THEATER

Opening

R Beckettian summit

Kayla Boye is a force to be reckoned with in Happy Days.

Dame Peggy Ashcro considered the role of Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s notoriously difficult Happy Days a “summit part,” one of those roles, like Hamlet or King Lear, that tests an actor’s mettle and proves her alpha status in the pack. (Ashcro played Winnie in a 1975 production at the Old Vic Theatre in London.) Chicago actor Kayla Boye clearly feels the same; she both stars in KB Productions’s current revival and is its producer. Happily, Boye is equal to the task of playing a character in yet another Beckett play in which, as in his seminal Waiting for Godot, nothing happens—twice. As Winnie, Boye never leaves the stage; she is, in fact, the only actor on stage, and virtually unable to move, buried up to her ribcage in the first act, up to her neck in the second.

Still, Boye, a lively actor with a wide range, captures us the moment the lights come up and captivates us from that point on. She chatters on and on, as Winnie does, on all of Beckett’s pet topics: exhaustion, decay, loneliness, our sad mortality, life’s petty pace, and the death of God. Somehow Beckett, ever the black Irishman, finds the laughter in the dark. As does Boye, who proves in two short hours she is a tragicomic force to be reckoned with. Hats off, too, to director/production designer Jon Dambacher for his seamless direction and for his inspired set.

—JACK HELBIG HAPPY DAYS

Through 4/2: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, https://happydayschi. com/tickets, $30

RFire sale

Gen Z contemplates the future in The Neo-Futurists Sell Out.

What does material success look like to young people in 2023? Is it possible to attain the lifestyle they see in 80s TV shows? Is that something to aspire to? A talented Neo-Futurist troupe takes on capitalism, parents’ expectations, their own hopes and dreams, and whether it’s even possible to just get by in this buoyant, sometimes silly, o en touching show. Directed by Lavina Jadwhani, with tech by Spencer Meeks, the cast is Connor Shioshita Pickett, Jasmine Henri Jordan, Neil Bhandari, and Deidre Huckabay, each credited as “Senior Vice President.” (Pickett is additionally credited as “Creator.”) Dressed in a half-assed thri -store version of office garb, they’re not kidding around about the hopelessness of their generation’s plight.

In one memorable scene, a performer acts as a proxy for the other’s mother and rather than filling in mundane financial information in a form—projected onto a blackboard by a decades-old device—is asked to rate her daughter’s qualities and answer whether she even likes the art her child makes. In another, a grandfather gives his grandson a fake three-dollar bill in exchange for real singles to teach him how the world really works.

Unlike so many devised skit shows, this one rarely succumbs to either goofiness for its own sake or inside jokes aimed only at the theater scene itself. Each short episode tackles real-world anxiety and comes off with at least a bit of resonance but sometimes with a level of profundity. This is a group of young people justifiably angry at the dumpster fire le to them by previous generations. Even if they actually wanted to sell out, is there anyone le buying? —DMITRY SAMAROV THE NEO-FUTURISTS SELL OUT Through 4/22: Thu-Sat 7 PM, Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland, 773-8784557, neofuturists.org, $19.99 (students $9.99)

Woven tales

The Shroud Maker needs more room to breathe.

Hajja Souad’s story, eight decades of life lived, is woven into a narrative of resilience, hope, and the changing tides in Palestine during her long lifetime. Brought to life in the U.S. premiere of The Shroud Maker at Chicago Dramatists by International Voices Project in collaboration with Intercultural Music, Ahmed Masoud’s play about a burial shroud maker offers audiences a lot to consider about life. A mix of dark comedy and biography, Masoud’s text reminds us that there is laughter even in our darkest moments.

Even so, this production feels more like a dramatic reading than a full-out performance. The show, said to be around 75 minutes, clocks in at just 65, which shows how quickly the text is delivered. It’s unclear whether this rushed performance is due to the direction of the show by Marina Johnson or its delivery by the single performer on stage, Roxane Assaf-Lynn, but either way, the text’s power is lost throughout several of the story’s most impactful moments.

Whether lines are swallowed or reimagined interactions by the single actor aren’t given the proper time to marinate in their intensities, The Shroud Maker isn’t living up to the potential given to it by Masoud’s intricate playwriting. One-person shows can be such difficult ones to mount because the single actor has to muster the emotions of many when portraying other people in addition to their own character. It’s clear from brief moments throughout the production that Assaf-Lynn can capture these intimate memories to enlighten us all. But the rest of the run would benefit greatly by giving her more room, time, or stage direction to fully embrace those moments to perform them to their full potential.

—AMANDA FINN THE SHROUD MAKER Through 4/8: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; Chicago Dramatists, 798 N. Aberdeen, ivpchicago.org, previews $10, regular run $20 ($15 senior, $10 students based on availability)

R Interactive inclusivity

Filament’s latest helps kids navigate difficult social scenarios.

Filament Theatre’s Think Fast, Jordan Chase!, written by Sonia Goldberg and directed by Jamal Howard, is full of plot twists which weave in and out of schoolyard and fantasy. Addressing difficult social scenarios that kids encounter, it opens with a plucky Jordan (Christabel Donkor) and her majestic bestie Mahari (Joolz Stroop) on the playground. Relations are quickly strained with the arrival of so -spoken Ryan (Xela Rosas), a third wheel who Mahari has ill will toward. It gets ugly, complete with an ableist slur, and Jordan feels torn between defending the newcomer from unwarranted wrath or staying loyal to her friend.

Fortunately for Jordan, she has a wise and unflappable grandmother (RJ W. Mays) who she can summon and also an attentive audience who is consulted o en throughout this choose-your-own-adventure-style play. Grandma Nicky provides Jordan with self-esteem support, while the audience helps to navigate what Jordan’s actual responses will be. Should she confront Mahari about harassing a schoolmate? And what type of character will she play in a side quest—astronaut, dragon, or pirate? Choose carefully!

Devised to keep young people engaged, the show emanates goodwill while not shying away from the modern-day conflicts that arise around identity. But the inclusivity goes beyond the show itself. The design and creative team took care to create hands-on activities in the entry space with a welcoming vibe. Accessibility representative and consultant Korey Joseph and scenic and properties designer Eleanor Kahn make the theater clearly navigable. (Nothing beats neon! Or cushions on the floor for the wiggly kids.) The audience participation is a gi that knocks down the fourth wall enough to allow us to encounter the struggle for equity and justice on the playground in just the right proportions. Best of all, Think Fast, Jordan Chase! doesn’t feed you a prepackaged moral but rather reveals the complexity of each character’s situation so that we can experience their epiphanies with them.

—KIMZYN CAMPBELL

THINK FAST, JORDAN CHASE! Through 4/16: SatSun 2 PM, Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee, 773-270-1660, filamenttheatre.org, $15 adult, $12 children; recommended for 8+

Bed to crime to bed

Theo’s The Threepenny Opera doesn’t quite add up.

Directors have two jobs: to help the audience understand what the play is about and to stage it so the audience can see it. Director Fred Anzevino has failed at both here. The Threepenny Opera is, like most Bertolt Brecht works, a critique of respectability: its antihero Macheath is a charming criminal, while its villains are the police and people who claim to be charitable. (Brecht underscores this by having the crook ask, “What is the crime of robbing a bank compared to the crime of owning a bank?”) Without that essential organizing principle, the show is just a series of not-very-interesting episodes as Macheath romps from bed to crime to bed.

Kurt Weill’s score, which includes pieces relevant to the theme but completely ancillary to the plot (such as “Pirate Jenny,” a hotel maid’s fantasy of killing the guests) magnifies the problem of getting to and staying on point. Staging the show in every corner of the space while a number of audience members sit in the middle of the action exacerbates the problem of focus: wherever you’re facing is the wrong way. Under the music direction of Ryan Brewster (who also supplies the solo piano accompaniment), the show includes the fine voices we’ve come to expect of this company. Carl Herzog as Macheath and Liz Bollar as antiheroine Jenny have both the vocal and acting chops to put their songs across, but the piece as whole never gels. —KELLY KLEIMAN THE THREEPENNY OPERA Through 4/30: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 6 PM, Howard Street Theatre, 721 Howard, 773-939-4101, theo-u.com, $45-$55

Utopia for two

A Town Called Progress tackles “gender as performance.”

Promethean Theatre’s world premiere of local playwright Trina Kakacek’s two-act dramedy, directed by Anna C. Bahow, is a unique and meaty thought experi-