Spotlight: Kinks musical ‘Sunny Afternoon’ gets North American premiere at Chicago Shakes
Kinks tuner
“Sunny Afternoon,” the jukebox tuner chronicling the rise of 1960s British rock band The Kinks, has its North American premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater under the direction of artistic director Edward Hall. Kinks co-founder Ray Davies composed the score and Joe Penhall wrote the book for the show, which stars Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare reprising their West End roles as Ray and Dave Davies. Michael Lepore and Kieran McCabe play bandmates Peter Quaife and Mick Avory.
Previews at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 21-22; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 23; and 7 p.m. March 25-27 at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 28. $44-$123. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
Celebrating cinema’s final girls
Open Space Arts premieres the combination dark comedy/horror play “it’s been ten years since everyone died. a play about final girls.” Inspired by slasher films, Cesario Tirado-Ortiz’s play is about three young survivors of an unseen killer who attend a retreat 10 years later to help them cope with their trauma and find themselves menaced by yet another crazed killer. Teri Talo directs.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 21-22; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 23, and through April 6 at 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago. $25. openspacearts.org.
Rivendell world premiere
Playwright and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble member Lisa Dillman said watching her mother become invisible as she entered middle age and then experiencing the same thing herself inspired her to write “No Such Thing,” a new play about “one woman’s struggle to step over the societal boundary lines that so many women encounter as they age past society’s view of who is relevant, attractive and acceptable.” The woman-centered Rivendell premieres the play, which is directed by Malkia Stampley.
Previews at 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, March 22 and 29, ad 8 p.m. March 28 at 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 1. $38, $28 seniors, $17 students. (773) 334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org.
Family-friendly sibling tale
Hoku and Mahina, sisters in all but blood, are separated by circumstances that Hoku believes she caused in “Heart Strings,” an all-ages, interactive play by Hawaiian playwright Lee Cataluna, whose Midwest premiere comes courtesy of Filament Theatre. Logan UhiwaiO’Alohamailani Rasmussen plays Hoku and Emily Zhang plays Mahina in director Joel Wilson’s production, a collaboration with Token Theatre that runs in repertory with “Hannah and Halmoni Save the World” by Juliet Kang Huneke.
11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, and through April 19 at 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $18 adults, $15 kids. filamenttheatre.org.
‘Titanique’ sets sail
Broadway In Chicago and Porchlight Music Theatre collaborate for the Chicago premiere of the jukebox tuner “Titanique,” a send-up of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster in which Celine Dion “hijacks a Titanic Museum tour and enchants the audience with her totally wild take” on Jack and Rose’s romance.
Previews at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, March 25-27, and April 1; 7:30 p.m. March 28; 2 and 7:30 p.m. March 29; and 1 p.m. March 30 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. The show opens April 2. $42.50-$96.50. broadwayinchicago.com.
Steppenwolf stages Chicago premiere
A punishing border control agent, his cowering wife and his estranged, resentful son reunite in Suzan-Lori Parks’ “The Book of Grace,” a domestic drama set along the U.S.-Mexico border in which a divided family stands for a divided country. Steve H. Broadnax III directs Brian Marable, Zainab Jah and Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Namir Smallwood in Steppenwolf’s Chicago premiere.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, March 27-28, and April 1-4; 3 and 7 p.m. March 29 and April 5; and 3 p.m. March 30 at 1646 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show opens April 6. Tickets start at $20. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.