For those of you preferring a Windy City "staycations" to a traveling vacation, here's a selected look at live indoor theater options for the summer. All shows in Chicago unless otherwise noted.
Of LGBTQ interest
—Loud & Proud, MCL Chicago, 3110 N. Sheffield Ave. Musical acts, comedy sketches and more are a part of this LGBTQ variety show co-hosted by Alex Garday and Cat McDonnell. ( May 25-June 15; MCLChicago.com )
—Bright Half Life, About Face Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. An interracial lesbian couple's relationship is refracted through memories and time shifts in this Chicago premiere of Tanya Barfield's 2015 off-Broadway drama. ( May 26-July 1; AboutFaceTheatre.com )
—Hir, Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. A transitioning child and a parent with PTSD are part of the mix of this 2015 off-Broadway drama by award-winning out playwright and performance artist Taylor Mac. ( June 19-Aug. 20; Steppenwolf.org )
—GAYWATCH, GayCo Productions at The Playground Theatre, 3209 N. Halsted St. Chicago's oldest LGBTQ sketch comedy troupe returns for a special Pride show filled with lots of improvisational comedy. ( June 23 and 24; GayCo.com )
At the Pride Arts Center
The recently rechristened Pride Arts Center will be a hive of activity for its first Pride month. Here are just a few of the shows being mounted at its two stages at 4139 and 4147 N. Broadway St. For tickets and more information, call 800-737-0984 or visit PrideArtsCenter.com .
—Beds is a double bill of the two-character dramas Jerker and Two Boys in Bed on a Cold Winter's Night. ( June 4-16 ).
—Musical Comedy Whore is a one-man musical, by Skokie native David Pevsner, focuses on his gay partying life mixed amid his diverse acting career on both coasts. ( May 31-June 4 )
—Find out the winner of the Great Trans* Play Contest Winner at a special two-night reading. ( June 9-10 ).
—SheFest is an evening of performances featuring queer women. ( June 12 )
—The Nance is Douglas Carter Beane's 2013 Broadway drama looking at a self-loathing gay actor known for playing effeminate comic characters in burlesque in 1930s New York. ( June 29-July 30 )
—Cor Theatre is also a visiting troupe at the Pride Arts Center with the Chicago premiere of Jordan Tanahill's drama Late Company, which focuses on dinner party between the parents of a teenager who committed suicide and the family of one of his tormentors. ( June 17-July 16; CorTheatre.org )
LGBTQ singing
—Chicago Gay Men's Chorus teams with members of the London Gay Men's Chorus for a collaborative concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at Ganz Hall within Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave.; CGMC.org .
—Artemis Singers, Chicago's lesbian feminist chorus since 1980, has a Pride concert and dance planned for Saturday, June 17, at First Unitarian Church, 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave. For more information, visit ArtemisSingers.org .
—The ensembles of the Windy City Gay Chorus ( Chicago's oldest gay choral group ) and the Windy City Treble Quire mark Pride month with a concert titled "Pulse" at 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 17, at First United Methodist Church, 77 W. Washington St. See WindyCitySings.org .
World and Chicago premieres
—Her Majesty's Will, Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. This world-premiere play by Robert Kauzlaric is based upon David Blixt's novel that imagines the lives of young William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe amid a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. ( May 26-July 16; LifelineTheatre.com )
—Pass Over, Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Waiting for Godot is the inspiration for Antoinette Nwandu's new drama of young urban men stuck in an unhappy cycle. ( June 1-July 9; Steppenwolf.org )
—Native Gardens, Victory Gardens Theater, N. Lincoln Ave. Tempers flare in this Chicago premiere of Karen Zacarias' drama involving a property line dispute that spirals out of control. ( June 2-July 2; VictoryGardens.org )
—Pilgrims, Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave. Humans are out to colonize outer space in Claire Kiechel's world-premiere sci-fi drama. ( June 2-July 30; TheGiftTheatre.org )
—The Bridges of Madison County, Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown ( Parade, 13 ) won a 2014 Tony Award for best score for this musical adaptation of Robert James Waller's best-selling novel. ( June 21-Aug. 13; MarriottTheatre.com )
—Honeymoon in Vegas, Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The 1992 film comedy was the inspiration for Jason Robert Brown's critically acclaimed 2014 Broadway musical adaptation. ( Aug. 23-Oct. 15; MarriottTheatre.com )
—Something Rotten!, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. William Shakespeare is a rock star while his unknown play writing rivals try to produce a musical to topple his popularity in this self-aware 2015 Broadway musical comedy. ( July 11-July 23; BroadwayInChicago.com )
—An American in Paris, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. Out director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon won a 2015 Tony Award for this acclaimed screen-to-stage adaptation of the 1951 Gene Kelly film following the adventures of an American G.I. in post-WWII Paris. ( July 25-Aug. 13; BroadwayInChicago.com )
Big revivals
—Ragtime, Griffin Theatre Company at Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. The epic 1998 Broadway musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's sprawling novel is back in a very intimate setting. ( May 27-July 16; GriffinTheatre.com )
—The King and I, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved 1951 musical set in 19th-century Siam is back courtesy of a national tour of Lincoln Center Theater's 2015 Tony Award-winning revival. ( June 14-July 2; BroadwayInChicago.com )
—Ah, Wilderness!, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Eugene O'Neill's 1933 Broadway comedy is back in a major regional revival directed by Steve Scott. ( June 17-July 23; GoodmanTheatre.org )
—The Gin Game, Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace. This revival of D.L. Coburn's 1978 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama stars the real-life Chicago acting couple of John Reeger and Paula Scrofano-Reeger. ( June 22-Aug. 13; DruryLaneTheatre.com )
—The God of Isaac, Grippo Stage Company at Noyes Cultural Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. A timely revival of James Sherman's humorous 1985 play looking back as his time growing up Jewish in Skokie amid the neo-Nazi marches of 1977. ( July 8-Aug. 27; GrippoStageCompany.com )
Editor's note: The author of this piece currently sings with the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus and has previously performed with the Windy City Gay Chorus.
