In a season with nearly 150 openings in the next three months ( and more announcements coming in daily ), no print publication can list them all, but here are a few never-before-seen-in-Chicago productions worth marking on your calendar:
The Happiest Place on Earth, Solo Celebration in conjunction with Sideshow Theatre Company at the Greenhouse, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Can the newly opened theme park called Disneyland comfort a family in mourning? Given the penchant of Philip Dawkins' plays for attracting award nominations and prizes, the answer's probably yes. ( Sept. 22-Oct. 23; Sideshowtheatre.org )
Red Velvet, Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Lolita Chakrabarti's biodrama recounts how, at London's Covent Garden in 1833, African-American Ira Aldridge became the first actor of color to portray Shakespeare's Othello and how it changed his career, his life and history. ( Oct. 4-Nov. 27; Raventheatre.com )
Man in the Ring, Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. If Michael Cristofer's based-on-a-true-story account of boxing's sexual subtexts isn't intriguing enough for you, remember that every pugs-and-punches-themed play seen in Chicago since 1995 has earned a Jeff award/nomination for its fights. ( Sept. 24-Oct. 16; Courttheatre.org )
Life Sucks, Lookingglass Theatre Company at the Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. Aaron Posner parses Chekhov's Uncle Vanya the way he did The Seagull in Stupid F**king Bird. ( Sept 17-Nov. 6; Lookingglasstheatre.org )
Miss Holmes, Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Two of your favorites from the hilarious gender-swapping Monstrous Regiment in 2014 return to play a certain woman detective and doctor in Victorian London. ( Sept. 18-Oct 30; Lifelinetheatre.com )
The Dancing Plague, Right Brain Project at the RBP Rorschack, 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave. The peripatetic ensemble applies its aesthetic of "epic minimalism" to this up-close-and-twitchy historical account of the psychochoreic mania of 1518. ( Oct. 20-Nov. 19; Therbp.com )
Psmith, Journalist, City Lit Theatre at Edgewater Presbyterian Church, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Have you ever known City Lit to go wrong with an adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse? ( Oct. 2-Nov. 6; CityLit.org )
Give It All Back, Sideshow Theatre Company at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. To whom does the music belongthose who create it, those who sell it or those who buy it? In a Calamity West play, you can bet the answers won't be easy. ( Nov. 20-Dec. 18; Sideshowtheatre.org )
King Charles III, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave. Now that Her Royal Highness Elizabeth II's boy is back in the running for the throne of England, Michael Bartlett speculatesin Shakespearean verseon his fitness to hold that office. ( Nov. 16-Jan. 15; Chicagoshakes.com )
Currently running
Distance, Strawdog Theatre Company at the Factory, 1623 W. Howard St. The decline of family elders may be an overworked premise nowadays, but Jerre Dye's characters refuse to surrender their dignity to wallow in cheap bathos ( through Oct. 1; Strawdog.org )
Grizzly Mama, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5775 N. Ridge Ave. After a rare venture into serious drama, George Brandt returns to spin a comic tale of patriotic stalking as dark as the Alaskan winters where it occurs ( through Oct. 15; RivendellTheatre.org )
Bakersfield Mist, Timeline Theatre at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. The dream-team of Mike Nussbaum and Janet Ulrich Brooks, not to mention its comfortably accessible location, is reason enough not to miss this rare comedy from a company more associated with lofty historical perspectives ( through Oct. 15; TimelineTheatre.com )
Oh, and don't forget that little ol' musical about our famous founding fatherWhat's his name? The one on the $10 bills? Hamilton is opening for previews on Sept. 27 at the PrivateBank Shubert Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St. ( BroadwayInChicago.com )