On stage: Northlight Theatre, Curious Theatre Branch herald fall season with new works
World premiere
Curious Theatre Branch opens its 35th season with the premiere of "Moon at the Bottom of the Ocean," a comedy by Bryn Magnus about a respected author with writer's block who hires a private investigator to uncover why the coffee shop hack is getting all the accolades.
Opens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1-2, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, and runs through Sept. 23 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Pay-what-you-can, $20 suggested. curioustheatrebranch.com.
A conversation replayed
A 1971 televised conversation between literary giants James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni about racism, writing and manhood inspired "The Baldwin/Giovanni Experience," an original piece by Tim Rhoze, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre artistic director, and Bria Walker. The new work incorporates prose, original music, choreography and a mural.
7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. $30, $10 off with the code: FJT2023 when purchasing tickets online. (847) 866-5914 or fjtheatre.com.
U.S. premiere
After a hiatus of more than three years, Water People Theatre resumes production with the U.S. premiere of "North and Sur" by Oscar Perdomo Marin. Marin's play is an imagined meeting between world literature icons Edgar Allan Poe, who introduced the gothic horror story and inspired the detective novel, and postmodern Latin American poet Alfonsina Storni.
Opens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, 31 W. Ohio St., Chicago, and runs at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday through Oct. 6. $20-$30. waterpeople.org.
Welcome home
Over the course of an evening, two Black couples confront their biases in "Welcome to Matteson," a dark comedy about housing and classism by Inda Craig-Galván. The action unfolds in the South Chicago suburb of Matteson during a dinner longtime residents Patricia and Gerald host for new neighbors Regina and Corey, who have recently relocated to the suburbs following the demolition of their home in Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing project. Directed by Congo Square Theatre artistic director Ericka Ratcliff, the theater's production is part of a rolling U.S. premiere.
7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6; 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 28 at Abbott Hall, Northwestern University Chicago Campus, 710 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. Opens Sept. 29. $45. congosquaretheatre.org.
Birthday greetings
Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Kate Fry stars in Northlight Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of "Birthday Candles," Noah Haidle's dramedy chronicling the highlights and heartbreaks in the life of an ordinary woman over five birthdays. Jessica Thebus directs the production, whose cast includes Fry's real-life husband, Timothy Edward Kane.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 7-9; 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sept. 10; 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens Sept. 14. $39-$89. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.