“It was a big thing, to not be afraid of losing the brand,” says 500 Clown cofounder Adrian Danzig. “We needed to say, ‘The brand is strong enough, let’s see what it will hold,’ instead of re-creating the same note.

 Imagine “Waiting for Godot: The Nickelodeon Version,” and you’ve got some idea of Javier Malpica’s two-hander Our Dad Is in Atlantis. Two Mexico City brothers, 8 and 11, who’ve been abruptly moved to the country wonder where their father has gone and when he’ll be back.

Opera lovers and haters alike should love El Gallo: Opera for Actors. This behind-the-scenes play by Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes, based in Mexico City and appearing for the second time in a brief run at the MCA, is so far from stuffy it’s ridiculous.

 “We keep joking that our characters are taking over our lives,” says actor Christina Nieves, who plays the youngest, Americanized daughter of a magisterial Mexican mother in “El Nogalar” at the Goodman.

One audience member threw up. Others made purely recreational trips to the bathroom. Eager-beaver volunteers sometimes had to be physically returned to their seats—or retrieved from the stage.Controversy over the arts, how to pay for them and whether they’re worth the price, may be rampant.

“I kind of do forget that almost every line I have is about … poop,” says Nicole Wiesner.

I got all warm and fuzzy when I first heard about the “Downtown Seder” at the Cultural Center on April 13. Dang, I thought: the city is making this piece of ecumenical theater available to all Chicagoans, in the true inclusive spirit of seders!