Theater Spotlight
Bette Midler is readying her Broadway return in a high-profile revival of the musical Hello, Dolly! this season. Yet you can see another take on Midler in her early career with another revival. Hell in a Handbag Productions is bringing back its hit 2015 musical tribute Bette, Live at the Continental Baths. Caitlin Jackson once again inhabits the Divine Miss M in a recreation of the bathhouse concerts that endeared Midler to the legion of gay fans who would passionately follow her career throughout the ensuing years. Bette, Live at the Continental Baths plays 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from Friday, Aug. 12, through Saturday, Sept. 10, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. There is also an added performance 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, to make up for no performance on Saturday, Aug. 27. Tickets are $26 in advance and $28 at the door; call 773-327-5252 or visit Stage773.com .
Caitlin Jackson in Hell in a Handbag's Bette, Live at the Continental Baths, a musical tribute to the Divine Miss M's legendary NYC concert. Photo by Rick Aguilar Studios
Critics' Picks
Between Riverside and Crazy, Steppenwolf Theatre, through Aug. 21. Cop shootings, economic insecurity and the troubles of marginalized citizens aren't funny in 2016, but at Steppenwolf, playgoers can expect to be entertained as well as enlightened. MSB
Byhalia, Mississippi, Definition Theater & The New Colony at Steppenwolf 1700, through Aug. 21. Don't call them "white trash"these are the people who could elect our next president, these humble citizens struggling to better themselves in a changing world, and their efforts deserve our respect. MSB
Chops, Dashnight Productions at Theater Wit, through Aug. 14. This neat four-hander is an authentic Chicago "guy" play in the Mamet tradition, only slicker. Profound? Naw. Great play for actors, yeah! JA
Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf, Writers Theatre, Glencoe, extended through Aug. 14. Tim Ryder and Tim Sniffen's comic mashup of great U.S. theater dramas by the likes of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee and Thornton Wilder is a laugh riot. SCM
By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Morgan