Eighteen theater companies are presented in six different programs of two to four plays each, organized along loose thematic lines by producer Doug Bragan and associate producer Judith Easton. That’s two more companies and two more programs than last year, when Bragan first stepped in to revive this non-Equity showcase founded and then discontinued by the League of Chicago Theatres. At the Theatre Building, May 1 through June 2. (Previews April 24 through 28; regular schedule. Each program $11 in advance, $14 at the door, single plays $4 in advance, $7 at the door) Wednesdays-Fridays, 8 PM, Saturdays, 6:30 and 9:15 PM, Sundays, 3 PM. See listings below for schedule. Each program $12 in advance, $15 at the door; single plays $5 in advance, $8 at the door. The schedule is as follows:
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“ISN’T IT ROMANTIC!”: PARENTHESES, SEX LIVES OF SUPERHEROES, and FORECAST First: Confrontation turns to courtship when an angry father visits his child’s first-grade teacher, Bailiwick Repertory presents Bill Wine’s comedy. Second: Stephen Gregg’s comedy about relationships on and off the comic-book pages is performed by the Griffin Theatre; reviewing its recent run, Reader critic Mary Shen Barnidge called the production “original and engaging.” Third: A young astronaut encounters a thick-skinned peasant woman, in Elizabeth Wray’s play presented by Blind Parrot Productions. Wednesdays, 8 PM.
“WAR STORIES, DOG STORY”: THE LETTER, NEXT, and DOG STORIES First: Mina Sama No, a theater company devoted to the Asian-American experience, presents the world premiere of Suzy Nakamura and Connie Munoz’s drama about a family’s reaction to the U.S. government’s reparation payments to Japanese-Americans confined in internment camps during World War II. Second: Terrence McNally’s Vietnam-era comedy about a middle-aged man’s encounter with a sadistic female physician during the man’s draft physical is performed by the BDI Theater Company. Third: Phoenix Productions presents Keith Huff’s comedy “about dogs who own people.” Saturdays, 6:30 PM.
