The Great Chicago Fire Festival is moving to Northerly Island
After a less-than-explosive (!) debut on the Chicago River last year, Redmoon's Great Chicago Fire Festival will move to Northerly Island for its September 26th do-over, reportedly dodging difficulties with the river's linearity and much to the chagrin of Rahm, who originally endorsed the event to showcase the revamped riverwalk.
Strawdog Theater is getting rented out of its space
The Tribune reports that after a quarter century in its space at 3829 North Broadway, off-Loop theater company Strawdog will lose its lease to retail and condos in June 2016. The company's final show in the space will be Once in a Lifetime, which runs April 22–June 4, 2016.
The Neo-Futurists announce 2015–16 season
Chicago's weirdest theater company announced its 2015–16 season this morning, which includes a clown rock opera (Pop Waits), a two-person take on Night Mother (Mike Mother), and, of course, a whole bunch more Too Much Light. Deets.
The Real World is holding a casting call in Chicago
Want to hang out with a crop of these dinguses? The Real World is holding a casting call at Bar Louie (47 W. Polk) in Dearborn Park on July 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You must be 21 years old or "appear to be 20-24 years old" to apply.
Opening
Open Now: Grand Concourse: An impassioned college dropout derails a disillusioned soup kitchen manager's time-tested shift. Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted)
Open Now: Beaches: Iris Rainer Dart's Broadway-bound adaptation of her own novel, which also birthed Garry Marshall's 1988 film of the same name. Drury Lane Theatre and Conference Center (100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace)
Open Now: All Our Tragic, Sean Graney's bloody 12-hour mashup of all 32 Greek tragedies. The Hypocrites at the Den Theatre (1333 N. Milwaukee)
Open Now: Bent: Martin Sherman's 1979 look at the Nazis treatment of queer-identifying people. The Other Theater Company at Strawdog Theatre (3829 N. Broadway)
Open Now: Moby Dick: David Catlin's mondo take on a mondo book about a mondo, mondo fish. Lookingglass Theatre (821 N. Michigan)
Open Now: A Marvin Hamlisch Songbook: All the harmless '70s kitsch its name implies. No Exit Cafe (6970 N. Glenwood)
Open Now: Inana: An Iraqi museum curator and his bride salvage relics on the eve of the U.S.'s invasion of Baghdad. Kimberly Senior directs. TimeLine Theatre (615 W. Wellington)
Open Now: Jihad: A look at Israel's struggle with Hamas from the lens of two opposing families who each lose a daughter to violence. Genesis Theatrical Productions at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont)
Open Now: The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by the unerring Kimberly Senior. Writers Theatre at Books on Vernon (664 Vernon, Glencoe)
Open Now: Game of Thongs: A Game of Thrones Burlesque. Breasteros. Yep. Gorilla Tango Theatre (1919 N. Milwaukee)
Closing
July 10: Miracle!: The Dan Savage–penned parody of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker, in which Helen Keller is deaf, blind, and dressed in drag. Hell in a Handbag Productions at Mary's Attic (5400 N. Clark)
July 11: Touchers: Performance artist Jillian Mayer fails to feel emotion through computer screens. Aspect/Ratio (119 N. Peoria)
July 11: Rawhide: Abstract paintings and works on paper by Albert Oehlen. Corbett vs. Dempsey (1120 N. Ashland)
July 11: Live at the Five Spot: A newly discovered series of drawings by late New York jazz-scenester Bob Thompson. Corbett vs. Dempsey (1120 N. Ashland)
July 11: Love and the Human Remains: Cor Theatre sets Brad Fraser's 1993 LGBTQ dramedy in Chicago. Cor Theatre at the Rivendell (5775 N. Ridge)
July 11: A Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare's love quadrilateral unfolds under a sycamore of PVC piping. Two Pence Theatre at Filament Theare (4041 N. Milwaukee)
July 12: Liberty City: A one-woman show relaying April Yvette Thompson's memoir about growing up during the Miami riots. ETA Creative Arts Foundation (7558 S. Chicago)
July 12: Building the Picture: LA architect Elena Manferdini turns an Art Institute space into a shrine to Mies van der Rohe. The Art Institute of Chicago (111 S. Michigan)
July 12: The Who and the What: A pair of conservative Muslim parents find a manuscript of their daughter's book on women and Islam. Victory Gardens Biograph Theater (2433 N. Lincoln)
July 12: Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine Identity: A group show of photos toasting the black dandy's place in modern pop culture. Museum of Contemporary Photography (600 S. Michigan)
July 12: Don't Do Gentle: A retired judge known for liberally incarcerating black Americans agrees to defend one himself. Haven Theatre at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont)
July 12: Porcelain: A teenager confesses to murdering his lover in a London lavatory. Prologue Theatre Company at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln)