Here’s the press release from Northlight:

Northlight Theatre announces 2010-11 Season,
including a new musical by Stephen Schwartz;
the new play about Lunt and Fontanne, Ten Chimneys by Jeffrey Hatcher;
Alan Ayckbourn’s hit Season’s Greetings;
and E. Faye Butler in Black Pearl Sings

Chicago, IL—Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans are proud to announce the 2011-12 Northlight Season, which includes the new musical Snapshots from Stephen Schwartz, the creator of Wicked, Godspell, Pippin! and Working; last year’s smash holiday hit at London’s National Theatre, Alan Ayckbourn’s Season’s Greetings; Black Pearl Sings by Frank Higgins, featuring the incomparable E. Faye Butler; and a behind-the-scenes look at beloved Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne with Jeffrey Hatcher’s Ten Chimneys; and a fifth production to be announced.  Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

March’s Vanity Fair details Ireland’s economic bust; shoddy land deals derailed economic recovery. Gerard Stembridge’s script paints a picture of that wheeling-dealing in the early aughts, mixed with classist prejudices and Anglo-Irish tensions.

Developer Noel (Ira Amyx) needs bribe money and turns to sniffy Brits Julian (Joseph Wycoff) and June (Sarah Wellington), who launder money for despots. Years later, June and Julian fish for similar favors. The development dinners occur five years apart but are performed simultaneously.

The duality gimmick wears after a while; the characters invade each other’s space and the staging can be confusing. But strong performances keep the story on track. Amyx nails both mean drunk and sanctimonious recovering alcoholic; it’s a challenge to make that downward slide plausible. Wellington and Wycoff modulate comfortably between smug condescension and breathless desperation. Molly Glynn shines as Noel’s decent wife who, like the other characters’ morals, isn’t around for long. (Lisa Buscani)

Seanachai Theatre Company at the Irish-American Heritage Center, 4626 North Knox, (866)811-4111. Through April 3.

Dennis Grimes and Justine C. Turner/ Photo: Chris Ocken

RECOMMENDED

Partly based on the Faust legend, Mikhail Bulgakov’s twentieth-century Russian classic was meant as a satire of Stalin’s Russia and the censorship of artists by government. Much of that commentary remains in this adaptation. But by making the central character a playwright, instead of a novelist as in the original, this stage version reveals much about the inherent theatricality of storytelling as well.

The Master is a playwright struggling to perfect his new play about Pontius Pilate. While his mistress, Margarita, believes him to be a genius, he is constantly beset by his director and producers, literary critics and cultural commissars. Things only get worse, and more surreal, when Woland, a professor of black magic, blows into Moscow with his motley crew, commanding a supernatural control over these players.

While the show doesn’t really get moving until the Professor shows up, director Louis Contey and company produce so many beautiful moments that continually peel back the layers of the play’s onion structure, not only bringing the play to life but also presenting it to scrunity, just like the Professor’s magic tricks. The costume and scene designs are simple yet evocative, and the large cast includes standout turns from Dennis Grimes as the Master, Tom Hickey as Woland and Anderson Lawfer as a talking cat. Afterward you’ll wonder—was it just a sleight of hand, or black magic? (Neal Ryan Shaw)

Strawdog Theatre Company, 3829 North Broadway, (773)528-9696. Through April 2.

Stef Tovar and Alex Hugh Brown

RECOMMENDED

Chicago’s ability to thrive is enhanced by its water: our ability to consume and profit from it has kept us lubricated and lucrative since the city’s beginning. Water makes our progress as a metropolis, as families, as people, possible.

Noah (Stef Tovar) is a gay man negotiating life after the death of his spouse. His adopted daughter (Falashay Pearson) distances herself and longs for her missing father; his co-worker (Alex Hugh Brown) pressures him for a relationship he might not be ready for.

Caitlin Montanye Parrish’s script is a provocative mix of history, obstacle and longing that insists you root for all the characters. Tovar’s performance is solid and sympathetic as Noah tries to rebuild his life; Pearson makes her character’s abandonment palpable. But the highlight is Brown, whose crack timing and dry wit enable him to walk off with every scene.  His work is a cool drink. (Lisa Buscani)

Route 66 Theatre Company at Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont, (773)975-8150. Through March 26. Reopening at Mercury Theater, 3745 North Southport on April 14 through June 26.

Here’s the press release from Remy Bumppo:

REMY BUMPPO THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL SEASON FOR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DOUGLAS

CHICAGO-Remy Bumppo Theatre Company announces the premiere season lineup for incoming Artistic Director Timothy Douglas. The 2011/2012 season opens Sept. 21 – Oct. 30 with Eugene O’Neill’s epic drama Mourning Becomes Electra in the Midwest premiere of an adaptation from Gordon Edelstein. The season continues Nov. 23, 2011 – Jan. 8, 2012 with the Marivaux comedy Changes of Heart translated by Stephen Wadsworth, and concludes March 28 – May 6, 2012 with the Chicago premiere of Lee Blessing’s Chesapeake, a tour de force solo performance featuring Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Greg Matthew Anderson. All three productions will be directed by Douglas, and presented at the Greenhouse Theater Center at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Subscriptions range from $70 for previews to $165 for opening night and are on sale now at www.remybumppo.org or by calling the Greenhouse Theater box office at 773-404-7336. Single tickets go on sale Aug. 3, 2011.  Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from Joffrey Ballet:

THE JOFFREY BALLET ANNOUNCES ITS PREMIERE-PACKED 2011-2012 SEASON, NEW GENERATION
Season to feature the Joffrey Premiere of Possokhov’s Don Quixote; two mixed repertory programs, one showcasing a U.S. Premiere by McGregor and a Joffrey Premiere by Forsythe, the other featuring a World Premiere by Caniparoli; plus, the return of America’s #1 Nutcracker

CHICAGO —Ashley C. Wheater, Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, is proud to announce the company’s 2011-2012 season, titled New Generation, which will launch with a Joffrey Premiere, the evening-length Don Quixote by Yuri Possokhov, October 12 – 23, 2011, followed by the timeless holiday classic, Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker, December 8 – 27, 2011.  In the new year, The Joffrey will present two mixed repertory programs, first featuring the U.S. Premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Infra along with the Joffrey Premiere of William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, February 15 – 26, 2012.  The spring mixed rep program will feature a World Premiere by Val Caniparoli along with the return of Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence and Jerome Robbins’ In the Night, April 25 – May 6, 2012.  Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from TimeLine Theatre Company:

TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2011-12 SEASON

One production of 15th Anniversary season to be presented at Theater Wit to accommodate audience growth

Chicago, IL — TimeLine Theatre Company, named the nation’s theater “Company of the Year” for 2010 by Terry Teachout in The Wall Street Journal and “one of the Chicago theater’s most impressive growth stories” by Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune, announces its four-play 2011-12 season. Dedicated to presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today’s social and political issues, TimeLine’s 15th Anniversary season includes one world premiere, two Chicago premieres, a revival of a Pulitzer Prize-nominated work presented with a twist, and the TimeLine debut of two of Chicago’s most prominent directors.  Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from ABT:

AMERICAN BLUES THEATER ANNOUNCES THEIR 2011-2012 SEASON
Clifford Odets’ “Waiting For Lefty,” World Premieres of “Ripped: The Living Newspaper Project” and James Still’s “Love Me Some Amnesia” Plus the Return of ABT’s Popular Holiday Presentation of “It’s A Wonderful Life: Live At The Biograph” Comprise Four-Play Season Dedicated to Working People

CHICAGO – Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside of American Blues Theater (ABT), Chicago’s second oldest Equity ensemble, proudly announces the Ensemble’s 26th season. The season kicks off with Clifford Odets’ “Waiting for Lefty” directed by Kimberly Senior (Sept. 1 – Oct. 2). Odets’ masterwork will run in repertory with ABT’s world-premiere short play festival “Ripped: The Living Newspaper Project” inspired by the news of the day.  A special holiday presentation of the Ensemble’s critically acclaimed “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph” directed by ABT Artistic Affiliate Marty Higginbotham follows (Nov. 25 – Jan. 1). In spring 2012, ABT caps their season with the world premiere of “Love Me Some Amnesia” by Emmy Award-winner, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist James Still, directed by ABT Artistic Affiliate Meredith McDonough (dates to be announced).   Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from BoHo Theatre:

BOHO THEATRE ANNOUNCES ITS 2011/12 SEASON

CHICAGO— BoHo Theatre is excited to unveil our production lineup for our 2011/12 Season. This upcoming season will mark the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble’s eighth producing season and also its second year as a resident company at Theater Wit at 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Lakeview. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dennis Polkow

“Enraptured” is the word most often used to describe experiencing Wagner’s “Lohengrin” at Lyric Opera (through March 8), heard here for the first time in thirty-one years. Under retiring general director William Mason, the thinking was to generally alternate seasons between Wagner and Richard Strauss, the two most expensive composers to produce in an opera house because of the large size of the orchestras needed to perform them.

But last year, neither composer was performed, and since next year’s Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos,” only requires a chamber orchestra, couldn’t Wagner have been included next season as well? Grabbing a bite in his backstage dressing room at the Civic Opera House before a matinee of Puccini’s “La fanciulla del West,” Sir Andrew Davis titters with audible delight at the suggestion.

“You know I love these works deeply,” he says, “but they are very expensive to produce. Aside from the orchestra, there is the cast size and you cannot skimp on Wagner. How many great Lohengrins are there in the world today? One? Two? And imagine, the best one is sitting right there,” says Davis, pointing to South African tenor Johan Botha, who has entered the room.

“I can only sing ten to twelve Wagner performances a season,” admits Botha, “and this year, I am doing seven of them in Chicago. That means that the Met, Vienna, anywhere else in the world that wants you to sing Wagner has to wait because you can only sing in one place at a time.” Read the rest of this entry »