Pay What You Can: Rhinoceros Theater Festival April 1 – May 7, 2022 at Jimmy Beans Coffee & Pride Arts Center

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

Fest Alert 

The Curious Theatre Branch, in association with Pride Arts Center and Jimmy Beans Cabaret, Prop Thtr and Labyrinth Arts, is pleased to present A Hint of Rhino: Rhinoceros Theater Festival 2022, playing April 1 – May 7, 2022. Shows will run Thursdays – Sundays at Jimmy Beans Coffee (2553 W. Fullerton Ave, second floor) in Logan Square and the Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center (4139 N Broadway Ave) in Uptown.

Curious and friends present a pared-down, curated series of events including music, spoken word, new plays, drag and variety events. Programming on Sunday, May 1 at Pride Arts Center will include a special celebration of Matt Rieger, longtime Managing Director for Curious, who died suddenly in October 2021, and whose final play, Jimmy and the Nickels, will run Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings at Pride Arts. Rhino Fest returns this year following a hiatus in 2021, in which festival producers awaited the return of safer gatherings in public spaces rather than shifting to a virtual format. This Rhino Fest represents the result of invitation and collaboration among small groups of Chicago artists, making inquisitive and expansive events for the current moment.

Tickets to all events are $20 or pay-what-you-can. 

Proof of vaccination will be required at the door, and audience members and crew will remain masked inside venues. Cash and credit cards accepted at the door. Tickets are currently available through Eventbrite. Further additional information and updates, visit rhinofest.com.

 

The full Rhino Fest 2022 line-up includes:

 A Hint of a Rhino Party

Saturday March 26 at 7 pm, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts

An opening night party to mosey back to Rhino. An evening of food and drinks, presentations, some previews of shows to come, a film or two, some jokes and lots and lots of mingling.  

 

John & Paul: Strictly Platonic

Fridays at 8 pm, April 1 – 29, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

Chicago sketch comedy veterans John Klingle and Paul Brennan bring their anarchic humor back to the stage in a raucous celebration of dysfunctional friendship. Watch John and Paul juggle the roles of emasculated fathers, naive prison guards and problematic method actors, all while struggling to keep their corporate sponsorships. Special guests include drag artist Tara Bitchup, songstress Zoë Pike\ and stand-up comic Katie Zane.

 

New Speculative Fiction

Friday, April 1 at 7 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

Sharon Houk, Andy Sullivan, and Tanner Vaughan Halversen read new work.

 

Labyrinth Hour Cabaret

Saturdays at 8 pm, April 2 – 30, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

A musical and variety adventure featuring bands, musical guests and variety acts.

April 2 & 23: The Improper Behavior Jump Blues Band featuring Miss Sharon and Keith Fort.

April 9 & 16: Drag Show with Narcisca and Slussy Vanity. Further guest artists to be announced. Produced and directed by Diane Hamm with Labyrinth Arts and Performance Collective.

 

The Chicago Beast Women

Saturdays at 10 pm, April 2 – 30, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

Chicago’s longest-running showcase for veteran and premiering female artists comes to Pride!  An inspiring line-up of solo and collaborative artists showcasing new and urgent work. Jillian Erickson, Michelle Power, Cristina McCrystal, Alley Cat and many, many more beloved Chicago performers.

 

Vernon Tonges

Saturday, April 2 at 7 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

Known to many as Spoo Willoughby, Vernon Tonges is a low-profile performing songwriter and singer known for his crippling introversion and disastrous inability to adequately self-promote. Many of his shows occur unannounced in random parking lots where his audience mainly consists of drivers idling in the drive-through line awaiting takeout chicken. Surplus thigh meat comprises his chief compensation. The world remains a tough nut to crack.

 

The Crooked Mouth and Special Guests

Saturday, April 2 at 9 pm and Saturday, May 7 at 9 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

A Chicago-based music group including Jenny Magnus, Beau O'Reilly, T-Roy Martin, Vicki Walden and Heather Riordan with ample harmonies and lyrics to sink one's teeth into. Rock/pop/alt-country/vaudeville, if you must have a genre.

April 2: Special guest Izzy Yellen. "Izzy yellin'? No, he's making ambient folk."

May 7: Special guests Michael Amandes and Mac Modean

 

Writers Aloud

Sunday, April 3 at 3 pm, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

For over three years, from in-person to online and now both live and streaming – this unassuming monthly forum organized by Donna Dunlap, Karen Fort and Cordis Heard for those who write and have seldom if ever spoken their own written words – a core Prop Thtr tradition. Two hours with three to five readers.

 

Jimmy and the Nickels

Sundays: April 3 at 5 pm, April 24 & May 1 at 3 pm. Note: the May 1 show will be followed by a celebration of Matt Rieger, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

Thursdays: April 7, 14, 21, 28 at 8 pm, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

A follow up to 2020’s lauded My Dinner with Joe, this chamber comedy, the last work of the beloved and abruptly departed Curious playwright and Managing Director Matt Rieger, features Mike McKune, Don Schroeder, Nick Leininger and Paul Brennan, and is directed by Stefan Brün with Charlotte Lastra.

 

Hypnosis

Friday, April 8 & 22, Saturday April 9 & 23 at 7pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

A new monologue from Chicago poet and fringe theater mainstay Barrie Cole.

 

Cafe Neckbeard To Go

Fridays: April 8, 15, 22, 29 and May 6 at 9 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

Saturdays: April 9, 16, 23, 30 at 9 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

PR Representative and Procurement Specialist Chris Bower will theatrically update the world on the ongoing saga of the most experimental and explosive and explosively experimental cash-only fine dining celiac-intolerant temporarily to-go cafe in The Historic Logan Square Neighborhood (THLSN): Chef Anton "*" Anis's Cafe Neckbeard! Featuring Chris Bower and Steak Richardson.

 

The Problem With Flowers

Sundays: April 10, 17, 24 at 5 pm, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

Thursdays: April 14, 21, 28 at 7 pm, Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center

Roberto Del Rio’s solo work playfully examines the loves and miseries, the delights and betrayals in an emotional day off. From dawn until dusk we’ll hear those struggles, triumphs, fears and desires that only manifest when we’re by ourselves.

 

Deconstructing Desolation Row

Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 at 7 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

Four writers respond to Bob Dylan's 1965 ballad from Highway 61 Revisited in song and lecture. Performances by Jayita Bhattacharya, Frank Bonacci, Michaela Chan and Bill Ferguson.

 

Time in a Teacup

Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30 at 7 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

New work by Jay Sebastian. Musings on time, memory, and baloney sandwiches through stories, original songs and 8mm movies.

 

The Anchovy's Song, The Pelican's Apocalypse

Friday, May 6 at 7 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

Jeff "Hollywood" Dorchen weaves together songs, obvious lies (elaborate and simple) and poems.

 

Sheila Donohue and Friends

Saturday, May 7 at 7 pm, Jimmy Beans Coffee

Performance poet and four-time National Poetry Slam Champion Sheila Donohue returns to Rhino Fest for an evening of new and archival work, with special guests.

Venue Note: Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center is a first-floor space and is wheelchair accessible, with two accessible bathrooms. Jimmy Beans Cabaret is up one flight of stairs and is not easily accessible for wheelchair users.

 

About Rhino Fest

The event that became the Rhinoceros Theater Festival began in 1988 as an offshoot of the Bucktown Arts Fest, and in its first year featured just two days of performances, including work by Jenny Magnus and Beau O'Reilly. When the event's founder moved away from Chicago in 1990, he asked a ragtag group of local artists (including Beau O'Reilly and Theatre of the Reconstruction’s Scott Turner) to keep the festival going, and the Rhino Fest was born. The Curious Theatre Branch went on to produce the Rhino across many neighborhoods and venues over the years, with events variously taking place in Wicker Park/Bucktown, Rogers Park, Andersonville and Avondale; at spaces including the Lunar Cabaret and Full Moon Café, the Neo-Futurarium, the Society for New Things, The Garage, The Firehouse, Remains Theatre and Prop Thtr. In the mid-2000s, Rhino Fest settled at Prop Thtr in Avondale as its long-term base, and Prop and Curious co-produced the festival among a shifting group of curators for many years. Following the closure of Prop's Elston Ave. space in 2020, and a year off during the height of the pandemic, Rhino Fest is once more becoming itinerant, this year producing shows at The Broadway at Pride Arts Center in Uptown and Jimmy Beans Coffee in Logan Square.

REVIEW: Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-prize Winning Drama SWEAT On Stage at Paramount's Copley Theatre Through April 24, 2022

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

PARAMOUNT THEATRE LAUNCHES NEW BOLD SERIES WITH 

SWEAT

INAUGURATING THE NEWLY RENOVATED COPLEY THEATRE IN DOWNTOWN AURORA, MARCH 9-APRIL 24, 2022

REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Imagine yourself in a dive bar in Philly, in a working class hood, at the end of the Clinton era. Generations of hard working Americans have made a decent living here, with seniority workers making up to $40 an hour. Yet that's all about to come crashing town, as factory after factory packs up and moves to Mexico and cheaper digs overseas, putting profits over people. Sweat spans the Bush era and the utter decimation of this factory town, and the poverty, desperation, violence, and addiction that follow in the wake of plant closings. 

It's a brilliant and crucial set up for understanding the Trump years and the ongoing rage of the working class who punch down and blame immigrants and other working poor instead of management, and wealthy factory owners. Sweat is a scathing look at racism, scapegoats, injuries, alcoholism driven by poverty and pain, and the difficulty of employment after incarceration. It's not all doom and gloom, though. Sweat also depicts lifelong friendships, bonding, birthdays, and the strength in a sense of community.

Photo credit for all production shots unless noted otherwise: Amy Nelson

If you're expecting Paramount's usual fare of crowd pleasing musicals with big song and dance numbers, this is not that production. Head across the street. If you're ready for an epic fight scene, an unflinching look at human nature under pressure, and complicated family dynamics, don't miss this! We love Lynn Nottage’s phenomenal writing, and her all too timely treatise on the dissolving of living wage, blue collar jobs, and the havoc it wreaks on individuals, families, and communities. Paramount's take on this vital, contemporary drama is outstanding.

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're so excited for Paramount's new space and bold choices. The Copley Theatre renovation is a gorgeous mix of retro and modern with a nod toward a 1960's esthetic with a 2022 flair. 

Paramount's award winning main-stage shows have sparked an artistic renaissance in Aurora and now they're expanding to include a new space with an edgier lineup seldom seen in suburban theatre settings. What a wonderful resource for the region! We adored Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-prize winning drama, Sweat, when we caught it in 2019 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, and we're thrilled that Paramount's bringing it back with a phenomenal cast, in their intimate, new space. 

We truly felt like patrons in the on-stage bar, with the action taking place feet away. The set design is top shelf and the entire cast pours their hearts and souls into this production, expertly immersing the audience in their world. This production gave me chills and elicited a rousing, unanimous standing ovation from the opening night crowd. There were audible gasps in the audience during the vicious fight scene and more than a few patrons were moved to tears. This is the kind of theatre that leaves a mark, and sparks not only empathy, but vital post show discussions. Highly recommended. 

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theater critic, photographer, videographer, actress, artist and Mama. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 

Sweat, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-prize winning drama, is the first of four Bold productions in 2022 in the newly modernized Copley Theatre, right across the street from Paramount Theatre

After two years of waiting, Paramount Theatre will launch its new Bold Series next month, bringing a new, four-show subscription series and a new type of live theater – fearless, unexpected and thought provoking – to the heart of Aurora’s downtown entertainment district.

The inaugural production is Sweat, Lynn Nottage’s acclaimed modern-day drama about life in an American Rust Belt town being battered by the constant threat of company shutdowns. Sweat, running March 9-April 24, 2022, opening to the press Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m., is the winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and a landmark achievement of American theater.

Just as exciting, Paramount will lift the curtain on its new home for its Bold Series, the newly remodeled Copley Theatre, right across the street from Paramount at 8 E. Galena Blvd., in the North Island Center.

Photo Credit: Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Following a two-year, $2 million, top-to-bottom renovation, the Copley is no longer an unknown, underutilized space, but an intimate, state-of-the-art theater with 165 comfortable new seats and a modern new lobby bar, ready to attract more audiences to downtown Aurora.

Behind-the-scenes of Paramount’s inaugural Bold production, Sweat

Sweat is set in a bar in an impoverished American town, where factory workers gather to laugh, talk, and drink their cares away, despite the constant threat of company shutdowns. When promotions and layoffs are rumored, tensions and jealousy begin to rip apart their community. Can friendships and family endure when all hopes of economic stability and mobility disappear? An intense examination of race, class and the human costs of capitalism, Sweat captures the ever-present battle between human needs and business in America’s Rust Belt.

Veteran Chicago director Andrea J Dymond is director. The cast features Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Oscar), Tiffany Bedwell (Jessie), Emmanuel K. Jackson (Chris), Linda Gillum (Tracey), Joshua L. Green (Brucie), Bryant Hayes (Evan), Shariba Rivers (Cynthia), Randy Steinmeyer (Stan) and Gage Wallace (Jason).

The production team includes Jeffrey D. Kmiec, scenic designer; Yvonne L. Miranda, costume designer; Jessica Neill, lighting designer; Jeffrey Levin, sound designer; Jesse Gaffney, properties designer; David Woolley, fight choreographer; Khalid Long, dramaturg; Jinni Pike, stage manager; and Lanita VanderSchaaf, assistant stage manager. 

The cast for Paramount’s Bold Series production of Sweat features Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Oscar), Tiffany Bedwell (Jessie), Linda Gillum (Tracey), Joshua L. Green (Brucie), Bryant Hayes (Evan),

 Emmanuel K. Jackson (Chris), Shariba Rivers (Cynthia), Randy Steinmeyer (Stan) and Gage Wallace (Jason).

Sweat performance schedule and ticket information

Previews start Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Press opening is Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. Sweat runs through April 24. Show times are Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at

2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $67 to $74.

The Copley Theatre is located at 8 E. Galena Blvd., in the North Island Center, directly across the street from Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora. For tickets and information, visit paramountaurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Access Services

If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office at (630) 896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance.

Paramount offers assistive listening devices free of charge at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a listening device.

Paramount Theatre’s Covid-19 commitment to and safety and protocol

Paramount Theatre is committed to the health and safety of all patrons, theater employees, production staff and artists, and adheres to federal, state and municipal COVID-19 protocols.

What’s next in Paramount’s new Bold Series

Following Sweat, Paramount’s new Bold Series continues with Hand to God by Robin Askins, a darkly humorous shocker told Sesame Street meets Exorcist style, puppets included, May 25-July 10. Next is the Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home, book by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, playing the Copley August 3-September 18. The 2022 Bold series culminates with BULL: a love story, Nancy García Loza’s world premiere drama about a Mexican-American man who returns to Chicago to find a family who has moved on and a neighborhood he no longer recognizes, October 5-November 20.

Summing up the series, Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti said, "Up close and personal, the Bold Series calls audiences together urgently and right on time. By turns comic and cautionary, rendered by prize-winning, contemporary playwrights, passionate voices will soon be let loose in the dynamically renewed space of Paramount's Copley Theatre. Come discover what we've found for you in these four inaugural season productions. 

“After nearly two years since we were originally supposed to launch our Bold Series, the time has finally come to lift the curtain on an exhilarating and new storytelling experience,” added Tim Rater, President and CEO, Paramount Theatre. “Housed in the beautifully renovated Copley Theatre, audiences will discover stories that challenge, enlighten, engage and entertain. I could not be more excited to share these stories with our patrons and hope that when the lights come up, the conversations will last long after the ride home.”

Four-show Bold Series subscriptions are on sale now, ranging from just $134-$148. That’s a “buy two shows, get two shows free” offer. Single tickets to individual performances are $67-$74. To purchase subscriptions, single tickets or for more information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All four Bold Series performances will be staged in Copley Theatre, located in the North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd., in downtown Aurora. 

About Paramount Theatre

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts and education in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction since 1931.

After launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount Theatre grew to be the second largest subscription house in the U.S. Before Covid, more than 41,000 subscribers from all over Chicagoland and the Midwest were enjoying Paramount’s critically acclaimed, 2019-20 Broadway-caliber productions. In addition, Paramount also presents an array of internationally known comedians, musicians, dance troupes and family shows annually.

Paramount Theatre is one of four live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority. ACCA also manages downtown Aurora’s newly renovated 165-seat Copley Theatre, Paramount’s smaller, more intimate, 165-seat “sister” stage, right across the street at 8 E. Galena Blvd. ACCA also oversees the Paramount School of the Arts, RiverEdge Park, the city’s 6,000-seat outdoor summer concert venue, and Stolp Island Theatre, an immersive space opening in summer 2023.

Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.

For the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com or follow @ParamountAurora on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Playwright and director biographies

Lynn Nottage (playwright) is the first, and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world. Her play Sweat (Pulitzer Prize, Evening Standard Award, Obie Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Nomination) premiered and was commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival American Revolutions History Cycle/Arena Stage. It moved to Broadway after a sold-out run at The Public Theater. Goodman Theatre presented the Chicago premiere of Sweat in 2019. Most recently, Nottage premiered MJ the Musical at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway, and Clyde's at Second Stage Theater on Broadway. Other plays include Floyd's (Guthrie Theater) Mlima’s Tale (Public Theater), By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lilly Award, Drama Desk Nomination), Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, OBIE, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Audelco, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award); Intimate Apparel (American Theatre Critics and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play); Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine (OBIE Award); Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers; Stone and POOF! Nottage also wrote the book for the world premiere musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Secret Life of Bees, with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. She is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, Steinberg "Mimi" Distinguished Playwright Award, PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award, TIME 100 (2019), Merit and Literature Award from The Academy of Arts and Letters, Columbia University Provost Grant, Doris Duke Artist Award, The Joyce Foundation Commission Project & Grant, Madge Evans-Sidney Kingsley Award, Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity, The Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award, the inaugural Horton Foote Prize, Helen Hayes Award, the Lee Reynolds Award, and the Jewish World Watch iWitness Award. Her other honors include the National Black Theatre Fest's August Wilson Playwriting Award, a Guggenheim Grant, Lucille Lortel Fellowship and Visiting Research Fellowship at Princeton University. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. She is also a screenwriter and an Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at Columbia School of the Arts. For more, visit lynnnottage.com.

Andrea J Dymond (director) is a Chicago-based freelance director, specializing in developing and directing new work. Recent directing credits include Thirst at Strawdog Theatre, the world premieres of The Greatest Theatrical Event…EVER! at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Shepsu Aahku’s Black and Blue for MPAACT. Dymond was formerly Resident Director at Victory Gardens Theater, where she directed 11 productions, including seven world premieres, and helped to develop and launch the The Ignition Festival of New Plays. In addition to directing around Chicago and the U.S., her experience includes literary management, research and production dramaturgy, directing at new works festivals; serving as thesis play advisor for MFA playwrights at Carnegie Mellon University and directing at NNPN’s MFA Playwrights Workshops at the Kennedy Center. A teacher at Columbia College Chicago, Dymond's courses have included Directing, Collaboration, African American Scene Study, Text Analysis, Dramaturgy, Acting and New Play Development. She was also the facilitator of the Theodore Ward Award for African American Playwriting.

Cast Announced for Chicago Premiere of SEX TIPS FOR STRAIGHT WOMEN FROM A GAY MAN at The Greenhouse Theater Center April 8 Through July 2, 2022

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR 

“SEX TIPS FOR STRAIGHT WOMEN FROM A GAY MAN”

AHEAD OF CHICAGO PREMIERE

Following smash-hit runs in Las Vegas and New York, this inventive and wildly entertaining show announces its cast as it prepares to hit the stage in Chicago!

Voted Best Comedy for Couples, Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, presented by Matt Murphy and Shawn Nightingale, has announced the cast for its Chicago debut. Starring Adam Fane as Dan, Emma Jo Boyden as Robyn, and Bradley Allen Meyer as Stefan, Sex Tips will preview April 8th and open April 23st for a limited engagement at the Greenhouse Theater Center, located 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue. Becoming Off-Broadway's Longest-Running Comedy in New York and launching a national tour before making its Las Vegas debut, this “uproariously funny” show is finally bringing its "big laughs and naughty fun,” taking the audience on a hilarious and wild ride where no topic is taboo and the insider ‘tips’ come straight from the source: a gay man. 

“I feel incredibly blessed to get to work with such a talented and group of actors for our Chicago premiere,” said Matt Murphy, Playwright and Producer of Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man. “I have no doubt Adam, Emma, and Bradley are going to have the audience in stitches throughout our run and I can't wait to see them shine on the stage!”

The play is set at a local university auditorium where the English department holds its monthly meet the authors event. Robyn is the shy and studious moderator of the event and this month's featured author is Dan Anderson of Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man.  With the help of a hunky stage assistant named Stefan, Dan aims to turn this meet the authors event upside down with a highly theatrical, audience interactive sex tip seminar.

Written and directed by Matt Murphy, Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man is produced by Murphy and Shawn Nightingale. The cast features Adam Fane as seen in Rock of Ages (National Tour); Ms. Blakk for President (Steppenwolf) and Jersey Boys (Norwegian), Emma Jo Boyden, as seen in A Recipe for Disaster (Windy City Playhouse), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Drury Lane); and Hamlet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), and Bradley Allen Meyer, an actor who studied at the Atlantic Theater Company known for Chicago Fire (2012), Soundtrack (2019), and Black and Blue (2018). The production features Scenic Design by Luke Cantarella, Lighting Design by Brian Tovar, Costume Design by Tilly Grimes, and Projection and Sound Design by Randy Blair. 

 

Hailed by critics as “one of the best date-night shows of the year,” SexTips has recently been showcased on television in three different reality series whose stars performed in the show, including Kendra On Top, Real Housewives of New York, and Shahs of Sunset. The popularity of this production is no surprise given its source material is the international best-selling book of the same title, which has been published in over 50 different countries and translated into 17 different languages.  

Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago previewing April 8 and opening April 23 for a limited engagement through July 2, 2022. The performance schedule is as follows: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm. The running time is 1 hour and 15 minutes with no intermission. Tickets range from $49.95 to $79.95 plus processing fees. For tickets and more information, visit SexTipsPlay.com or call the Greenhouse Theater Center Box Office at 773-404-7336. 

OPENING: Issac's Eye via Redtwist Theatre March 20 Through April 24, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar  

R E D T W I S T  T H E A T R E  P R E S E N T S

Isaac's Eye

by Lucas Hnath

Directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary

Long before the infamous apple landed, Sir Isaac Newton was a backcountry experimenter, hoping to make the discovery of a lifetime. When the Royal Society’s prestigious academic Robert Hooke appears on the scene, Isaac thinks it’s his shot at the scientific big-time -- provided he can prove his own hypothesis. 

Part historical drama, part contemporary satire, Isaac’s Eye will have you rolling in the aisles – alongside all those apples.

Opens Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 3pm

Runs Thurs, Fri, Sat at 7:30pm; Sun at 3pm, through April 24, 3:00pm

C A S T

Josh Servantez* (Isaac Newton)

Michael Sherwin* (Robert Hooke)

Brooke Reams (Catherine)

Jackie Seijo (Dying Man/Actor)

P R O D U C T I O N

Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary (Director), Lucas Hnath (Playwright), Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (Scenic Designer), Elizabeth Niemcsyk (Costume Designer), Cat Davis, (Lighting Designer), AJ Morley (Props Designer), Jeff Brain (Technical Director), Alyssa Flasch (Production Manager), Corbin Paulino (Stage Manager), Jen Poulin (Assistant Director), Shariba Rivers* (Casting Director), Jose Jimenez* (Graphic Designer), Lauren Thompson* (Resident Production Manager), Alyssa Victoria Flasch (Box Office Manager), Annette Galeas, Johnny Garcia*, Amanda Grissom & Eric Eilersen (Box Office Associates), Charlie Marie McGrath* (Producing Artistic Director)

* Denotes Redtwist Staff or Company Member

P R E V I E W S

mar 17 - 19

preview tickets only $15

thurs – sat @ 7:30pm

O N S T A G E

mar 20 - apr 24

tickets start at $35

thurs – sat @ 7:30pm

sun @ 3pm

BUY TICKETS

SENIORS + STUDENTS GET $5 OFF

REVIEW: Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's Passage at Theater Wit Through April 10, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar  

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Presents

PASSAGE 

by Christopher Chen Directed by Kaiser Ahmed

March 2 - April 10, 2022 at Theater Wit

REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Passage breaks through the 4th wall and straight into the souls of the audience. Remy Bumppo's latest is a thought provoking journey that illuminates the chasm between different ethnicities, the complicated topography of colonialism, and the humanity that connects us all. I loved the use of letters to designate names and places, as it left a bit of mystery, but also made the content more universal. 

Patrick Agada, Carolyn Hu Bradbury, Adam Poss, Leyla Beydoun, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Charin Alvarez and Peter Sipla.  All photos by Nomee Photography

At the top of the show, with house lights still blazing, it was enjoyable to get to see the whole cast introduce themselves and share a bit of family background on where they've come from in life and how they got here, as in literally HOW they made the trek in to the performance space today. As the lights dimmed and the actors morphed into their characters, they did an amazing job of bringing the entire audience of newfound friends along for the ride.

This timely and timeless production is a must see as long as humans are still invading each other's countries, judging worth on the basis of ethnicity or physical characteristics, and reacting to others based on fears, stereotypes, and prejudices.

Peter Sipla and Carolyn Hu Bradbury

Kudos to Scenic Designer: Yeaji Kim for the unique set, that provides a powerful visual metaphor.

Carolyn Hu Bradbury

The entire cast was strong, whether connecting with one another or addressing and engaging the audience directly with rhetorical questions and visualization journeys. Charin Alvarez and Patrick Agada were particularly excellent in their respective roles.

Charin Alvarez and Patrick Agada 

Charin Alvarez, Peter Sipla, Tiffany Renee Johnson and Adam Poss

Cheers to Remy Bumppo Theatre Company for celebrating ageless, nearly universal traditions of spilling the tea, adding a flask for a bit of a spike, and both listening and engaging in meaningful dialogue with those different from ourselves even when we may end up with more questions than answers. This production is a lovely exploration of the subtle layers and nuances to the human condition, sacred spaces, and the ways we help and harm others intentionally or accidentally. 

Adam Poss

If clever tangents, multicultural friendships, anthropomorphic critters, mystical caves, and forging new ways to repair systemic racism are your jam, don't miss this. After seeing Passage, I'm eager to read  E. M. Forster's  1924 novel, A Passage to India, though it's certainly not a prerequisite to enjoy this production. Good theatre entertains while great theatre enlightens, encourages thought, and challenges ingrained thoughts and behaviors. Passage does just that. Highly recommended.

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theater critic, photographer, videographer, actress, artist and Mama. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 

Leyla Beydoun and Adam Poss

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company is pleased to announce the casting and design team for the first show in its 2022 Season, 

PASSAGE by Christopher Chen and directed by Kaiser Ahmed. 

The show will run from March 2 through April 10, 2022 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago.

Q is building a new life in Country X, having immigrated from Country Y. But it’s hard to make friends in Country X — the history between the two countries is fraught, and political tensions are running high. As Q tries to navigate interpersonal dynamics, the past and present collide in a complex geopolitical landscape. And no one is off the hook. Christopher Chen’s deeply humane, exquisitely theatrical play inspired by E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India is tense, fascinating, delicate, and dangerous.

PASSAGE will feature Patrick Agada, Charin Alvarez (Remy Bumppo Core Ensemble Member), Leyla Beydoun, Carolyn Hu Bradbury, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Adam Poss, Peter Sipla. Designs for this production will feature work by Himabindu Poroori (Dramaturg), Yeaji Kim (Scenic Design), Izumi Inaba (Costume Design), Liz Gomez and Mac Vaughey (Co-Lighting Design), Michael Huey (Sound Design and Original Music) and Rowan Doe (Properties Design).

Marti Lyons enthusiastically speaks to kicking off her first season as Artistic Director with PASSAGE: “I am thrilled to launch our 2022 season with this production. PASSAGE, written by one of my favorite playwrights, Christopher Chen, is a kaleidoscopic examination of power that could be anywhere and anytime, but feels intensely now. The Core Ensemble and I cannot wait to be back onstage and start our season with this show.”

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s production of PASSAGE will run from March 2 through April 10, 2022 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago. Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale at www.RemyBumppo.org or by calling the Theater Wit Box Office at 773.975.8150.

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s 2022 Presenting Sponsor is Geoffrey A. Anderson. Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s 2022 Season Sponsors are Brenda and James Grusecki and Charlotte Toerber.

Cast (in alphabetical order): Patrick Agada (F); Charin Alvarez (B); Leyla Beydoun (Q); Carolyn Hu Bradbury (J/S/MOSQUITO); Tiffany Renee Johnson (D/M); Adam Poss (H/R/GECKO); Peter Sipla (G); Flavia Pallozzi (u/s D / M); Natalie Santoro (u/s J / S / MOSQUITO). Tina El Gamal (u/s B); Nathaniel Elfant (u/s H /R / GECKO); Aissa Guerra (u/s Q); Tulsi McDaniels (u/s F); Michael Mejia (u/s G);

Artistic Director: Marti Lyons 

Producer: Alexis Taylor

Intimacy and Culture Consultant: Greg Geffrard

Associate Intimacy and Culture Consultant: Courtney Abbott

Casting Director: Rachael Jimenez, CSA

Casting Associate: Emily Gruhl

Stage Manager: Jean E. Compton

Assistant Stage Manager: Cori Lang

 Technical Director: Harrison Ornelas

 Production Manager: Ellen Willett

Dramaturg: Himabindu Poroori 

Scenic Designer: Yeaji Kim 

Costume Designer: Izumi Inaba

 Assistant Costume Designer: Aija Moreno

 Co-Lighting Designer: Liz Gomez

 Co-Lighting Designer: Mac Vaughey

 Sound Designer and Original Music: Michael Huey

 Properties Designer: Rowan Doe

 Scenic Charge Artist: Emily Altman

 Wardrobe Supervisor: Stefani Azores-Gococo

 Head Electrician: Nick Chamernik

Leyla Beydoun, Adam Poss, Peter Sipla, Carolyn Hu Bradbury, Patrick Agada, and Tiffany Renee Johnson

Location: Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL 60657

Dates: Previews: Wednesday, March 2 - Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 7:30pm; Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 2:30pm

Press Performance: Monday, March 7, 2022 at 7:30pm

Regular Run: Thursday, March 10 through Sunday, April 20, 2022

Curtain Times: Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm

Matinee Performances (other than Sundays): Saturday, March 19 at 2:30pm; Saturday, March 26 at 2:30pm; Saturday, April 2 at 2:30pm; Thursday April 7 at 2:30pm Audio Description/Touch Tour Performance: Saturday, March 19, 2022; Touch Tour starts at 1:00pm, and the performance starts at 2:30pm

Open Caption Performance: Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 2:30pm

Tickets: Previews: $30.00 - $40.00

Regular Run: $35.00 - $55.00

Industry Tickets: $20.00, available Wednesdays – Fridays

Student Tickets: $15.00, available day of

Group Discounts: Available for parties of 10 or more, call 773.244.8119

ABOUT REMY BUMPPO THEATRE COMPANY:

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company expands and enriches their community’s view of the world, and their own, by producing both the great plays of the past and the important plays of today. As an ensemble-driven theater company, Remy Bumppo authors a more humane culture that listens to, and seeks to understand, the voices, the ideas and the stories of one another. Since its inception in 1996, Remy Bumppo has produced a blend of modern classics and complex contemporary works, presented in an intimate setting with clarity, wit and passion. We invite audiences to engage directly with the art through conversation with the artists.

INCOMING: Elvin Bishop At Chicago's City Winery Wednesday, April 6, 2022

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

BLUES LEGEND ELVIN BISHOP AND HIS BIG FUN TRIO TO PERFORM IN CHICAGO!

 “Deceptively loose but always tight…the raspy chuckle in Bishop’s singing and the sharp sting of his guitar are forceful and fresh, enduring and fun.”--Fresh Air, NPR

Rock & Roll and Blues Hall of Famer Elvin Bishop will bring his Big Fun Trio -- Bob Welsh on piano and guitar and Willy Jordan on cajón (a hand-played Peruvian drumbox) and vocals -- to City Winery in Chicago on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. The Big Fun Trio’s Grammy-nominated Alligator Records release, Something Smells Funky 'Round Here, is rootsy, spirited, humorous and soulful, performed by serious musicians hell-bent on having a good time. Bishop, a natural storyteller, is as slyly good-humored and instantly crowd-pleasing as he was when he was scoring Southern rock-styled hits during the 1970s or cutting award-winning blues albums over the last 30 years. His most recent award-winning Alligator Records release, 100 Years Of Blues , was recorded with Bishop’s friend, Grammy-winning harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite. 100 Years Of Blues, was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

Concert information is as follows: 

Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Venue: City Winery

Address: 1200 W. Randolph St.

City: Chicago, IL

Phone: 312-733-9463

Showtime: 8:00pm

Ticket price: $35-$58

Website: www.citywinery.com

*See website for complete performance information

Ever since Elvin Bishop first hit the scene with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band back in 1965, he’s blazed his own musical trail. Whether he was playing raw, eye-popping blues, or penning the evergreen radio hit Fooled Around And Fell In Love, or touring the world for decades delivering his original, good-time countrified blues, Bishop has always inspired his fans with his rowdy guitar playing and witty, slice-of-life songs. Rolling Stone calls Bishop “a legendary guitarist” whose playing is “impeccable and spirited…a distinguished American player.”

Something Smells Funky 'Round Here was produced by Bishop and recording engineer Steve Savage and recorded at Bishop’s Hog Heaven Studio in Lagunitas, California. Bishop wrote or co-wrote five songs (including two by the entire trio). The album mixes rousing new originals, reinventions of three Bishop classics and some unexpected, soul-shaking covers. The potent title track -- a tongue-in-cheek State Of The Union address as only Elvin can deliver -- kicks the album off with Bishop aiming his lyrical truths at those in power. The humorous but piercingly direct lyrics take aim at the current political scene while Bishop’s deep blues guitar playing drives the point home. Jordan sings lead on four songs, including blistering reinventions of Jackie Wilson’s Higher And Higher and Ann Peebles’ I Can’t Stand The Rain . Welsh, whose guitar or piano playing highlight every song, pounds the ivories on his own Bob’s Boogie. “This album fell together easily,” says Bishop. “Everything I visualized about the songs – from Bob’s playing to Willy’s singing, came true. Bob and Willy are great musicians.”

Elvin Bishop formed The Big Fun Trio in late 2015 with his friends Bob Welsh and Willy Jordan. After playing just a handful of live dates, the group’s instantly crowd-pleasing music and undeniable chemistry took the blues world by storm. With the release of their self-titled CD in 2017, media and fan response was immediate and overwhelming. DownBeat celebrated Bishop’s “verbal hijinks, outstanding guitar work and country boy friendliness.” OffBeat said The Big Fun Trio was “intricate, funky and uplifting,” declaring them, “consistently great.” With its top-shelf musicianship and front-porch vibe, the album earned a Grammy Award nomination.

The Big Fun Trio quickly discovered the more they played live, the more fun they had making music together. So a follow-up recording was an easy decision. The new album, Something Smells Funky 'Round Here , finds the group fearlessly laying it all on the line. According to Elvin, “With a trio there’s no place to hide­—you’ve got to be pourin’ everything you got right out front. You need to be totally into it all the time. It’s really cool to see how people react to the goin’-for-it feel of the music.”

With Something Smells Funky 'Round Here, Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio are clearly having a very good time. Having spent almost three years performing, these three tremendously talented musicians continue to inspire each other to new heights. As Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio take their music back on the road, fans will once again have a chance to experience the big fun first hand. According to Living Blues , “Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio has wonderful chemistry and are a joy to hear.”

 

William Shakespeare’s ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL at Chicago Shakespeare Theater April 22–May 29, 2022

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces cast and creative team

William Shakespeare’s

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

directed by Shana Cooper

in the Courtyard Theater, April 22–May 29, 2022

Featuring Alejandra Escalante, Dante Jemmott, Ora Jones, Francis Guinan, Emma Ladji, Mark Bedard, Elizabeth Ledo, William Dick, Patrick Agada, Casey Hoekstra, Joseph Aaron Johnson, Jeff Kurysz, Pablo David Laucerica, and Tanya Thai McBride

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast and creative team for the upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, staged by acclaimed director Shana Cooper. No challenge can match the power of a determined woman. In love with a young man who does not return her affection, the resourceful Helena will go to any length to turn her visions of romance into reality—only to discover that happy endings are never quite as simple as they seem in fairy tales. Shakespeare’s rarely seen dark comedy is brought to new life in the uniquely intimate setting of the Courtyard Theater, April 22–May 29, 2022.

"The beautiful thing about All’s Well That Ends Well is that it’s about these transitional moments in life—about growing up and growing older—in the midst of profound loss and major shifts in the world… and I think we’re all in that space," shared director Cooper. "It’s ultimately a joyful ride through the intricacies of self-exploration and self-discovery."

Director Shana Cooper is known for her visceral approach to both classical texts and new works, often infusing movement and music to complement the muscularity of language. A company member at the acclaimed Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Cooper has directed at leading companies, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Rep, and Yale Repertory Theatre. She notably staged the world premiere of Terra Firma off-Broadway in 2019. Her work has most recently been seen in Court Theatre’s The Lady from the Sea.

Appearing as Helena is Alejandra Escalante, a veteran of seven seasons at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In addition to credits at American Players Theatre and Guthrie Theater, Escalante has also notably appeared at Goodman Theatre as Isabella in Measure for Measure and in featured roles in 2666, The Upstairs Concierge, and Song for the Disappeared. Portraying Bertram, the young nobleman at the center of Helena’s affection, is Dante Jemmott—who recently made an acclaimed debut as Romeo in R+J at the Stratford Festival in 2021. 

Esteemed performer Ora Jones is Bertram’s mother, the Countess of Roussillon. Jones has appeared on Broadway as Madame de Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Mrs. Phelps in Matilda the Musical, both on Broadway and in the first national tour. Her notable Chicago Shakespeare roles include Katherine of Aragon in Henry VIII, Queen Charlotte in The Madness of George III, and Maria in Twelfth Night. Francis Guinan portrays the ailing King of France. An ensemble member since 1979, Guinan has appeared in more than 40 productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He made his Chicago Shakespeare debut in the world premiere of The Book of Joseph.

Emma Ladji is Helena’s accomplice, Diana. With multiple credits at Chicago Shakespeare, Writers Theatre, and Goodman Theatre, Ladji has also been an artist-in-residence at Links Hall and presented work at the New Now Festival in Amsterdam. Appearing as Parolles is Mark Bedard, who has performed off Broadway in Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in addition to seven seasons at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Jeff Award-winner Elizabeth Ledo plays Lavache, the clown of the Countess’s court. An artistic associate of About Face Theatre and recipient of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, Ledo has memorably appeared at Chicago Shakespeare as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Phoebe in As You Like It, and Myrtle in The King’s Speech. William Dick is Lafew. Highlights of Dick’s long theatrical career include Blind Date and Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, and 3) at the Goodman Theatre; We All Went Down to Amsterdam at Steppenwolf; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Henry VIII at Chicago Shakespeare. 

The company also includes Patrick Agada (Second Lord Dumaine), Casey Hoekstra (First Lord Dumaine), Joseph Aaron Johnson (Rinaldo), Jeff Kurysz (First Soldier), Pablo David Laucerica (Ensemble), and Tanya Thai McBride (Mariana).

Award-winning choreographer Stephanie Martinez is the production’s Movement Designer. In addition to being the founder and artistic director of contemporary dance company PARA.MAR, Martinez has devised original creations for Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, and Luna Negra Dance Theater, among others. Joining Cooper and Martinez on the creative team are Scenic Designer Andrew Boyce, Costume Designer Raquel Barreto, Lighting Designer Adam Honoré, Sound/Composition by Paul James Prendergast, and Hair & Make-up Designer Richard Jarvie. The team also includes Magic Consultant Nate Dendy (who memorably appeared as Ariel in Aaron Posner and Teller’s production of The Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare in 2015), Verse Coach Gregory Linington, Assistant Director Mallory Metoxen, Assistant to the Movement Designer Noelle Kayser, Intimacy Director Sarah Scanlon, and Casting by Bob Mason. The stage management team features Katrina Herrmann as Stage Manager and Kate Ocker as Assistant Stage Manager. Katie Lupica and Manna-Symone Middlebrooks are Assistants to the Director.

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons through its Access Shakespeare programs. Accessible performances for All’s Well That Ends Well include:

Open-captioned Performances – Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.

ASL Duo-interpreted Performance – Friday, May 20, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters.

Audio-described Performance – Sunday, May 22, 2022, at 2:00 p.m

A program that provides spoken narration of a play’s key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

More information on the production at www.chicagoshakes.com/allswell or on social media at #cstAllsWell.

All’s Well That End’s Well is presented April 22–May 29, 2022, in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater. Single tickets ($49–$90) are on sale now. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com. 

Chicago Shakespeare’s most up-to-date health protocols can be found at www.chicagoshakes.com/health.

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a year-round season—featuring plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions, and theatrical presentations from around the globe—alongside nationally recognized education programming, each year serving tens of thousands of students, teachers, and lifelong learners. Founded in 1986, the Theater’s onstage work has expanded to as many as twenty productions and 650 performances annually. Dedicated to welcoming the next generation of theatergoers, one in four audience members is under the age of eighteen. As a nonprofit organization, Chicago Shakespeare works to embrace diversity, prioritize inclusion, provide equitable opportunities, and offer an accessible experience for all. On the Theater’s three stages at its home on Navy Pier, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted cultural hub—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that connect and inspire.