This has been a tough few weeks for the Chicago and national theater scenes.
The recent cancer death of longtime Chicago Dramatists artistic director Russ Tutterow was extremely saddening. And then local theater fans were shocked by the news that American Theater Company artistic director PJ Paparelli died following injuries sustained in a car accident while he was on vacation in Scotland.
Tutterow left a lasting legacy of fostering new works for nearly three decades from a large roster of playwrights, while it's with plenty of regret to think of the new works that could have flowed from Paparelli since he made a mark nationally with such pieces like columbinus and the current world premiere The Project( s ), which has been extended to June 21.
So in honor of these two Chicago theater greats who are no longer with us, consider helping to bolster the Windy City's theater scene by being adventurous and seeing original works or pieces that are brand new to Chicago. All shows listed are chronological and in Chicago unless otherwise noted. Shows with an LGBTQ angle are highlighted with an asterisk ( * ).
World premieres
Chalk, Sideshow Theatre at Victory Gardens Theater's Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Walt McGough dreams up a sci-fi fable about a woman who has seemingly survived the end of the world only to be confronted with the unlikely return of her daughter. ( Now to June 28; www.sideshowtheatre.org )
Borderlands, Underscore Theatre at Jackalope Frontier Stage, 1106 W. Thorndale Ave. A group of singer-songwriters face up to the truth in this folk musical by librettist LC Bernadine and songwriter Erik Olsen. ( Now to June 28; www.underscoretheatre.org )
The Pied Piper, The Forks & Hope Ensemble at Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway St. Josh Sobel directs this theatrical adaptation of Robert Browning's poem about a German town that suffers a great loss when it goes back on its word to pay a musical and magical exterminator. ( Now to June 10; www.strawdog.org )
Soon I Will Be Invincible, Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Christopher M. Walsh and songwriter Christopher Kriz adapt Austin Grossman's fantasy novel about the New Champions who must thwart the newly escaped Doctor Impossible despite the disappearance of the superhero CoreFire. ( May 29 to July 19; www.lifelinetheatre.com ) .
On Your Feet!, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. Latin crossover pop sensation Gloria Estefan and her producer husband, Emilio Estefan, get the jukebox musical treatment in this new Broadway-bound show written by Academy Award-winning Birdman screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris. ( June 2 to July 5; www.broadwayinchicago.com ) .
Truth Be Told, We Stand Sideways at Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton Ave. Amanda Timm conceived this community-collaborative dance theater project that explores the nature of guilt, shame and sin through acts of confession. ( June 4-6; www.thecharnelhouse.com ) .
A Work of Art, Chicago Dramatists in association with the Goodman Theatre, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. Elaine Romero's second in a trilogy of plays on the theme of The U.S. at War looks at a woman whose life was changed after she lost her brother to the war in Vietnam. ( June 11 to July 19; www.chicagodramatists.org )
*Body & Blood, Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave. A family crisis ensues when a man named Dan finds his spiritual calling in this drama written by Gift Theatre co-founder William Nedved. ( June 11 to Aug. 9; www.thegifttheatre.org )
Matawan, The Ruckus at Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Dan Caffrey looks at a "season of terror" when there was war, a polio epidemic and an uptick in shark attacks off the Jersey Shore in the year of 1916. ( June 26 to July 26; www.ruckustheater.org )
*Stanley in the Name of Love, The New Colony at Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. Margaret Svetlove has teamed up with the band The Delicious Moon for this musical about a trailer park guy who has designs on becoming a gay porn star. ( July 30 through Aug. 29; www.thenewcolony.org )
October Sky, Marriott Theatre, 100 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Rachel Rockwell directs this new musical based upon the 1999 film about an Appalachian teenager who has dreams of becoming a rocket engineer in the 1950s. ( Aug. 19 to Oct. 11; www.marriotttheatre.com ) .
Don Chipotle, terraNOVA Collective and Playground Theater at Storefront Theatre, 66 E. Randolph St. A new Latino superhero is born in Juan Francisco Villa's coming-of-age adventure filled with puppetry, animation, music and a children's choir. ( Aug. 25 to Sept. 27; www.theadventuresofdonchipotle.com ) .
Chicago-area premieres
Xtigone, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1630 W. Foster Ave. Actress and playwright Nambi E. Kelley ( Native Son ) is behind this drama that reflects upon the toll of gang and gun violence in Chicago through lyricism, movement and music. ( Now to June 14; www.danztheatre.org )
Don't Go Gentle, Haven Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Stephen Belber's drama about a retired judge who volunteers to help an African-American single mother. ( June 2 to July 12; www.haventheatrechicago.com ) .
*Abraham Lincoln Was a F*gg*t, About Face Theatre at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. A gay teenager is determined to prove that his favorite president was homosexual in Bixby Elliot's pop music-infused comedy. ( June 5 to July 5; www.aboutfacetheatre.org )
The Fantasticks, Light Opera Works at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. How can the world's longest-running musical be a local premiere? Well this Evanston production debuts a full 23-piece orchestra arrangement of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's classic 1960 off-Broadway musical which typically just features a piano and harp. ( June 6 to 14; www.lightoperaworks.com ) .
Goldfish, Route 66 Theatre Company at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Heavy-hitter Chicago actors like Francis Guinan, Shannon Cochran, Alex Stage and Tyler Meredith star in John Kolvenbach's drama about a legacy left by parents and leaving home. ( June 11 to July 12; www.route66theatre.org )
The Who and the What, Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar ( Disgraced ) once explores again explores a clash of cultures, this time focusing on an Atlanta woman whose recently completed book about women and Islam threatens to tear her conservative Muslim family apart. ( June 12 to July 12; www.victorygardens.org )
Storm, Walkabout Theater Company with Moon Fool at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave. Two companies collaborate on Anna-Helena McLean's new adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. ( June 18 to 28; www.linkshall.org )
*Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Steve Scott directs the Chicago premiere of gay playwright Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning Broadway hit that comically borrows from Chekhovian character types and situations and transplants them to America today. ( June 20 to July 26; www.goodmantheatre.org )
Beaches, Drury Lane Theatre, 10 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Broadway veterans Shoshanna Bean and Whitney Bashor star in this musical adaptation of the beloved 1988 film that starred Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. The original novelist Iris Rainer Dart is involved as a co-writer with Thom Thomas and composer David Austin. ( June 24 to Aug. 16; www.drurylaneoakbrook.com ) .
Grand Concourse, Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.. Heidi Schreck's drama set in a Bronx soup kitchen pits a longtime veteran worker against a new college-dropout volunteer. ( July 2 to Aug. 30; www.steppenwolf.org )
Brilliant Adventures, Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn Ave. British playwright Alistair McDowell's drama deals with a teenager who has inadvertently created a device that could change the world—though he's at great risk of having it stolen out from under him. ( July 9 to Aug. 15; www.steeptheatre.com ) .
*The Boy from Oz, Pride Films and Plays at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. No, it may not have Hugh Jackman starring in the title role, but at least we're given a chance to finally see this 2003 Broadway musical about the life and times of flamboyant Australian pop singer and songwriter Peter Allen who was famed for such songs as "I Go to Rio" and "Don't Cry Out Loud." ( Aug. 5 to Aug. 30; www.pridefilmsandplays.com ) .
