12 for fall: During challenging times, suburban and Chicago theaters persevere
Closures, canceled seasons, shortened runs and staff reductions have impacted theaters locally and nationwide. First Folio Theatre closed earlier this year after 26 years. Lookingglass Theatre is on hiatus until next spring and Steppenwolf Theatre recently laid off employees.
Yet suburban and Chicago theaters persevere with a compelling lineup of stories about immigrants and visionaries, shrewd women and flawed men and a citywide salute to a gem of a playwright.
Here are suggestions for 12 productions, including classics and newer works, worth seeing this fall.
'Birthday Candles'
Runs through Oct. 8 at Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, (847) 673-6300, northlight.org
Director Jessica Thebus' Chicago-area premiere of Noah Haidle's dramedy stars Kate Fry as Ernestine Ashworth, who we meet on her 17th birthday and then encounter on subsequent birthdays in this play that examines the extraordinary moments that make up an ordinary life.
'Gypsy'
Runs through Oct. 15 at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0200, marriotttheatre.com
Lucia Spina's powerhouse performance as ultimate stage mother Rose drives director Amanda Dehnert's revival of the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim classic. But it's Lauren Maria Medina's delicate, expressive turn as Louise, a young woman overshadowed by her more talented sister, that resonates emotionally in this tale about the need to be seen.
'The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'
Runs through Oct. 15 at The Gift Theatre at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, (773) 283-7071, thegifttheatre.org
An anxious, introverted girl who possesses the ability to imitate such beloved singers as Edith Piaf, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand is exploited by her hard-driving mother and a shady promoter in British playwright Jim Cartwright's award-winning comedy. Gift Theatre's production stars ensemble members Emjoy Gavino as the reluctant star and Alexandra Main as her hard-driving mother.
The Pearl Cleage Festival
Runs through Oct. 15 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (312) 443-3800, goodmantheatre.org, and Remy Bumppo Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, (773) 975-8150, remybumppo.org
Goodman's season-opening "The Nacirema Society," a 1964 Montgomery, Alabama,-set drama about six, young African American debutantes entering a world of privilege and prosperity at the centennial Nacirema Society ball, is one of two centerpiece productions in Chicago's salute to playwright, novelist and activist Pearl Cleage, Atlanta's poet laureate and current playwright-in-residence at the city's Alliance Theatre. The second is Remy Bumppo's revival of "Blues for an Alabama Sky," Cleage's Harlem Renaissance-set drama about love, friendship and change centered on a struggling blues singer, her out-of-work costume designer friend and their abortion rights activist neighbor.
The festival also includes staged readings of Cleage's plays in cooperation with Congo Square, Definition and MPAACT theaters among others; panel discussions and lectures; and a Zoom interview with the playwright hosted by Remy Bumppo.
'A View From the Bridge'
Runs through Oct. 21 at Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, (773) 975-8150, sgtheatre.org or theaterwit.org
Shattered Globe Theatre opens its 33rd season with a revival of Arthur Miller's classic drama of lust and betrayal set among Italian immigrants living in 1950s Brooklyn. The production reunites ensemble member Lou Contey, who directed SGT's 1993 production with Eileen Niccolai, who revisits the role she played 30 years ago: Beatrice, the forgiving wife of longshoreman Eddie Carbone, architect of a family tragedy.
'Hamilton'
Runs through Dec. 30 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, broadwayinchicago.com
More than three years after "Hamilton" left Chicago, the Lin-Manuel Miranda blockbuster bio-tuner about the orphaned immigrant turned Founding Father returns for a lengthy run at a larger venue. Tickets start at $39 and exceed $400, but Broadway in Chicago will hold a digital lottery for $10 tickets.
'The Lehman Trilogy'
Sept. 19-Oct. 29 at TimeLine Theatre in association with Broadway in Chicago, at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, (773) 281-8463, timelinetheatre.com or broadwayinchicago.com
The Chicago premiere of the 2022 Tony Award-winning best play about the immigrant siblings who established the famed Lehman Brothers investment bank, which was the fourth largest U.S. institution of its kind when it failed spectacularly following the 2008 subprime mortgage collapse. Chicago theater veterans Mitchell Fain, Anish Jethmalani and Joey Slotnick star.
'Eurydice'
Sept. 21-Oct. 22 at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, (847) 242-6000, writerstheatre.org
Wilmette native Sarah Ruhl's affecting retelling of the Orpheus myth from the perspective of his doomed wife, Eurydice, marks the debut of Writers' new artistic director Braden Abraham, who helms the Glencoe theater's revival. Sarah Price plays the titular role in Ruhl's poignant examination of love, loss and grief.
'Lucha Teotl'
Sept. 29-Oct. 29 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (312) 443-2800, goodmantheatre.org
Goodman transforms the Owen Theatre into a wrestling ring for writer/directors Christopher Llewyn Ramirez and Jeff Colangelo's homage to professional, Mexican-style wrestling. Conceived by Dallas' Prism Movement Theatre in partnership with the Chicago Latino Theatre Alliance, "Lucha Teotl" is part of Destinos: The Chicago International Latino Theater Festival featuring 17 new-to-Chicago productions including four world premieres and five Midwest premieres.
'Twelfth Night'
Oct. 25-Nov. 26 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, (312) 595-5600, chicagoshakes.com
The Caribbean serves as the setting for CST's production of "Twelfth Night" directed by Tyrone Phillips, whose native Jamaica inspired his vision for William Shakespeare's romantic comedy about love (requited and unrequited), identity and gender.
'POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumb*** are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive'
Oct. 26-Dec. 3 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, (312) 335-1650, steppenwolf.org
Steppenwolf opens its 48th season with the regional premiere of Selena Fillinger's feminist farce about the unsung females propping up the leader of the free world. Co-artistic director Audrey Francis directs the patriarchy-skewering comedy about women cleaning up messes made by powerful men.
'Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'
Nov. 8-Jan. 14, 2024, at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, (630) 896-6666, paramountaurora.com
Expect Paramount Theatre to deliver a striking set for this holiday offering adapted from Roald Dahl's novel by composer Marc Shaiman, lyricists Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman and writer David Greig. The story centers on impoverished Charlie and his Uncle Joe who win a ticket to tour the fabulous factory owned by famous "candy man" Willy Wonka.