1 Pivot Arts Festival (multiple venues and online) This annual festival of cutting-edge performance gems returns with live and online dance, music, plays and puppetry under the theme “Reimagining Utopia.” May 21-June 6
2 Vancouver (Ma-Yi Theater Company with the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival) New York-based Ma-Yi Theater Company and Chicago-based puppeteer Tom Lee collaborate on a filmed play about a mixed-race family who relocate from Japan to the Pacific Northwest in search of acceptance and a stable home. Streaming debut April 30
3 I, Cinna (the poet) (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) Director Tyrone Phillips places the poet and bit-part character in “Julius Caesar” at the center of a story about artistry and the power of language. Streaming on demand through May 2
4 Solus (Chop Shop) Visceral Dance Chicago presents an evening of solos created by ten Chicago choreographers. May 6-8
5 Distinguished Villa (Ghostlight Ensemble) Director Elizabeth Lovelady finds contemporary resonance in Irish playwright Kate O’Brien’s 1926 play about the trappings of middle-class life, gender norms and female desire. Streaming through May 9
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Stage Top 5: December 2018 Hot, bothered and blue collared, these world premieres and classic mishaps will keep the dawning reality of yet another Midwest winter at bay, at least temporarily.
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Stage Top 5: February 2019 The hits keep coming: August Wilson's blues-tinged vision of Chicago in the twenties, a locally-set sequel-of-sorts from the playwright of "The Madres," and a rock musical from the company that brought you "We're Gonna Die" are just a selection of the many openings scheduled for this most-truncated of months.
