PicturedGrant Park Orchestra at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.>
Summer's almost here—where will you and your date go after the beach? Wicked at the Ford Oriental? Lion King at the Cad Palace? Another citronella-circuit Shakespeare in the suburbs? Or why not take a chance on the first-time-out or second-time-around shows at these nearby festivals?
ESTROGEN FEST: CHANGING THE RULES at the Storefront, 66 East Randolph Street, playing through June 5. You can still catch the—um, tail end of this multi-disciplinary celebration of Y-chromosome lore, featuring such provocative titles as Fear of Scars, Hoo-Doo-the-Voodoo and A Brief Message From Amelia Earhart. For further information, phone ( 312 ) 742-8497.
BAILIWICK REPERTORY PRIDE SERIES at the Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 West Belmont Avenue. Generating a lot of buzz is Marlowe, playing June 12-July 17, in which Harlan Didrickson gives us the inside story on the Elizabethan age's favorite Bad Boy. The 2005 lineup also includes David Chapman's Planet of the Bisexuals, playing May 23-June 19, a look at the solar system as sexual obstacle course. And Stephan DeGhelder's A Kiss From Alexander, July 11-August 14, a comedy steeped in backstage intrigue at a Broadway musical version of Alexander The Great. For further information, phone ( 773 ) 883-1090.
THEATRE ON THE LAKE, Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton Avenue. If you missed House Theatre's Curse Of The Crying Heart earlier this year, you can see the flying ninjas on June 15-19. Other auspicious repeat stagings include Porchlight Music Theatre's Closer Than Ever on July 6-10, Strawdog Theatre's Detective Story on August 10-14 and Lifeline Theatre's A Long Way From Chicago on June 29-July 3. Other shows include Teatro Luna's Sólo Latinas, June 22-26. American Theatre Company's It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, July 13-17. Eclipse Theatre Company's Big Time, July 20-24. Barrel Of Monkeys' That's Weird, Grandma, July 27-31. And MPAACT's Relevant Hearsay ... Stories from 57, August 3-7. For further information, phone ( 312 ) 742-7994.
LASALLE BANK FAMILY FESTIVAL OF PLAYS, produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, 800 East Grand Avenue. Alexandra Billings stars as Queen Evermean in The Princess And The Pea, running June 29-August 14. Other festival highlights include CST's Short Shakespeare: The Comedy Of Errors, also featuring Billings, this time in the dual role of a prostitute and a nun ( how Freudian! ) , playing July 13-August 13. And Second City's musical spoof, The People vs. Friar Lawrence, The Man Who Killed Romeo And Juliet, June 14-August 14. For further information, phone ( 312 ) 595-5600.
FILLET OF SOLO series at Live Bait Theatre, 3914 North Clark Street. The irrepressible Tekki Lomnicki kicks off the summer's program with Blurred Vision, running June 3-26, followed by Sharon Evan's Portrait Of A Shiksa, opening June 17, and David Kodeski's And Some Can Remember Something Of Some Such Thing opening July 22. For further information, phone ( 773 ) 871-1212
VITALITY: OUR THIRD ANNUAL ONE-ACT FESTIVAL, produced by Speaking Ring Theatre Company and performed at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church, 925 West Diversey Parkway, from June 2-June 11. The nine original plays—from Seattle, Los Angeles, Sarasota and points between—selected for this year's program address the theme 'The Boiling Point: Examining How We React When Pushed to an Extreme and How We Are Changed'. For further information, phone ( 312 ) 458-9374.
COLLABORACTION SKETCHBOOK 5 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 West Division Street, playing from June 14-26. This multimedia arts festival presents staged readings of eighteen short plays by such familiar literary names as Brett Neveu, Wendy MacLeod, Sean Graney, Lindsay Porter, Adam Rapp, Mickle Maher and others. For further information, phone ( 312 ) 226-9633.
GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL in Millennium Park ( Pritzker Pavilion at Washington and Columbus Drive ) . The June 15 performance of Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and the Grant Park Women's Chorus, will also include Lisa Dodson and David Darlow reading from Shakespeare's text. And mark your calendars for the Three Broadway Divas concert on July 29, starring Jan Horvath, Jodi Benson and Debbie Gravitte. For further information, phone ( 312 ) 742-4763.
PROP THTR NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL at the Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph Street, playing from July 14-31. Now in its seventh year, Prop Thtr presents staged readings of plays selected from nearly a hundred submissions nationwide. Titles and authors were not yet available at press time, but this company's proletarian values should make for lively post-show discussions. For further information, phone ( 773 ) 539-7838.
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE FIRST LOOK REPERTORY OF NEW WORK at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 North Halsted Street. Developmental productions of never-before-seen plays, staged by the Steppenwolf all-stars and playing in repertory, include A Blameless Life, by Joel Drake Johnson, August 4-27. The Sparrow Project, by Melanie Marnich, August 3-27. Men Of Tortuga, by Jason Wells, August 6-28. Phone ( 312 ) 335-1650.