In a nod to the technological gimmickry of Hollywood’s B-rated past, at one point in “Scott Janus” a crew member walks before the audience holding a stick with pine-scent air fresheners and spritzing them with water to enhance the smell. The idea was to give the coming scene the sense of a wooded area, but the trick, a live theater version of Smell-o-Vision, didn’t work. However, that was likely the point.

Comic book-loving Eddie Edderson suspects that his neighbor, Mr. Nosferatsenberger, might be a vampire who has occasioned a series of cryptic deaths. Read the rest of this entry »

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Most anyone is likely to be familiar with the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, even if they’ve never seen Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play. The Steve Martin adaptation “Roxanne” was a popular film, and the play’s balcony scene is rivaled only by the one from “Romeo and Juliet.” Ubiquity aside, however, Matt Hawkins’ new version strips the story down to its iconic bare essentials, making for a swashbuckling, irreverent evening of heroism and romance. Read the rest of this entry »

Maire Curiosity and Cinnamon Twist/Photo: Heather Moats

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Episode four of the now ubiquitous (at Gorilla Tango, at least) Geek Girl Burlesque series launches into the land of “Star Wars” by placing the infamous introductory words (“A long time ago…”, etc.) on the derrieres of the dancing cast. Of all the previous GGB showings, “A Nude Hope” sticks the closest to the script, lovingly satirizing “Star Wars: A New Hope” with less than subtle jabs at the story and plenty of partial nudity. The script by M.C. Curran isn’t necessarily funnier than past GGB shows, but the leads here help make it the funniest yet. Both Bottom Heavy Betty as the angsty Luke Skywalker and Cinnamon Twist as the arrogant but dashing Han Solo draw big laughs with their deliveries, but it’s veteran GGB performer Diva La Vida that steals the show as the aging Obi-Wan Kenobi, proving that even a bearded old man can be both sexy and hilarious. (Zach Freeman)

Geek Girl Burlesque at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 North Milwaukee, (773)598-4549. Through October 29.

Photo: Eric Y. Exit

RECOMMENDED

Created specifically for Chicago by one step at a time like this, a group of Melbourne-based artists, “en route” is an intricate maze of an art piece/interactive theater event that combines elements of a scavenger hunt and “Mission: Impossible” to fully bring to life the immortal words of Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage.” Experiencers (“audience members” doesn’t sound right) are given a device with pre-recorded tracks of music/instructions and a phone number to call in case they become “geographically, technologically or even psychologically lost” and then sent out to explore. But this is more than a tour of Chicago’s landmarks; as you make your way through grimy alleyways and plush hotel lobbies you start to take in your surroundings in a surprising new light. Is that crushed beer can a prop? Is that girl with the cast on her leg following you? What happens next? “en route” isn’t a show that you “see,” it’s something you “do.” And I can’t say this emphatically enough: “Go do it!” (Zach Freeman)

Presented by Chicago Shakespeare Theater, (312)595-5600. $35. Through August 13.

Photo: Anthony Aicardi

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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.

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.

Photo: Eric Y. Exit

RECOMMENDED

Not long after Ted Fishman wrote the book “China, Inc.,” I accompanied him on a trip to Shanghai, where he was to deliver a series of talks to American business leaders eager to gain access to this mysterious land of unprecedented opportunity. Shortly after landing at Pudong International Airport, I found myself not only caught up in the exotic excitement inherent in cultural tourism, but also succumbing to the infectious fever of capitalism raging in what seemed to be its rawest native state here in the cradle of Communism. Before long I was conjuring up ways that I too might strike gold in this frontier of fortune. Not till I got back home did I come to my senses and realize, as intoxicating as it all was, that in spite of the trappings of American capitalism—the shiny skyscrapers, the epic billboards, the smoggy traffic jams—China is a country that plays by very different rules. Not only are the practices of law regarding rights, contracts and justice bent wildly out of our frame, but very basic social customs are irreconcilably foreign and not especially hospitable to outsiders seeking a piece of this economic miracle.

David Henry Hwang’s “Chinglish,” now in its world-premiere production at the Goodman Theatre, explores these nuances through the prism of communication. Chinglish is the mangled-in-translation Chinese version of English, most famously manifest in public signs, and Hwang’s play finds no shortage of uproarious humor in such; in fact, his American character Daniel Cavanaugh is a manufacturing executive from Cleveland hoping to restore his family’s fortune by making the signs for the city of Guiyang’s new cultural center. As the American child of a Chinese immigrant, Hwang has the benefit of dual insight; he knows that the jokes play on both sides, and through translated Mandarin, we see the idiotic things being articulated by Daniel as he tries to grab hold of a language where a word means very different things based on subtle variations of tonality in pronunciation. Though “lost in translation” is not an especially new idea—virtually any “foreign” culture is going to offer up its own peculiarities—it seems to offer up an endless supply of laughs here nonetheless. Read the rest of this entry »

Chance Bone, Nora Fiffer/Photo: Sean Williams

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Time and adversity can easily destroy culture; witness the pillaging of Iraqi museums at the beginning of the current war. Lookingglass’ latest is a tender look at one woman’s struggle with her past and her efforts to honor her heritage.

Lilith (Marilyn Dodds Frank) is an octogenarian living in clutter with her new caregiver (Usman Ally). Haunted by the specter of an old love, street performer Ben Ari (Chance Bone), Lilith drifts between present day and visions of her life as a young girl in wartime Poland.

David Kersnar’s staging guides the piece seamlessly between realities. Jacqueline and Richard Penrod’s set and Tracy Otwell’s design ingeniously illustrate the toy theater aesthetic popular in the 1930s. Bone is an appealing, versatile storyteller and the relationship with sheltered Lilka (Nora Fiffer) is charming yet vulnerable. Frank and Ally’s clever, sarcastic banter belies a grudging respect. It’s a story about stories that’s enchanting. (Lisa Buscani)

“The Last Act of Lilka Kadison,” Lookingglass Theatre, 821 North Michigan, (312)337-0665. Through July 24.

Benjamin Sprunger and Patrick Andrews/Photo: Jonathan L. Green

RECOMMENDED

Working backwards in time from 2010 to 2000 in two-year increments bracketed by time-specific pop songs, this moving world premiere by Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins follows the evolution of a shy Iowan, Evan (Patrick Andrews), and the interrelationships between his tight-knit group of friends as he makes his way in the big city, learning what it means to be a homosexual in the twenty-first century. Dawkins’ characters are fully formed and the impeccable cast imbues them all with intricate and relatable personalities. Over the course of a decade, with equal parts laugh-out-loud comedy and unforced drama, Dawkins’ script (under careful direction by Bonnie Metzgar) openly examines a number of weighty gay themes. More importantly (and impressively), “The Homosexuals” actively seeks out the meaning of friendship, personal discovery and the transcending of stereotypes by fully embracing one’s own identity. In short, it’s a show everyone, even “breeders,” can (and should) enjoy. (Zach Freeman)

About Face Theatre at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 North Lincoln, (773)871-3000. Through August 14.

Aemilia Scott and Ed Flynn

There are many moments in Gaetano Marangelli’s new play in which characters recite to each other entries from an English dictionary. You would think that such scenes would spell instant death, but there’s something about their exhaustiveness that ultimately compels. Hearing the etymology of a word like “venereal,” for instance, is like an elixir for lovers of  language. Would that the rest of the play were as dramatic as those readings, where in fact it is too verbose for its own good. Sofonisba, a failed, emotionally unstable Italian actress, hides away in her Brooklyn apartment still obsessed with her separated husband, a renowned poet and scholar. Their son tells her that his father has died, but she doesn’t believe him. The play is written with a rapacious wit, which the actors, especially Aemilia Scott as Sofonisba, are all too happy to indulge. Scott’s exuberant, buoyant Sofonisba is indeed the play’s only other saving grace, hemmed in as she is by Brendon DeMay’s flat performance as her son George and Ed Flynn’s decidedly uncharismatic Stephen, the mythical husband. I never looked forward to dictionary recitations so much. (Neal Ryan Shaw)

The Brigata at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 North Wells, (866)811-4111. Through July 3.