By Jonathan Abarbanel
Oscar Wilde is having a very lively year, considering he's been dead for 104 years. The poster boy for pre-Stonewall Gay Lib was a big hit at Northlight Theatre in April with his 1892 play, Lady Windermere's Fan. Currently, Oscar himself can be seen onstage in two shows. He's a minor character, but the major icon, in A Man of No Importance, at Apple Tree Theatre through July 18. The moving musical by the team that authored Ragtime is the coming-out tale of a 40-ish bus driver in 1964 Dublin.
Oscar steps center stage along with his ne'er do well lover, Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas) in The Judas Kiss, now in previews at the Circle Theatre in Forest Park. It opens officially July 14 and runs through Aug. 22. The drama by contemporary British social dramatist David Hare looks at private aspects of the Oscar-Bosie relationship, in which Wilde risked (and lost) everything, only to be betrayed and rejected by Bosie.
As if that weren't enough, Wilde's biggest hit, The Importance of Being Earnest, will be staged at Court Theatre in November as part of Court's 50th anniversary season. Since Wilde's plays now are in the public domain, there are no royalties to pay!
The Metropolis Centre (sic) in Arlington Heights is giving men and women equal time this summer, and well into the fall, with productions of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues and Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman playing in weekly rotation. The shows open July 16 and July 22 respectively and continue through Nov. 14.
Meanwhile back in Chicago, the women seem to be having the best of it. Bailiwick launches a new Dyke Nyte program as part of its on-going Lesbian Theatre Initiative and the 2004 Pride Series. The four Monday and Tuesday night programs—July 26 and 27, Aug. 2 and 3—will offer a variety line-up of lesbian solo performance, poetry, drama, music and stand-up comedy. The kick-off on July 26 is Elizabeth Whitney in her one-woman show, Pop Culture Princess. The Hysterical Woman, Pam Peterson, Sapna Kumar, Kim Crutcher and Rose Tully are other featured artists for the Dyke Nyte series. All performances are at 8 p.m.
Over at Donny's Skybox Stage in The Second City complex (Piper's Alley at North and Wells), JoeLaTessa has written a two-woman, all-sung musical called A Lesbian in the Pantry. It features Shannon Strodel and Kristen Freilich, and plays Saturday nights only at 10 p.m. for an open run. Jonny knows very little about this show, and can't tell you if it's really about lesbians or more concerned with pantries.
Northwestern University is going gay with a production of the William Finn and James Lapine musical, Falsettos, as part of NU's Summerfest at the Barber Theatre on the Evanston campus. Play dates are July 9-25. Falsettos won two Tony Awards in 1992, and are the coming-out story of a gay, married man with a curious son. Northwestern's Summerfest also will present a spectacular Three Divas concert July 19 at 8 p.m., featuring local stars (and NU alums) Mary Earnster, Heidi Kettenring and Paula Scrofano. They know just about all the songs and should provide a bit of heaven for every musical comedy queen.
The very out Latino flower, Edward Thomas-Herrera, will be the featured artist in the 16th Fillet of Solo Festival at Live Bait Theatre, July 30-Aug. 14. Always busy as a writer and a director, Thomas-Herrera's last solo show was in 1998. Now, after six years, two funerals and a euthanized cat, he feels he has sufficient material for another solo evening. He will perform Fun While It Lasted Aug. 6, 7, 13 and 14 only. As always, the Fillet of Solo Festival will feature a number of other worthy solo writer/performers, although perhaps none quite as singular as Edward Thomas-Herrera.
As previously reported by Jonny, the marginally-GLBT Theatre Entropy will once again represent Chicago at the Columbus (Ohio) National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Sept. 9-18. The troupe will bring Making Peter Pope, a play by Edmund De Santis which they may or may not do in Chicago first. Festival director Frank A. Bamhart writes Jonny that he expected a better response from Chicago, with so many theaters. 'Bailiwick, GayCo and About Face all requested applications to appear, but none of them sent them back,' Mr. Bamhart writes. 'We would like more GLBT companies from Chicago, but they have not responded like other cities,' he continues. 'New York City is sending several groups. We have two from Orlando. We even have two from Madison, Wisc. Where is Chicago?'
