Returning, after two years’ hiatus, under the auspices of producer Doug Bragan’s Douglas Theater Corp., this third not-so-annual event features 16 non-Equity companies in as many one-act plays, organized in programs of four. The selections range from experimental drama to camp melodrama to medieval farce to musical comedy to good ol’ American naturalism. At the Theatre Building, through April 15. Saturdays, 2 and 7 PM; Sundays, 1 and 6 PM. $14-$19 per four-play program; “marathon tickets,” good for one whole day (two programs), $27. Prices apply to advance sales; tickets purchased day of performance cost an additional $3. Tickets for single plays: $10 in advance; $12 at the door. The schedule is as follows:
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
OF ALL THE WIDE TORSOS IN ALL THE WILD GLEN; RECALLING THE REUNION; 5 VERY LIVE; PATHELIN First: The Collection performs Paul Peditto’s comedy about an overweight playwright’s journey into the world of liposuction. “One can’t help but wonder, watching the last tedious half-hour, why Peditto decided to stretch this flimsy premise into a 50-minute one-act,” says Reader critic Jack Helbig. Second: Bailiwick Repertory sponsors the world premiere of Tim Ness’s drama about a father and son digging for shared memories in a mental hospital; the production, directed by Mark Enos, “is nothing less than sublime,” says Helbig. Third: BDI Theatre stages the world premiere of David VanMatre’s satire on television news and sports; the “cast of six sharp comic performers . . . make the obvious seem subtle, and the subtle seem brilliant,” says Helbig. Fourth: The Chicago Medieval Players perform this anonymous 15th-century comedy about a shyster lawyer, a crooked merchant, and a sly shepherd; Helbig calls the production “a plodding academic exercise.” April 14, 2 PM.
OLD WIVES TALES; THE DRUNKARD; WHY THE LORD CAME TO SAND MOUNTAIN; OTTO First: Famous Door Theatre Company’s sexual slapstick comedy, directed by fight choreographer Michael Sokoloff (world premiere), is “brutal farce” performed with “a passion and precision not often seen on Chicago stages,” says Reader critic Diana Spinrad. Second: Musical Repertorie Theatre offers the first act of its current production (see regular theater listings). Third: God–a black female–visits a poor white Appalachian family in Romulus Linney’s folk comedy, performed by Zebra Crossing. The play is “charming” and the staging “eloquently simple,” says Spinrad. Fourth: Sean O’Meara and Michael Monaco’s black comedy about “friendship, disease, landscaping, and cannibalism” is presented by Quando Productions. “Everything about this production is superb, from the dilapidated kitsch set to the horror lurking just beneath the hilariously bizarre humor,” says Spinrad. April 15, 6 PM.
