Bieito's nightmarish 'Camino Real' puts the spotlight on Tennessee Williams

'Sunday in the Park,' 'Ceasar' and return of 'Black Watch' are Chicago Shakespeare highlights

Gary Griffin will direct Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's "Sunday in the Park with George." Barbara Gaines will stage both David Ives' "The School for Lies" and William Shakespeare's "Henry VIII." And the British director Jonathan Munby will helm a new production of "Julius Caesar," using present-day Washington, D.C. as a backdrop.

'Rain,' again

The Beatles tribute show "Rain" is returning to the Auditorium Theatre for a week in June, Broadway in Chicago said Monday. The Broadway production, which involves a lot of "Zelig"-like archival footage mixed with the live performers, will play June 26 through July 1.

Stratford Festival names new artistic director

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada announced Saturday that Anthony Cimolino, its current executive director, will become its next artistic director.

'Bring It On' starts slow but becomes cheerworthy

THEATER REVIEW: "Bring It On: The Musical" at the Cadillac Palace Theatre ★★½ ... For this very promising cheerleader musical to succeed on Broadway next season, the show will have to understand that, right from the start, it must take this sport seriously.

A few more 'Hit the Wall' shows. But this is last call at Stonewall.

"Hit the Wall," the hit, freewheeling show about the Stonewall riots, has been extended for one last week, Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced early Friday. The show, penned by Ike Holter, created by the independent theater company known as The Inconvenience and staged in the Steppenwolf Garage, will now play through Apr. 22.

True stories from the train in entertaining 'El'

NINA METZ reviews "El Stories" by Waltzing Mechanics ★★★ and "In the Heart of America" by Theatre Seven ★½

Chicago theater openings for the week of March 9-15

Picking the upcoming opening nights.

Suburban theater for the week of March 9-15

KERRY REID on what's on stage in Chicago's suburbs.

Sleight of hand in a wood-paneled room is quality entertainment of the old school

THEATER REVIEW: "The Magic Parlour" by House Theatre at the Palmer House Hilton ★★★ ... In decades past, the hotels of downtown Chicago were full of after-hours entertainment. There were glamorous cabarets, variety acts and intimate soirees on offer.

Writers' Theatre to stage 'Hamlet,' chamber 'Sweet Charity,' as part of 2012-13 season

Writers' Theatre, the Glencoe-based theater company, will stage an intimate version of the classic Broadway musical "Sweet Charity" in 2013, the ambitious company announced Wednesday.  Doug Peck, who also is working on the upcoming Mary Zimmerman production of "The Jungle Book,"will work on the orchestrations of the Cy Coleman score, fusing what the company descibes as a "lively jazz combo" ideal for a 108-seat theater.

An extra week in Chicago for 'Fela!''

The touring musical "Fela!" will now play for three weeks in Chicago instead of two.

Steppenwolf announces 2012-13 season

A production of Harold Pinter’s “The Birthday Party” directed by Austin Pendleton, a fresh staging of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Broadway hit “Good People,” a new play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, a remounting with a new cast of Anna D. Shapiro’s Broadway staging of “The Motherf**ker with the Hat,” and Amy Herzog’s “Belleville” make up the 2012-13 subscription season at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, announced Wednesday.

Gift Theater tries, but 'Hell' is tough to fit in a storefront

THEATER REVIEW: "Absolute Hell" at Gift Theatre ★★½ ... Sheldon Patinkin's Gift Theatre production, three hours and 15 minutes of mostly plot-free bohemian behavior in post-war London, is so ambitiously audacious that you find yourself gunning for it to succeed.

'Rock of Ages' to sit at the Broadway Playhouse for much of summer

"Rock of Ages," the touring musical celebrating the rockers and headbangers of the 1980s, will sit down at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place for most of the summer, Broadway in Chicago said Tuesday. The dates for the nine-week engagement at 175 E. Chestnut St. are June 5 to Aug. 5.

Feeling the human cost of colonialism in 'The Convert'

THEATER REVIEW: "The Convert" in the Goodman's Owen Theatre ★★★½ ... When Jekesai, the young African woman at the core of the intense and deeply affecting new play by Danai Gurira, first arrives at the home of Chilford, she sniffs his floor.

Dose of honesty would improve this story of teenage life

THEATER REVIEW: "FML: How Carson McCullers Saved My Life" by Steppenwolf for Young Adults ★★ ... Jo, the young lesbian hero of the new play by Sarah Gubbins penned for the Steppenwolf for Young Adults program, is surely more resilient than her creator allows her to be.

Porchlight announces new season

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced its 18th season of musicals. Here are the shows, which have a heavy retro theme:

'Bring It On' mission: Spread good cheer

As they prepare for their Chicago opening Wednesday, the cast of the touring cheerleader musical "Bring It On" is sitting, cheerfully, in Des Moines, Iowa, working on major changes to its Broadway-bound show.

Steppenwolf announces Next Up in June

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced the lineup for its Next Up festival in June. Presented in rotating repertory June 5-24 in The Steppenwolf Garage will be:

'Jamaica Farewell' to arrive in Chicago

"Jamaica Farewell," a solo show created by a Los Angeles-based actress named Debra Ehrhardt, is to have a Chicago run at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., beginning May 4.

As interlopers go, 'The Jungle Book' is welcome

Whenever one of Chicago's nonprofit companies joins forces with a Broadway producer — let alone one with the name Disney — the prickly local twitterati start tweeting of the dark forces of commercialism invading our sacred nonprofit spaces.

'Barnum' has big-top appeal; 'Pyramid' a bit unsteady

NINA METZ reviews "Barnum" by Quest Theatre Ensemble ★★★ and "$25,000 Pyramid" at the Playground Theater ★★

Remy Bumppo announces new season

Chicago's Remy Bumppo Theatre Company has announced its 2012-13 season at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.  The three-show slate begins with "Seascape" by Edward Albee, directed by new artistic director Nick Sandys and slated to open Sept. 17 with Annabel Armour in the cast.

Funny, smart 'North Plan' will keep you on edge

THEATER REVIEW: "The North Plan" at Theater Wit ★★★ ... Kimberly Senior's zesty production of Jason Wells' "The North Plan" is a dystopian comedy that imagines a world in which the Department of Homeland Security has assumed all governmental powers.

TimeLine announces 2012-13 season

Joining the flood of season annoucements this week, Chicago's TimeLine Theatre said it will stage one world premiere and three Chicago premieres as part of its 2012-13 slate.

Yuri Lane and 'MeTube' coming to Collaboraction

Yuri Lane, the self-styled human beatbox and recent YouTube celebrity, will stage his current solo show, "MeTube," at Collaboraction, beginning Mar. 16.

Mike Daisey is bringing 'The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs' to Chicago

Mike Daisey, the demonstrably effective scold of Apple Inc., is bringing his hit solo show, "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," to the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., on April 7.

Broadway in Chicago books 'Sister Act,' 'Grinch' and 'Les Miserables'

Broadway in Chicago said Wednesday morning that it will present touring productions of "Sister Act," "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and a reprise of "Les Miserables" this year.

Kristin Chenoweth to play Cadillac Palace Theatre

Kristin Chenoweth, the original Glinda of “Wicked” and currently the star of the ABC comedy "GCB,"  will play a rare concert performance at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., at 8 p.m. June 16. Tickets go on sale March 9 through Broadway in Chicago at 800-775-2000 and broadwayinchicago.com.

Stage Left's "Fisherman" ends up a tall fish tale

THEATER REVIEW: "The Fisherman" by Stage Left Theatre ★★ ... The danger of writing a play about fishermen is that the waters offer a tantalizing array of metaphors. There are hooks, from which words can dangle and fish can flail, or one can compare a man to a carp. Or maybe a guppy.

In 'Petrified Forest,' a Depression-era story set in Arizona ends up stranded

THEATER REVIEW: "The Petrified Forest" at Strawdog Theatre Company ★★ ... Robert E. Sherwood's hoary, melancholic and heavily symbolic drama from 1935 is one of those Depression-era plays that seem to show up in Chicago every few seasons.

Short Shakes makes the most of a thorny comedy

KERRY REID reviews "Short Shakespeare! The Taming of the Shrew" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater ★★★ ... The entire notion of family-friendly Shakespeare may seem absurd when it comes to this play.

Just for Laughs books Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari will return to Chicago for this summer's Just for Laughs Festival. Ansari, of NBC's"Parks and Recreation" and a headliner in 2010, will put on "Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive” at The Chicago Theatre June 15.

'Book of Mormon' announces Chicago on-sale dates

The upcoming Chicago production of "The Book of Mormon" will put single tickets on sale to the public March 19, Broadway in Chicago said Tuesday.

Goodman Theatre's upcoming season to highlight a Mary Zimmerman take on 'Jungle Book'

Mary Zimmerman will premiere her new stage-musical version of "The Jungle Book"in Chicago, as part of the Goodman Theatre’s 2012-13 subscription season, the Chicago theater announced.

Call it charming or strange, TUTA Chicago cabaret is the real deal

THEATER REVIEW: "Fulton Street Sessions" by TUTA Theatre Chicago ★★★ ... This little cabaret is the only show on the planet where the song set ranges from "I Just Called to Say I Love You" to "Nearer My God to Thee" to "Black Betty," replete with an especially notable "bam-ba-lam."

Michael Shannon to perform next season at A Red Orchid

Michael Shannon will return to A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago next season to star in a show, the actor has said.

Russell Peters gets first laughs in the new Factory

When Jamie Masada opened the now-famous comedy club Laugh Factory in Los Angeles in 1979, the first comic to appear was Richard Pryor. The oft-told story goes that when Masada tried to pay Pryor, Pryor instead insisted on giving Masada, who was still in his teens, some money for the rent.

Take your seats for these tryouts and Chicago productions

How important are pre-Broadway tryouts and dedicated Chicago productions to Chicago's cultural economy? Very. Especially since the business of touring theater has changed so very much.

Capitalism through the Trap Door in 'Dying Out'; fine acting in 'Orpheus'

KERRY REID reviews "They Are Dying Out" at Trap Door Theatre ★★★ and "Orpheus Descending" by Shattered Globe at Stage 773 ★★★

Up next at Team StarKid: "Holy Musical B@tman!"

Team Starkid, the Chicago entertainment company known for its relationship with "Glee" star Darren Criss and for its hugely popular series of musical parodies broadcast on YouTube, has come up with its next project: "Holy Musical B@man!"

Cyndi Lauper will try on her 'Kinky Boots' in Chicago

It's confirmed: "Kinky Boots" will work out its kinks in Chicago. Producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig announced Wednesday that the new Broadway-aimed musical with music and lyrics by pop star Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein ("Hairspray")  will have its pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago this fall, prior to Broadway, likely in early 2013. 

Three cheers for 'Oohrah!' at Garage Rep, puzzled silence for 'He Who'

THEATER REVIEW: "Oohrah!" by LiveWire Chicago ★★★ and "He Who" by Theatre Zarko ★ for Steppenwolf Garage Rep ... Bekah Brunstetter's affectionately observed domestic drama is about a lower middle-class family coping with the return of Dad from military service in Iraq.

'Hit the Wall' is a raw, ambitious telling of historic fight for gay rights

THEATER REVIEW: "Hit the Wall" by The Inconvenience in the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre ★★★★ ... We think we know what happened on the sticky-hot night of June 27, 1969, at a Greenwich Village bar known as the Stonewall Inn.

This town needs a show like 'Second City Improv All-Stars'

THEATER REVIEW: "The Second City Improv All-Stars" in UP Comedy Club at Second City ★★★ ... Finally, Chicago has an improv show that explains, in the style of Second City, the history of the form.

"Hunger" tells an extraordinary story from the Siege of Leningrad

THEATER REVIEW: Hunger at Lifeline Theatre ★★★ ... The new production at the Lifeline Theatre is, in essence, the story of a group of people slowly starving to death. It is a measure of the quality of the acting here that you find yourself deeply invested in their plight.

'Motherhood' is coming to the Royal George

The next show at the Royal George Theatre mainstage will be "Motherhood the Musical," a carefully targeted commercial show with mothers of all stripes in its marketing sights. "We have high hopes for a nice long stay in Chicago," said producer Alan Glist, the chairman of the Florida-based GFour Productions.

Take a bow, Mama Rose, this is a classic 'Gypsy'

THEATER REVIEW: "Gypsy" at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace ★★★½ ... If you like your Mamas Rose to be of the old school, then Klea Blackhurst's classic interpretation of the greatest character in that musical masterpiece "Gypsy" will be your kind of Mama.

Full 'Iceman' cast now set at Goodman; tix to top out at whopping $119

The Goodman Theatre has cast all the roles in "The Iceman Cometh," the Chicago theater's flagship spring production, starring Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy.

Bachelorettes behaving badly at Profiles Theatre

THEATER REVIEW: "Bachelorette" at Profiles Theatre ★★★ ... On a typical weekend night, numerous trolleys traverse the bar-strewn streets of Sweet Home Chicago filled with bachelorettes, who come and go like pretty, drunk Michelangelos.