Morning Rehearsal: Chicago theater news 4/14

Morning Rehearsal: Chicago theater news 4/14

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1. I Am Montana” is in its second week of performances at the Mortar Theatre. The production, which is a thinly-veiled look at mega-marts like Walmart, looks incredibly unsettling if the GIF at this link is any indication.

2. “White Noise”, also known as the musical Whoopi Goldberg swept in and put her money behind, seems to be causing quite a hubbub. The Reader titled their review “Hate: The Musical”, and described the production as making “an implausible case for tolerance.” Tomorrow, WBEZ’s own Dueling Critics will take it on, and tell us if there’s anything behind all the vitriol. 

3. It’s the best of both world’s at iO this week, for those who love theater and movies. The show, which is called “The Dude Abides”, is a musical adapatation of the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski.  It runs tonight and every Thursday until May 19th. Grab a White Russian and enjoy.

4. Babes with Blades, the all-female troupe that performs Shakespeare in a manner he definitely didn’t envision, are asking “How Far Will You Go For Love?” with their rendition of Romeo and Juliet.” The show is in its final weeks at the Raven Theater Complex and runs Thursday through Sunday. The Babes consider themselves “the world’s first known all-female stage combat theatre company since the late 19th century”, and who are we to argue?

5. Premiere! Mickle Maher‘s “There Is a Happiness That Morning Is” tears apart the comforts of middle-class academia with this play told through rhymed verse by two lovers at different times of day: “Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, the two undergraduate lecturers must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it if they want to keep their jobs.” It opens tonight at the Storefront Theater, but if you wait until next week you can experience a post-show panel discussion featuring the playwright and University of Chicago faculty members Heidi Coleman and Bradin Cormak, moderated by Theater Oobleck member member Terri Kapsalis.

Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.