PicturedFriar Laurence (Bruce Green-center), Juliet (Nicole Parker-left) and Romeo (Keegan-Michael Key-right) in The Second City's Romeo and Juliet Musical: The People vs. Friar Laurence, The Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Patti LuPone at Ravinia.
Chicago certainly has become a summer festival. Used to be, there wasn't much to do here except watch the Cubs lose and hang at the beach. Now the Cubs are winning, and the Metro Area is chockablock full of theater, music, dance, art fairs and special events almost every summer day and every summer night. When it comes to theater, you can find everything from Shakespeare festivals to old-fashioned summer stock. And it doesn't stop in Chicago: the arts are big in all the traditional Great Lakes vacation zones. Here are a few of my favorites. Those beyond Greater Chicago are less than a day's drive, and offer GLBT-friendly accommodations.
IN AND AROUND CHICAGO
Festival Theatre, Austin Gardens, Oak Park—Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Oak Park Festival offers Romeo and Juliet in a 1930s Dustbowl setting, June 24-Aug. 22. Despite the occasional overhead jet, Austin Gardens is a lovely venue for Shakespeare with its huge old oak trees and light show by the fireflies—not to mention the grand residences of the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District all around. Picnics encouraged (food on-site or bring your own); lawn chairs for rent or BYO. Reachable by CTA rapid transit. (708) 660-0036; $20.
First Folio Shakespeare Festival, Peabody Estate, Mayslake Forest Preserve, Oak Brook—For it's eighth season, First Folio offers Hamlet June 16-July 17, and A Midsummer Night's Dream July 27-Sept. 5, outdoors amid the gardens of the Peabody Estate. First Folio has created a solid base at their DuPage County venue, with plans to build a permanent outdoor festival stage, and winter and spring staged readings in the beautifully restored formal library of the Tudor-style Peabody Mansion. Bring your own picnic and lawn chair. (630) 986-8067; $23.
LaSalle Bank Family Festival of Plays, Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier—King Lear and Hamlet are taking their dreary death scenes elsewhere for the summer. The warm weather fare at Chicago Shakespeare Theater strictly is light-hearted: an original musical adaptation of Peter Pan by writer/director Marc Robin; a 90-minute A Midsummer Night's Dream with a punked-out Puck, directed by Gary Griffin; and a musical satire from The Second City titled The People vs. Friar Laurence, The Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet. The shows run in rep through Aug. 15, with daytime and evening performances. (312) 595-5600; $15-$28.
Ravinia Festival, Highland Park—This summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, jazz, pop, chamber music and dance celebrates its 100th anniversary all season long. Among the theatrical offerings: American premiere of the South African opera, Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu, June 4-6; a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, Aug. 14; concert performances of Sunday in the Park with George with Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris and Audra McDonald, Sept. 3-5; and the closing night's Carousel of the Animals, a music/dance/acting fantasy being created by John de Lancie (Star Trek's 'Q'). (847) 604-2414 (widely varying ticket prices).
2004 Summer Pride Fest, Bailiwick Repertory—The fags, hags, dykes, queens and kings are back again to celebrate Pride in all its diversity. This year's line-up features last year's Off-Broadway hit, The Last Sunday in June, by Jonathan Tolins (Twilight of the Golds), June 19-July 25; a Canadian comedy, Kilt, by Jonathan Wilson, about the trials and tribulations that face a man in a skirt, July 31-Sept. 5; and Anatomy of Revenge, a drama by Michael Rougas about a gay bashing victim who creates his own justice, Aug. 7-Sept. 19. Summer Pride Fest also will feature musical events, a one-man show by Jamie Black, and the winning play from Bailiwick's GLBT College/University Playwriting Contest. (773) 883-1090; $10-$25.
Theater on the Lake, Fullerton at the lake front—This institution in the little Arts-and-Crafts pavilion may be 52 years old, but it's substantially revamped itself over the last few years under artistic director Curt Columbus. Once offering amateur productions of familiar comedies and dramas, it now features one-week revivals of outstanding professional shows from the past season. The Griffin Theatre's Picnic, the Neo-Futurists' 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, Pyewacket's adaptation of Stephen King's Misery, Teatro Luna's The Maria Chronicles are among the nine shows offered June 16-Aug. 15. (312) 742-7994; $15.
Stages, A Festival of Musical Theatre in Progress, Theatre Building—It only lasts Aug. 13-15, but during those three days you can see workshop productions of eight new musicals, among them works that bring Cleopatra, Stephen Foster, Jack the Ripper and Al Jolson back to life. The first night gala offers Broadway Man, with Sam Harris (the gay Star Search winner who appeared in The Life on Broadway) playing Jolson. (773) 327-5252.
BEYOND THE 'BURBS
American Folklore Theatre Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI—Original, family-friendly musicals of 60-90 minutes are the specialty of this troupe, which describes itself as 'humble yet polished, hopeful yet not sentimental, historical yet hysterical.' Season opens June 15 at the outdoor venue with the world premiere of Muskie Love, and continues through Aug. 28 with When Dogs Could Talk (Native American story-telling tradition) and Guys on Ice in rotating rep. Tickets at the theater, one hour before showtime. Admission to the state park is not required. (920) 854-6117; $14.
American Players Theatre, Spring Green, WI—For its 25th anniversary season, APT offers a rotating repertory of Twelfth Night, Othello, London Assurance (19th Century comedy by Dion Bouccicault), Synge's The Playboy of the Western World and Cymbelline, in its 1148-seat natural amphitheatre set amid woods and meadows on the banks of the Wisconsin River near Madison. Lavish productions have made APT one of the nation's most successful summer festivals. Picnics expected (purchase on-site or BYO). Nearby accommodations include campgrounds, motels, luxury B&B's. (608) 588-2361; $28-$47.
Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Ewing Manor, Bloomington, IL—Cyrano de Bergerac, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Hamlet in rotating repertory, June 23-Aug. 14. Top Chicago acting and directing talent make the ISF a treat, as do the formal Japanese and Elizabethan gardens of Ewing Manor, site of the ISF's three-year old outdoor Festival stage. Come early for the Greens Show of Elizabethan songs and skits. Picnics encouraged (provisions on-site or bring your own). Great B&B's and antiques in Bloomington; make a weekend of it. (309) 438-8974; $15-$39 (2003 prices).
Mason Street Warehouse, Saugatuck, MI—In its second year, this venue in the popular Lake Michigan resort community was started by ex-Broadway troupers Tom Mullen and Kurt Stamm. The June 30-September 5 season includes Smokey Joe's Cafe (the rock songs of Lieber & Stoller), a new play about famed fashion doyenne Diana Vreeland, Full Gallop, a dark comedy called Bright Ideas and a world premiere musical about Hollywood film noir, Wicked City. All performances indoors in downtown Saugatuck. (269) 857-4898; $27.50.
Peninsula Players, Door Country, Fish Creek, WI—The granddaddy of all regional summer stock theaters nears its 70th season with five plays and musicals, June 22-October 17, among them Neil Simon's Broadway Bound and Fools, the Sondhem/Lapine musical Into the Woods and Ira Levin's thriller, Deathtrap. The company features many award-winning Chicago favorites such as Greg Vinkler, William J. Norris, Carmen Roman, Kate Frye and Guy Adkins. Gorgeous setting, spectacular sunsets right on the Green Bay shore. Weather-protected seating. (920) 868-3287; $23.25-$29.25.
Timberlake Playhouse, Mt. Carroll, IL—For its 42nd season, this 375 seat indoor venue offers six shows, June 3-Aug. 21, among them Cats, Hair and Cole Porter's Anything Goes. As usual, Timberlake showcases young professional talent working under veteran directors, often from Chicago. Timberlake—which is close to Galena and the Mississippi River—counts Jennifer Garner, Joe Mantello, Mary Beth Hurt and Michael Gross among its alums. (815) 244-2035; $15.
