Performing Arts Search
The Addams Family
Previews through 12/8. Opens 12/9. Through 1/10: Tue-Sun, check with theater for showtimes,
312-902-1400Theater & Performance
Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth star in the musical based on New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams. $28-$105
Alice in Wonderland
Through 11/25: selected weekdays at 10:30 AM and/or noon; check with theater for schedule 773-205-9600Theater & Performance
Chicago Kids Company adaptation of the Lewis Carroll tale. $10
All the Fame of Lofty Deeds
Through 12/20: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, 773-251-2195Theater & Performance
Jon Langford's music and art are the sources for this House Theatre of Chicago show about an aging, hallucinating country star. $15-$29
Ambrose Bierce: Tales & Times
Through 11/22: Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 6 PM, no 3 PM show 11/21, 773-275-9735Theater & Performance
Rather than adapt one of Ambrose Bierce's wry tales for the stage, this Lincoln Square Theatre production disgorges nine and fails to do any of them justice. Bierce's plot twists come across as paltry gimmicks without the rich swaddling of his writing, which director Kristina Schramm unravels. Jae Renfrow comes closest to preserving the cornpone imperiousness of Bierce's pen in his powerfully delivered monologues, but distractions abound. The stage bustles with cartoon cutouts, tree characters, and other grade-school favorites, dealing the stories a violent blow. Possibly suitable for children of a morbid upbringing. --Keith Griffith $5-$15
Auditions for "Speakeasy or Die Hard"
Sun., Dec. 13, 1 p.m.Theater & Performance
GreenMan will hold auditions for Speakeasy or Die Hard at the First United Methodist Church in Elmhurst on Sunday, December 13 at 1 p.m., Monday, December 14 at 7 p.m. and Tuesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. The church is located at 232 S. York in Elmhurst.
Speakeasy or Die Hard takes place in a Prohibition Era speakeasy. Spies and assassins are everywhere, as murder, intrigue and confusion reign. The guests try to help a hapless detective solve a mysterious mob killing. The production will also feature songs from the 1920’s and ‘30’s. There are roles for at least four women and four men. Actors wishing to audition for a singing role are encouraged to bring a prepared song. Appointments for auditions are not required. Rehearsals for the show begin early in January. There is no pay. For more information about auditions or volunteer positions, call 630-464-2646, or visit http://www.greenmantheatre.com.
Aunt Dan and Lemon
Through 12/20: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, 773-278-1500Theater & Performance
Wallace Shawn's "complex meditation on the persuasive powers of intimacy," produced by the BackStage Theatre Company. $18-$20
Banana Shpeel
Previews 11/19-11/29. Opens 12/2, 7 PM. Through 1/3: Tue-Sun: check with theater for showtimes, 800-745-3000Theater & Performance
Cirque du Soleil ventures into vaudeville-style variety. $23-$98
Bear Down!
Through 12/16: Wed 8 PM, 773-904-8777Theater & Performance
An unhappy young Chicago bar owner lands a chance to play for the Bears in this Pub Theater comedy. The show is billed as being "by Bears fans, for Bears fans," and establishes its bona fides with esoteric name-dropping and drunken exasperation on game day ("Vasher, you're killing me!"). But implausibilities made it hard for me to identify with this brand of fandom even before things turned completely surreal with an appearance by a Phantom of the Opera-esque Rex Grossman. Still, supporting actors Austin Campion and Eric Pedersen score big laughs with over-the-top takes on Grossman, Mike Ditka, Jay Cutler ("You'll hear me in every child's laughter"), and a dorky everyman with a homoerotic, pathological devotion to the team. --Ryan Hubbard $10
Becoming Ingrid
Through 12/5: Thu-Sun 7:30 PM, also Sun 11/22, 3 PM, 773-466-1835Theater & Performance
At the center of Liza Lentini's new script is high-strung Christine, an aspiring writer desperately trying to wedge herself into the life of famous, elusive author Ingrid. When these two characters are face-to-face, Lentini shows a knack for creating tense, subtle drama--which is adroitly captured by actors Meg Harkins and April Taylor in this Rubicon Theatre Project world premiere. But Lentini spends most of the play's 120 minutes dawdling over peripheral characters' peripheral issues--Christine's neocon husband's impatience, Ingrid's boozy boyfriend's infidelity, the petty jealousies of various backstabbers at the university where Ingrid teaches. There's not much director Jamie Stires can do to make things cohere, especially given the uneven supporting cast. --Justin Hayford $10-$20
Beethoven, as I Knew Him
Through 12/6: Tue-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, 312-642-2000Theater & Performance
Pianist-showman Hershey Felder performs the first third of his "Composer Sonata" trilogy. He'll offer Monsieur Chopin 12/9-12/20 and George Gershwin Alone 12/23-12/30. Also, on New Year's Eve, he leads The Great American Song Book Sing-Along. $55-$60
Belmont Burlesque Presents...
Sat., Nov. 21, 11:59 p.m. 773-728-1682Theater & Performance
Belmont Burlesque Presents... is a new series of themed burlesque shows on the third Saturday of every month at the Playground Theater. Featuring burlesque striptease, comedy, magic and novelty acts. Each month will feature a new theme and a brand new slate of Belmont Burlesque cast members and special guests. Tickets $10. Doors open at midnight, performances begin at approximately 12:15am.
Blue Man Group
Open run: Thu 8 PM, Fri 7 PM, Sat 4, 7, and 10 PM, Sun 1, 4, and 7 PM, 773-348-4000Theater & Performance
Three silent guys in cobalt blue makeup, accompanied by a small but very loud rock band, perform a wordless, high-tech, highly visual work of participatory conceptual theater. Blue Man Group offers a visceral education in the tenuous division between art and trash. (NG) $49-$59
Breed With Me
Opens 12/4. Through: 1/23 Fri-Sat 10 PM, no show 1/1/-1/2 or 1/15 866-593-4614Theater & Performance
The Mammals' hard-boiled story of a man whose sexual appetites have forced him to run away from his past into the American desert, where he falls into the clutches of the ultimate femme fatale. Written and directed by Bob Fisher, this is the first of three plays in the Noir Triptych cycle. $15
Bright Star
Previews 11/27-11/29. Opens 12/4. Through 12/20: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, no show 12/5 and 12/13, 773-293-1358Theater & Performance
Keats in love. Frank Farrell directs his own adaptation of the novel by Joan Rees. $7-$20
Calls to Blood
Through 11/28: Thu-Sat 8 PM, 312-988-9000Theater & Performance
Jacob and Alison are the lovingest couple imaginable--at least, in the eyes of Jacob's cynical lawyer friend Kirk and Alison's lovesick slacker friend Suellen. But after 30 minutes of Seinfeld-esque lightheartedness with these four could-be-anybodies, playwright James Asmus drops a bomb, revealing a horrifying family secret straight out of Sam Shepard. The play shouldn't work, but Asmus packs his seemingly incompatible scenes with accurate, telling observations of human behavior, and director Andrew Hobgood's pitch-perfect cast articulate them with graceful precision. Against all odds, nearly everything in this New Colony premiere rings poignantly true. Even with the truncated resolution, it's a satisfying evening. --Justin Hayford $15-$25
