Performing Arts Search – The Short List (Theater)
The Invasion of Skokie
Wed 5/29, 7 PM, Thurs and Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM and 7 PMTheater & Performance
"Invasion" in the title has a double meaning, referring to attempts by the American Nazi Party to march in Skokie in the late 70s and to a devout Jewish father's feelings of displeasure when his daughter becomes engaged to a Lutheran. But playwright Steven Peterson's sweet, shallow script never penetrates very deeply, emotionally or intellectually, and neither does Rachel Edwards Harvith's drab production. None of the performances are convincing—even the lovers feel more like friends. And as the supposedly fanatical father, who pulls both plot strands together, Neal Grofman doesn't deliver the intensity one expects from a man who's part of an armed Jewish Defense League-inspired militia, planning to shoot it out with the Nazis should they dare to show up. —Jack Helbig $10-$28
37th American Spanish Dance & Music Festival
Through 6/23: various times, see website
773-327-3778Dance
A celebration of Spanish culture. Featuring new work from Ensemble Español. $26-$46
Zombie Seinfeld
Through 6/28: Fri 9 PMTheater & Performance
After the February release of a computer game called Organ Trail, spoofing the eight-bit classroom classic, you've got to wonder if there's anything left to zombify. Still, this Gorilla Tango parody gives the gimmick the Seinfeld treatment, creating a world in which a zombie plague is just another background Manhattan inconvenience, like traffic. Writer Pete Mandra has a solid command of the sitcom's signature multinarrative structure: while Jerry seeks the zombie vaccine from a coy girlfriend, George schemes to get out of work by pretending to be infected, Kramer builds a zombie shelter, and Elaine tries to convince Peterman that her boyfriend isn't a zombie, but simply Puddy. Director Jeremy M. Eden's cast get the characters' quirks down pat. —Keith Griffith $20
The Liar
Through 7/21: various times, see websiteTheater & Performance
Did you see The School for Lies at Chicago Shakespeare Theater last winter? Well, you should've. Written in playfully rhymed couplets and chock-full o' clever anachronisms, David Ives's antic adaptation of The Misanthrope came off as smart fun. Ives uses the same techniques to even better effect in The Liar, his 2010 version of Pierre Corneille's 370-year-old comedy about charming Dorante, whose belief that the "unimagined life is not worth living" leads him to tell ever grander whoppers. The quarters are tight, a pedestal at center stage looks like an outsize bathtub plug, and Nate Burger has to overcome unflattering costuming as Dorante, but director William Brown still puts on a great show. LaShawn Banks is engaging as Dorante's pathologically honest sidekick, Anne Thompson delightful as a pair of twins, and a weaponless duel Berger and Michael Perez—playing Dorante's rival, Alcippe—makes for inspired comedy. —Tony Adler $35-$70
Yellow Moon
Through 8/4: Tue-Wed 7:30 PM, Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 and 6 PMTheater & Performance
A teenage couple, fleeing a murder rap, head to the Scottish highlands in David Greig's unsettling 2006 drama. Told through a series of high-flown interior monologues mixed with spurts of action, the story gets an intimate, borderline-claustrophobic staging in the Writers' Theatre's shoebox of a space. Director Stuart Carden seems intent on overemphasizing the script's weaknesses, barreling noisily through nonsensical transitions. In occasional respites from the clamor, Carden's four cast members find interesting edges to their characters, though never enough to assemble a full picture. Their motivations are impenetrable in the end, leaving a story with life-or-death stakes feeling wispy and insubstantial. —Keith Griffith $35-$60
Films for the Ear
Through 10/7: Mon 7:30 PMTheater & Performance
In this bimonthly show, Chicago actors and comedians will perform live script readings of classic films. The first installment features Stanley Donen's Bedazzled. $15
