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SUMMARY:SMILEY
DESCRIPTION:Open Space Arts is proud to present SMILEY by Guillem Clua\, a sharp\, funny\, and deeply relatable queer romantic comedy that has captivated audiences around the world. \nOriginally premiering in Barcelona\, SMILEYquickly became a breakout success in Spain\, enjoying extended runs in Barcelona and Madrid and earning widespread acclaim. Since its debut\, the play has been produced internationally across Europe and Latin America\, with productions in Germany\, Italy\, Greece\, Cyprus\, Chile\, Puerto Rico\, Peru\, and beyond. \nWhile SMILEY has become a global audience favorite\, it has had only limited exposure in the United States\, with select Spanish-language productions in New York and Miami. Open Space Arts’ production introduces this internationally celebrated work to Chicago audiences\, offering a fresh opportunity to experience one of the most engaging contemporary queer love stories to emerge from the European stage. \nWhen ÁLEX leaves a voicemail for his ex\, it lands in the inbox of BRUNO—a stranger. What begins as a wrong message turns into an unexpected connection between two very different men. As texts turn into calls\, and calls into something more\, they navigate attraction\, vulnerability\, and the complicated reality of modern love. \nFunny\, fast\, and disarmingly honest\, SMILEYexplores the thrill and risk of connection in a world shaped by screens\, expectations\, and the fear of being truly seen. \nGuillem Clua is one of Spain’s most widely produced contemporary playwrights\, whose work has been staged internationally and translated into multiple languages. His plays\, including SMILEY and THE SWALLOW\, are known for their emotional intelligence\, wit\, and insight into the complexities of human connection. \nOpen Space Arts continues its commitment to bold\, intimate storytelling that centers queer lives and voices with SMILEY\, a play that reflects the company’s ongoing exploration of connection\, identity\, and the evolving nature of love.
URL:https://chicagosocialbutterflies.com/wp-events/smiley/2026-10-17/
LOCATION:Open Space Arts\, 1411 W Wilson Ave.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60640\, United States
CATEGORIES:comedy,theater-performance
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SUMMARY:JERKER
DESCRIPTION:Funny\, sexually explicit\, provocative\, and unexpectedly tender\, Robert Chesley’s JERKER remains one of the most remarkable works to emerge from the AIDS era. First produced in 1986\, the play begins with two men connecting through telephone sex. They have never met. They know very little about each other. Their conversations are anonymous\, imaginative\, playful\, and often outrageously erotic. \nAs they continue calling\, however\, something begins to change. Between the fantasies and sexual games\, the men reveal fragments of their everyday lives\, their insecurities\, their humor\, and their growing affection. Without ever sharing a physical space\, they begin to create something that looks remarkably like a relationship. \nAnd outside those conversations\, the AIDS epidemic is transforming their world. \nChesley\, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1990\, was an outspoken defender of gay sexuality at a moment when fear and shame dominated much of the public conversation about gay men. \nRather than retreat from sexual expression\, he placed it at the very center of his work. He insisted that pleasure\, desire\, laughter\, and intimacy were essential parts of gay life and deserved to be celebrated\, even in the shadow of death. \nThat insistence made JERKER controversial. It also made the play revolutionary. \nBut what may surprise contemporary audiences most isn’t its explicit language or sexual frankness. It is the tenderness of the relationship that gradually emerges. \nBeneath its provocative surface\, JERKER is a profoundly human story about loneliness\, companionship\, vulnerability\, and the courage it takes to love another person. \nRobert Chesley was among the first American playwrights to confront the AIDS crisis directly. His groundbreaking NIGHT SWEAT (1984) was one of the earliest full-length plays about AIDS. Two years later\, JERKER challenged censorship and conventional attitudes toward gay sexuality\, insisting that intimacy\, desire\, and love remain essential even in the face of death. Chesley died of AIDS-related complications in 1990 at age 47. This 40th-anniversary production honors both his artistic legacy and the generation whose lives he documented. \nFor this special 40th-anniversary production\, Open Space Arts brings together Jason Bowen and Joshua Bowen\, who are husbands in real life. Jason’s Chicago theater career includes founding Quest Theatre Ensemble\, and his performance credits include the national tour of Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue. Joshua is an actor\, producer\, and entertainment attorney. \nTheir real-life relationship adds another dimension to Chesley’s exploration of intimacy and connection. And in a theater where just 25 audience members sit only a few feet from the performers\, every laugh\, hesitation\, confession\, and moment of tenderness becomes immediate and personal. \nForty years after its premiere\, JERKER continues to challenge us. But it also offers something wonderfully simple: the chance to witness two people discovering that what began as sex has become love. \nJERKER contains explicit sexual language\, mature themes\, and partial nudity. Recommended for adult audiences.
URL:https://chicagosocialbutterflies.com/wp-events/jerker/
LOCATION:Open Space Arts\, 1411 W Wilson Ave.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60640\, United States
CATEGORIES:theater-performance
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DTSTAMP:20261015T140915Z
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SUMMARY:A QUIET END — Chicago Premiere & 40th Anniversary Staged Reading
DESCRIPTION:Open Space Arts presents A QUIET END by Robin Swados\, directed by Rauly Luna\, for one night only as part of BEFORE WE ARE HISTORY: AIDS on Stage: 40 Years of Queer Voices. \nThis moving drama explores friendship\, love\, and the lives of gay men during the early AIDS crisis. Presented as a staged reading\, it offers an opportunity to revisit the voices and experiences of a generation whose stories remain urgently important. \nThe cast features Shaun Rosten\, Tim Bruns\, Zack Chaykin\, Caden Zane Marshall\, and Cindy Circo Zahora. Stage manager: Riley Bulson. \nTuesday\, November 3\, 2026\, at 7:30 p.m.\nOpen Space Arts\, 1411 W. Wilson Avenue\, Chicago. \nAdmission is pay what you can. Reservations and additional information are available at openspacearts.org.
URL:https://chicagosocialbutterflies.com/wp-events/a-quiet-end-chicago-premiere-40th-anniversary-staged-reading/
LOCATION:Open Space Arts\, 1411 W Wilson Ave.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60640\, United States
CATEGORIES:theater-performance
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