“Machos” — One of the sleeper hits of the fall theater season returns to downtown Berwyn.
In “Machos,” Teatro Luna, a company of Latina performers and writers, take on the voices — and appearances — of men from around the country, whom they interviewed about a host of issues geared at flipping Freud’s famous gender query: “What do men really want?”
Developed and directed by Coya Paz, “Machos” blends humor, gritty truth and seamless drag king performances into a show that marks a bold beginning for the brand-new 16th Street Theater, Berwyn’s first professional theater company and the brainchild of longtime local director Ann Filmer.
Opens Friday and runs through Feb. 17 at 16th Street Theater, Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th St., Berwyn. Tickets are $16 at 800-838-3006 or www.16thstreettheater.org.
OPENING FRIDAY
“Keeping Down With the Joneses” — Some of us remember the 1980s as a time of grim nuclear nightmare movies such as “The Day After” and “Testament.”
Now, imagine that apocalyptic premise married to bread-and-butter English farce, and you’ve got John Chapman and Jeremy Lloyd’s 1984 comedy.
A British MP, his trying family, and other oddballs take refuge in a bomb shelter, with the predictable clash of personalities.
Through March 9 at Attic Playhouse, 410 Sheridan Rd., Highwood. Tickets are $18 advance, $20 at door at 847-433-2660.
PREVIEWING WEDNESDAY
“Jeeves Intervenes” — It’s drawing-room comedy staged in an actual drawing room. P.G. Wodehouse’s beloved Bertie, the clueless aristocrat, and Jeeves, his long-suffering manservant, take over First Folio’s charming chamber theater in the historic Peabody mansion.
Opens Feb. 2 and runs through March 2 at First Folio Shakespeare Festival, Mayslake Hall, 31st Street and Route 83, Oak Brook. Tickets are $16 previews, $26 during run at 630-986-8067 or www.firstfolio.org.
PREVIEWING THURSDAY
“La Cage aux Folles” — Yet more drag performances take center stage in this musical penned by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman. (Yes, a drag musical created by Harvey Fierstein. What are the odds?) Gay nightclub owners Albin and Georges must pretend to be straight-as-a-line when their son brings his conservative in-laws to dinner, which of course requires Albin to don tasteful ladies’ wear. Bill Pullinsi directs.
Opens Feb. 7 and runs through March 9 at Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Rd., Munster, Ind. Tickets are $36-$40 at 219-836-3255 or 800-511-1552.
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