Spotlight: 'King James' premieres at Steppenwolf; renovated Copley Theatre reopens in Aurora

Posted March 04, 2022 5:00 am

'King James' premieres

Steppenwolf Theatre premieres ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's two-hander "King James," which examines the role sports plays in the friendship between two men played by co-artistic director Glenn Davis and Chris Perfetti. Kenny Leon directs the play, which spans the 12 years from LeBron James' rookie season to when he won the NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Previews at 8 p.m. Friday, March 4, and March 9-11, and 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6, and March 11 at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show opens March 13. $36-$78. COVID-19 precautions: Proof of vaccination and masking required. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Star gazing

A star-struck woman's dream comes true when legendary actress Bette Davis accompanies a mutual friend to dinner at the woman's Connecticut home. Four weeks later, she's still there in Elizabeth Fuller's "Me and Jezebel," a comedy based on real-life events. Steel Beam Theatre's revival stars Julie Bayer and Heidi Swarthout. Marge Uhlarik-Boller directs.

Opens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 4-5; 3 p.m. Sunday, March 6, and through March 20 at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $23-$28. COVID-19 precautions: Proof of vaccination and masking required. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

Paramount Theatre launches its new BOLD Series with "Sweat," Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt struggling to hold onto their American dream. The production will be staged in the newly renovated Copley Theatre in Aurora. Courtesy of Amy Nelson

Copley inauguration

Paramount Theatre launches its BOLD Series at the newly renovated Copley Theatre with a revival of "Sweat." Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is about blue-collar workers in a Rust Belt town who are watching their American dream expire. Andrea J. Dymond directs.

Previews at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, March 9-10; 8 p.m. March 11; 2 and 8 p.m. March 12; and 1 and 5:30 p.m. March 13 at 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The show opens March 16. $67-$74. COVID-19 precautions: Proof of vaccination and masking no longer required but recommended. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

In other news

Check venues for COVID-19 precautions.

• Actor/writer/comedian Jackie Smook brings her show "Under Your Skin," drawn from her experience working as a medical assistant one summer, to Davenports Piano Bar & Cabaret, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show - which consists of stand-up, song and multiple characters - runs at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5. Other performances take place April 2, May 7 and June 4. See davenportspianobar.com.

• Victory Gardens Theater will livestream the final five performances of its production of the Jeff-recommended "Queen of the Night," travis tate's two-hander about a divorced father and his queer son on a camping trip in southeastern Texas. The production livestreams at 7:30 p.m. March 9-12 and 3 p.m. March 13. Tickets are $24 and available online at victorygardens.assemblestream.com.

• Windy City Playhouse announced that master chef Rick Bayless and artistic director Amy Rubenstein will join the cast of the company's hit dinner-theater comedy "A Recipe for Disaster" - which they co-wrote with Carl Menninger - for 20 select performances beginning March 23. The show, about the mayhem that unfolds at a fictional restaurant during an influencer dinner, takes place at the lower level of Petterino's, 150 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. See windycityplayhouse.com.

• Teatro Vista premieres ensemble member Gabriel Ruiz's new audio play "The Fifth World," a true-crime inspired serial set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The play, which features an all-ensemble cast, is about a man producing a true crime story about a missing child in Arizona who uncovers a horrifying myth. "The Fifth World" streams free at teatrovista.org.

• Trap Door Theatre has extended its production of "The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey," an obscure Polish farce about how a man's life gets turned upside down when unusual creatures begin showing up at his home. Performances run through March 26 at 1655 W. Cortland St., Chicago. See trapdoortheatre.com.

• "Blues in the Night," Porchlight Music Theatre's main stage production weaving the stories of three women confronting love's highs and lows, has been extended. Performances of the show, which features the music of Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer and others, run through March 20 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Proof of vaccination and masking required. (773) 777-9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

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