Chicago Spotlight: September 2005

A mighty wind of theater descends upon Chicago this month as the 2005-2006 season begins in earnest. The old phrase tells us that “30 days hath September,” but it will have many more openings than that.

The big musical event of the month is the Goodman Theatre’s revival of the 1970s hit Purlie directed by Sheldon Epps; it’s already been seen in Pasadena and may be on its way to New York (previews begin September 27). Elsewhere, Porchlight Theatre serves up Gypsy starring local favorite Rebecca Flanagan as Rose (opens September 11); Cats jumps out of its hat yet again at the Auditorium Theatre (previews begin September 13); theatergoers check into Grand Hotel at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (previews begin September 15); and the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire becomes Footloose (previews begin September 21).

In a category all its own is Monsieur Chopin, a one-man-and-a-piano solo piece about the great Polish-French composer, written and performed by actor/writer/pianist Hershey Felder at the Royal George Theater. Equally unclassifiable is Trap Door Theatre’s production of The Crazy Locomotive by Stanislaw Witkiewicz, the vital Polish playwright of the 1920s and 1930s whose work still is not well known among English-speaking audiences.

That’s not true of the many classics that receive a great deal of attention this month from local companies. Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, with the celebrated actor Mike Nussbaum playing Shylock (previews begin September 9); Off-Off-Loop Mom & Dad Productions opens Ward 6, adapted from stories by Anton Chekhov, at the Heartland Studio Theatre (previews begin September 9); Lookingglass Theatre Company launches its season with Hephaestus, a re-telling of Greek mythology using circus techniques, and featuring performers from Cirque de Soleil, Ringling Brothers and the celebrated Wallenda family (previews begin September 10); and The Vitalist Theatre tackles Tolstoy with a stage adaptation of Anna Karenina (previews begin September 12).

Some of the 20th Century’s great plays also are on view, beginning with Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman staged by The Hypocrites at the Athenaeum (previews begin September 4). Circle Theatre takes on Noel Coward’s menage-a-trois Design for Living (previews begin September 14), while the side project wrestles with Brecht’s often-revised Galileo to commemorate the installation of Pope Benedict XVI (previews begin September 16).

Elsewhere, Griffin Theatre revives J. B. Priestly’s Time and the Conways (previews begin September 18); City Lit opens its season with Edward Albee’s second Pulitzer Prize winner, Seascape (previews begin September 19); Garcia Lorca’s landmark work The House of Bernarda Alba, as translated by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz, is staged by greasy joan & company at Victory Gardens (previews begin September 25) and August Wilson’s masterful Two Trains Running is being put on by Pegasus Players (previews begin September 26).

But it’s new work that has long been the heart and soul of Chicago theater. Take the world premiere of The Masrayana by William Kovacsik, presented by Prop Thtr Group and Rasaka Theatre Company (previews begin September 12). Based on real-life events in contemporary India, The Masrayana is a thoroughly modern work that incorporates classical Indian music and dance. It’s also the first mainstream show in Chicago to feature a locally-based South Asian acting ensemble and director.

Other world premieres in town include the fast-rising House Theatre Company’s The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz, based on the L. Frank Baum original (previews begin September 17); Congo Square Theatre Company offers the new hip-hop play Deep Azure (previews begin September 18); and Bailiwick Repertory gives a dramatic treatment to a legendary baseball great of yore with Hit Man: the Hack Wilson Story (Sept. 27-Oct. 30).

Finally, the city that gave the world David Mamet nonetheless continues to be a kid-friendly place. Even adults might enjoy Schoolhouse Rock Live! at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (beginning September 24), since they probably grew up with the original animated TV version.