Photo: Sean Williams

RECOMMENDED

As one who’s been bored at the circus in nearly all of its manifestations the last few outings, I was pleasantly surprised by the Chinese import, Cirque Shanghai, whose production this summer at Navy Pier is entitled “Extreme.”

Essentially a fast-paced and carefully choreographed showcase for Chinese acrobatics and tumbling, with ample Oriental trappings, this show is not one for the very wee pals, since it is devoid of animals and mostly absent clowns and slapstick humor, but rather for the kids and adults who can appreciate what the human body is capable of doing, and is doing onstage. Apparently the “Extreme”-ness comes from the grand finale motorcycles-in-a-globe bit, which is a familiar circus act taken up several notches here.

At seventy intermissionless minutes, the show avoids the tendency that plagues most circuses to linger on a bit too long, making for a very pleasant evening in the open summer air of the Skyline Stage, whose days are apparently numbered based on recent civic pronouncements. (Brian Hieggelke)

At Navy Pier’s Skyline Stage, 600 East Grand, (800)745-3000. Through September 5. $15-$32.50.

Photo: Anthony Aicardi

RECOMMENDED

The nuns in Tony Fitzpatrick’s grade school created a disciplinary paddle exclusively for him; they couldn’t get the guy to shut up. Good thing; had they succeeded, we might not have this accomplished effort. The multi-disciplinary piece combines hilarious, poignant stories with live music and, of course, Fitzpatrick’s signature, looks-like-no-one-else artwork. Accompanied by unflappable major domo Stan Klein, Lynne Jordan’s warm, earthy stylings and go-to music vet John Rice, the ensemble journeys across the country with a side trip to Istanbul.

Much tighter than last year’s “This Train,” in “Stations Lost” Fitzpatrick lands punch lines harder than Cus D’Amato-era  Mike Tyson. This time, he’s preoccupied with superheroes and villains, recounting the champions (his Turkish guide, Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould) and baddies (stuffy dinner guests, French anti-smoking enthusiasts) he encounters. Ann Filmer’s direction keeps the humor and pathos balanced;  her guidance in his search for the “other,” enables Fitzpatrick to find himself. (Lisa Buscani)

Firecat Projects at Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 North Halsted, (312)335-1650. Through July 24.

Dane Agostinis, Emily Behny/Photo: Joan Marcus

RECOMMENDED

First, the bad news: this non-Equity touring version of “Beauty and the Beast” at times feels rather flat in its energy and timing. It often seems like the performances are being called in and that comic lines and gags, for instance, feel forced and are being laughed at more for the sheer familiarity of the material than for the spontaneity of their delivery.

But there is also good news: while the couple at the heart of “Beauty and the Beast,” Emily Behny’s Belle and Dane Agostinis’ Beast, separately turn in quality performances, this is one of the only times that together the couple has the chemistry of, well, a couple. You actually buy that the pair are falling in love and that doing so has a transformative effect on the Beast. All of this feels organic and like the real deal rather than the more often than not artificial pretense of most incarnations of this production.   

That, taken with Alan Menken’s superb score and the colorful costumes and sets do make this more of a plus than a minus. And children being exposed to Menken’s songs in any way, shape or form will only increase their appetite for good show music in the long run. But taking children familiar with the songs from the animated version to the live version of “Beauty and the Beast” can also be viewed as an investment in their theater-going future. (Dennis Polkow)   

At Ford Oriental Theatre, 24 West Randolph, (800)775-2000. Through August 7. $18-$85.

Here’s the press release from the Neo-Futurists:

THE NEO-FUTURISTS ANNOUNCE THEIR 23rd SEASON
OF ORIGINAL WORK

CHICAGO – The Neo-Futurists announce their 23rd season to include Chalk and Saltwater: The Ladder Project by John Pierson, Burning Bluebeard by Jay Torrence, and The Strange and Terrible True Story of Pinocchio (the wooden boy) as Told by Frankenstein’s Monster (the wretched creature) by Greg Allen. Also on the books is another great year of the smash hit, Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. Read the rest of this entry »

Beth Stelling, Maari Suorsa, Mary Hollis Inboden, Thea Lux, Megan Johns/Photo: Anne Petersen

RECOMMENDED

Light fare, but delicious. Expanded by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood from a short Sketchbook piece, New Colony’s created a surprisingly engaging, though mostly absurdist, play about a group of 1950s semi-closeted lesbians in the “Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein” who all come out during a nuclear apocalypse that occurs during their annual quiche breakfast. The five ebullient actresses worked to create their own roles, resulting in a mix of imaginative characters that transcend stereotypes; and for every tasteless joke about woman-on-woman action, there are a number of clever narrative twists, metatheatrical winks and surrealist conceits. Paced at a vigorous seventy minutes, with PBR on tap, the show never demands more than it gives. Your relationship with quiche will never be the same again. (Monica Westin)

At The New Colony, 4740 North Western, (773)413-0862. Through July 30.

Here’s the press release from Harris Theatre:

PARIS OPERA BALLET LAUNCHES AMERICAN TOUR WITH FIRST EVER CHICAGO PERFORMANCES ACCOMPANIED BY GRANT PARK ORCHESTRA;

MERCE CUNNINGHAM DANCE COMPANY MAKES FINAL CHICAGO APPEARANCES WITH LEGACY TOUR;

CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER KICKS OFF FIRST CHICAGO BASED PERFORMANCE SERIES;

HARRIS DEBUTS BY GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING EROICA TRIO AND VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA—LED BY METROPOLITAN OPERA PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR FABIO LUISI;

LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND;

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GLEE CLUB CELEBRATES 100TH ANNIVERSARY;

AND MUCH MORE IN GROUNDBREAKING
2011-2012 HARRIS THEATER PRESENTS SEASON

PLUS THE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE FAMILY SERIES AND
POPULAR LUNCHTIME EAT TO THE BEAT SERIES RETURN Read the rest of this entry »

Karen Aldridge and Steve Pickering/Photo: Heather Stumpf

RECOMMENDED

It’s a gritty cop drama set in Chicago, but Joshua Rollins’ new play has more in common with “The Shield” than “The Chicago Code.” Steve Pickering plays Landy, a police detective—looking a lot like that bulldog Michael Chiklis—searching for his missing former partner, Lucy, a vice cop undercover as a prostitute. He enlists the aid of another former partner, now an internal affairs officer, Goggins, and together they sweat out William, the straight-laced family man who was last seen with Lucy.

The script is not without its few police procedural cliches—hard to resist, I imagine—but Rollins has crafted satisfying journeys for his characters even if not for the investigation itself. Strong performances anchor this play, in particular those by Vincent Teninty (the newly installed artistic director of Pine Box following its three-year hiatus) as William and Karen Aldridge as Goggins, who has a monologue about the seemingly insignificant moments that can change a life irrevocably that defines the show. Director Matt Miller and team have a fine piece of theater here. (Neal Ryan Shaw)

Pine Box Theater at The Second Stage, 3408 North Sheffield. Through August 7.

Some say rhetoric is a dying art, but Timothy Douglas is committed to reminding Chicagoans of the power of language. As the new artistic director of Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Douglas has a unique opportunity to bring great language to the city’s attention, and he isn’t wasting any time in doing so. On July 3—two days after he is installed as artistic director—the Declaration of Independence will take center stage at Grant Park Music Festival in a reading organized by Douglas.

Douglas drew inspiration from yearly readings at Shakespeare & Company of Lenox, Massachusetts, and began searching for Chicagoans to participate. “We started with us, the Remy Bumppo family,” Douglas says, “and then it was important to me to identify leaders in the field—first artists and then community and civic leaders, and we targeted artistic companies who had community outreach and education programs.” Almost a hundred members of Chicago’s arts community will be reading on Sunday, including Peter Sagal, Regina Taylor and Andrew White.

Douglas hopes the event will appeal to all Chicagoans: “Regardless of your political affiliation, there’s something on the DNA level of Americans that responds to this document, but it’s only there when people hear the document, not read it off the page. My intention is not to make this a political event, but a visceral one. Who knows what the resonances will be in Chicago on Sunday, and I’m most excited to see that.” (Erin Kelsey)

The reading takes place on July 3 at 5:30pm at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion, 201 East Randolph. Free. Details here.