries the plot points. All I know for sure is that superhero (or maybe bad guy) Tapman alternately clashes and bonds with his mighty frenemy, the MADD Tapper—and that Tapman's girlfriend should be crucial but isn't. Music director Kyle Greer supplies some expert songs and piano playing, while, as Tapman, Bruns reveals a decent voice and a knack for sand-dancing. Guest artists from the Cartier Collective and M.A.D.D. Rhythms troupes flesh out the show, if not the narrative, and Zada Cheeks's MADD Tapper joins Bruns in a truly super superhero battle. —Laura Molzahn $15
Inaugural Story Night
1/26Theater & Performance
Seasoned performance artist David Boyle leads a night of original storytelling with the help of four other actors. $15
The Dark Room: A Play Workshop Event
Through 1/26: Thu, Fri, Sat 8 PMTheater & Performance
20% Theatre Company Chicago presents this workshopping of two new plays, Girlfriend and Residue. $5
Miami Nice: A Golden Girls Musical
Through 1/26: Fri-Sat 7:30 PMTheater & Performance
The popular sitcom is reimagined as a satirical crime drama in which the titular girls are actually drug dealers. $15
Purple Heart
Through 1/27: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PMTheater & Performance
Bruce Norris's 2002 play unfolds in 1972, in the nondescript home of Carla, a desperately unhappy alcoholic whose husband was killed while serving in Vietnam. She shares the place with her morbid teenage son and unflappable mother-in-law. One day Carla meets and starts to fall for Purdy, a disabled Vietnam vet with a misanthropic streak. Purdy apparently shares that last quality with the playwright, who undertakes Carla's undoing with relish, throwing in several gross-out scenes involving blood, vomit, and a prosthetic hand. The whole thing feels contrived and mean. Director Jimmy McDermott handles the grisly stuff clumsily, the cast fail to find the right rhythm for Norris's snappy dialogue, and KC Karen Hill's Carla is bratty and not much else. --Zac Thompson $25-$35
Young Playwrights Festival
Through 1/27: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PMTheater & Performance
Pegasus Players's 26th annual showcase for local teenage playwrights comprises four one-acts selected from hundreds of submissions. The Queen and Her Cliquedom by Stephanie Chavez is a charming comedy about two teens defying their school's rigid social hierarchy. In Willa Sachs's Pinwheels, a soldier struggles to readjust to civilian life after returning from Iraq. The employees of a grocery store are stranded on a roof in Liza Farler's surreal The Flood. And a surly convenience store clerk falls for one of the oldest con games in the book in Daniel Swanson-Nystrom's Quick and Go. In video segments that introduce each piece, the authors say they'd never thought of writing a play until this opportunity came along. Here's hoping they keep at it. —Zac Thompson $15-$25
Stephanie Souza
Through 1/28: Mon 8 PMTheater & Performance
Actress and singer Souza and pianist Micky York perform classic Broadway hits from Ragtime, Wicked, and more. $13
Waiting For Godot
Through 1/28: Mon 8 PMTheater & Performance
Scenic designer John Wilson supplies an effective setting for this production of Samuel Beckett's existential Laurel-and-Hardy routine. To the requisite bare tree and stretch of road he's added a backdrop suggesting a charred landscape under an endless gray sky. It's about the only thing that works in Bob Fisher's staging for the Mammals. Whereas Beckett excelled at paring things down, Fisher shows little restraint. In fact, the predominant mood here is hysteria--found not only in the caffeinated exchanges between Justin Warren and Sean Ewert as bums Gogo and Didi, but also and especially in Gabe Garza's grandstanding take on the lordly Pozzo, whom he plays as a flamboyant buffoon with a silly French accent. By emphasizing comedy above all else, Fisher buries Beckett under a mountain of shtick. --Zac Thompson $22
Admission: One Shilling
Tue., Jan. 29, 7 p.m.Theater & Performance
Attention, Downton Abbey fans, Mrs. Patmore herself, actress Lesley Nicol, appears in Admission: One Shilling. The one-night-only theatrical event "tells the extraordinary story of Myra Hess and her famous World War II National Gallery concerts." Accompanied by pianist Inna Faliks, Nicol will add to the already lengthy Hess legend—Chicago continues to honor the British pianist with the weekly Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, every Wednesday at the Chicago Cultural Center. The event is free, but tickets must be bought in advance; see website for details.
Period Piece
Through 1/29: Tue 8 PMTheater & Performance
A musical comedy about menstruation and time travel. $5
Peter Pan
Through 2/10: Tue-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat-Sun 2 PM, Sat 8 PM; also Thu 1/31 2 PM, Sun 2/3 7:30 PM, Wed 2/6 2 PMTheater & Performance
The classic story of a boy who never wants to grow up. $18-$85
The Social Takeover
Wed., Jan. 30, 8 p.m.Theater & Performance
Local comedians C.J. Sullivan, Sean Flannery, Mark Larimer, and Clark Jones present this interactive stage show in which the performers hijack and audience member's Facebook page. $20-$30
