HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
FINAL DAYS
British director Steven Berkoff penned this ritualistic, updated, highly physical adaptation of Aeschylus’ tragedy about the Trojan War hero murdered by his vengeful wife. Dale Goulding’s taut, well-cast staging suggests both archaic ritual and absurdist anarchy by juxtaposing the poetic text with enigmatic, eloquent passages of mime, dance, and martial-arts movement. Agamemnon captures a sense of moral outrage as well as the sheer fascination of one of mythology’s most enduring horror tales. European Repertory Company, Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, Baird Hall, 615 W. Wellington (courtyard entrance), 248-0577. Open run: Fridays-Saturdays, 8 PM. $15.
American Divine: The Spirit
The Summer Place community theater presents Irving Berlin and Herbert and Dorothy Fields’s musical comedy about Annie Oakley, the backwoods sharpshooter who learns that there’s no business like show business. Naperville Central High School auditorium, 440 W. Aurora (at West St.), Naperville, 708-355-7969. July 12 through 28: Fridays-Saturdays, 8 PM; Sundays, 2 PM. $12; $5 for children.
As the Mascara Runs
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This near-weekly program features staged readings of works in progress. Scheduled for July 13: Going Up, John Green’s theatrical concert about “what it means to truly be an artsy guy.” Chicago Dramatists Workshop, 1105 W. Chicago, 633-0630. Open run: Saturdays, 2 PM. $3.
