'Botanic Garden' grows anew in Evanston

By Kerry Reid | SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

May 16, 2008

Botanic Garden: Winnetka playwright Todd Logan's newest work had a disappointing start in life. After being promised a production with a New York company in August 2007 (which would have been his Manhattan debut), Logan saw that production wither on the vine because of internal politics at the theater.

But "Botanic Garden" came to blooming life this past winter at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse under the direction of Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis, starring one of Chicago's favorite husband-and-wife thespian duos, Carmen Roman and James Leaming of American Theater Company. Now it shows its colors again for summer in a suburban remount with Canamac Productions—that puts it even closer to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. We follow Kate, a middle-age widow, as she faces the prospect of her first date since the death of her husband, Jake. She communes with Jake's spirit as the two relive key moments in their marriage—the good, the bad and the mundane.

Opens Saturday at Piccolo Theatre, Evanston Arts Depot, 600 Main St., Evanston. Through June 15. Tickets are $30 at 866-811-4111 or botanicgardentheplay.com.

The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!: So you missed "Forbidden Broadway: SVU" during its extended engagement last year. Don't fret; you still have a chance to savor parodies of your favorite show tunes and tropes. Combining elements of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander and Ebb (sorry, Frank Wildhorn—no love for you!), Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart's well-traveled crowd-pleaser touches down in Arlington Heights under the direction of Joe Mohamed.

Previews Friday and opens Saturday at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. Through June 21. Tickets are $22-$42 at 847-577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Secret Language: The national conversation on race comes home to Evanston in local playwright M.E.H. Lewis' newest, created in association with Next Theatre and directed by Julie Ganey. The piece grew out of workshops that examined gentrification, which Lewis conducted with residents of Evanston and Rogers Park last year. Not surprisingly, she discovered that race and diversity issues are at the heart of the gentrification debate, and decided to focus on those themes for this year's outreach effort through another series of workshops and listening sessions.

Sunday at Next Theatre, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. Free, reservations accepted at 847-475-1875, ext. 2.

A Night at the Operetta: In conjunction with the Chicago Folks Operetta production of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the company offers a one night-only tribute to the dulcet music of Viennese and American operettas, including work by composers such as Johann Strauss, Franz Lehar, and Victor Herbert, sung by a dozen vocalists with credits at the Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony choruses. The evening includes an exhibition of paintings by Rose Frantzen, nationally recognized for her allegorical subject matter, and Viennese pastries and coffee.

Sunday at Village Players Theatre, 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. Tickets $30 at 708-524-1892, village-players.org.

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