Chicago Awash in Gay Games Theater

Pictured Pins. Alexandra Billings (left)and Andrea Marcovicci perform during Games week.______________The greater Chicago area has more than 200 producing theater companies, some of them Tony Award winners such as the Goodman, Steppenwolf and Victory Gardens theaters, and some of them troupes of unknown kids who still work day jobs to pay the rent on a loft theater. Many of our name theaters—from Broadway houses in the Loop to the much more numerous, smaller off-Loop venues—are putting up shows and performances especially for the Gay Games VII Sports & Cultural Festival, as listed below. Except where noted, no ticket is more than $25.

For comprehensive theater information, check the Web site of the League of Chicago Theatres, www.chicagoplays.com.

Alexandra Billings and Diverse Harmony, Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington Street at Michigan Avenue), Tues., July 18 only (12:15 p.m.). A free lunchtime cabaret features singer, actor, writer, activist and (definitely) personality Alexandra Billings. How many post-op tranny lesbians do YOU know who’ve made movies for Disney? Ms. Billings also is appearing in Seussical, which is at Navy Pier.

Bare Naked Lads in the Great Outdoors, Bailiwick Repertory, through Sun., Aug. 27. It sounds like a description of the original Greek Olympic games, but this original nudie-cutie musical revue celebrates games of a different sort. Two-for-one tickets for all Friday and Sunday performances of Bare Naked Lads go to all athletes competing in the Games; 1229 W. Belmont; 773-883-1090.

The DaVinci Gay Code: 10 Years of Heresy, Theatre Building Chicago, through July 23. The kweer kids of komedy, GayCo, Chicago’s leading—and maybe only—GLBT sketch comedy troupe, celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special Gay Games revue featuring highlights from such previous GayCo hit shows as Weddings of Mass Destruction and Whitney Houston, We Have a Problem; 1225 W. Belmont; 773-327-5252.

An Evening with Andrea Marcovicci, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Mon., July 17 only. As part of its season-long Traffic series, Steppenwolf offers an intimate concert by a legend of cabaret and musical theatre, the stunning Andrea Marcovicci, who began her career in Chicago. Before hitting it big in New York, Ms. Marcovicci took leading musical roles at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and the long-defunct Arlington Park Theatre. At Steppenwolf, 1650 N. Halsted; 312-335-1650; $50.

The Girlie Q Variety Hour, Hothouse, Sun., July 16 only. This venue for international music and performance art in the South Loop dedicates part of its July schedule to queer entertainment, beginning with this post-modern, neo-burlesque, vaudeville-inspired local gang that mixes live music, drag, striptease, dancing girls and depraved comedy, under the guidance of dyke poet and author JT Newman; 31 E. Balbo; (312) 362-9707. As part of its Gay Games programming, Hothouse also will present Sandra Bernhard (Mon., July 17, $65-$75); Tracy Walker (Wed., July 19); Michelle Tea and Lynnee Breedlove (Thurs., July 20); and the Deep Dickollective w/ Johnny Dangerous (Fri., July 21).

Group Therapy, Raven Theatre, Fri., July 14, and Sun., July 16, only. The Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco blows into to town with this original musical comedy for three performances only. Written by June Bonacich, Group Therapy is a wacky story of a sexually confused woman who is new to San Francisco, trying to find herself—and a mate—in a gay group therapy session in the Castro; 6157 N. Clark; 415- 861-7067.

The Home Project, Victory Gardens Theater, through Sun., July 30. It’s a world premiere two years in the making, created by the About Face Theatre Youth Ensemble and focusing on the young and the homeless, especially GLBT young and homeless. About Face Theatre is the troupe that co-developed I Am My Own Wife; 2257 N. Lincoln; 773-871-3000; $25-$40. NOTE: About Face also presents M. Proust, a world premiere memoir about the great, gay French novelist, through July 16 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted; $25-$40.

I Am What I Am, Chicago Cultural Center, July 16 only (3 p.m.). A stellar line-up of Chicago cabaret talent—Laura Freeman, Kari Howard, Brad Newquist, Bob Moreen, Suzanne Petri, Daryl Nitz and Kat Taylor—celebrates the words and music of out Broadway composer Jerry Herman (Hello Dolly, Mame, La Cage Aux Folles) in a free afternoon musical. Check out the world’s largest Tiffany glass dome on the 4th floor, 78 E. Washington Street (at Michigan Avenue).

Jeffrey, Stage Left Theatre, through Sat., Aug. 5. You know how it is: ya’ can’t live with it, ya’ can’t live without it. We mean sex, of course. To celebrate Gay Games VII, Hubris Productions offers a new production of Paul Rudnick’s comedy of sex and indecision; 3408 N. Sheffield; 773-784-2772.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Queer Tale, Kinetic Playground, through Sat., July 29. Four lovers denied sexual freedom flee to the Boyshood and find more than they have ever dreamed through a whirlwind of orgiastic dance numbers, queens of all sorts and pills that bring love. Someplace along the way, this adaptation by Tony Lewis has something to do with Shakespeare; 1113 W. Lawrence; 800-595-4849.

Shakespeare’s R & J, Wallis Theatre, Northwestern University, through Sun., July 23. Well, Shakespeare himself was fond of genderfuck, so why not have some modern variations on his themes? This edited version of Romeo and Juliet is performed by four adolescent boys, ostensibly prep school students, who become caught up in the conflicts and sensuality of Shakespeare’s romance and see their own lives mirrored in it; 1949 Campus Drive, Evanston; 847-491-7282.

Some Like It Homo, Live Bait Theatre, through Sat., Aug. 12. Renowned for its focus on solo writer/performers, Live Bait honors the Gay Games by turning its stage over to out artists Joe Steiff, Brian Lobel and Erika Lopez (July 21-22 only) for their latest solo visions of GLBT life; 3914 N. Clark; 773-871-1212.

Sondheim in the Park, Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Fri.-Sun., July 14-16. Everything’s coming up Stephen as Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival celebrates the music and lyrics of our greatest living—and out—Broadway composer with two free concerts (Friday and Saturday nights) featuring the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Stretch out on the Great Lawn, or grab one of the two thousand seats in the Frank Gehry-designed music shell; Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Washington streets.

In addition to the shows above, a number of on-going theatre companies and productions also have signed on as part of the Gay Games VII Sports & Cultural Festival. Among them are: Pride 2006, the annual summer-long festival of GLBT theater at Bailiwick Repertory, currently offering Pins, a gay high school wrestling saga adapted from the Jim Provenzano novel, through Sun., July 23; and Broadway in Chicago, the major Downtown presenter of hit Broadway shows, now offering The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (with music by out composer William Finn) at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, $59.50-$69.50, and Wicked, which recently celebrated its first anniversary at the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre, $30-$85.

Also, Chicago Tap Theater presents the world premiere of Changes: A Science Fiction Tap Dance Opera, featuring the music of David Bowie, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, through Sun., July 30; and the world-famous Steppenwolf Theatre Company offers the world premiere of a new dark comedy by Bruce Norris, The Unmentionables, through Sun., August 27; $38-$60.