Water. Image by Johnny Knight____________
One of the distinctions between theater in Chicago and theater in other cities is the high percentage of world premiere plays, musicals and revues produced here. In any given month, at least one-third of everything we see is something new and unknown. This is in stark contrast to most other American theater centers. Dozens of theater leaders across the country, even in sophisticated cities, have told this writer 'Oh, we only do one new play a year. Our audiences won't support something if they haven't heard of it.' They are doomed to produce the tried and true, or a two-year old Off-Broadway hit.
No question about it, Chicago audiences relish the original and the unexpected. Their daring, and that of local theater artists, makes our theater scene far more interesting and far more valuable. Here, then, are 10 world premieres for April and May.
Massacre, Goodman Theatre, April 2-22. In this co-production between Goodman Theatre and Teatro Vista, playwright Jose Rivera details the revolt of New Hampshire Latino citizens against the town bully who has terrorized them. Rivera, who combines dark humor with plentiful sensuality, is the author of References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot. A second Rivera play, Sueño, a reworked Spanish classic, is listed in Mary Shen Barnidge's Top 10 Classics.
Cynical Weathers, Victory Gardens Theater, April 16-May 13. A Congressman, described as a moderate Texas Republican, is torn between his liberal wife, his born-again chief of staff and the energy bill he must shepherd through the House. Meanwhile, a hurricane threatens the Texas coast. Is it a symbol of his wife's issue, global warming? Or of his staffer's prediction of the End of Days? Dennis Zacek stages Douglas Post's new play.
Poker Night at the White House, Neo-Futurists, April 21-May 26. Curious. This is the second world premiere this season about the presidential administration of Warren G. Harding ( elected 1920, died in office in 1923 ) . It beats me why there should be such contemporary interest in a Republican president acknowledged to have been incompetent and surrounded by greedy, manipulative, corrupt secret deal-makers connected to Big Oil.
For the Neo-Futurists, this work by Sean Benjamin is part of a series of works about our national leaders. Call it the presidential succession.
Vox Pandora, A New Leaf at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, April 25-May 26. In this imaginative new work, the modern heroine Eleanor learns she is the descendant of Pandora, and the new keeper of the infamous box of which the sole remaining inhabitant is Hope. What happens when Eleanor persuades Hope to leave her home and enter our world? Jessica Hutchinson directs Neo-Futurist member Bilal Dardai's comic rewrite of Greek mythology.
Water, Chicago Dramatists, April 27-May 27. Playwright Alice Austen already has a work entitled Fire under her belt, so she seems to be coursing through the primary elements. This drama is set in a tight-knit Pacific Northwest community where one woman's actions send shockwaves through the town, revealing the underlying struggle. Will their efforts to make sense of an incomprehensible act lead the inhabitants to a healing baptism or a tragic drowning? Russ Tutterow directs.
Half of Plenty, American Theater Company, April 29-May 27. The latest from Chicago playwright Lisa Dillman, this time a comedy ( so the press release says ) about a young couple dealing with an in-house senile parent and the demands of the local neighborhood watch group. Excellent cast of American Theater Company ensemble members, directed by company co-founder William Payne.
Hope Springs Infernal, The House Theatre of Chicago at The Viaduct, May 5-June 23. The busy, hyper-pumped and clever gang at The House closes their season with Ben Lobpries' modern Greek epic in which Ares ( god of war ) and Athena ( goddess of wisdom ) battle it out as the fate of mankind is left to children. As it's The House, don't expect it to be too Greek and do expect it to be quite loud. Tommy Rapley directs ( and, no doubt, choreographs ) .
Be More Chill, Griffin Theatre at Theatre Building Chicago, May 6-June 24. You're a teenager desperate to be way cool, so you install a computer chip in your head that tells you how to be as cool as Keanu Reeves. Whassup with that, man? A rock and roll adaptation of the novel by Ned Vizzini, staged by Dorothy Milne.
Oedipus Complex, Goodman Theatre, May 8-June 6. Distinguished director and adaptor Frank Galati has merged the writings of Sigmund Freud with the Greek tragedy of Sophocles to arrive at ... well, we won't know exactly what until we see it. Expect it to be intelligent, visual, deep and entertaining.
Escape, Live Bait Theatre, May 10-July 1. Writer Sharon Evans has worked for years with the Chicago Police Department through Police-Teen Link. This play, a by-product of that work, explores the psychology of men and women in the Special Victims Unit and what they do to relieve the stress of their work, such as tango dancing and squirrel watching. Meanwhile, three mythical Furies loom in and out of the action, seeking vengeance for crimes, motives and immorality. Peter Amster directs.
Crossing California, Lifeline Theatre, May 14-June 24. Adam Langer, novelist and one-time theater critic for The Reader, has penned this play not about the West Coast, but about California Avenue ( 2800 West ) as a social and cultural divide for two young Chicagoans, and what happens when the line is crossed.
