Chicago-area theaters are cooking up a variety of LGBTQ shows this summer, ranging from splashy musicals to low-key readings. Take in some theater and show your cultural Pride side. All shows in Chicago unless otherwise noted.
New to Chicago
The Bachelors, Pride Films and Plays at Stage 773 on May 29, then at Mineral Point Opera House in Wisconsin on June 2. Continue with the creative process of this semifinalist from Pride Films and Plays' Great Gay Screenplay Competition about two bachelors who help to create an artists colony in 1930s Mineral Point, Wisc.800-838-3006 or 608-987-3292 or www.pridefilmsandplays.com
Seek and Ye Shall Find, Mortar Theater at Apollo Theater Studio, ongoing through June 8. Sentell Harper's sharp and funny one-man show details his struggles of feeling part of the Black gay community. 773-935-6100 or www.mortartheatrecompany.org
Lipstick Goes On Last, 3 Squares Productions and Richard Pryor Jr. at Den Theatre, ongoing through June 23. A comic drama involving an alcoholic former beauty queen, her cookie-obsessed friend and lots of deceitful bisexual husbands. www.lipstickgoesonlast.com .
A Cole Porter Songbook, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at No Exit Cafe, May 31-July 21. Hear the brilliance of late gay composer/lyricist Cole Porter in this new Broadway revue performed in an intimate dinner-theater setting. 773-347-1109 or theo-u.org
The Pride, About Face Theatre at Victory Gardens Theater, June 6-July 13. Bonnie Metzgar steps down from her position as About Face Theatre artistic director by directing the Chicago premiere of Alexi Kaye Campbell's acclaimed 2008 drama. The Pride shows the struggles of both repression and freedom on British gay relationships separated by a 50-year time span. 773-871-3000 or www.aboutfacetheater.com .
Jillian Erickson, Prop Thtr, June 7-29. Get a dose of expressive performance art when the co-producer/director of Beast Women performs a mix of music, belly dancing, sketch comedy and more. 800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com
Circus Circus, Den Theatre, June 7-16. This new drama shows what happens when a pot-smoker gets imprisoned in a dark and dangerous prison. 800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com
Queer Queens of Qomedy, Mayne Stage, June 14. Famed comedian Poppy Champlin recruits fellow lesbian funny women like Gwen LaRoka, Dana Austin and more for an evening of queer comedy. 773-381-4551 or www.maynestage.com
Kevin Newhall, Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret, June 15. Out songwriter and musician Kevin Newhall performs music from his latest CD, "If I Had My Way With Words," for this intimate Pride Month concert. 773-278-1830 or www.davenportspianobar.com
Mahal, Bailiwick Chicago at Stage 773, July 1-Aug. 11. Danny Bernardo's new play deals with cultural identity, homophobia and more in this work showing how a diverse Fillippino-American family copes with the loss of their treasured matriarch. 773-327-5252 or www.bailiwickchicago.com .
Let's Misbehave, Fox Valley Repertory, St. Charles, Aug. 29-Oct. 20. Another revue celebrating the music of gay composer/lyricist Cole Porter is in the cards this summer. 630-584-6342 or www.foxvalleyrep.org
Return engagements and revivals
What's the T?, About Face Youth Theatre at Victory Gardens Theater, ongoing through June 2. A return engagement of Sara Kerastas and the About Face Youth Theatre Ensemble's comic drama exploring the struggles of diverse LGBTQ youth trying to find safe spaces and community in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood. www.aboutfacetheatre.com
Kiss of the Spiderwoman the Musical, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble at Theater Wit, May 31-June 30. Kander and Ebb's Tony Award-winning 1993 musical is inspired by Manuel Puig's Argentinian tale of a gay prisoner who dreams of movie musicals to help him and his fellow inmate endure their bleak situations. 773-975-8150 or www.bohotheatre.com
And the Winner Wasn't III, Pride Films and Plays at Sidetrack, June 4. A fundraising gala that features performers like Amy & Freddy, Scott Gryder and more performing songs from musicals that didn't win the Tony Award for Best Original Score Written for the Theatre. 800-838-3006 or www.pridefilmsandplays.com
Uncle Bob, Mary-Arrchie Theatre at Angel Island Theatre, June 11-July 21. An AIDS patient is visited by his nephew and a slew of family tensions are brought to the fore in this 2001 off-Broadway drama by Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble Member Austin Pendleton. 773-871-0442 or www.maryarrchie.com
The Bear Suit of Happiness, The New Colony at Theater on the Lake, June 12-16. A return of the World War II-set drama about soldiers who have been assigned to put together a comedy drag show to entertain the troops. 312-742-7994 or www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
The Little Dog Laughed, Kid Brooklyn Productions at Den Theatre, June 20-July 13. Douglas Carter Beane's scathing comedy about a closeted Hollywood star who falls in love with a bisexual hustler, despite the protestations of his scheming agent. www.kidbrooklynproductions.org
Southern Baptist Sissies, Ludicrous Theatre at Greenhouse Theater, June 20-July 1. Del Shore's beloved comic drama that shows how four different gay men react to growing up religiously in the South. 773-404-7336 or www.ludicroustheatre.com
Rent, Bright Side Theatre at North Central College's Meiley-Swallow Hall, Naperville, June 14-30. Lesbian, gay and bisexual characters are in the mix of this Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock opera about New York artists coping with AIDS in 1990s New York. 630-637-7469 or www.brightsidetheatre.com
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Haven Theatre at Theater Wit, July 5-Aug. 11. A transgendered rock performer with a botched sex change operation defiantly recounts her event-filled life from East Germany to America in John Cameron Mitchell's acclaimed 1998 off-Broadway musical. 773-975-8150 or www.haventheatrechicago.com
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Theatre at the Center, Munster, Ind. July 11-Aug. 18. Out composer/lyricist William Finn (Falsettos) wrote the score to this acclaimed 2005 musical about quirky kids in a high-stakes spelling bee. One of the kids has two gay dads. 219-836-3255 or www.theatreatthecenter.com
Next Fall, Village Theatre Guild, Glen Ellyn, ongoing though June 15. If you missed AstonRep's recent production of Geoffrey Nauffts' 2010 Broadway drama involving faith and sexuality in a gay relationship, here's another chance to see it in the suburbs. 630-469-8320 or www.villagetheatreguild.org
The Glass Menagerie, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company at Theater Wit, ongoing through June 30. Director Hans Fleishmann's re-imagining of this seminal drama by late gay playwright Tennessee Williams is back for another acclaimed run. 773-975-8150 or www.maryarrchie.com
Music makers
It's About Time, Windy City Performing Arts (Windy City Gay Chorus and Aria) at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, June 1. Songs capturing the spirit of love, romance and marriage from around the world are featured, including the world premiere choral setting of the song "It's About Time." www.windycitysings.org .
Amazon Women Rise, Artemis Singers at Broadway United Methodist Church, June 1. A concert and dance to celebrate lesbian community and culture. 773-764-4465 or www.artemissingers.org .
Chicago Gay Men's Chorus 30th Anniversary Alumni Reunion, various locations, June 21-23 and June 30. It's a series of singing and mingling events for past and current choristers to participate in at the end of July. www.cgmc.org .
Isle of Klezbos, Mayne Stage, July 21. This quirky all-women klezmer sextet perform folk dances, Yiddish swing and more in this special concert. 773-381-4551 or www.maynestage.com
