Goodman Theatre News

American Theater Company concludes 2012-2013 Season with a revised remount of Speech & Debate, written by Stephen Karam, and directed by Artistic Director PJ Paparelli. Speech & Debate will run tonight, May 10 - June 23, 2013, at American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron St, Chicago, IL. Press opening is Monday, May 13, at 7:00 pm.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), in association with the Loeb Drama Center, begins performances of the runaway hit of the 2012 Emerging AmericaFestival, Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, in a new adaptation by Sean Graney and Kevin O'Donnell, arranged by Kevin O'Donnell and the Cast. Performances begin tonight, May 10, 2013 with press opening on Wednesday, May 15, and runs through June 2, 2013.

Pivot Arts launches a new celebration of innovative theater, music and dance in unique and often historic spaces from June 6 - 22, 2013 throughout Chicago's Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods. The inaugural PIVOT MULTI-ARTS FESTIVAL answers the City's call for a reinvigorated Uptown Entertainment District by uniting artists, businesses and local organizations around multidisciplinary "pop-up" performances occurring in a former Vaudeville Theater, an at-one-time Charlie Chaplin film studio and other historic spaces throughout these communities. Tickets are now on sale, with a range of free events and no more than $15 per event. To purchase tickets, and for complete festival information, visit www.pivotarts.org/festival or call 773-609-0782.

Performance Network Theatre is proud to present three community discussions on Monday, May 13 at 6pm, Sunday, May 19 at 4:30pm, and Sunday, June 2 at 4:30pm regarding "The Mountaintop," by Katori Hall - the current Performance Network production that is an imagined portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth. These discussions are open to the public to facilitate dialogue about the play's innovative take on Dr. King's final hours.

Caroline Aaron, Michelle Beck, Peter Grosz and Carla Gugino will be featured in the cast of the upcoming LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater world premiere production of A KID LIKE JAKE, a new play by Daniel Pearle, directed by Evan Cabnet. A KID LIKE JAKE begins previews Sunday, June 2, opens Monday, June 17 and will run through Sunday, July 14 at the Claire Tow Theater, 150 West 65 Street.

Long Wharf Theatre concludes its 2012-13 season with Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris, and directed by Associate Artistic Director Eric Ting. The play will take place on The Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage from tonight, May 8, 2013 through June 2, 2013.

Fox Valley Rep's Got Talent? Contest is an event that showcases the talents of young performers in acting and singing. It is open to contestants who have completed 1st-12th grade in the United States. It is a talent contest and talent show, and it provides an opportunity for young people to showcase their abilities and pursue their dreams.

A string of stories guaranteed to leave you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. By turns amusing, moving and profound, very different types of tales each end....with a beginning. 'Cliffhangers' plays today, May 5 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive, Denver.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Oklahoma!' opens, a new 'Porgy,' a one-night 'Tommy,' improvised Sondheim, Darren Criss, 'The Jungle Book' has been cast, two new revues, my Tony perspective and more!

TimeLine Theatre Company, dedicated to presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today's social and political issues, announces that The How and the Why by Sarah Treem (Netflix's House of Cards, HBO's In Treatment), directed by Keira Fromm and starring Janet Ulrich Brooks and Elizabeth Ledo, will be the third production of its 2013-14 season.

The Ensemble of Shattered Globe Theatre is pleased to present AN EVENING OF BECKETT starring renowned Beckett protege and San Quentin Drama Workshop founder Rick Cluchey. The Chicago-born actor performs Beckett's classic one-act KRAPP'S LAST TAPE, featuring original direction by the playwright himself. The program concludes with SAM AND RICK, a moderated discussion with Cluchey about his personal experience with Beckett, the playwright's influences on art and theatre, life at San Quentin State Prison, and much more. AN EVENING OF BECKETT will play eight performances only, May 2 - 12, 2013 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are available at www.shatteredglobe.org or by calling the Stage 773 Box Office at (773) 327-5252. The press opening is Wednesday, May 1 at 8 pm.

Directed by Stuart Bousel, Prelude to a Kiss previews May 17-19, opens May 21, and runs through June 16 at the Gough Street Playhouse.

Summer 2013 will bring a wealth of new works to Chicago stages, closing out this season with some of the most exciting theater in the country, and holding Chicago's place as a leader on the national scene. Offerings from the city's more than 200 producing theaters includes a range of special summer programming, featuring everything from the latest musicals and highly anticipated world premieres to updated classics.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), in association with the Loeb Drama Center, begins performances of the runaway hit of the 2012 Emerging AmericaFestival, Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, in a new adaptation by Sean Graney and Kevin O'Donnell, arranged by Kevin O'Donnell and the Cast. Performances begin on May 10, 2013 with press opening on Wednesday, My 15, and runs through June 2, 2013.

This year's main-stage attraction of SCR's annual Pacific Playwrights Festival, SMOKEFALL---a co-production with Chicago's Goodman Theatre directed by Anne Kauffman---starts off initially intriguing, as if first unveiling itself as a dark dramedy that follows three generations of an eccentric family living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the tolls that the passage of time imposes on their lives. But instead, what actually transpires through the course of its three acts is an uneven play that ultimately gets too bogged down in its own randomly structured quirkiness.