Making its debut so soon after the demise of the International Theatre Festival of Chicago, this brand-new project seems to challenge the notion that the Windy City isn’t hospitable to events of this kind. Producers John T. Mills and James Ellis hope to succeed where others have failed by offering a more sharply defined image implied by the word “fringe,” more concentrated programming (more than two dozen acts in just 11 days, all in one venue with three different performance spaces), a special outreach to family audiences with its weekend “Kids’ Fringe” (marked KF in daily listings below), low prices, and the inclusion of Chicago artists alongside visitors from around the English-speaking world.
THURSDAY, JUNE 15
The Heart’s Desire: Tales of Laughter, Loss & Love
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Sensible Footwear, an all-woman trio of British expatriates now based in Toronto, “gleefully wade into waters most men (and carefully coiffed, soft-voiced stand-up babes like Rita Rudner) fear to tread. . . . [And] somehow Sensible Footwear’s English accents make even the crudest jokes seem elegant. Even more appealing is the clever way they deliver their material like a chorus, sometimes splitting up jokes among the three of othem, other times competing for the most wicked punch line,” says Reader critic Jack Helbig of this comedy show. Lab Theater, 7:30 PM. $12.
From Toronto comes this musical comedy by Wild Cycle Productions about the search for true love. South Hall, 7:30 PM. $8.
Fool
Carol Black, based in Arlington, Texas, adopts the role of a fun-loving eccentric in this program of Renaissance storytelling. South Hall, 10:30 PM. $5.
