**** Angels in America-Part 1: Millennium Approaches and

Part II: Perestroika Pulitzer and Tony winning play uses AIDS as metaphor for evils eating at the fabric of society. Subtitled "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," Tony Kushner's plays weave a story or political corruption, blessings and sin, disease and death, and spiritual transformation. Thru Feb. 27. DePaul Thtr School 312 922-1999

As Bees in Honey Drown Alexa swoops into the life of a struggling young novelist named Evan, he becomes submerged in her intoxicating seduction, as she attempts to transform him into a player with mixed results. Thru March 5. Northlight Theatre. 847-679-9501 Dangerous Corner Friends gather for a relaxing weekend, till the suicide of a colleague starts exploration of truth, half-truth, love and jealousy. Timeless 30s thriller reminds us how fragile reality can be, how quickly it goes awry. Greasy Joan thru March 5, Victory G. 773 871-3000

**** Devolution A man who believes he's devolving into an ani mal is hospitalized and undergoes "treatment" with a staff more animal-like than he is. A dark comedy exploring the innate violence in humans, where that violence may come from, and where it may lead us. This one-act play, written by Neo-Futurist Sean Benjamin, will present forty scenes in random order. Thru Feb 26 Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N Ashland 773 878-4557

Genetic Material, an encore from the Fillet of Solo festival. Tekki Lomnicki does Let the Dead Rest, a backward look at her father's life and death, a Polish tailor who fancied himself a daredevil; and Lotti Pharriss performs Oh My Papa and Grandma O, two quirky but genuine portraits. Grandma is a former flapper who teaches Lotti how to be a lady, survive hardships and enjoy life to the fullest. In Papa, she recalls growing up in the shadow of her cowboy father and her struggle for her own identity. Thru Feb 27. Live Bait 3914 N Clark 773 871-1212

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Marriott 847 634-0204

Knock Me a Kiss Harlem renaissance, 1929, a young woman in a love triangle with Countee Cullem, gentleman poet and prodigy sanctioned by her intellectual, social activist dad W.E.B. DuBois, and Jimmy Lunceford, hard-talkin', hard-livin' big band leader, thru Feb 27 Victory Gardens 773 871-3000 Late Nite Catechism Chicago original widely acclaimed international hit now in its seventh year. Ivanhoe, 750 W Wellington 773 975-7171

****Stop Kiss by Diana Son. Following their Jeff-recommended One Flea Spare, Naked Eye Th Co presents a glimpse at how two women discover love and desire, how an act of violence makes them confront everything they know about themselves and about love. Theatre Blg 773 327-5252 Sylvia award-winning playwright A.R. Gurney's perfect "empty nester" comedy focusing on the love triangle between a dog and her owners, thru March 12, Village Players Thtr 708 222036

**** Xena Live Episode I: Double Your Pleasure Based on television show Xena: Warrior Princess, original script by Claudia Allen, starring Alexandra Billings and Elizabeth Laidlaw (as two sides of Xena) and Amy Methaney as Gabrielle. Not suitable for kids. Extended thru (& must close on) March 19. Greasy Joan and Company: co-production with About Face Th, 3212 N Broadway 773 549-7943 ****The Zoo Story by gay playwright Edward Albee, a one act drama of youthful urban angst and alienation when two men meet in Central Park on a peaceful sunny day only to have matters escalate to savagery and violence. Extended thru April 2, Excaliber Shakespeare Co, 2098 West Harrison St, Oak park 773 533-0285

DANCE

Feb 23: Chicago Human Rhythm Project Tenth anniversary Season ends a one year hiatus when WTTW, Channel 11 premiers "JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance, 8pm. Taped documentary explores resurgence and renaissance of tap through the nascent tap dance festival culture. JUBA! will: introduce hundreds of thousand of mid-westerners to the nations oldest and largest annual festival of tap and percussive dance and will air nationally late this year. Feb 25: New Dances for a New Millennium, Ruth Page Dance Series focuses on world premiere works by well known Chicago area choreographers thru Feb 27. Includes Melissa Thodos & Dancers, The Moose Project and Same Planet Different World. The 58 group, GORDONDANCE and Bril Barrett and the Millennium Rhythm Project will also participate. Harold Washington Library Thtr, 400 S State 773 794-ARTS Feb 26: Ladysmith Black Mambazo Zulu harmony, poetic chants of a cappella rhythm music and dance of South Africa. Best known for their collaboration with Paul Simon on Graceland album. Center East, North Shore Ctr for Performing Arts in Skokie, 847 673-6300 or Tktmstr

Feb 27: 58 Group Chicago based improvisational style, many disciplines, musicians on stage, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College 3pm 708 974-5500

March 1: Alvin Ailey American Dance Th influenced by blues, gospel and spirituals of Ailey's native Texas. Thru March 5. The March 4 performance is Ailey Classics, choreographed by Ailey himself, including "Memoria" (1979). Auditorium Th 312 902-1500

Art/Photo

****Aldo Castillo Gallery Objects of Passion The Art of Latin America and Africa Thru March 25. 233 W Huron 312 3372536

*** Lipstick Photography a photo company specializing in digital photography and effects, showcasing the work of Iggy Munoz, south side resident and graphic designer who began by shooting the Miss Continental Pageant and realized the interest in photos of female impersonator. Poster-size prints available for purchase. 773 376-9511 **** Communities of Women Art Gallery Two lesbian artists: Simone Bouyer shows designs that she has been commissioned to do by corporations, and Dianna C. Long Brand New Paintings the Colors of Prosperity acrylics on canvasses thru March 28. 30 E Adams 4 th floor 773 275-1319

CINEMA

Wonder Boys

by lawrence ferber What happens when you can't live up to your earlier, youthful successes? So asks Wonder Boys, the comic tale of a couple of precocious talents-one past his peak, one reaching it-who come face to face during a few VERY angsty days.

Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) wrote the Great American Novel when he was young. Now a 50ish, complacent, joint-toking professor, he hasn't been published in years his latest novel, a directionless, nth thousand page manuscript, is still in progress. His wife just left him. He's having an affair with his boss' wife Sara (Frances McDormand), who just got knocked up with Grady's seed. His lecherous gay editor, Crabtree, (Robert Downey Jr.) flew into town to pressure him for the new book. And a new wonder boy, compulsive liar Thomas Leer (Tobey Maguire), latches onto Grady, leading to one misadventure and complication-involving

THEATRE

Bacche and Two Towers

by gregg shapiro If you've already seen the recently extended Xena Live! more than once, as many people have, and you are looking for more theater set in another time (real or imagined), then you might be interested in two plays currently running in Chicago. Lifeline Theater's presentation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers and Half Cocked Productions presentation of Bacchae are, like Xena Live!, stage adaptations of materials from other sources.

James Sie and Karen Tarjan coadapted Tolkien's The Two Towers, book two of The Lord Of The Rings, making it the second in a series of adaptations of Tolkien's work for Lifeline. As someone who has never read any of Tolkien's "fairy-stories," I found myself more than a little confused at times, as to the events that preceded the story. Suffice to say, the complex story involves a "ring" with exceptional power that everyone, good and evil, would love to get in their possession.

Sweet and mischievous hobbits, Frodo (Patrick Blashill), Sam Gamgee (Dale Inghram), Pippin John Ferrick) and Merry (Heath Corson), must bring the ring back to its source, thereby destroying it. Of course, they have more than just a few obstacles standing in their way, and that is a big part of the charm and appeal of this production. Ned Mochel directs his nine-member, all-male (!) cast (some of whom play multiple roles) with great attention to detail, utilizing almost every inch of the theater's space. The scenic, lighting, costume, sound and puppetry (yes, puppetry!) design by Patrick N. Clayberg, Paul Foster, Stacy Ellen Rich, Joseph Fosco and

police, dead dogs, a gun, a carobsessed stalker-after the other.

Ironically, director Curtis Hanson hit what could be HIS untoppable peak with 1997's L.A. Confidential, and while he's no complacent, joint-tokin' director, Wonder Boys isn't nearly as satisfying an effort (particularly when it comes to this film's surreal, I'd wager fantasized climax). As a stand-alone comedy of bumbling errors, however, Wonder Boys actually hits several hysterical peaks.

Douglas plays our befuddled straight man adroitly, simply accepting the horrors which unfold. Downey and his lecherous queerness stirs things up at bit-he enters with a drag queen date, Miss Sloviak (an attractive Michael Cavadias of the NY/LA band Bullett), in tow. Other sideline gay nods--like a pivotal inclusion of Marilyn Monroe's wedding outfit, an Oscar Wilde show, and footage of Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney film on the telly-add a nice splash of pink.

Speaking of pink, as the gaytrust me, you'll see it comingLeer, Maguire's quite fleshy (I've

Cynthia Orthal, respectively bring the world of Middle Earth to vivid life. If you enjoyed the fight choreography in Xena Live!, there is an abundance of similar action here.

Michael Douglas, Michael Cavadias as Miss Sloviak, and Robert Downey Jr. star in 'Wonder Boys.' Bisexual actor Downey, in his last film before going to prison, plays gay.

The folks at Half Cocked Productions continue to do some of the most innovative theater in town. Arik Martin's adaptation of Euripides's Bacchae brings the more than 2000-year-old drama into the present day by using contemporary language. Pentheus, King of Thebes (Tim Gittings), finds his kingdom disintegrating, following the murder of his aunt who was impregnated by the god Zeus. The women of Thebes, including Pentheus's sleazy mother Agave (Sara Oliva) are leaving the city in droves and Pentheus wants to know why. He also wants to know about the mysterious trio of women, the Bacchae (Chantelle Daniel, Erin Crowley and Samantha Gleisten), seducing the men of Thebes and luring the women away. All of this knowledge comes at a price, and when he finally meet his "cousin" Dionysus (the god-like Jonathan Pereira), and gets his questions answered, he loses his head.

Two Towers "B" At Lifeline, (773) 761-4477, through May 7. Bacchae "B+" The Space, (773). 506-0362, through Feb. 26.

Via Dolorosa

by rick reed

The press release from Apple Tree Theatre has this to say about Via Dolorosa: "the first US production outside New York of the 1999 Broadway sensation ... David Hare's dramatic monologue about his extraordinary trip to Israel and the Palestinian territory." After seeing the show, I'd like to quibble with words like "sensation" and "extraordinary." The only "sensation" one might experience is the tingling one feels when limbs begin to fall asleep and the only thing "extraordinary"

OUTLINES Feb. 23, 2000

known a few kids like Leer), but perhaps a little too much so. Hanson, you see, crosses the line into bizarreness often enough to warrant a little more silly sauce from Maguire. I'm not asking for Goldie Hawn in House Guest per se, but he could've run much farther with his screwed-up, precocious personality. As for Downey,

about this play is that people would pay money to be so bored. Via Dolorosa isn't so much a play as it is a lecture or a travelogue which doesn't even have the benefit of slides to liven things up If you are interested in the politics of Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territory, this 90 minutes that seems like three hours may hold some interest. The production is straightforward, well written and well acted by Kevin Gudahl. Gudahl makes a credible Hare and his performance is without affectation and compellingly warm and human. Gudahl wants to make us listen to Hare's words.

But therein lies the difficulty. Unless you have a specific interest in the subject matter, you will spend one of the most excruciatingly boring evenings of your life should you unwisely choose to attend this production. In spite of Hare's impressive theatrical resume, this play should have appeared as a long article in the NEW YORKER. This is a piece about someone's travels, a journal entry if you will, and as such, might have made for thought-provoking reading in an easy chair in one's living room. But as a piece of theatre, it's beyond mundane. There's no emotion here. There's no drama. There's certainly no entertainment value. I counted at least five people asleep in the audience.

What shocks me is that Hare, a justifiably renowned playwright, would think that this makes for good theater. His decision to take what is essentially a non-fiction travel piece and use it as drama seems almost criminally self-indulgent.

Via Dolorosa runs through March 5; (847) 432-4335.

Succeed

by rick reed

Well into the second act of the venerable musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the audience was treated to a little unin-

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he seems an even better actor since those troubles with the law/prison kicked in (could Bubba be an acting coach these days?). If THAT doesn't say something about being able to live up to earlier youthful successes, I don't know what does.

Opens Wed., Feb. 23 at the Esquire and General Cinema on Western, Friday citywide.

tentional excitement: a light above the set exploded, sending a shower of broken glass onto the stage. No one was hurt, the curtain dropped quickly and within five minutes or so, we were back in the corporate world created by Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows. But after the show ended, I wondered if the exploding light trick was intentional: not because of some backstage backstabbing melodrama, but because this production, directed by the very busy Gary Griffin, would have been just about perfect without it. And perfection is so, well, boring.

I have to say that the Drury Lane production of this recently Broadway-revived show was one of the finest musicals I've seen on a Chicago stage, holding its own against any Broadway touring company. Not only did the cast and director work with a play that's still as fresh as it was 30 years ago (save for the dated way it presents women, but even that was updated with a little tongue and cheek slyness), but every member of the cast was amazing, especially Guy Adkins, in the lead role, and the delightful Arlene Robertson as the no-nonsense executive secretary, Miss Jones. The story, about a window-washer's rise to power in the corporate world, is the stuff old-fashioned musicals are made of a central love story, an ambition-thwarting villain, an appearance of all being lost and then regained in the happy ending. It's the kind of heart-warming schmaltz that entertains mightily and lets you leave the theater wearing a smile and humming a tune. And what tunes! From "I Believe in You" to "Happy to Keep his Dinner Warm" to the rousing, "Brotherhood of Man," this ensemble pulls out all the stops and makes one wonder: how could any-" one possibly do it better?

How to Succeed in Business ... runs through March 5 at Drury Lane Oakbrook; (630) 530-0111.