Chicago's Defiant Theatre opens its revival of Caligula by Albert Camus, running July 21-August 24.

This historic tale follows Emperor Caligula, Rome's self-proclaimed dictator, and his quest to conquer the moon. As Camus' ultimate existential hero, Caligula is a man totally committed to absolute truth, revolted by the illusion of sanity, and focused on making the impossible possible. In the end, Caligula is forced to confront his beliefs when his subjects conspire against him.

Defiant Theatre, which moved to Chicago four years ago from Urbana, IL, has received four Joseph Jefferson Citations and an After Dark Award for last year's production of Red Dragon. Defiant is noted for addressing complicated issued through a blend of theatrical traditions ranging from naturalism to Kabuki to vaudeville.

The story of Caligula is probably best known by its controversial movie adaptation starring Malcom McDowell.

The cast includes: Christopher Johnson, Linda Gillum, Will Schutz, Amy Wilhoite, Sean Sinitski, Kevin Wade, Kati Brazda, Stephanie Caterer, Jennifer Gehr, A. Bryan Guthrie, Shannon Lippur, and Cherise Silvestri. The show will run at The Griffin Theatre, July 21-Aug. 24. Performances are at 8 P.M. Thursdays through Sundays. For reservations or more information call (312) 357-3461 or refer to the Defiant Theatre regional listing at Playbill On-Line. --By Sean McGrath