Spotlight: Katie Deal salutes Dolly Parton in Artists Lounge Live show
Tribute to Dolly
Actress and country singer Katie Deal channels beloved singer/songwriter Dolly Parton during an Artist Lounge Live concert at the Marriott Theatre. The concert includes such Parton hits as "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You," among other favorites.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25, and 1 p.m. Sunday, March 26, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. $55. Masks recommended. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.
Handbag's 'queer extravaganza'
Hell in a Handbag Productions stages the Chicago premiere of "I Promised Myself to Live Faster," described as an "intergalactic queer extravaganza featuring closeted extraterrestrials, high stakes pursuits and nuns from outer space." Conceived and created by Pig Iron Theatre Company, the show is about a reluctant hero charged with saving the "homosexual race."
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 23-25, at The Chopin Downstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, March 26. $24-$61. Masks recommended. handbagproductions.org.
Rivendell world premiere
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, a Chicago company dedicated to advancing women through theater, premieres "Motherhouse," ensemble member Tuckie White's darkly comic drama about grief, in which a young woman asks her four surviving aunts to assist her in writing a eulogy for her late mother. "Humor is invaluable in the telling of stories," said White in a prepared statement, adding "it is the spoonful of sugar, the release of tension, the small yet profound mercy that allows us to absorb and process narratives that explore the painful, challenging, and messy aspects of humanity."
Previews at 8 p.m. Friday, March 24 and 31; 8 p.m. Saturday, March 25 and April 1; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, through March 31 at 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 4. $28, $39. Masks required. (773) 334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org.
In other news
Check with venues about COVID-19 precautions.
• Broadway in the Hood presents the U.S. tour of "American Son," attorney-turned-playwright Christopher Demos-Brown's play that unfolds in the waiting room of a police station where an estranged couple confront a crisis involving their son, the police and an abandoned car. Performances take place at 7 p.m. Friday, March 24, and 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at ETA Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. See broadwayinthehoodontour.com.
• Lookingglass Theatre Company hosts the "unGala: Going gglamping!" fundraiser beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Blackstone Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. The summer camp-inspired event includes dinner, music, themed performances, games, a raffle and silent auction. See lookingglasstheatre.org/ungala.
• Porchlight Music Theatre awarded Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Rick Boynton - a producer who assisted in the development of the musicals "Six," "The Notebook" and "Ride the Cyclone," among others, - its 2023 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Musical Theatre in Chicago. The award celebrates an individual who has made an exceptional and lasting contribution to the state of the art of Chicago music theater. Porchlight will present the award during its annual fundraiser "Chicago Sings Broadway Pop" at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, at the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Angela Ingersol, Devin DeSantis, Alexis J. Roston, Sawyer Smith, Neala Barron and Elisa Carlson are among the local theater artists performing songs from Broadway that have crossed over to the pop charts and pop songs that have appeared in Broadway shows. Tickets are $50 to $175. See porchlightmusictheatre.org.
• Performances begin Tuesday, March 28, for the national tour of "The Book of Mormon" at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. This marks the first time since 2018 that the uproarious musical conceived by "South Park" creatives Trey Parker and Matt Stone and songwriter Robert Lopez ("Avenue Q") has returned to Chicago. It's about two well-intentioned missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who try to convert the inhabitants of a remote African village to Christianity. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.
• Haven presents its sixth annual Directors' Haven, which offers emerging directors the opportunity to helm a fully staged short play. Arti Ishak, Megan Philippi and Joel Willison are the directors whose productions will run Thursday, March 29, through April 12 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. "This program, which remains one of few programs explicitly geared toward emerging, early-career directors, is vital for both the Chicago and national theater landscape," said artistic director Ian Damont Martin in a prepared statement. "Having come to Haven Chicago through Director's Haven 3 myself, this effort is all the more meaningful." Admission is pay-what-you-can. See havenchi.org.
• Comedian Michael Yo ("Amber Brown," "Kevin Can Wait") headlines The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, on Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1. Masks recommended. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.
• Raven Theatre has extended its Chicago premiere of "The Right to be Forgotten," Sharyn Rothstein's drama about a man who goes to extraordinary lengths to erase from the internet an indiscretion from his past. Performances run through April 2 at 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.
• Oak Park Festival Theatre begins its 2023 season July 13 with a production of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a tale about a quarreling fairy king and queen and mischievous faeries bedeviling young lovers and aspiring thespians alike. Performances take place outdoors at Austin Gardens, 167 Forest Ave., Oak Park. That production is followed on Oct. 12 by "Seagulls," Beth Hyland's rock musical adapted from Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull." In Hyland's version, four college students prepare for a battle of the bands. Two are in it just for fun, but for Con, the band's leader trying to escape the reputation of his famous pop singer mother, and Nina, who desperately wants to be discovered, the competition means much more. Performances take place at Pleasant Home, 217 Home Ave., Oak Park. See oakparkfestival.com.