If spring is too long in coming, never fear. There are heroes of all stripes waiting to help you through the chilly weekend.
#5. Natalie and the Brain Thieves at Alchemist Theatre.
Why? Because Hollywood aren’t the only ones turning to comic books for great stories. This Sci-Fi story by Vince Figueroa and Beth Lewinski features a high-school student who travels through time with the help of a pocket watch and an iPhone. And, of course, there are brain-stealing aliens to contend with, not to mention the App Store of the future, which features 17 trillion different iPhone Apps.
#4. American Enterprise at Soulstice Theatre.
Why? Because Jeffrey Sweet’s musical will take you back to the George Pullman empire in Chicago, when a utopian spirit informed relations between labor and management, and a workers’ city grew up on the city’s south side. Sweet is a playwright who isn’t afraid to tackle sensitive political issues (as those who saw Next Act’s Value of Names last year, his sensitive exploration of Hollywood blacklisting). This 1991 musical won a citation from the American Theatre Critics Association.
#3. Danceworks Performance Company’s Stone Soup at Sweetwater Organics.
Why? Because Danceworks is taking its show on the road, offering a cornucopia of events that explore the possibilities of symbiotic relationships that can tackle modern challenges. Performed at Sweetwater, an urban plant and fish farm in a converted crane factory, the event brings dancers and musicians together with walleye and vegetables (and their farmers). Tours of Sweetwater are available before the performance – a site specific piece created by DPC’s Artistic Director Dani Kuepper and Associate Artistic Director Kim Johnson-Rockafellow, featuring choreography from the entire DPC company.
#2. “Motionary Comics” at MOCT.
Why? Because last year, Kurt Hartwig and friends turned the walls of the trendy bar-club MOCT into a life-size comic book adventure based on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin and set in Milwaukee (and, of course, involving beer and cheese). This year, Hartwig and collaborators Tea Krulos, Dan Schuchart and Monica Rodero return to the improvised scene with another edition. Real Life Superheros Watchman and Blackbird will make an appearance. And you never know what the story will be until it’s inked and ready.
#1. In Tandem’s Thrill Me at Tenth Street Theatre.
Why? Because what does everyone love more than a nice wedding? A good old-fashioned murder! But there’s nothing old-fashioned about Stephen Dolginoff’s chamber musical based on the 1924 Leopold and Loeb trial, where the notorious “thrill killers,” along with their attorney, Clarence Darrow, faced a jury. Dolginoff’s play moves back and forth between the events of 1924 and 1958, where Leopold faces a Joliet parole board. Told with a spare style and only two actors, it’s a musical that should play perfectly in the Tenth Street Theatre’s intimate space.
