Pictured Rick Snyder, Bus Stop director, and Pericles
Winter may be a cold, dreary season in Chicago, but not inside the walls of its many theaters. With several world premieres; plays by Tony- and Pulitzer-award winning playwrights; ambitious stagings of classics; and a lot more, it wasn't too easy to winnow down my top ten picks for the upcoming few months. Here, in alphabetical order, are the shows you simply must get tickets for.
1. Angels in America—One of Chicago's hottest young directors, Sean Graney, stages Tony Kushner's now iconic epic look at the early days of the AIDS epidemic in America and how politics and qualities such as greed, betrayal, hatred, and love shaped its course. The production will be performed as follows: 'Millennium Approaches' for three weeks, then 'Perestroika' for one week, then both shows in repertory for four weeks. Hypocrites at Bailiwick, March 5-May 7.
2. Bus Stop—William Inge's look at dreams, love, and lawlessness at a roadside diner gave Marilyn Monroe a dramatic showcase in 1956. Steppenwolf's Rick Snyder directs this tale of dashed Midwestern hopes and ambitions, sans Monroe but with Writers' Theatre's unerring artistic sensibilities. Writers' Theatre, Jan. 24-March 26.
3. The Glass Menagerie—It will be interesting to see this theater's take, with its emphasis on the classics, on Tennessee William's 'memory play,' one of his most stirring and lyrical works. A masterpiece of American theater comes to town, with some of Chicago's finest performers breathing life into Williams' tortured quartet. Court Theatre, March 9-April 9.
4. Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom—Timeline continues its dramatization of the forces that shaped history with this drama, based on interviews with five British detainees who were released from Guantanamo Bay in Feb. 2004. The timely paradox between national security and protecting human rights comes to the fore. Timeline, Feb. 11-March 26.
5. Heritage—One of America's most promising young playwrights, Brett Neveu, has penned this world-premiere drama that shines a spotlight on race and class relations. The story brings together a combustible group of African-American and white prisoners to refurbish a slave plantation house as part of a work detail. American Theater Company, April 26-May 28.
6. Kiss of the Spider Woman—Kander and Ebb's powerful musical version of Manuel Puig's novel comes to the Chicago stage, exploring the relationship between a gay window dresser and a straight revolutionary in a Latin American prison, who find solace in the continuing romantic story of a B-movie actress … and each other. Bailiwick, Jan. 16-Feb. 19.
7. Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein—Even though she's dead, Gertrude Stein penned the lyrics ( with music by Stephen Flaherty and direction by Frank Galati, co-creators of Ragtime ) for this world premiere musical which explores Stein's love affair with language, self-expression, and, of course, Alice B. Toklas. Will brownies be served at intermission? About Face at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Feb. 14-March 12.
8. A Number—Inspired playwright Caryn Churchill's Far Away was a hit for the Evanston company last year. This time around, Churchill focuses on a father-son conflict so extraordinary it shakes the very foundation of western ideas about the individual. Named one of 2004's ten best by The New York Times. Next Theatre, Jan. 26-Feb. 26.
9. Pericles—The combustible imagination of Tony-award winning director Mary Zimmerman transforms Shakespeare's epic tale, which boasts pirates, jousts, brothels, sorceresses, goddesses, miracles and more. Goodman, Jan. 7-Feb. 12.
10. The Well-Appointed Room—Take Me Out's Richard Greenberg turns to his own professional arena in this take on a famous playwright's crumbling childhood memories and how they mesh with the odd designs for the future made by a prophetic young wife, all in one well-appointed room. Steppenwolf, Jan. 12-March 12.
