Theater, opera make a comeback for fall
With our Top 10, a cautious return to drama and classics
No sentient Chicagoan needs to be reminded that the fall of 2021 is far from a normal autumn when it comes to the performing arts. At least it eclipses 2020, when the curtains remained closed as leaves fell. May we never go back to that.
This year, especially in the second half of the fall season, we’ll see some boffo attractions on an overall theatrical slate that still looks to be less than half as expansive as the usual offerings. Some of the regular players (especially the smaller storefront companies) aren’t amping up their in-person shows until 2022, preferring the safety of a longer pause or strictly digital programming. But others are coming back live and in person as safely as they can, which means insisting under a blanket agreement arranged by almost all Chicago-area theaters that patrons are both vaccinated and masked.
So you’ve got your shots and your N95 and you’re ready to venture out again?
Here, in the return of a September tradition, are 10 shows that should help you remember why Chicago theater is such a crucial part of this city. Plus one more for the holidays.
1. “American Mariarchi,” Goodman Theatre:
A much-postponed show with multiple producing partners including the Dallas Theatre Center and the Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theatre Festival, José Cruz González’s “American Mariachi” is billed as an exuberant and warm-centered new musical. The show is set in the 1970s and the action revolves around a young woman’s idea to create an all-female Mariachi band. Sept. 18 to Oct. 24 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.; 312-443-3800 and www. goodmantheatre.org
2. “As You Like It,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater: We’ve previewed this much-postponed attraction several times now, but new Navy Pier dates are finally set for what looks likely to be an exuberant Chicago Shakespeare Theater staging of the justly beloved Shakespearean comedy with the added attraction of some 20 songs made famous by the Beatles. It’s adapted and directed by Daryl Cloran and features an all-star Chicago cast. Oct. 6 to Nov. 21 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier; 312-595-5600 and www. chicagoshakes.com
3. “Bug,” Steppenwolf Theatre:
It’s a reprise, but the length of the original run was cut short by the pandemic. And it’s a stunner. Director David Cromer’s staging of the Tracy Lett’s tragicomedy about mysterious government goings-on in a seedy
Oklahoma motel room features knockout acting from Carrie Coon and Namir Smallwood, not to mention one of the greatest scene changes in Steppenwolf history. If you missed it the first time, don’t make that mistake again. Nov. 11 to Dec. 12 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St.; 312-335-1650 and www.steppenwolf.org
4. “Kiss Me Kate,” Marriott Theatre: The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire reopens with “The World Goes ‘Round,” a revue celebrating the music of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb. But the suburban engine in the round really fires up later in the fall when the popular theater essays the classic Cole Porter musical “Kiss Me Kate,” a backstage-style tour de force celebrating both the great American songbook and the hoofers who turned a generation on to Broadway musicals. Nov. 17 to Jan. 16 at Marriott Theatre, 100 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire; 847-634-0200 and marriotttheatre.com
5. “Macbeth,” Lyric Opera of Chicago: The return of Chicago’s Lyric Opera after so long away will be a seminal fall event, especially as the opening of the epic Verdi opera features the mainstage debut of the exuberant new musical director Enrique Mazzola. The operatic version of the Scottish play receives a brand-new production by the Scottish director Sir David McVicar.
Craig Colclough essays the title role and Berwyn’s own Sondra Radvanovsky plays murderous Lady M.
Sept. 17 to Oct. 9 (six performances only) at Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; 312-827-5600 and lyricopera.org
6. “Paradise Square,” Broadway in Chicago:
Pre-Broadway tryouts are a crucial part of the Chicago theater’s longstanding DNA. And Chicago has one show this fall with its eyes set on being part of the spring New York recovery, too. It’s also the reemergence of the producer Garth Drabinsky, the old-school Canadian showman who brought about the renovation of the then-Oriental Theatre, staging huge productions of “Ragtime” and “Showboat.” Drabinsky’s latest musical epic is set in the New York neighborhood known as “Five Points” in the middle of the 19th century, where Irish immigrants and Black Americans intermarried, intermingled and shared their culture and music in such a way as to change the world. Nov. 2 to Dec. 5 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.; 800-775-2000 and www. broadwayinchicago.com
7. “Recipe for Disaster,” Windy City Playhouse:
The famed Chicago chef Rick Bayless is known for his forays into live theater. This new attraction, slated to be staged in the basement space of the Loop restaurant long known as Petterino’s, won’t feature Bayless as a performer but ticket prices will include several tastes of his food.
Bayless and his friends at Windy City call this world premiere a classic farce, very much in the style of “Fawlty Towers,” and a spoof of all that can and does go wrong in a typical restaurant kitchen. Oct. 7 to Dec. 31 at Playhouse at Petterino’s, 150 N. Dearborn St.; 773-891-8985 and windycityplayhouse.com
8. “The Snow Queen,” House Theatre of Chicago: The venerable Wicker Park theater now has a new artistic director in Lanise Antoine Shelley, and Shelley makes her bow with an all-new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” a long-popular title in Chicago theater and seemingly very much in the populist but experimental wheelhouse of an essential Chicago theater company, eager to make its return. Amber D. Montgomery’s production will feature magic by Dennis Watkins and puppets by Jesse Mooney-Bullock. Nov. 12 to Jan. 2 at Chopin Mainstage Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.; 773-769-3832 and www. thehousetheatre.com
9. “Songs for Nobodies,” Northlight Theatre: This evocatively titled musical revue written by Joanna Murray-Smith features music made famous by the likes of Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas. It’s one of several shows this fall featuring just one performer — in this case, the Chicago diva Bethany Thomas, along with live musical accompaniment. Selected performances will feature socially distanced audiences. Sept. 23 to Oct. 31 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; 847-673-6300 and northlight.org
10. “The Tragedy of Othello,” Court Theatre:
Court Theatre’s experimental take on William Shakespeare’s most intimate tragedy, “Othello,” co-directed by Charles Newell and Gabrielle Randle-Bent, was actually conceived with the pandemic era in mind. Audience members will be seated in small groups in the middle of the throbbing action, which features Kelvin Roston Jr. in the famed title role and Timothy Edward Kane as his sneaky nemesis, Iago. Oct. 8 to Nov. 21 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.; 773-7534472 and www.court theatre.org
One more for the holidays from Broadway in Chicago: Don’t miss the first national tour of the Disney musical “Frozen,” a chance for long-suffering parents to let it all go and delight stircrazy, pint-sized theatergoers before they age out of everything under the sun. Nov. 19 to Jan. 22 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.; 800-7752000 and www.broadway inchicago.com