Subtitle: 
Multicultural World Premieres Dot the Fall Theater Season

"Yo, what's up, white people?" chirps a character in the first minutes of Qui Nguyen's Vietgone [running at Writers Theater through Sept. 23, 2018], reminding us that our world is occupied by a diversity of races, cultures and genders. Not only do the world premiere plays in Chicago's fall season reflect this, but they also number too many to list here.

These are a few to start you off, but keep your eyes peeled if you want to see the rest before the crowd:

—Frankenstein: Nobody had planned a festival for the anniversary of Mary Shelley's greatest hit, so it came as a surprise when the 2018-19 season was found to include no less than four adaptations of the horror classic. In this first one, Rob Kauzlaric's introspective re-interpretation recounts a young woman's fancies as she grieves for her father, recreating the late sire in her imagination.
Running Sept. 17-Oct. 28 at Lifeline Theater, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Info/tickets: LifelineTheatre.com; 773-761-4477

—Second Skin: Shivers and shocks are WildClaw Theatre Company's specialty, with both abundant in this fable of the sea-spawned selkies who walk among us in human disguise.
Running Sept. 14-Oct. 13 at the Den, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. Info/tickets: WildclawTheatre.com; 773-697-3830

—Lady in Denmark: Dael Orlandersmith champions cultural inclusion with her solo portrait of an immigrant Danish widow in Chicago recalling happier times triggered by the songs of Billie Holiday.
Running Oct. 29-Nov. 18 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Info/tickets: GoodmanTheatre.org; 312-443-3800

—The Safe House: Chicago author Kristine Thatcher's exploration of intergenerational family secrets is only one of many plays by local playwrights (among them, Ike Holter, Calamity West, Fin Coe, Spenser Davis and J. Nicole Brooks) making their debut this fall.
Running Nov. 2-Dec. 16 at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Info/tickets: CityLit.org; 773-293-3682

—Truman and the Birth of Israel: A president nowadays nearly forgotten risks his legacy to support a minority in his own country.
Running Oct. 15-Nov. 18 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Info/tickets: GreenhouseTheatre.org; 773-404-7336.

—Plainclothes: Broken Nose Theatre, aka the company that brought you the Jeff-winning At The Table last year, now surveys the hazards of security duty at a sprawling mega-emporium.
Running Nov. 12-Dec. 15 at the Den, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. Info/tickets: BrokenNoseTheatre.com; 773-697-3830

—Not for Sale: On the eve of Puerto Rican festival, the citizens of Guadalis del Carmen's neighborhood are invaded by newcomers proposing unwelcome changes in this you-are-there production by Urban Theater Company.
Running Sept. 21-Oct. 20 at Batay Urbano, 2620 W. Division St. Info/tickets: UrbanTheaterChicago.org

—Oxy, Ohio: Side Project playwright S.J. Spencer reveals why Dayton, Ohio, is the opiate-addiction capital of the United States and how it got that way.
Running Sept. 30-Oct. 14 at the McKaw Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave. Info/tickets: TheSideProject.net

—Downstate: Bruce Norris turns his social commentary on the question of whether some crimes are beyond redemption through remorse, punishment or exile.
Running Sept. 30-Nov. 11 at Steppenwolf Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. Info/tickets: Steppenwolf.org; 312-335-1650

—Frankenstein: Manual Cinema's innovative puppetry takes up temporary residence of the Court Theater stage to explore the connection between life, art, family, community and society.
Running Nov. 10-Dec. 2 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Info/tickets: CourtTheatre.org; 773-753-4472.

Image: 
Writer: 
Mary Shen Barnidge
Publication Credit: 
This article first appeared in Windy City Times, 9/18
Date: 
September 2018