Conor Jordan and Maliha Sayed play star-crossed lovers Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan in Music Theater Works’ revival of “Carousel.”
Courtesy of Anthony Robert La Penna
‘Carousel’ revived
Music Theater Works continues its season with a revival of “Carousel,” the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical in regards to the romance between carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Conor Jordan) and millworker Julie Jordan (Maliha Sayed). Sasha Gerriston directs and choreographs the present, which incorporates such favorites as “If I Liked You” and “You’ll By no means Stroll Alone.” Preview at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, on the North Shore Middle for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The present opens at 7 p.m. Aug. 9. $19-$106. (847) 673-6300 or musictheaterworks.com.
Up shut and private
Williams Road Repertory phases “An Act of God,” a 90-minute dialog with the almighty written by Emmy Award-winning comedy author David Javerbaum (“The Day by day Present With Jon Stewart,” Netflix’s “The Kominsky Technique”) and tailored from his guide “The Final Testomony: A Memoir by God.” Goran Norquist performs the titular deity in director Pat Henderson’s manufacturing. 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2; 2 and seven p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4; and different instances and dates by means of Aug. 24 at 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Tickets begin at $39.50; $27.65 for RaueNOW members. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.
Magician/storyteller Jon Tai brings his present “Street Indicators” to A Crimson Orchid Theatre.
Courtesy of Joe Wyman
Magic at A Crimson Orchid
Magician and storyteller Jon Tai (“Missed Connections”) returns to Chicago along with his present “Street Indicators,” described as a journey by means of America’s wilderness “the place previous and current blur and viewers members’ goals are delivered to life round a campfire.” Previews at 3 and seven p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, and seven p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, and Thursday, Aug. 8, at A Crimson Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. The present opens Aug. 9. $25-$45. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.
Conference-appropriate comedy
Simply in time for the Democratic Nationwide Conference, the comedy musical “44 — The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical (As Advised By means of the Hazy Recollection of Joe Biden)” opens a restricted run at Chicago’s Epiphany Middle for the Arts. The present, which earned acclaim in New York and Los Angeles, sends up the latest previous when “the White Home was stuffed with hope, the president didn’t endorse a violent assault on his personal vp and the president’s largest scandal was sporting a tan swimsuit.”
7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 7-8 and Aug. 13-15; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 10 and 16-17; and a couple of and seven p.m. Aug. 11 at 201 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago. $44-$129. 44obamamusical.com or epiphanychi.com.
After a four-year hiatus, the Chicago Musical Theatre Pageant returns courtesy of Kokandy Productions, which produced “Hundred Days,” a competition entry, in 2020 and 2021.
Courtesy of Evan Hanover
New tuner showcase
Kokandy Productions presents its 2024 Chicago Musical Theatre Pageant — which showcases new works by rising artists in concert-style performances — as a part of Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut collection. The competition has launched greater than 50 new tuners to Chicago phases since Underscore Theatre Firm inaugurated it in 2014. Featured works embody: “Wanderlust,” a couple of man whose tech mogul boss exhibits up on his browsing trip; “The Brass Teapot: A New Musical,” a couple of magical teapot that produces cash when it senses ache; “Jenny: A New Musical,” a couple of girl who should select between her household and pursuing her function; “ei hytte (the cabin),” an a cappella tuner about two strangers trapped in a Norway cabin throughout a blizzard; and “Out of Focus,” a coming-of-age rock musical a couple of faculty images pupil confronting his newfound independence and his mom’s newly recognized dementia. 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 8-9; 3 and eight p.m. Aug. 10; and three p.m. Aug. 11 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. $20. steppenwolf.org/cmtf or kokandyproductions.com.
