Theater spotlightA young boy living in Chicago’s South Side tries to escape his turbulent surroundings by imagining what it might be like to meet kids from the civil-rights era—including a young Barack Obama in Jabari Dreams of Freedom. Chicago Children’s Theatre’s world-premiere play is by Jeff Award-winning playwright and actress Nambi E. Kelley (Native Son at Court Theatre) and directed by Bailiwick Chicago artistic director Lili Anne-Brown. Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Jabari Dreams of Freedom continues through Sunday, May 1, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Tickets are $10 to $39; call 872-222-9555 or visit www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
Critics’ Picks
American Buffalo, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company at Angel Island, through April 17. The kind of play and the kind of production that defined the “Chicago style” in theaters worldwide for the last four decades—and this is your last chance to experience it with the pioneers who made it. MSB
Butler, Northlight Theatre, Skokie, through April 17. A significant moment early in the Civil War that likely helped lead to the Confederacy’s ultimate defeat is thoughtfully dramatized in Richard Strand’s contained play. SCM
The Explorers Club, Windy City Playhouse, through April 17. Farce isn’t easy, even when it revolves around a fraternity of Victorian Scientists, but David H. Bell’s direction keeps men, women, flora, fauna and libations flowing at a lively pace. MSB
Jerusalem, Profiles Theatre at the Main Stage, through April 24. British anti-establishment playwright Jez Butterworth is at it again and nobody does amoral unshaven dropout better than Darrell W. Cox making with the acting chops at full throttle. MSB
—By Mary Shen Barnidge
and Scott Morgan