Theater spotlight: Marriott Theatre's 'Something Rotten!' skewers Shakespeare
Walkabout: Scary tales
Scary tales are on tap this weekend during the latest production in Janus Theatre's Walkabout: Theater on Your Feet series in which guides lead small groups to locations in downtown Elgin where actors perform short plays. This edition's theme is "Tales of Horror - In the Shadows" and it includes works by Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft among others.
Tours start every 15 minutes beginning at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 23-24, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25, at Elgin Public House, 219 E. Chicago St., Elgin. $15. See janusplays.com or elginwalkabouthorror.eventbrite.com.
'Something Rotten!'
Tired of toiling in William Shakespeare's shadow, competing 16th-century playwrights Nick and Nigel Bottom decide to one-up the Renaissance rock star by creating the world's first musical in "Something Rotten!" the Tony Award-nominated sendup by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick with a score by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Scott Weinstein directs Marriott Theatre's regional premiere, which stars KJ Hippensteel and Alex Goodrich and brothers Nick and Nigel.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 28-29, and through Sept. 1 at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The show opens Sept. 4. $50-$60. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.
Premiere commission
Remy Bumppo Theatre opens its season with its first commission, an adaptation of "Howards End," E.M. Forster's early 20th-century novel about the wealthy Wilcoxes, the cultured Schlegel sisters and the impoverished Basts, who are all searching for love and purpose. Producing artistic director Nick Sandys directs Douglas Post's new adaptation. "This is a story of hope, of reaching across divides, of applied wisdom, of championing the promise of the humanities ... In short, it exemplifies many of the values that Remy Bumppo holds dear," said Sandys in a prepared statement.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 29-31, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, at Theater Wit, 1339 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 3. $32.75-$62.75. (773) 975-8150 or remybumppo.org.