1. The latest TimeOut Performer of the Week is none other than friend of this blog writer, Ethan Dubin. On a note that’s less biased and more applicable to the community at large, really digging Oliver Sava’s choice to highlight performers who usually don’t get their due. Dubin is currently starring in Sixty Miles to Silver Lake at Collaboraction, which, before you ask, I have not gotten to yet.
2. Next Up from Steppenwolf (with Northwestern) starts in June. This year’s three productions are Life and Limb by Keith Reddin; South of Settling by Emily Schwend; and The Glass Menagerie. “In the Garage Theatre, Steppenwolf sets out to cultivate young artists and multigenerational audiences. Next Up offers a unique way for us to do this—in concert with theater’s roots as a guild-based craft in which emerging artists learn from experienced practitioners,” said Steppenwolf Artistic Producer Rebecca Rugg in a statement “For Steppenwolf, this project is a natural extension of a strong association with local universities, whose stream of graduates continually feeds Chicago’s vibrant theater ecology.”
3. The latest Hamlet comes from Writers’ Theatre, with the lead role going to Scott Parkinson. Of course, this doesn’t open until September, so you have a nice, long, non-depressing summer before you have to gird your loins. This one is directed by Michael Halberstam “on the most intimate of stages”, though anyone who saw Hamlet at the Oracle last year might disagree.
4. Some show closings this weekend: As You Like It (A New Adaptation) from Strangeloop Theatre; Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed from Lifeline; Beyond the Fringe from Oak Park Festival Theatre and Doubt at AstonRep Theatre.
5. Second City’s Who Do We Think We Are? got a much more positive review from The A.V. Club‘s New Pollution than I recall it receiving from some of the other outlets.
Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.
