It’s not for Those Darn Ides—March is now about World Theatre Day. On March 27, theatres around the globe will be asked to share a message with patrons from Jessica A. Kaahwa, a professor at Makerere University in Uganda, on the necessity of theatre as “that universal language by which we can advance messages of peace and reconciliation.” The League of Chicago Theatres will be sponsoring more events for WTD—check their website for updates.

March is also Women’s History Month, and so perhaps it’s fitting that one of the women who has kept the flame of Chicago theatre lit for so long is taking a bow. As reported by Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune, Abena Joan Brown, who founded and led eta Creative Arts Foundation for over 40 years, is stepping down as president. She will be succeeded by Phillip Thomas, formerly of Chicago Community Trust.

Many more Season’s Greetings, er, announcements are flooding in, but first, a couple extension notices. American Theater Company ’s hit production of Dan LeFranc’s The Big Meal extends a second time, and now goes through March 27. And Profiles Theatre keeps Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Pretty up through April 10.

American Blues Theater gives some love to the working class (and boy, could we use it right now!) in their upcoming season. Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty opens in September under Kimberly Senior’s direction, running in rep with a world premiere of short plays in Ripped: The Living Newspaper Project. They’ll do their holiday radio-play presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life, and cap off the 2011-12 line-up with the world premiere of James Still’s Love Me Some Amnesia, set in a falling-down small town where Wal-Mart only hires college grads and former high school football heroes plot to recover a trophy from their long-ago glory days. The latter stars Victory Gardens ’ departing artistic director Dennis Zacek. ABT will be in residence at Victory Gardens ’ Richard Christiansen Theatre for the whole season.

Bohemian Theatre Ensemble will be in residence at Theater Wit for 2011-12, and their line-up of plays and musicals includes Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin, the Ranjit Bolt version of Moliere’s Tartuffe, The Rainmaker, and Floyd Collins.

Northlight Theatre ’s season also kicks off with Schwartz—they’ll stage his musical Snapshots (book by David Stern) about the ups and downs in a middle-aged couple’s marriage. The season also includes Alan Ayckbourn’s Season’s Greetings; Frank Higgins’ Black Pearl Sings, about a WPA song collector who finds a hidden vocal gem in a Texas prison; and Jeffrey Hatcher’s Ten Chimneys, about the legendary Wisconsin country home of Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. Another slot is TBA.

Remy Bumppo ’s first full season under artistic director Timothy Douglas shows some heft and hilarity, opening with Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra and continuing with Pierre de Marivaux’s Changes of Heart (translated by Stephen Wadsworth) and Chesapeake, Lee Blessing’s comedy about a controversial performance artist seeking vengeance on a conservative politician. Douglas directs all three shows, which will be staged at the Greenhouse Theater .

Steppenwolf Theatre also offers some shows of epic proportions, most notably Frank Galati’s adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s Civil War novel, The March. (Of course Galati also directed the Doctorow-inspired musical Ragtime.) Clybourne Park, longtime Steppenwolf favorite Bruce Norris’ contemporary twist on Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, opens the season on Halsted Street. Other shows include Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s Penelope, about the long-suffering wife of Odysseus; a new version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters by Tracy Letts (who is apparently picking up the Chekhov mantle of former Steppenwolf associate artistic director—and current Trinity Rep artistic director—Curt Columbus); and Donald Margulies’ drama about a photojournalist who carries physical and psychic scars from her war-zone work, Time Stands Still.

TimeLine Theatre Company is also staging Blessing—they open with his Cold War arms-negotiation two-hander, A Walk in the Woods, which will go up at Theater Wit . They also scored the local premieres of two London hits, Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters and Lucy Prebble’s Enron, an acidic piece about “the smartest guys in the room.” Longtime Chicago Reader reporter John Conroy’s My Kind of Town draws on Conroy’s own years-long work on covering police brutality and political corruption. (He wrote about convicted former Chicago police commander Jon Burge long before—and longer than—anyone else in town.) The non-Blessing shows will all be at TimeLine’s home base on Wellington Avenue.

The Joffrey styles its 2011-12 season on the theme of “New Generation.” The work will include a company premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote; the U.S. premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Infra (featuring the animation of British artist Julian Opie), which runs on a bill with the Joffrey premiere of William Forsythe’s Somewhere in the Middle, Somewhat Elevated; and a spring program, Attractions, featuring a world premiere by Val Caniparoli on a bill with Edward Liang’s 2008 Joffrey piece, Age of Innocence and Jerome Robbins’ trio of Chopin-inspired pieces, In the Night. Oh yeah—and The Nutcracker.

As Stage 773 gears up for its summer make-over, they’re raising some funds by inviting patrons to “have a seat.” For 200 clams, you can have your name on a plaque in the venue’s South Theater. If you’d like your name to live on in posterity near a posterior, contact them at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 773/327- 5252. (Say—the theatre’s name and area code are the same! Weird, huh?)

It’s still a little nippy out there, but Theatre Seven is getting out ahead of the crowd with a fundraising block party this Saturday, March 5, at the Greenhouse Theater , 8 p.m. to “late.” Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and with that you get beer and wine plus non-alcoholic beverages and dancing and entertainment—all celebrating Chicago neighborhoods and raising fundage for Theatre Seven ’s upcoming world-premiere The Chicago Landmark Project, in which several playwrights offer snapshots of life in the ’hoods. Tickets online or at 773/404-7336.

Citadel Theatre hosts a karaoke benefit on Saturday, March 12, 7-11 p.m. at Miramar Bistro, 301 Waukegan Ave., Highwood. Tickets are $50 and proceeds will help fund a new sound system. Order online or call 847/735-8554.

Raven Theatre puts on its bowling shoes on Sunday, March 13, 1-4 p.m. at Timber Lanes Bowling Alley, 1851 W. Irving Park. For $30 per person or $60 for a “family” of four members, you can knock down pins and toss back food and refreshments. The event benefits Raven’s “Take Flight” educational outreach program. The company’s production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf—the first here since the local premiere at the Goodman in 2007, which is when the Goodman became the first theatre in the country to have produced all 10 of Wilson’s historic cycle—runs through April 9.

Life may be a cabaret, but it can also sometimes suck eggs. So a group of Chicago-based cabaret artists have decided to serve it “Sunny Side Up.” Acts of Kindness Cabaret, dedicated to helping various non-profits in their fundraising special events, takes over the Skokie Theatre on Saturday, March 19, 8 p.m. This is the first public appearance for the group, founded by Hilary Ann Feldman in 2002 as a “very part-time operation.” The group has thus far raised about $160,000. This concert will help continue funding their good works. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door at 847/677-7761 or at the Skokie Theatre website.

In other cabaret news, Davenport’s Piano Bar hosts Nobody’s Side: Broadway’s Cult Classics on Monday evenings, March 14-28. Created by Christopher Pazdernik and music director Aaron Benham, the evening features Katherine L. Condit, Sean Effinger-Dean, Ryan Lanning, and Elizabeth Lanza in a program of lesser-known songs from the Great White Way and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from host Pazdernik.

And the first annual Midwest Cabaret Conference, scheduled for June 15-19, holds auditions at Davenport’s March 25-26. You must make appointments in advance by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More information at http://mwcconference.com/

If you’re adept at adapting, City Lit Theater wants to hear from you. The company seeks submissions for its annual “Art of Adaptation” festival, slated to run July 8-10. Pieces should be no longer than 25 minutes, adapted from non-dramatic material—short stories, essays, memoirs, poems, an excerpt from a novel. You must provide proof of permission to do the adaptation. The festival winner will take home $500 cash. To enter, send a one-page description and script to: Katy Nielsen, City Lit Theatre, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago, IL 60660. All entries must be post-marked by April 15. (Just don’t get confused and send Katy your tax return by mistake.)

The American Theatre Critics Association seeks entries for the annual Francesca Primus Prize for “outstanding contributions to the American theatre by an emerging female theatre artist, one who has not yet achieved national prominence.” (Hey, I’ll let all of you argue over the definitions of “outstanding,” “emerging” and “national prominence.”) Deadline is March 15, and the prize carries a $10,000 purse. To qualify, the playwright must have had a fully staged production of the submitted script in 2010. For full details and questions, send inquiries to Primus Prize chair This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . ATCA also named six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for shows premiering outside NYC. Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit, which opened Steppenwolf’s 2010-11 season and will go to Broadway next fall, is up for consideration along with Rinne Groff’s Compulsion, Kathryn Grant’s The Good Counselor, David Bar Katz’s The History of Invulnerability, Bill Cain’s Nine Circles, and Emily Schwend’s Splinters. The winner will be announced April 2 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville.

Now that we all now know the identity behind @MayorEmanuel, we can return to mocking/celebrating our national leaders, past and present. Originally staged with The Neo-Futurists , the “44 Plays for 44 Presidents Festival” seeks to bring simultaneous productions of the show to theatres across the U.S. for the 2012 election season. The idea is to have 44 separate productions—one for each playlet—produced with each company’s own spin, which will then be recorded and shared online Election Day. If you’re interested in knowing more, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To our knowledge, Jimmy Carter remains the only actual president who has seen this show—he took it in at Dad’s Garage in Atlanta several years ago. And speaking of politicos attending theatre—big ups to Route 66 Theatre Company and their distinguished audience member on Saturday, the mayor-elect himself—who apparently took Chris Jones’ advice and saw Caitlin Parrish’s A Twist of Water.

The local branch of the Dramatists Guild hosts a townhall meeting on Monday, March 21, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Greenhouse Theater . The meeting features a panel discussion with artistic directors and literary managers, including Jennifer Avery of Next Theatre , Kirsten Fitzgerald of A Red Orchid Theatre , Reginald Lawrence of MPAACT , Zev Valancy of Stage Left Theatre , and Scott Vehill of Prop Thtr . All current members of DG as well as those contemplating joining the Guild are welcome to attend, and a reception will follow.

DirectorsLabChicago is now accepting applications for this year’s Lab, running June 26-July 1 at the Chicago Cultural Center and other locations. Deadline is March 26 and applications are available online.

Beginning March 15 and running through June 15, the Chicago South Asian Film Festival accepts submissions. Go online for more information.

Columbia College Chicago hosts the annual “Story Week” festival of writers March 13-18, free and open to the public. This year’s theme, “Class Acts,” (about class conflicts) will unfold in a number of tales by writers such as Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting), Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife) and playwright Regina Taylor at venues throughout the city. Info at http://www.colum.edu/specialevents/story_week/.

And the Dance Center of Columbia College hosts Same Planet, Different World March 10-12. The program includes artistic director Joanna Rosenthal’s “Grey Noise,” inspired by film noir; Carl Flink’s “HIT,” which focuses on collision and physical impact; and “To Have and to Hold” by Shapiro & Smith Dance, which embodies memory, loss, and love. Tickets available online or at 312/369-8330.

Other openings of note: Pavement Group opens the local premiere of Joshua Conkel’s acclaimed comedy about queer identity and celebrity, MilkMilkLemonade, on March 17 at Chicago Dramatists . The show, which got its first workshop at Pavement Group with director David Perez in 2009 before going on to productions in New York and Los Angeles, runs through April 17 at Chicago Dramatists under Cassy Sanders’ direction.

Black Elephant Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of Edmund White’s Terre Haute, in which White imagines a meeting between Gore Vidal and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. (The two never met in real life, but Vidal wrote some famously controversial essays in The Nation suggesting that McVeigh was a freedom fighter rather than a terrorist.) Michael Rashid directs Danne W. Taylor and Cole Simon in the piece, which runs March 17-April 10 at the Athenaeum.

Another piece reflecting on home-grown violence gets a staging with The New Colony . Evan Linder’s The Warriors draws on company member Mary Hollis Inboden’s own experiences as a student at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas—which became the site of a deadly school massacre on March 24, 1998, a year before the higher-profile Columbine shootings. The show runs March 17-April 17 at the Second Stage Theatre (the old Stage Left space now run by Profiles). Tickets available online or at 773/413-0862.

Rarely produced, French playwright Raymond Roussel’s The Dust of Suns gets three staged-reading performances this weekend under the direction of Time Out Chicago critic John Beer at the Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton. Set in colonial French Guiana, the play’s story about a treasure hunt includes side trips into the surreal, including a sonnet on a skull, a mysterious tattoo, and an albino shepherdess. Performances are free—call 773/871-9046 for reservations.

Finally, our condolences to the many friends of Chicago songwriter/musician Diane Izzo, who died of brain cancer on February 25 at age 43. Izzo, whose 1999 album “One” (the only one she ever released) remains beloved, had moved to New Mexico with her partner, Marco Zas, a couple of years ago and was working on a film project with Zas at the time of her death. A memorial concert in Chicago will take place later this year.

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