Chicago theater is nothing if not resilient. While local companies, both large and small, have been struggling and some have shut down, new troupes seem to be cropping up almost weekly. New concepts of what constitutes theater also are on the rise. Joining new plays and musicals are new translations and adaptations of classics designed to make them more relevant to our troubled times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are some openings between late March and the end of May that caught our eye, starting in Hyde Park as usual. Contact the theaters for details and changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOut Here\u201d<\/strong> at Court Theatre<\/p>\n April 10-May 10, courttheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n Court Theatre goes further out on a limb than usual by closing the season with the premiere of a new musical, \u201cOut Here,\u201d developed in partnership with University of Chicago professors Leslie Buxbaum (concept, book and lyrics) and David J. Levin (concept and dramaturgy); musician, writer and producer Erin McKeown (music and lyrics), and the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chay Yew, formerly of Victory Gardens Theater, directs, and Becca Ayers stars as Dawn in this \u201cfresh and intimate look at a family reconfiguring itself and rediscovering joy.\u201d According to the website, Dawn has a husband, family and house but wants more. \u201cShe wants her ex-girlfriend, Robin. She wants nothing to change and she wants everything to change, and she wants to control all the terms. As she\u2019s caught between what\u2019s been and what\u2019s next, Dawn must learn to reimagine her expectations, harmonize with loved ones and trust the process.\u201d Good luck with that. Look for special programs in conjunction with the run.<\/p>\n \u201cKeerah\u201d<\/strong> at Definition Theatre\u00a0<\/p>\n May 29-June 28, definitiontheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n Hyde Park’s other theater, Definition, bows in with the world premiere of Netta Walker’s \u201cKeerah,\u201d which was developed as part of its annual Amplify competition. McKenzie Chinn directs the timely piece about Ciara, a Black American poet, and Cormac, an Irish writer on a J1 visa, who meet in a Chicago neighborhood on the brink of gentrification and connect over their love of language and literature\u2014until they’re torn apart by immigration, bad decisions and hidden truths.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d<\/strong> at the Cadillac Palace Theatre<\/p>\n April 21-May 3, broadwayinchicago.com<\/a><\/p>\n Most of the musicals on Broadway in Chicago’s busy schedule are making return visits, but the Tony Award-winning \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic Jazz Age novel is a newcomer. Marc Bruni directs the extravaganza, which has a book by Kait Kerrigan and a pop-influenced score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen. Dominique Kelley choreographs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTheater of the Mind\u201d<\/strong> at the Reid Murdoch Building<\/p>\n Through May 31, TheaterOfTheMindChicago.com<\/a><\/p>\n A centerpiece of Goodman Theatre’s centennial season, this immersive experience created by Academy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning artist David Byrne with writer Mala Gaonkar, and directed by Andrew Scoville, promises a \u201c75-minute journey of self-reflection, discovery and imagination.\u201d One of eleven actor-guides, among them James Earl Jones II and Elizabeth Laidlaw, leads small audience groups through the rooms and interacts with them for what should be a unique show.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMa Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom\u201d<\/strong> in the Goodman Albert Theatre<\/p>\n March 28-Apr 26, goodmantheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n Almost three decades after its 1997 Chicago premiere set a box office record, August Wilson’s \u201cMa Rainey’s Black Bottom\u201d returns to the Goodman in a centennial season revival led by director Chuck Smith and music director\/associate director Harry J. Lennix, who, respectively, directed and played Levee in the original production. Al\u2019Jaleel McGhee is the edgy Levee this time around and E. Faye Butler is \u201cThe Mother of the Blues\u201d Ma Rainey who takes her time getting ready to record, as her musicians tell stories of racism, rage and more in this heart-rending drama set in Chicago in 1927.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCovenant\u201d<\/strong> in the Goodman Owen Theatre<\/p>\n May 2-31<\/p>\n Speaking of the blues, York Walker’s \u201cCovenant,\u201d which is having its Chicago premiere directed by Malkia Stampley in the Goodman Owen, takes off from the legend of Robert Johnson. In this twisty Southern Gothic thriller, Johnny \u201cHoneycomb\u201d James (Debo Balogun) left his small Georgia town a struggling guitarist\u2014and returned a blues star, to the surprise of sisters Violet (Felicia Oduh) and Avery (Jaeda LaVonne), their mother (Anji White) and their best friend Ruthie (Ashli Rene Funches). As rumors of a darker deal spread, it becomes clear \u201cHoneycomb\u201d is not the only one with a secret or seeking salvation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Merry Wives of Windsor\u201d<\/strong> at Chicago Shakespeare Courtyard Theater<\/p>\n April 2-May 3, chicagoshakes.com<\/a><\/p>\n Director Phillip Breen makes his Chicago Shakespeare debut with Shakespeare’s raucous comedy \u201cThe Merry Wives of Windsor,\u201d as does Jason Simon, who plays the lewd but arguably lovable Sir John Falstaff. The large, talented ensemble also features Ora Jones and Issy van Randwyck as besties Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, who get the better of the rotund would-be seducer, and Chike Johnson and Timothy Edward Kane as their husbands. I confess \u201cMerry Wives\u201d has never been one of my favorites, but maybe this version will change my mind.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Krishnan’s Party\u201d<\/strong> in the Upstairs Studio<\/p>\n April 7-26<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s Indian Ink Theatre Company makes its Chicago debut with \u201cMrs. Krishnan’s Party\u201d created by Jacob and Justin Lewis. The actors juggle cooking, music and a whole lot more in this 80-minute \u201ccelebration of life\u201d that’s different every night. Afterwards you can sample the dahl that’s made on stage and\/or find the recipe on CST’s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFault\u201d<\/strong> in the Yard at Chicago Shakespeare<\/p>\n April 18-May 24\u00a0<\/p>\n Having starred in CST’s 2024 \u201cJudgment Day,\u201d Jason Alexander returns to direct the world premiere of Scooter Pietsch’s \u201cFault\u201d showcasing Enrico Colantoni and Teri Hatcher as Jerry and Lucy Green, who go head-to-head in late-night battles after 30 years of marriage. Lies, betrayals, revelations and much dark humor ensue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWindfall\u201d<\/strong> in the Steppenwolf ‘s Ensemble Theater\u00a0<\/p>\n April 9-May 31, steppenwolf.org<\/a><\/p>\n Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 50th anniversary season with the world premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s \u201cWindfall\u201d directed by Awoye Timpo. The stellar cast includes Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis, Jon Michael Hill, Namir Smallwood, Esco Jouley and Michael Potts in a story about the power of money. When a father loses his child in a clash with the police, three strangers advise him to take the city\u2019s cash settlement, relocate and forget his grief \u2013 or remain haunted by memories of the world his child fought so hard to protect. What would you do?<\/p>\n \u201cBoth\u201d<\/strong> in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater<\/p>\n April 11-May 10<\/p>\n Part of a multi-year collaboration between Teatro Vista Productions and Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the world premiere of Paloma Nozicka’s \u201cBoth,\u201d directed by Georgette Verdin, stars the playwright as Xochi, a young woman who is dealing with a difficult pregnancy, a new relationship, a family that can’t stand her and the loss of her twin brother Sebastian, who was declared missing a year ago. When he mysteriously reappears, her family is overjoyed, but Xochi is suspicious about where he’s been and why this version of him seems so different from the one she knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trouble With Angels\u201d<\/strong> in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater<\/p>\n April 9-11<\/p>\n Five-time Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch, the charming Kate Flannery and The Tony Guerrero Quartet team up for \u201cThe Trouble With Angels,\u201d a rollicking night of comedy, song and unapologetic mischief playing four performances only.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Movement You Need\u201d<\/strong> in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater\u00a0<\/p>\n April 19-May 10<\/p>\n \u201cThe Movement You Need: An Evening With Brendan Hunt\u201d (Ted Lasso\u2019s co-creator\/writer) is a new one-man show fueled by bittersweet memories of his Chicago childhood, a love for The Beatles that got him through it and the tongue-tied moment he met Paul McCartney. In other words, it’s a \u201clove letter to the family that makes us, the music that shapes us and the crazy shit life throws our way,\u201d or so he says.<\/p>\n \u201cAn Enemy of the People\u201d<\/strong> at TimeLine Theatre Company<\/p>\n May 6-June 7, timelinetheatre.com<\/a><\/p>\n TimeLine inaugurates its Uptown theater with the Chicago premiere of Amy Herzog’s oh-so-timely new version of Henrik Ibsen’s \u201cAn Enemy of the People,\u201d which basically asks what happens when doing the right thing means losing everything. Ron OJ Parson directs the play about a doctor who discovers contaminated water that threatens the health of his Norwegian town, but when he raises the alarm, local leaders\u2014including his brother, the mayor\u2014scramble to protect their own interests by discrediting him. The cast includes Will Allan as Dr. Thomas Stockmann and Behzad Dabu as his brother, Peter Stockmann.<\/p>\n The New York Times called the 2024 Broadway premiere \u201ccrackling and persuasive \u2026 a bitter satire of local politics that soon reveals itself as a slow-boil tragedy of human complacency.\u201d I’m eager to see what TimeLine does with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ally\u201d<\/strong> at Theater Wit<\/p>\n Through May 2, theaterwit.org<\/a><\/p>\n The Midwest premiere of Itamar Moses’ \u201cThe Ally,\u201d directed by Jeremy Wechsler, offers eloquent arguments on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and asks \u201cWhich side are you on?\u201d At its center is teacher Asaf who is pulled into a political firestorm that tests his convictions and sense of self after a student asks him to sign a manifesto condemning police brutality that turns out to be much broader in scope than he thought. Then his ex-girlfriend takes the lead on the other side….<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trojan Women\u201d<\/strong> by Eos Theatre Company at the Bramble Arts Loft<\/p>\n