The Windy City Times' ace theater critics—Mary Shen Barnidge, Scott Morgan, Catey Sullivan and Theater Editor Jonathan Abarbanel—have combined their wisdom, insights and talents to come up with a list of 19 shows sure to delight discerning theater patrons this summer. They arrived at this list after hours of pleasant professional dialogue, heated argument and beating each other up. Barnidge and Sullivan easily came out on top of Abarbanel and Morgan; they are big women. Enjoy! Also, see the two accompanying articles in this issue about outdoors theater choices.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Bailiwick, through July 6; 773-883-1090. It oughta be called 'The Pastor of Notre Dame' as Jeremy Rill as Father Frollo steals the show in rocker Dennis DeYoung's pop-opera adaptation of that other Victor Hugo classic.
'Til the Fat Lady Sings, Citadel Theatre at Victory Gardens Greenhouse, through June 29; 773-871-3000. The late Scott McPherson is best known for his comic examination of disease and death in Marvin's Room, but this—his first full-length play—also displays his dark humor in a look at grieving gone amok.
Wit, The Gift Theatre, through July 6; 773-283-7071. Inspired by her work in an AIDS oncology hospital, Margaret Edson won the Pulitzer Prize for her drama about a poetry professor's battle with cancer. Wrenching and wickedly funny, Wit is ideally suited to the intensely intimate Gift space.
Bloody Bess, Backstage Theatre at The Storefront, June 13-July 20; 312-742-8597. A pioneering show of Chicago 1970s Off-Loop Theater, this rip-roaring pirate swashbuckler features sea-battles by award-winning fight designer Geoff Coates, and feisty female pirates, as the title suggests. Haaargh, matey!
Sweeney Todd, Actors Theatre at Loyola University Mullady Theatre, June 13-28; 847-604-2100. If the recent stripped-down tour of Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece left you cold, this community production might fill in the gaps intentionally left missing in that Broadway revival.
The Mysterious Elephant and the Terrible Tragedy of the Unlikely Addington Twins ( Who Kill Him ) , The Strange Tree Group at Chopin Theatre, June 19-July 19; 773-598-8240. If Strange Tree is true to form, the quirky title will play out in a visually rich and thoroughly eccentric play with music, Victorian leanings and shadowbox delights.
Superior Donuts, Steppenwolf Theatre, June 19-Aug .17; 312-335-1650. Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts wrote it, earthy Kate Buddeke is in it. What else you need to know? The author and leading lady of the edgy Bug reunite for a comedy concerning a decaying Uptown donut shop and its aging owner ( the always-fascinating Yasen Payenkov. )
Ain't Misbehavin, Goodman Theatre, June 21-July 27; 312-443-3800. With music and lyrics by Fats Waller, this jazz-and-blues-infused revue should be a summertime slam dunk. T-Pain and Lil Wayne may rule the airwaves, but they never penned songs like 'Your Feet's Too Big' or 'The Joint is Jumpin' or 'Honeysuckle Rose.'
Funk it Up About Nothin', Chicago Shakespeare Theater, June 25-Aug. 3; 312-595-5600. Yo dawg. Check it: You can see a usual 'Much Ado About Nothing' this summer in the burbs. Or, you can hit up the Navy Pier hip-hop version by the Q Brothers, the mad rap creators of 'The Bombitty of Errors.'
Hay Fever, Circle Theatre, June 25-Aug. 3; 708-771-0700. Noel Coward's delightful comedy about a weekend in the country amidst a household of artists and eccentrics should be just Circle Theatre's cup of tea. They've shown before they know how to do such period comedies well, and make them look simply smashing.
Lookingglass Alice, Lookingglass Theatre, July 2-Aug. 31; 312-337-0665. This acrobatic interpretation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland returns for a third time, a signature work by Lookingglass and The Actor's Gymnasium. Don't wait 'til it sells out yet again.
The Full Monty, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, July 16-Sept. 21; 847-634-0200. Naked men on stage in suburban theaters? What's next, an African-American president? You know the story: Five regular guys emasculated by unemployment, sexless marriages and chronic depression decide to strip their way back to self-respect and joie de vivre.
Perfect Mendacity, First Look Series at Steppenwolf, July 24-Aug. 10; 312-335-1650. Author Jason Wells' Men of Tortuga was the hit play of the 2005 First Look Series. This time, Wells' director is the estimable David Cromer, whom we soon may lose to NYC.
The Birthday Party, Signal Ensemble at Chopin Theatre, July 28-Aug. 30; 773-347-1350. This underrated company housed in the inconvenient location is finally beginning to receive the attention it deserves—don't be among the last to see why as they stage one of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most funny and threatening plays.
Latino Theatre Festival, Goodman Theatre, Aug. 8-24; 312-443-3800. This fourth biennial festival offers theater, dance, sketch comedy and puppetry performed by Latino theater troupes and artists from Mexico, Spain and the United States with inspirations as different as Garcia Lorca and Carmen Miranda.
The Boys from Syracuse, Drury Lake Oakbrook, Aug. 7-Sept. 28; 630-530-8300. In 1938, Rodgers & Hart updated Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. Now director David H. Bell updates Rodgers & Hart. We pray he'll leave their brilliant, jazzy score alone: 'Sing for Your Supper,' 'This Can't Be Love,' 'Falling in Love with Love' and more.
Iolanthe, Light Opera Works at Cahn Auditorium ( Evanston ) , Aug. 16-24; 847-869-6300. The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore may be better-known Gilbert & Sullivan works, but Iolanthe best represents their distinct blend of topsy-turvy situations and British satire. Where else will you see all-powerful fairies take over Parliament?
Nixon's Nixon, Writers' Theatre, Aug. 18-Sept. 26; 847-242-6000. We missed it the first time around, but Writers' Theatre is bringing back both Larry Yando as Nixon and Bill Brown as Henry Kissinger in Russell Lees' savage depiction of what transpired just before Tricky Dick resigned.
by Jonathan Abarbanel, Catey Sullivan, Mary Shen Barnidge and Scott C. Morgan
