Friendship and Family Affection Abounds

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile – Lifeline Theatre

What would you do if you just moved into a charming Victorian brownstone, on New York’s fashionable Upper East Side, only to discover there’s a crocodile in the bathtub of your new home? Well, after the initial shock, the Primm family decides that Lyle is a wonderful addition to their clan. He plays stickball with their young son, Josh. He helps the boy with his homework and he enjoys assisting Mrs. Primm with her household tasks.

A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore

Poe – Theatre Above the Law

Theatre Above the Law is celebrating Halloween by re-staging it’s adaptation of several Poe tales, set in a macabre cabaret.

What Would You Do?

Blonde Poison – Agency Theatre Collective

In World War II Berlin, a Jewish woman named Stella Kubler collobarated with the Nazis to help find other Jews in hiding, in exchange for her family’s safety. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she could pass for German. Stella, called ‘blonde poison’ by the Gestapo, is the focus of a new play by Cindy Henkin, presented by The Agency Theatre Collective.

Myths and Legends Come to Life

Andares – Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Three young actors, accompanied by a gifted guitarist/drummer, share many of the stories, myths and legends of the common, everyday people who live in the rural areas of Mexico. The tales these men share are told in Spanish, with English “surtitles,” captions that are continually projected and displayed above the actors. The narrative tells about three young men, their parents and grandparents, laced with the folklore and cultural beliefs of the area’s indigenous peoples. In a touching, often humorous series of adventures, the 80-minute one-act bursts with passion and energy. They tell the tales that project themes of social, cultural and human value that are so universal to every theatergoer.

How Connective Theatre Company and Awakenings are Healing Sexual Violence Through Theatre

In textbooks for acting classes across the globe, we have chapters devoted to interpreting musical theatre performance, Shakespeare, commedia dell’arte, and other material. But we have no language to discuss how to create, interpret, and perform something that has been around since before stages could be tread: sexual violence. Me Too Monologues with Connective Theatre Company and Awakenings is more than a performance of monologues written by and performed by people sharing their own experiences, even though that is a feat of its own. It is a study, a lesson, and an experiment on how to create theatre that takes a painful experience and spreads the lesson and healing without creating more pain. 

Demons Hiding Within

Proxy – Underscore Theatre

In 2014 two 12-year-old girls in rural Wisconsin lured their friend to the woods where they stabbed her repeatedly with a knife. The victim crawled to the roadside, where she was found and treated in the hospital. The two girls were arrested, tried and found not guilty, by reason of insanity. They’ve been sentenced to spend their lives receiving professional treatment in a mental institution.

Doctor Heal Thyself

The Effect – Strawdog Theatre

Yeaji Kim’s stark, clean scenic design and precise projections perfectly create what appears to be an expensive, upscale medical clinic, in Lucy Prebble’s absorbing new drama. The winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play is now enjoying its Chicago premiere. A modest followup to her spectacular “Enron,” presented just a few years ago by TimeLine Theatre, Prebble’s four-hand drama takes a discerning look at the intersection of love and neuroscience. It’s an engrossing, albeit slightly predictable, love story that focuses on two individuals and how medical advancements may alter their attachment. 

Horror on Haunted Hill

Grey House – A Red Orchid Theatre

This terrifying tale of terror and dread starts the way all good thrillers begin: It was a dark and stormy night. Two weary, wounded travelers seek refuge from the howling wind and raging storm that caused their car to crash. Max and her husband Henry have hit a deer in the blinding blizzard. Henry’s bleeding head wound has left him almost unconscious, while his left ankle appears to be broken. When no one responds to their frantic knocking on the cottage door, the couple hobbles inside calling for help. This is their first mistake and one from which they will never recover.

How indie band THE FAMILY CREST is using their music to retell Shakespeare’s most-loved tragedy

After having debuted on the Chicago theatre scene earlier this year with My Name is Rachel Corrie, Jacaranda Collective is teaming up with Ryan Martin and The Den Theatre to co-produce and present Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. How do you sell the greatest love story ever told to a jaded generation who connects with one another by swiping left on a handheld screen? Audacious newcomer Jacaranda Collective’s solution is simple, but not easy: it’s truth. And how are they proposing to present a production of Romeo and Juliet rooted in truth? Answer: with an ensemble of actors and dancers performing in an immersive space accompanied by a live soundtrack performed by The Family Crest, featuring songs you already know and love, or will love after being introduced to the band.

Remember Me 4Ever and Ever

Language of Angels – Three Crows Theatre

As Autumn leaves begin turning color and pumpkins start transforming into jack-o-lanterns, Three Crows Theatre kicks off their fourth season of always entertaining, thought-provoking stories. Their opening production is a psychological ghost story, just in time for Halloween. Written by the prolific and generously awarded playwright, Naomi Iizuka, this haunting one-act is, like most of her work, non-linear. First produced in San Francisco nineteen years ago, Ms. Iizuka’s drama plays with the conventions of time and space, with its nine characters telling their stories both in the past and present. The result is a sometimes confusing, but very well-acted production that will leave audiences thinking long after the lights fade to black.