• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Newcity Stage

Theater, Dance, Comedy and Performance in Chicago

  • Newcity Stage ·
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Newcity Network
  • Sections ·
    • Newcity
    • Art
    • Design
    • Film
    • Lit
    • Music
    • Resto
    • Brazil
  • Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
Newcity Stage logo

Opening This Week: May 29-June 4, 2017

by Kevin Greene | May 30, 2017

by Kevin Greene
May 30, 2017June 5, 2017Filed under:
  • -News etc.
  • Chicago Premiere
  • Comedy
  • Opening This Week
  • Theater
  • World Premiere

Stacy Keach in rehearsal for “Pamplona” at Goodman Theatre/Photo: Liz Lauren

Monday

Happy Memorial Day!

Tuesday

“Pamplona” at Goodman Theatre. Stacy Keach stars as Ernest Hemingway in a new drama about about one of history’s most charismatic and complex literary legends. Through June 25. For tickets and more information visit goodmantheatre.org

Wednesday

“King Liz” at Windy City Playhouse. A powerful NBA sports agent vies for a promotion to head her entire company. When a young, talented rookie, comes under her wing, she must face the biggest challenge of her career: trust her gut with the new player or risk everything she’s built for herself. Through July 16. For tickets and more information visit windycityplayhouse.com

Thursday

“Bright Half Life” at About Face Theatre. This off-Broadway hit and winner of the 2016 Lambda Literary Award for Best Play charts the complexity of commitment, relationships and marriage as it follows the ups and downs of a modern lesbian couple. Through July 1. For tickets and more information visit aboutfacetheatre.com

“Richard III” at Fury Theatre. Rife with action and swordplay, this production takes the bard’s text by the nose and pulls every ounce of physical strife onto the stage. Through June 17. For tickets and more information visit furytheatre.org

Pivot Arts Festival at various locations. Ten days of innovative performances and multi-disciplinary works throughout Chicago’s Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods. Through June 11. For tickets and more information visit pivotarts.org

Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival at Vienna Juvenile. A two-week long sketch comedy festival combining the worlds of sketch and theater to form a new wave of storytelling. Through June 10. For tickets and more information visit viennajuvenilecomedy.com

“Shrimp Boys Presents: Seinfeld” at iO. The Norse call him Doomeater. The French call him Grandfather Nails. But to the stupid, urine-soaked proles of Chicago, he is… Jerry Seinfeld. Thursdays through June 29. For tickets and more information visit ioimprov.com/chicago

“Not Quite: Asian American by Law, Asian Woman By Desire” at The Public House Theatre. In this solo show, Ada Cheng uses the mantra “not quite” to connect three main themes: the meanings of home, the fractured nature of Asian American identity and the intersectionality of multiple identities. Thursdays through June 22. For tickets and more information visit thepubtheatre.com

“Naked Lunch: The Musical.” Through June 3. An original musical based on the obscenity trial for William S. Burroughs controversial novel. For tickets and more information visit brownpapertickets.com/event/2891715

Lanise Shelley in rehearsal for “King Liz” at Windy City Playhouse/Photo: Justin Barbin.

Friday

Physical Festival at Stage 773. Nine days of performances from around the world, master classes with guest artists and Scratch Night featuring new short works from local performers. Through June 10. For tickets and more information visit stage773.com

“Save Ferris” at Under The Gun Theater. It’s been thirty years since Ferris Bueller’s legendary day off and the years have not been kind to him:glib avoidance of all responsibility doesn’t look quite so charming on a middle-aged man. Fridays through July 7. For tickets and more information visit underthegun.theater

“Creepin'” at Under The Gun Theater. Every week, special guests and audience volunteers will fill us in on someone they’ve been creepin’ on social media–anyone from a one-time acquaintance, to an ex-partner, to a celebrity. Fridays through June 30. For tickets and more information visit underthegun.theater

“Deleted Scenes” at Under The Gun Theater. Have  you ever watched a movie and wondered what is the story with the background  characters that pop up for just one scene? Fridays through June 30. For tickets and more information visit underthegun.theater

“Improvised Jane Austen” at McKaw Theater. Each night, the long-running all-female comedy team conjures a new tale on the spot in the style of the beloved nineteenth-century novelist. Fridays through June 30. For tickets and more information visit facebook.com/improvisedjaneausten

Saturday

“Gidion’s Knot” at Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. This two-woman drama centering on the heartbreaking events surrounding the possible bullying of a young boy is searing, truthful and timely. Through July 2. For tickets and more information visit eclectic-theatre.com

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Odd’s Bodkins. This classic play comes complete with two casts, modern costumes, original practices and live music. Saturdays and Sundays through June 18. For tickets and more information visit oddsbodkins.org

“The House Cup” at Under The Gun Theater. Wizard attire encouraged. Muggles welcome. Saturdays through July 29. For tickets and more information visit underthegun.theater

“Pride VS Prejudice” at Drinking and Writing Theater. Two teams of local writer/performers representing a different side of the VS will compete head to head through 6 rounds to determine which side reigns. Saturdays and Tuesdays through June 24. For tickets and more information visit drinkingandwriting.com

“The Revival Hour” at The Revival. A hilarious evening of sketch and improv comedy, solo performance and music from a diverse range of artists from across Chicago’s South Side and beyond. Saturdays through June 24. For tickets and more information visit the-revival.com

“Clued In: An Improvised Murder Mystery” at The Second City. The thrilling and fast-paced “whodunit” in the style of some of the greatest mystery writers of our time returns. Saturdays through June 24. For tickets and more information visit secondcity.com

“Candide” at Music Theater Works. Leonard Bernstein’s classic based on Voltaire’s satire on the follies of the human race. Through June 11. For tickets and more information visit musictheaterworks.com

“Passage” at Actors Gymnasium. Nine months of sweat, grit, risk and human connection for America’s next top circus stars will transform onstage into a show about journey, struggle and triumph. Through June 4. For tickets and more information visit actorsgymnasium.org

“Seven Minutes in Purgatory” at Lincoln Hall. Hot off his widely talked about performance on TBS’s Conan, creator Ian Abramson promises to bring the audience an experience unlike any other. For tickets and more information visit facebook.com/sevenminutesinpurgatory

Marybeth Kram, Jason Stockdale, C.J. Tuor, Madelyn Murphy, Peter Corey and (on ground) Caleb George in “Clued In” at The Second City/Photo: Tyler Davis

Sunday

“Ragtime” at Griffin Theatre. Set at the dawn of a new century, the lives of three distinct American families from different backgrounds intersect in their search for the American dream. Through July 16. For tickets and more information visit griffintheatre.com

“Her Majesty’s Will” at Lifeline Theatre. An irreverent comedy that imagines Shakespeare’s “lost years” as a rousing romp through the streets and across the stages of Elizabethan London. Through July 16. For tickets and more information visit lifelinetheatre.com

“BEDS” at Pride Films and Plays. A double bill of “Jerker” and “Two Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter’s Night.” Through June 16. For tickets and more information visit pridefilmsandplays.com

Tagged:
  • About Face Theatre
  • Actors Gymnasium
  • Ada Cheng
  • Drinking and Writing Theater
  • Eclectic Full Contact Theatre
  • Ernest Hemingway
  • Fury Theatre
  • Goodman Theatre
  • Griffin Theatre
  • Ian Abramson
  • iO
  • Jerry Seinfeld
  • Lifeline Theatre
  • Music Theater Works
  • Odd's Bodkins
  • Pivot Arts
  • Pride Films and Plays
  • Stacy Keach
  • Stage 773
  • The Public House Theatre
  • The Revival
  • The Second City
  • Vienna Juvenile
  • William S. Burroughs
  • Windy City Playhouse

Post navigation

Previous Post Honoring the Past While Preserving the Present
Next Post Through Softness, Strength
A man and woman stand closely together on a balcony at night, looking into each others eyes. They are dressed formally, with brick walls and shadows in the background, suggesting a dramatic or romantic scene.

Music Theater Works Captures the Majestic Scope of “West Side Story” This production of Leonard Bernstein’s classic goes big in every way, featuring tremendous singers and actors, fabulous costumes, explosive choreography and a nimble twenty-two-piece orchestra.

Mary Wisniewski August 20, 2026
A woman in a black dress dusts a large, upright ice block with a bearded man frozen inside, while a tall man in a black suit stands behind her in a room with art deco furniture and a staircase.

“Iceboy!” Keeps Things Cool at the Goodman Goodman concludes their centennial with a star-studded musical comedy headlining real-life couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.

Christine Trevino July 6, 2026
A red heart is encased in a block of melting blue ice, with water pooling beneath it on a white background.

Stage Top 5: June 2026

Todd Hieggelke May 29, 2026
A person in a striped dress stands in the dark, holding a lit match with a fearful expression, their face illuminated by the flame.

In This “Covenant,” Thrills Will Have You Say “Jesus, Don’t Do That!” Goodman Theatre’s gothic thriller delivers us from and unto evil.

Robert Eric Shoemaker May 15, 2026

Newcity cover showing woman with red hair and bird-face, with nest and crow on top of head.

September Issue
Fall Arts + Art 50

GET A COPY

SUBSCRIBE

NewcityLogo.png
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Chicago Film Project

Copyright Newcity Communications, Inc. © 2026