March’s local stage highlights include the return of “Cats” and a play about an Irish cat lady.
And if felines aren’t your thing, witty words should be plentiful in new plays at the Goodman and Piven.
Chapatti
March 7–April 13
American theaters have imported many great plays from Ireland over the past couple of decades, but this is a rare case of an Irish play making its world premiere right here in Chicagoland. In Christian O’Reilly’s story, the beloved John Mahoney plays a lonely man in Dublin with a dog named Chapatti. Another likable local talent,Penny Slusher, plays a lonely woman with 19 cats. They cross paths and rediscover the importance of companionship. Northlight’s artistic director, BJ Jones, directs. Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, 847-673-6300
Venus in Fur
March 8–April 13
Playwright David Ives, who was born in the Chicago area and attended Northwestern, is renowned as a master of wit and language; and this play was one of his most successful in New York, earning two Tony nominations. Joanie Schultz is directing the Chicago premiere, starring Amanda Drinkall and Rufus Collins as an actress and a demanding director who play power games during an audition (for a play based on the erotic 1870 novel “Venus in Furs”). Vogue’s critic called the Broadway production a “smart, sexy, sinister comedy.” Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, 312-443-3800
The Language Archive
Through March 23
Evanston native Polly Noonan, who has acted in several plays by the acclaimed Sarah Ruhl, returns to the theater where both of them got their start as youngsters: Piven Theatre, Evanston’s breeding ground for stage and screen talent. This is the first time Noonan has directed a play at Piven, and it’s a Chicago premiere. Julia Cho’s play about dying languages and the struggle to communicate has been compared to Ruhl’s clever, whimsical work, so it should be a natural fit for Noonan. Piven Theatre, 927 Noyes St., Evanston, 847-866-6597 (pictured)
Cats
March 26–May 25
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show, based on the poems of T.S. Eliot, is not only one of the most popular musicals ever; it also set the Marriott’s local box office records when the Lincolnshire theater presented “Cats” for the first time back in 2003. And now the Marriott says it’s ready to let the “Memory” live again. Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, 847-634-0200
Theater Guide
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER (AT GREENHOUSE)
American Myth
March 7–April 6
773-404-7336
BAILIWICK CHICAGO (AT VICTORY GARDENS RICHARD CHRISTIANSEN THEATER)
Dessa Rose
Through April 5
773-969-6201
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
Road Show
March 13–May 4
312-595-5600
COURT THEATRE
Water by the Spoonful
Through April 6
773-753-4472
THE HYPOCRITES (AT THE MERCURY THEATER)
Into the Woods
Through March 30
773-325-1700
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (JOSEPHINE LOUIS THEATER)
Danceworks 2014: Hot Buttons
Through March 9
847-491-7282
ORIENTAL THEATRE
Heartbeat of Home
Through March 16
312-977-1700
RAVEN THEATRE
Good Boys and True
Through May 3
773-338-2177
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE (FOR YOUNG ADULTS)
Leveling Up
March 7–15
312-335-1650
THEO UBIQUE
Passion
March 7–April 27
773-347-1109
TIMELINE THEATRE
The How and the Why
Through April 6
773-281-8463
Photo: Chris Zoubris
