Theater top 10 for summer 2024: From ‘Midnight’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ to Laurie Metcalf

Lush musicals, fun revues, fascinating new plays and, best of all, the return to production of some beloved Chicago theater companies.

All are on tap for this summer in the big city.

Here’s our annual summer top 10 list of the most-anticipated theatrical attractions this season. There are many more options in both city and suburban locations, not to mention the outdoor theaters located within a reasonable drive, such as American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin. You’ll find performances in Chicago-area parks, too, from the likes of Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the venerable Oak Park Festival Theatre.

But if you go with this 10, a blend of large and small shows in no particular order, I think you’ll have a rich few weeks.

“The Lord of the Rings”: This theatrical telling of the J.R.R. Tolkien masterpiece, as distilled by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus (book and lyrics), was an epic affair when it was first staged in Toronto in 2006: Four hours, lots of music, two intermissions, hobbits all over the place and less than positive reviews. But the work was rehabbed at the U.K.’s Watermill Theatre and rendered in a more intimate fashion by director Paul Hart. Needless to say, this is a great title and Chicago Shakespeare Theater hopes that its U.S. premiere will prove to be a strong summer attraction for local and visiting families coming to Navy Pier. July 19 to Sept.1 in the Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.; www.chicagoshakes.com

“Six”: Lots of shows call themselves global sensations but you have to hand it to “Six,” a simple musical that has struck gold from one brilliant idea: reimagining the six wives of Henry VIII as assertive pop divas. And it all started Stateside at Chicago Shakespeare. At this point, attending “Six” is like going to a singalong, as most of its typically youthful fans like to return for multiple experiences with sessions listening to the original cast recordings filling the gaps. It’s an ideal-for-summer phenomenon and this first national tour is likely to do boffo, multi-week business for Broadway in Chicago. June 4 to July 14 at the Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.; www.broadwayinchicago.com

“A Case for the Existence of God”: Chicago’s justly beloved Steep Theatre has been all too quiet since the pandemic (the company has been preoccupied with renovating its new Edgewater home). But it returns this summer with the first Chicago production of this highly regarded 2022 play by Samuel D. Hunter (“The Whale”), set, like many of his works, in Idaho and exploring the relationship of two very different but similarly resilient men. Robin Witt directs; she’s been at the helm of many of Steep’s most powerful past productions. July 19 to Aug. 25 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N Broadway; steeptheatre.com

“Ain’t Misbehavin'”: The famed Chicago music-theater star E. Faye Butler steps into the role of director for this classic and justly beloved trip through the music of Fats Waller and the Harlem Renaissance, as conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz. MzFlo Walker-Harris, an experienced hand, choreographs for the first time in Oakbrook Terrace and the accomplished ensemble cast includes Alexis J. Roston, Lorenzo Rush Jr., Sharriese Hamilton, James T. Lane, Alanna Lovely, Austin Nelson Jr. and Micah Mixon. June 26 to Aug. 18 at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace; www.drurylane.com

“The Last Wide Open”: The summer attraction at American Blues Theater’s intimate new home on the North Side features the talented husband-and-wife team of Michael Mahler and Dara Cameron in the Chicago premiere of this relatively new small musical from Audrey Cefaly and Matt M. Nielson. Mahler and Cameron, long stars of musical theater in Chicago, play a hard-working waitress and a Polish immigrant dishwasher who find themselves as unlikely protagonists in a cosmic kind of love story. July 5 to Aug. 18 at American Blues Theater, 5627 N. Lincoln Ave.; americanbluestheater.com

“Little Bear Ridge Road”: Another Samuel D. Hunter play, but this one is brand new. It’s being directed at Steppenwolf Theatre by Joe Mantello and stars no less than Laurie Metcalf, making her much anticipated return to the Chicago theater that made her famous. A Broadway transfer may well be on the map, given who is involved. Hunter’s new drama, about which little is known and much is wondered, is billed as a piece set in rural Idaho (where else?) and dealing with an estranged aunt and nephew who reunite in the wake of the death of a difficult father. June 13 to July 21 on the Steppenwolf Theatre mainstage, 1650 N. Halsted St.; www.steppenwolf.org

“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”: Chicago’s Goodman Theatre scored a huge hit last summer with its revival of “Tommy,” the Pete Townshend rock musical that moved directly to Broadway. “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” this summer’s attraction based on the so-called “non-fiction novel” by John Berendt and the 1997 movie that transformed the tourist industry in Savannah, Georgia. Some A-list Broadway talent is bringing the show to life for this world premiere, including writer Taylor Mac, composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown and the director Rob Ashford. J. Harrison Ghee, Tom Hewitt, and Sierra Boggess are the high-profile stars in the summer’s marquee Midwestern theatrical event. The cast is already here: I saw Boggess walking down Dearborn Street this week. June 25 to Aug. 4 at the Goodman’s Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.; www.goodmantheatre.org

“Obliteration”: The terrific writer Andrew Hinderaker (“Suicide, Incorporated”) returns to work with his home base at Gift Theatre with a new play under his own direction. Michael Patrick Thornton, the Gift ensemble member who went on to a significant TV and Broadway career, is in the cast, as is Gift’s Cyd Bakewell. “Obliteration” is billed as a blend of stand-up comedy and theater that follows two comedians, Lee and Neal, telling jokes about big stuff even as their own lives disintegrate. Fascinating! Note the very short run. July 25 to Aug. 3, presented by Gift Theatre in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St.; www.steppenwolf.org

“Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution”: The longtime Chicago actress-playwright Nambi E. Kelley turns her attention to civil rights activist Kwame Ture, born Stokely Carmichael, in this biographical drama making its world premiere in Hyde Park under the direction of Tasia A. Jones in her Court directorial debut. Anthony Irons and Wandachristine star. As one of the 1961 Freedom Riders, Ture took over the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee chairmanship from John Lewis in 1966 and remained at the center of the Black Power movement for years thereafter. Now in previews, running through June 16 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.; www.courttheatre.org

“2 Pianos 4 Hands”: This show originated in Toronto in the mid-1990s and has become one of the most successful small musicals ever to emerge from Up North. Written and originally performed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, it’s about two friends who aspire to become famous classical pianists. The play with music follows the boys’ trajectory on their challenging career choice as both play live piano. Rob Lindley directs Adam LaSalle and Matthew McGloin as Ted and Richard. July 5 to Aug 4 at Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; northlight.org

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com