Chicago International Film Festival announces its first 24 titles
The 51st annual film fest, which runs October 15–29 and this year honors producer Gigi Pritzker, will feature Jon Stewart's directorial debut Rosewater, Sarah Silverman as a fraying housewife in I Smile Back, and the Alfred Hitchcock/Francois Truffaut documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut. See all 24 early announcements here.
Riot Fest announces daily schedule
The monstrous alt/punk/metal fest in Douglas Park announced its day-by-day schedule last week, and things are painfully double-booked. Particularly egregious conflicts include No Doubt vs. Ice Cube vs. Mötorhead, Rancid vs. Modern Life Is War, Modest Mouse vs. the Prodigy, and Psalm One vs. Against Me!. Check out the whole mess here.
The Jeffs announce Equity nominees
The Joseph Jefferson awards for union-affiliated local theater companies went live Friday, with the newly eligible Paramount Theatre raking in a leading 16 nods. Steppenwolf, Drury Lane, Chicago Shakes, Porchlight, Mercury Theater, The Goodman, and the Hypocrites are also sitting pretty. Check out the lot of them here.
Opening
August 27: The Price: Two sons duke it out over Dad's heirlooms in TimeLine's take on Arthur Miller. TimeLine Theatre (615 W. Wellington)
August 27: The Jacksonian: The Midwest premiere of Pulitzer-winner Beth Henley's play about a displaced dentist in a seedy Mississippi motel. Profiles Theatre (4147 N. Broadway)
August 28: The Outfit: Laura Schellhardt's fairytale-noir one-act skewering modern gender politics. Piccolo Theatre (600 Main St., Evanston)
August 30: The Lyons: Rita fields suburban mundanity amid a dying husband and unraveling children. Aston Rep at Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark)
Open Now: October Sky: A world-premiere musical take by Aaron Thielen on the famous book and film. Marriott Theatre (10 Marriott, Lincolnshire)
Open Now: The Universal Wolf: Joan Schenkar imagines a Little Red Riding Hood in which the predators and prey trade places. Trap Door Theatre (1655 W. Cortland)
Open Now: Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight: Four men and two women share three beds. Hilarity ensures. Windy City Playhouse (3014 W. Irving Park Rd.)
Open Now: After Miss Julie: Patrick Marber sets Strindberg's classic in 1945 England during Churchill's downfall. Strawdog Theatre (3829 N. Broadway)
Open Now: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice: Jim Cartwright's Oliver-winner about a shy singer turned cabaret star. Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont)
Open Now: Patchwork Drifter: A wanderlusting youth takes a job working for a widowed shopkeeper and her two children. Babes with Blades at City Lit (1020 W. Bryn Mawr)
Open Now: Cirque du Soleil's latest traveling show, in which an alternate reality stems from frozen time. United Center (1901 W. Madison)
Open Now: The Dueling Gentlemen: A silent production in which two vaudeville performers' long-running act falters. Silent Theatre Company at the Athenaeum (2936 N. Southport)
Open Now: Game of Thongs: A Game of Thrones Burlesque. Breasteros. Yep. Gorilla Tango Theatre (1919 N. Milwaukee)
Closing
August 28: Moby Dick: David Catlin's mondo take on a mondo book about a mondo, mondo fish. Lookingglass Theatre (821 N. Michigan)
August 30: Stupid Fucking Bird: Sideshow's modern-day take on The Seagull returns. Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln)
August 30: The Boy From Oz: A musical about the life of composer Peter Allen. Pride Films and Plays at Stage 773 (1225 W. Belmont)
August 30: Grand Concourse: An impassioned college dropout derails a disillusioned soup kitchen manager's time-tested shift. Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted)
August 30: Loving Repeating: A musical about Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Kokandy Productions at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont)
August 30: Dirty Dancing: Because there's time for one last fling this summer. Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph)
August 31: Men of Soul: A musical toast to Bill Withers. Black Ensemble Theater (4450 N. Clark)