Photo: Sandbox Studio

RECOMMENDED

Molly Shanahan finds new territory in this latest iteration of the “Stamina of Curiosity” project, namely the entry of aggression into her highly sensitive universe and its co-existence with the charged vulnerability of her performances. The language is the same—playful, elemental movements that seem generated by a greater brain of the integrated body; negative space between dancers charged positive, palpable as bodies—but the framework has changed. An awareness of our very yang, masculine culture is referenced directly in a score peppered with iconic ranting monologues from “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “A Few Good Men”—language playful and seductive as Shanahan’s work, generated at the opposite end of the energetic spectrum. Shanahan told me she found an intersection of vulnerability and aggression in the image of sharks, animals that depend on fluid, undulating movement for survival—a movement that adds to their terror in the human imagination. She states, “It fascinates me, the idea of survival being linked to adaptability and flow and that adaptability and flow being perceived as dangerous.” There’s a lot here and this is the last chance to see it before the “Stamina” project moves on. (Sharon Hoyer)

At Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center, 10 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. June 2-5, 8pm. For tickets visit brownpapertickets.com/event/174278.

Photo: William Frederking

RECOMMENDED

The members of Margi Cole’s all-female company again take turns directing one another with the return of “COLEctive Notions,” what looks to become an annual evening of new, short works by the Dance COLEctive’s nascent choreographers. Cole has provided an opportunity for the COLEctive to create, direct and critique as peers, and the resources to present their labors for a weekend at Links Hall. Maggie Koller returns with ruminations on love, fear and emotional baggage; Alaina Murray makes her choreographic debut with a piece on life changes and tough decisions; and Molly Grimm-Leasure lucid-dreams the answers to those questions, with a nod to the power of the subconscious. New works by Jessica Post, Kaitlin Bishop and Olivia May are also on the program. (Sharon Hoyer)

At Links Hall, 3435 North Sheffield, (773)281-0824. June 3-5, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 7pm. $18.

Alexis J. Rogers and Todd M. Kryger/Photo: Michael Brosilow

RECOMMENDED

Despite the cultural issues and problems engulfing “Porgy and Bess,” and they are myriad, the principal reason it survives is George Gershwin’s sumptuous score. By and large, it is faithfully rendered in this streamlined and minimalist Court Theatre production by a talented group of singing actors who have obviously in each and every case really upped their game to an entirely new level.

Of course, those used to the complete work in full score will have a lot to miss: entire characters, scenarios and musical bits that flesh out Catfish Row are AWOL here. Most of the beloved songs are here, to be sure, although the iconic “Summertime” has been given a lower key in the opening scene and tilted towards its jazz standard polarity rather than rendered as a sumptuous aria.

Such changes are distracting, at first—almost like Aretha Franklin singing Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” or a Handel reconfiguration such as “The Gospel Messiah”—but on its own terms, it does work. Likewise when Bethany Thomas starts her funeral cry of “My Man’s Gone Now,” she does it an octave lower in a restrained, poignant almost Billie Holiday-like manner rather than the all out take-no-prisoners loud lamentation as written. The overture is omitted at the beginning of the work, but somehow mysteriously pops up in the rape scene, albeit at a snail’s pace. Read the rest of this entry »

Joanne Dubach, Thomas Gebbia and Gail Rastofer/Photo: Jeff Pines

Given its prevalence in film, television and books, it’s somewhat surprising how rare it is to see new plays incorporating science fiction and fantasy. Though special-effects challenges no doubt play a part, I suspect the reason is more a case of topical snobbery, never mind that Shakespeare routinely worked witches, ghosts and other magical creatures into his works. So Marisa Wegrzyn’s Wendy Wasserstein Prize-winning “Hickorydickory,” in its world-premiere production at Chicago Dramatists, works from a rather refreshing premise. Humans, it turns out, unknowingly have a “mortal clock” inside of us—a personally engraved pocket watch—set to the very minute of our inevitable death. For the family of multigenerational suburban Chicago watch smiths who secretly specialize in mortal-clock repairs, this provides ample fodder for family drama and musings about the nature of life and fate. And the processs of removing wayward clocks from the head brings a real splatter of gore to the stage. For most of this three-act, we’re captivated by the story: what horrible fate befell shop owner Jimmy’s parents? What does daughter Dale know about her perhaps-impending death? And how did Cari Lee manage to find eternal youth and, in doing so, turn out so annoyingly 17? Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

How far will you go to maintain the last shred of your family legacy, even if it means breaking apart that same family? It’s one of the questions addressed by Darren Canady’s new play, which receives a loving if occasionally uneven and bombastic world premiere at Congo Square.

Roy Colton stayed behind to tend his father’s farmland. After seven years of estrangement, his two younger brothers have come to his door with designs on turning the land into an oil-yielding cash cow. All they need is the deed, but Roy refuses to give up what is left of his family’s heritage.

Set in the 1950s, Canady’s script often feels of that time, and it’s hard to get past some of the play’s classic American family drama cliches (the strong, silent husband, the neglected wife, the desperately starry-eyed youth), but you can’t ask for a more tightly constructed plot. James T. Alfred and Shanesia Davis as the central couple stand out in the all-around terrific cast, which also includes a great comic turn by Velma Austin-Massey. Andrei Onegin’s versatile inside-outside set subtly highlights the play’s less explicit examination of public versus private lives. (Neal Ryan Shaw)

Congo Square Theatre Company at the Chicago Center for Performing Arts, 777 North Green, (312)733-6000. Through June 26.

RECOMMENDED

Adam (Darrell Cox) and Jan (Katherine Keberlein) have the night off from parenting; their son’s at a slumber party. Adam takes the opportunity to inject a little romance into their currently shaky marriage.

Michael Weller’s script stops and starts. He takes his characters’ enmity so far that you’re sure their love can never be repaired; in the next moment they’re asking each other for second chances they don’t deserve.

Cox and Keberlein make the best of a flawed situation; we know there’s a good deal unspoken that must be spoken from the top of Act One. When the story arc offers too much unforeseen information, they roll with it and the audience buys it. Credit director Joe Jahraus with staying on top of an unwieldy arc. Thad Hallstein’s comfortably yuppie set makes the prison of the relationship tangible. You are given the sense that only forgiveness sets the couple free. (Lisa Buscani)

Profiles Theatre, 4147 North Broadway, (773)549-1815. Through June 26.

André De Shields and Linda Kimbrough/Photo: Liz Lauren

RECOMMENDED

Writing about horrific events in our nation’s past is always a difficult endeavor—how to make a show interesting, relevant and poignant without becoming overly didactic or resorting to finger-pointing. With “The Gospel According to James,” playwright Charles Smith deftly addresses the events surrounding a double-lynching in 1930s small-town Indiana with compassion and candor. Meeting in a funeral home fifty years after the lynching, two central figures involved in the event (portrayed by Andre De Shields and Linda Kimbrough) discuss their recollections of that night and the emotional baggage that comes with such a traumatic experience. The acting is impeccable, with De Shields and Kimbrough recounting their (conflicting) memories and the remaining cast portraying these memories for the audience. It’s a thought-provoking and memorable piece with a captivating story, but the presence of narrators (who quickly become silent viewers in the center of a crowded stage) is a distracting choice by director Chuck Smith. (Zach Freeman)

Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 North Lincoln, (773)871-3000. $20-$50. Through June 12.

Sean Patrick Fawcett and Geoff Button/Photo: Ryan Bourque

RECOMMENDED

This is Sean Graney and the Hypocrites doing what they do best: chilling, dark comedy that establishes an unmatched atmospheric aesthetic. Georg Buchner’s unfinished, somewhat disjointed play about the dehumanizing effects of poverty gets the Graney treatment, with thrilling, if sometimes confusing, expressionistic movement and dialogue. The forces crushing antihero Franz Woyzeck are claustrophobic but Brechtian, with haunting songs and sound design by Mikhail Fiksel; and when Woyzeck finally succumbs to murder, the rampant bloodshed approaches a true theater of cruelty without ever losing a moment of controlled precision. Particular kudos to the exquisite set design, which, with its Damien Hirst-like medicine cabinets, stuffed reindeer, plastic sheeting, and tree stumps, evokes an apocalyptic element that somehow adds even more tension. (Monica Westin)

At the Chopin Theater, 1543 West Division. Through May 22.

Here’s the press release from MCA Stage:

2011-12 MCA STAGE SEASON

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, announces the 15th season of the MCA Stage, presenting iconic and groundbreaking multidisciplinary theater, dance, and music. The season takes place September 2011 – June 2012 and is organized by Peter Taub, Director of Performance Programs, and Yolanda Cesta Cursach, Associate Director of Performance Programs. Tickets are on sale in July, including a special limited quantity of advance $15 tickets, and are available at www.mcachicago.org or the MCA Box Office at 312.397.4010  Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

Opening with a surprise party gone awry and a murder to be solved, “Murder for Two—A Killer Musical” (penned by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair) quickly explodes into self-aware musical campiness; puns and slapstick abound in a way that would no doubt make Mel Brooks giggle giddily. Officer Marcus Moscowicz (Alan Schmuckler) arrives at the scene of the crime with hopes of becoming a detective and ineffectively strives to corral a host of feisty suspects that includes an aloof ballerina, a gruff psychiatrist, a bickering older couple, a bookish grad student and the victim’s attention-grabbing wife (all played with gusto by Kinosian). The straight-man/funny-man combo works wonders here, with Schmuckler’s earnestness giving Kinosian free rein to send his characters over the top and director David H. Bell has instilled this world premiere with a sense of excitement and experimentation throughout that caters to the show’s irreverent strengths. Those looking to use their detecting skills may be disappointed, but those looking for a laugh will be more than satisfied. (Zach Freeman)

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 East Grand (at Navy Pier), 312.595.5600. $25-$30. Through September 4.