The autumn deluge is upon us as a flood of theater starts the 2002-2003 season in earnest. The old saw says 30 days hath September, but it also hath more than 50 theater openings, and that's not counting community theaters or kids' shows. Over the next 12 months, some 200 theater companies in the city and suburbs will stage more than 800 dramas, comedies, musicals and revues and will play to more than three million ticket buyers, according to figures from the League of Chicago Theatres.
What will the hot tickets be? What looks like the best of the best? We've polled Windy City Times senior theater critics Mary Shen Barnidge, Rick Reed and yours truly...old Stage Door Jonny himself...for shows that are on our radar as something special. Time will tell whether our picks are wise ones or merely wishful thinking. Shows are listed in order of their opening dates, with the name of the recommending critic in parenthesis.
Quake ( Reed ) , now through Oct. 6, American Theater Company...Company co-founder William Payne returned to Chicago to direct this world premiere by prize-winning author Melanie Marnich. It boasts obsession, astrophysics and a female serial killer, all of which place it on Rick Reed's radar.
The Time of Your Life ( Reed ) , now through Nov. 3, Steppenwolf Theatre Company...Originally a caution against Fascism, William Saroyan's 1939 tale of lost souls in a San Francisco saloon is the kind of meat-and-potatoes classic that should allow Chicago's premiere ensemble to shine. Expect lots of period popular music as staged by Tina Landau.
Anna Christie ( Barnidge, Reed ) , Sept. 18-Oct. 20, Apple Tree Theatre ( Highland Park ) ...Anna is a whore with a heart of gold in author Eugene O'Neill's play of the sea. Reed expects Apple Tree to bring out the work's romanticism and poetry. Mary Shen Barnidge calls it a classic that's too rarely produced. Made into a film, Anna Christie was Greta Garbo's first talkie, and is famous for its opening line: "Give me a whisky, ginger ale on the side. And don't be stingy."
Bloody Bess ( Abarbanel, Barnidge ) , Sept. 19-Oct. 20, Red Hen Productions...Not seen for 25 years, this swashbuckling Organic Theater Company original by William J. Norris and John Ostrander is subtitled "A Tale of Piracy and Revenge." It focuses on historic 18th Century female pirates and the men who followed them. Scott Cummins' direction and Brian LeTraunik's fight choreography promise all the thrills, chills and action of the original ( which featured Joe Mantegna, Dennis Franz and Meshach Taylor in the cast ) .
Around the World in 80 Days ( Barnidge ) , Sept. 20-Dec. 1, Lifeline Theatre...With a reputation for sparkling stage adaptations of costume novels, Lifeline launches its 20th anniversary season with the famous Jules Verne novel. The company is renowned for its boat-in-a-bottle staging, and now they propose to squeeze the whole world into a mere 28' x 30' space.
The Royal Hunt of the Sun ( Barnidge ) , Sept. 20-Oct. 27, The Journeymen...Peter Schaffer's ( Amadeus, Equs ) famous and highly physical play about 16th Century conquistadore Francesco Pizzaro, his scaling of the Andes and toppling of the Inca Empire. Barnidge says it offers historical pageantry, interracial conflict and men without shirts.
The Beard of Avon ( Reed ) , Sept. 27-Nov. 2, Goodman Theatre...Amy Freed uses comedy to explore the question of who wrote the plays of William Shakespeare. Among the candidates are the Earls of Oxford and Rochester, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, Queen Elizabeth I and even Shakespeare himself, whoever he was. As directed by hotshot David Petrarca, The Beard of Avon should be witty, engrossing and pure quality.
Hard Times ( Abarbanel, Reed ) , Sept. 28-Nov. 24, Lookingglass Theatre Company...Before the 2002-2003 season is over, Lookingglass expects to move into sparkling new quarters in the Water Tower Pumping Station. As a prelude, they are remounting this hit from two seasons ago, an imaginative and colorful adaptation of the hard-punching social novel by Charles Dickens. Lookingglass makes the most of the novel's subplot about circus performers by incorporating wire walking, trapeze, etc. into the daring work. Enthuses Reed, "One of the most glorious productions I've seen since I've begun reviewing."
Sunday in the Park with George ( Reed ) , Oct. 6-Nov. 5, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre...The magical director Gary Griffin ( director of Carousel now at the Marriott Theatre ) tackles this classic Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine collaboration about pointillist painter Georges Seurat and his heirs. One of Sondheim's loveliest and most innovative works, it's usually staged with a large ensemble and elaborate scenery. The surprise will be how Griffin condenses it in the 200-seat Chicago Shakespeare studio theatre, as he did with Pacific Overtures last year.
Awake and Sing! ( Reed ) , TimeLine Theatre Company, Oct. 12-Nov. 17...It's The Great Depression and three generations of a Jewish family are squeezed into a Bronx apartment. Arguably the finest play by Clifford Odets, Awake and Sing! is a warm yet heartbreaking song to life that helped define the aesthetic of the Group Theatre and establish so-called Method Acting. Reed wants to see the ever-improving TimeLine Theatre Company ensemble bring this challenging play to life.
Death and Harry Houdini ( Barnidge ) , from Oct. 30, House Productions...Barnidge loved this show when first staged last Fall, calling it "the most auspicious debut that almost everybody missed." She warns us not to miss it this time, promising a fascinating show that combines skillfully executed illusions with an intriguing tale about the master illusionist and escape artist himself.
3 Sisters ( Reed ) , Nov. 3-Dec. 12, Roadworks Productions...This adaptation by director Curt Columbus from Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters seems a fine match for the innovation, talent and creativity for which Roadworks is known. The troupe has spent most of the last two years striving to attract a twentysomething audience with generally youthful plays. 3 Sisters should be different.
James Joyce's The Dead ( Reed ) , Nov. 21-Dec. 22, Court Theatre...A musical by Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey based on the novel by the great Irish writer of Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake. Despite the title, it's a family gathering filled with Irish folk music, dancing and stories. Produced on Broadway last year, it was a huge critical success and received several Tony Award nominations. Reed can't imagine a better way to get into the proper mood as The Holidays approach.
The Cider House Rules ( Abarbanel, Barnidge, Reed ) , Jan. 17-April 6, 2003, Famous Door Theatre Company...Only a handful of theaters have attempted Peter Parnell's two-part stage adaptation of John Irving's sprawling and complex Dickensian novel. Barnidge calls directors David Cromer and Famous Door co-founder Marc Grapey a Dream Team. Reed wants to see award-winning Famous Door ( Beautiful Thing, Ghetto, Early and Often ) wrestle this meaty tale of two orphans...with over 100 characters--onto the stage. If successful, this costly project can take Famous Door to the next level among Chicago theater companies. One of the season's most anticipated shows.
Sky Girls ( Barnidge ) , Jan. 29-March 9, 2003, North Light Theatre...This world premiere by Chicago author Jenny Laird is a World War II story of Women's Air Force ( WAF ) volunteers training as service pilots. You can't go wrong with dames in uniforms, Barnidge tells us. This play already is the winner of a $5,000 prize commission.
Wedding Band ( Barnidge ) , Feb. 6-March 30, 2003, Congo Square Theater Company in collaboration with Steppenwolf...Barnidge says that doing an African-American classic during Black History Month is like burying a play in the ghetto. Nonetheless, this powerful Alice Childress work is perfect for Congo Square, which has come from nowhere to phenomenal critical eminence in just three years; so much so that Steppenwolf is putting them on its mainstage.
Money ( Abarbanel ) , February 2003 dates TBA, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company...An 1840 social comedy by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the great Victorian author who first penned the words, "'Twas a dark and stormy night ... ." Requiring a keen sense of period style, Money explores the old saw about love flying out the door when money comes in the window. Early and mid-19th Century plays are rarely done, and often seem artificial by today's standards of naturalistic writing. However, if Remy Bumppo has the chops, Money should be wonderfully entertaining.
The Romance Cycle ( Abarbanel ) , March 28-June 1, 2003, Court Theatre...Artistic director Charles Newell is taking two of Shakespeare's most colorful and difficult works, the fantasy romances Cymbeline and Pericles, and combining them into a two-part cycle. Chicago Shakespeare Theatre made hits out of both plays individually in seasons past; now we'll see what Newell...and his generally minimalist physical style...does to reinvent these two outrageous stories.
Gem of the Ocean ( Abarbanel ) , April 18-May 24, 2003, Goodman Theatre...A world premiere by future Nobel laureate August Wilson, a great American writer. Set in 1904, this work with mystical overtones is the penultimate play in Wilson's 10-play cycle on the African-American experience in the 20th Century, one play for each decade. After this, he will need only a play for the 1990s to complete his decalogue. The gifted Marion McClinton directs.
Crime and Punishment ( Abarbanel ) , May 6-Aug. 3 2003, Writers Theatre ( Glencoe ) ...Artistic director Michael Halberstam stages this adaptation of the great psychological novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, about a killer searching for redemption and nearly driven mad by guilt over his premeditated crime. The tiny Writers Theatre theater...just 40 seats...should intensify the work's crushing claustrophobia.
Gold! ( Abarbanel ) , June 13-July 19, 2003, Goodman Theatre...A world premiere musical by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, directed by Harold Prince. What more do you need to know? Prince says it's a musical comedy that follows the careers of two con men brothers ( based on real figures ) from the gold fields of Alaska to the 1920s Florida real estate boom.
Don't forget the League of Chicago Theatres Hot Tix Program, offering half-price tickets for dozens of shows...even big Downtown hits...on the day of performance. At half price, it's hard to go wrong with any show. Log on to chicagoplays.com for details and links. See you at the stage door!
