THEATER / PERFORM

A pair of ex-lovers confront the ghosts of their relationship in a Brooklyn el station in Adam Kraar's play. Etel Billig directs a world premiere. Opens Fri 10/27, 8 PM.

Through 11/12: Wed-Sun 8 PM, Sun 2:30 and 7:30 PM, Illinois Theatre Center, 371 Artists' Walk (Indian Wood Blvd. between Western Ave. and Orchard Dr.

), Park Forest, 708-481-3510, $18-$20.
This expertly performed touring edition of the clever off-Broadway hit takes the form of a concert by a fictional Christian hip-hop boy band. Matthew (the heartthrob), Mark (the "sensitive" one--think Lance Bass), Luke (the rebel), Juan (the "ethnic" one), and Jewish human beatbox Abraham spread the gospel with the aid of an onstage "Sony Soul Sensor DX-12" that digitally gauges the number of sinners in the theater--including the boyz themselves.

Irreverent but never mean-spirited, the catchy, tightly harmonized songs and slick, playful dance moves spoof 'N Sync, Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block, and their showbiz brethren. And the witty script, with its intricate running gags, satirizes religious intolerance and hypocrisy while celebrating charity and brotherly love. (AW) Through 10/29: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 and 7:30 PM LaSalle Bank Theatre, 18 W.

Monroe, 312-902-1400, $32-$55.
In David Mamet's 1975 drama, set in a Wrigleyville junk shop, three small-time crooks plot the heist of a valuable buffalo-head nickel. Acutely observing the dynamics of trust and treachery, Mamet provides both an effective character study and a darkly witty indictment of the way American business ethics destroy loyalty and honor.

Director Michael Menendian's vigorous staging captures the crackling comedy and explosive violence of this Chicago classic, but the actors fail to convey the pathos beneath their characters' blustery bravado. (AW) Through 12/3: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, 773-338-2177, $20-$25.

Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford's musical features characters from various historical periods as depicted in the American Girls Collection books. Cryer's book and lyrics deliver positive messages about patience, resilience, and responsibility. But halfway through, this 75-minute sales pitch gets a bit tiresome.

The anthemlike songs may feel overly earnest to adults, though perhaps they're just the thing for a young girl to belt into her hairbrush at home. (JG) Open run: Thu 5:30 PM, Fri 5:30 and 7 PM, Sat 12:30, 2, 4, and 5:30 PM, Sun 12:30, 2, and 4 PM, Fri 11/10 4, 5:30, and 7:30 PM, Sat 11/18 12:30, 2, and 4 PM, Sun 11/19 12:30 and 2 PM. American Girl Place, 111 E.

Chicago, 877-247-5223, $28.
Jeremy Menekseoglu's play concerns a young teacher trapped in a house while the townsfolk gather outside, plotting her demise. It's presented by Dream Theatre Company.

Through 11/4: Fri-Sat 10:30 PM, Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis, 773-474-9070, $10.
Lillian Hellman's melodrama about a wealthy and venal family in 1880 Alabama (a prequel to The Little Foxes) is directed by William Brown.

Hellman's dark Freudian scenario is leavened by her clear-eyed cynical wit--and Brown's unsentimental direction and uniformly sharp cast bring out Hellman's clear eyes nicely. (TA) Through 11/26: Tue 7:30 PM, Wed-Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM, Sun 2:30 and 6 PM, Wed 11/1 and 11/8, 2 and 8 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Writers' Theatre, 325 Tudor Ct., Glencoe, 847-242-6000, $40-$58.

The legend of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, as recounted in an epic poem by Apollonius of Rhodes, is adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman. Previews through 10/28: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 8 PM, $20-$25. Opens Sun 10/29, 6 PM.

Through 12/23: Tue 6:30 PM, Wed 7:30 PM, Thu 6:30 PM, Fri 7 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Fri 11/24 2 and 7 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan, 312-337-0665, $30-$58.
Northwestern University's New American Musical Theatre Project premieres a rock musical about unruly Catholic schoolgirls, featuring music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party) and a book by T.

C. Smith and Peter Spears. Amanda Dehnert directs.

Opens Fri 10/27, 8 PM. Through 11/12: Wed-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, no show Wed 11/1, Northwestern University, Josephine Louis Theatre, 20 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston, 847-491-7282, $10-$25.

This interactive musical re-creates the experience of a Reagan-era high school prom. The partly improvised show, performed in a video dance club, allows the audience to vote for the prom king and queen. The show's character types from teen angst movies--jock, cheerleader, geek, exchange student, etc--are never fleshed out.

And though familiar stories of high school conflict are flimsily reenacted, most of the show loses the battle with the venue's blaring music and bar chatter. But if dancing to Rick Springfield and Huey Lewis while drinking appeals to you, the show's failings won't matter. (JG) Open run: Sat 7:30 PM, RadioStar, 901 W.

Weed, 312-664-7766, $39-$69 (includes postshow "video dance club"; various packages available).
Single Box Turn Productions reprises its original comedy about life in the high school marching band, circa 1989. Capturing the frustration and self-absorption of teenagers, Band Geeks is an amalgam of teen angst and sports movie tropes with some Revenge of the Nerds-style humor thrown in for the late-night crowd.

Becky Eldridge and Amy Petersen's thin book plays on the antagonism between music geeks and jocks, while Andy Eninger, who also directs, provides clunky keyboard-heavy songs. Yet this show manages to be entertaining. (JG) Through 11/4: Fri-Sat 11:30 PM, Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W.

Belmont, 773-327-5252, $20.
Morganville (Trevor Martin and Kym Olsen) deliver a "performative lecture" on vampires as a metaphor for "immortality, compulsive behavior, and seduction." It's accompanied by a fund-raiser for Morganville's film collaboration with Daniele Wilmouth, "A Heretic's Primer.

" Sat 10/28, 7:30 PM, Insight Arts, United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W. Morse, second floor, 773-973-1545, $8.
This comedy revue features a cast of nude men cavorting through sketches by Andy Eninger and music by Jon Steinhagen, Michael Mahler, and Michael Miller.

Barenaked Lads can be clever, but most of the bits are built around easy jokes and innuendo, and the songs, though competently sung, are forgettable. But really, who are we kidding? There are six naked guys onstage getting laughs while singing and dancing.

It's sure to keep the bachelorette partygoers happy. (JG) Through 11/25: Fri 7 PM, Sat 9 PM, Sun 7 PM, Bailiwick Repertory, Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-883-1090, $32-$37.

A revue of Porter numbers both well-known and obscure, assembled by the late producer Bagley, is presented by Light Opera Works. Given all the emoting, mugging, and general overplaying, the rudimentary staging and choreography, and the poorly miked, ill-advised piano-and-drums accompaniment, little of Porter's wit or sophisticated romanticism comes through. It doesn't help that most of the songs have grown obscure for good reason, or that the uncredited script, based on producer Ben Bagley's 1965 off-Broadway production, provides only a sketchy, occasionally inaccurate biography of Porter.

At least the five performers are solid singers. (JHa) Through 11/12: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, McGaw YMCA Child Care Center Auditorium, 1420 Maple, Evanston, 847-869-6300, $12-$39.
Gore Vidal's biting 1960 drama focuses on two rival presidential candidates--witty, conscientious liberal Bill Russell (inspired in part by Adlai Stevenson) and ruthless trickster Joe Cantwell (a cross between Richard Nixon and Bobby Kennedy)--to prove that in politics, personality is the issue.

When Cantwell sets out to use Russell's past psychiatric treatment against him, Russell must decide whether to release evidence Cantwell is gay--and we must decide whether we want Russell to play dirty and win or play clean and lose. The final plot twist still provokes gasps, and Vidal's pointed, sometimes bitchy dialogue enhances the conflict. James Bohnen's solid revival for Remy Bumppo Theatre Company boasts a splendid cast.

(AW) Through 11/5: Wed-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, second-floor main stage, 2257 N. Lincoln, 773-871-3000, $35-$40.
The late German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1972 play, about an arrogant fashion designer undone by a lesbian affair with a young model, is directed by Beata Pilch and Krishna LeFan, from a translation by Denis Calandra.

Pilch and LeFan opt for the chaotic playfulness that typified Fassbinder's stage work with Munich's Action Theater. It takes nearly half of the show's 90 minutes for its stylized approach to underscore rather than undermine the drama, but ultimately Nicole Wiesner as Petra and Kim McKean as the inscrutable Karin give this hilarious and heartbreaking tale of romantic obsession a searing clarity. (JHa) Through 11/4: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W.

Cortland, 773-384-0494, $20, two for one Thu.
The 1970s comedy about a group of diehard Cub fans, conceived by Joe Mantegna and originally produced by Organic Theatre Company, is presented by Open Door Repertory Company. This version has been updated for 2006 by Scott Dunnell.

Through 11/4: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, no show Fri 10/27, Hatch School Auditorium, 1000 N. Ridgeland (enter on Harvey, east side of building), Oak Park, 708-802-1723, $15-$18.
Three silent guys in cobalt blue makeup, accompanied by a small but very loud rock band, perform Rewired, a wordless, high-tech, highly visual work of participatory conceptual theater.

Blue Man Group offers a visceral education in the tenuous division between art and trash. (NG) Open run: Tue 8 PM, Wed 2 and 8 PM, Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 4, 7, and 10 PM, Sun 1, 4, and 7 PM, Briar Street Theatre, 3133 N. Halsted, 773-348-4000, $49-$59.

Lydia Diamond's luminous, wrenching 2005 adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, first staged for Steppenwolf for Young Adults, receives an encore presentation under Hallie Gordon's sure-handed direction prior to a New York engagement. As Pecola Breedlove, an abused 11-year-old black girl who believes blue eyes would make her beautiful, Alana Arenas is even more arresting and heartbreaking than she was the first time around, and she's well matched by the rest of the outstanding ensemble. The story-theater narration feels a bit overdone at times, but Diamond's flawless take on Morrison's tough-minded poetry carries the show.

(KR) Through 10/28: Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 7:30 PM, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, upstairs theater, 1650 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650, $20.
Scrap Mettle Soul premieres a collection of songs and stories based on the immigrant experience, adapted from real-life stories by Jacob Juntunen and directed by Stefan Brun, with music by Steven Clark.

Through 10/29: Fri-Sat 7 PM, Sun 3 PM, Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church, 4511 N. Hermitage, 773-275-3999, $5-$15.
Five British surfers and two runaway Scottish girls confront their fears at the oceanside in this 1995 play by Keira Knightley's Scottish mom, Sharman Macdonald.

Macdonald offers endearing characters, clever lines, and the strange but compelling spectacle of teenage boys joyfully roughhousing to a Kurt Cobain song. But the seven young characters' incessant philosophizing threatens these pleasures. The Big Theater's production is similarly divided, its enormous charm, energy, and inventiveness vying with bouts of flat-footedness.

Ultimately, the pluses make it worth seeing. (TA) Through 11/5: Fri-Sun 8 PM, Mercury Cafe, 1505 W. Chicago, 773-960-3983, $10.

Eclipse Theatre Company concludes their season of plays by Rebecca Gilman with her 2000 drama about a female New York reporter who is stalked by a blind date. Steve Scott directs. Previews 11/2-11/4: Thu-Sat 8 PM, $15 (also industry nights).

Opens Sun 11/5, 7 PM. Through 12/17: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Sat 11/25 3 and 8 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, second-floor studio, 2257 N. Lincoln, 773-871-3000, $18-$22, $30 Thu 11/9 (includes postshow discussion and refreshments).

The pioneering rocker's life is captured in this musical play with a book by Alan Janes, directed and choreographed by Janet Louer. Through 11/18: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Wed 10/25 1 PM, Sun 10/29 and 11/5, 3 PM, Village Players Theatre, 1010 Madison, Oak Park, 708-524-1892, $18-$22.
Rose Camastro-Pritchett and Thomas Plum collaborated on this installation and performance piece, which incorporates "movement, text, and interaction with the viewers.

" Through 10/27: Fri 6:30-8:30 PM, Art on Armitage, 4125 W. Armitage, 773-235-8583.
David Cerda spoofs mid-20th-century women-in-prison films and pulp novels in this delightfully demented new musical by Hell in a Handbag Productions.

After introducing the genre's types and tropes--sadistic guards, corrupted innocence, whiffs of lesbianism--Cerda exaggerates them to comic extremes and adds big production numbers, lots of drag, and a heaping helping of raunch. Much of the music is disposable, and there are a few too many aimless subplots. But the script's parody of hard-boiled dialogue, the cast's fully committed intentionally bad acting, and Cerda's own turn as a solipsistic, Joan Crawford-esque warden are all exactly right.

The only real disappointment is the tameness of the requisite riot scene. --Zac Thompson Through 11/19: Thu 8 PM, Fri 9:15 PM, Sat 7 PM, Sun 3 PM, Bailiwick Repertory, Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-883-1090, $20.

A live-action chase game using global positioning systems and cell phones is conducted on the streets of Chicago in Blast Theory's interactive performance, which includes live and virtual players scattered at random locations throughout the city. The group is from Brighton, England, and this performance is part of the Museum of Contemporary Art's exhibition "Massive Change: The Future of Global Design" (see separate listing under ). Participants can register at or .

11/2-11/5: Thu-Sun 1-4 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago, 312-397-4010.
The Silk Road Theatre Project presents Richard Vetere's drama about the 17th-century painter.

Vetere's static, historically questionable chronicle of the artist's final desperate years seems to start over every 20 minutes. There's little action, so the talented cast only postures for most of the two-hour show. Dale Heinen's world-premiere staging is full of beautiful images, but ponderous pacing underscores the script's inertia.

(JHa) Through 11/26: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 4 PM, no show Thu 11/23 Chicago Temple, First United Methodist Church, Pierce Hall, 77 W. Washington, 312-857-1234, ext. 201, $22-$28.

Mexican theater and film artist Regina Orozco presents an original musical cabaret and comedy piece as part of the annual Sor Juana Festival of Mexican female artists. Fri 10/27, 9 PM, HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo, 312-362-9707.

Then Sat 10/28, 8 PM, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, 1852 W. 19th, 312-738-1503, ext. 107.

$9-$13.
This near-weekly program features staged readings of works in progress. Open run: Sat 2 PM.

Scheduled for 10/28: "An Open Discussion With Artistic Directors and Literary Managers Part V." For 11/4: "10-Minute Workshop." For 11/11: Truth in Topiary, by Pauline Dessler.

For 11/18: Remember Me Morning Star, by Alice Austen. No show 11/25. For 12/2: "Deadline Workshop--Part I.

" For 12/9: "Deadline Workshop--Part II." No shows 12/16-12/30. Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W.

Chicago, 312-633-0630, $5.
Lillian Hellman's classic drama, about two schoolteachers accused by a vengeful student of having a lesbian affair, is directed by Nick Bowling. Previews 10/31-11/3: Tue-Fri 8 PM, $12.

Opens Sat 11/4, 8 PM. Through 12/17: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Wed 11/29-12/13, 8 PM, no show Thu 11/23, TimeLine Theatre Company, Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, Baird Hall Theatre, 615 W. Wellington (courtyard entrance), 773-281-8463, $15-$25.

The Chicago Kids Company presents its updated musical version of the tale. Through 11/8: Mon-Fri 10:30 AM, Sat 10/28 12:30 PM, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green, 773-205-9600.

Then at Saint Patrick Performing Arts Centre, Saint Patrick High School, 5900 W. Belmont, 773-205-9600. Opens Fri 11/10, 10:30 AM.

Through 12/8: Mon-Fri 10:30 AM, Sat 11/18 and 12/2, 12:30 PM. $8.
Writer-performer Matt Sax shows off some killer skills in this one-man musical, about a suburban kid who escapes his dysfunctional family and embraces a life in performance poetry.

His rhymes and swagger represent the polished ideal aspired to by legions of white-boy rappers, and he snaps in and out of rubber-faced, full-bodied impressions. All his hip-hop coming-of-age tale lacks is urban grit; in its place is an overheated oedipal scenario sprung from the sillier nightmares of Eugene O'Neill. It's not a bad substitution, but the story gets bogged down in its details, and the "say what?

" payoff comes too late. (BN) Through 11/19: Thu 9:30 PM, Fri 5:30 and 10 PM, Sat 6:30 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM, Mon 7 PM, no show Sun 10/29, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chase Studio Theatre, 821 N. Michigan, 312-337-0665, $25-$30.

This site-specific performance by Local Infinities Visual Theater investigates the art and science of anatomy, focusing on ethical debate over public dissection in 17th-century Holland. The piece, which features the dissection of a life-size cadaver cast in gelatin, is presented in a former surgical amphitheater. Exhaustively researched, Corpus Delicti is intelligent and intelligently presented but sometimes feels a little bloodless.

The conceit is that it's a lecture; still, it shouldn't feel edifying. What saves it is the collaborators' delight in their creation and in the byzantine workings of the natural world and the human mind. (LM) 10/28-10/31: Sat-Tue 8 PM, University of Illinois Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Neuropsychiatric Institute, 912 S.

Wood, 312-528-0077, $10-$15.
This stripped-down version of Arthur Miller's 1953 drama about the Salem witch trials clocks in at 90 minutes (without an intermission) when the play usually runs two and a half hours. Performed on a set with less furniture than most dorm rooms, it feels as if it's being delivered by kids cramming for finals.

Pushed along by live drum accompaniment in this Speaking Ring Theatre Company production, many of the actors seem to be hurrying, though Paul Fagan turns in a finely nuanced performance as Reverend Hale. On the plus side, this high-velocity version emphasizes Miller's virtues--the tight dialogue, the well-told story--while zipping over his few lapses into ham-fisted anti-McCarthy agitprop. --Jack Helbig Through 11/18: Thu-Sun 8 PM, Holy Covenant United Methodist Church sanctuary, 925 W.

Diversey, 312-458-9374, $12-$15.
Set in a small Oklahoma town in the 1920s, William Inge's 1957 drama is built around a love triangle: the heroine, Cora, is caught between her feelings for her rough-hewn, cowpoke-ish husband, Rubin, and her eroticized connection with her kids--especially a son on the verge of puberty. Though he's got obvious affection for the characters in this reputedly autobiographical play, Inge draws them with a combination of mawkishness and clinical reserve that suggests he doesn't want to know them so much as solve--or resolve--them.

Cheryl Graeff might've overcome this essential difficulty if she'd found a way to play Cora's passionate undercurrents. She didn't, though, and comes across clunky, weepy, weak, and dull. (TA) Through 11/12: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, American Theater Company, 1909 W.

Byron, 773-929-1031, $30-$35.
Scott Woldman created this original late-night comedy from real-life tales of dating trials and tribulations. Through 11/11: Sat 10 PM, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 Campbell, Arlington Heights, 847-577-2121, $15, 13+, under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Sheila Callaghan penned this contemporary riff on James Joyce's Ulysses, featuring a jealous wife, a punk poetess, and kinky nightlife. Jarrett Dapier directs the midwest premiere for Dog Pony Theatre Company. Previews 10/26: Thu 8:30 PM.

Opens Fri 10/27, 8:30 PM. Through 11/26: Thu-Fri 8:30 PM, Sat 5 and 8:30 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Sun 11/26 3:30 PM, Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, 773-235-0492, $12-$15, Thu "pay what you can.

"
Sidney Kingsley's 1935 drama, a shocker in its time, remains a powerful and prescient study of bonding and betrayal in the urban jungle. Featuring a huge cast, it focuses on the residents of a dead-end New York street along the East River, where posh high-rises butt up against waterfront slums. When a Dillinger-like gangster with a bounty on his head returns to the neighborhood, there are repercussions for a gang of teenage street kids and a former gang member, now an unemployed architect who dreams of tearing down the tenements and building affordable housing.

The Griffin Theatre's well-acted production of this rarely revived classic combines bumptious comedy, suspense, and aching honesty. (AW) Through 11/12: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, $24.

This comic monologue about male-female relations, penned and originally performed by Rob Becker, preaches that the differences between men and women stem from prehistory: women are gatherers of information (that's why they're always talking to their girlfriends), men are hunters (they flip through channels because they're killing them as they go). There are funny moments, but Becker's exploration of stereotypes never gets deeper than, well, stereotypes. (JV) Fri 10/27, 8 PM, Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N.

Broadway, 773-472-3492, $40.
Joan Dickinson's multimedia performance, set in an old factory, traces the life and death of a teenage girl in 1930s Detroit. 10/28-11/5: Sat-Sun 7:30 PM, Iron Studios, 3636 S.

Iron, reservations at , $15.
Charles Smith's rich but unfocused drama presents the saga of Denmark Vesey, a freed slave in antebellum South Carolina who planned a slave rebellion in 1822. Despite a slow second act, Dennis Zacek's world-premiere staging is tellingly urgent; Anthony Fleming III gives a commanding portrayal of this complex martyr.

(LB) Through 11/12: Tue-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Wed 11/1 2 PM only, Wed 11/8, 2 and 7:30 PM, no show Tue 10/31, Victory Gardens Theater at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln, 773-871-3000, $30-$45.
Maybe the fault lies with Bernard Frechtman's 1950 translation of Pablo Picasso's only known script.

But even with the assistance of two onstage clowns who discuss the writer's intent with the audience during scene changes, the surreal dialogue remains more decorative than informative. The stage pictures, however, are vivid and concise: a communal bathtub is enveloped in a cloud of soap bubbles, Nazi bandits invade a picnic, a group of women destroy the sole male object of their affections. Under Frederick Husar's direction for Theatre o' th' Absurd and Dreadful Engines Theatre Company, the valiant ensemble embraces each moment, rendering this an engaging if ephemeral curiosity.

--Mary Shen Barnidge Through 11/12: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 4 PM, Side Studio, 1520 W. Jarvis, 877-505-6299, $12-$16.
Oracle Productions presents a spin on the haunted house in this installation "exploring malevolencies embedded in human nature," created by Brad Jayhan-Little.

Through 10/31: Thu-Tue 8 PM-11 PM. Admission every half-hour, performance lasts 15 minutes. Oracle Productions, 3809 N.

Broadway, 773-244-2980, $8, $5 if wearing costume, 18+.
You won't hear anything but good about Dionne Warwick in writer-director Jackie Taylor's latest bio-revue, framed as a tribute concert. With four singers playing different aspects of Warwick, the evening is devoted mostly to nostalgic replications of the brass-driven orchestrations that defined 60s pop.

(MSB) Open run: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Black Ensemble Theater, Uptown Center Hull House, 4520 N. Beacon, 773-769-4451, $35.
Corn Productions developed this collection of spooky tales for children based on stories written by actual kids.

The show includes "The Legend of Sleepy Helen," "The House of Spirits," and "Scary Movie Night--Yellow Mike Vs. Scruffy Mufflekiss." Through 11/12: Sat-Sun 2 PM, Cornservatory, 4210 N.

Lincoln, 312-409-6435, $5-$10.
Mac Wellman's version of Bram Stoker's vampire classic, directed by Chris Garcia Peak for Collision Theatre. Through 10/31: Fri-Sat 11 PM, Tue 8 PM, Angel Island, 735 W.

Sheridan, 312-281-8041, $10-$15.
Cross-dressing and gender play take the stage in this piece, conceived by Dean Evans and codirected by Evans and Sharon Greene. The five-member cast includes gay, lesbian, straight, transvestite, and transsexual artists, "as well as the community of those that reject those labels.

" Previews 11/2-11/3: Thu-Fri 8 PM, "pay what you can." Opens Sat 11/4, 8 PM. Through 12/9: Thu-Sat 8 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N.

Ashland (second floor), 773-275-5255, $10-$15.
The legacy of war through three generations of a Puerto Rican family is the basis for Quiara Alegria Hudes's play, presented as a coproduction of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Teatro Vista with the Steppenwolf Visiting Company Initiative. Lisa Portes directs a midwest premiere.

Previews 11/2-11/9: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, $15. Opens Fri 11/10, 8 PM. Through 12/10: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Sat 11/11, 7 PM, Wed 11/22, 8 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Merle Reskin Garage Theatre, 1624 N.

Halsted, 312-335-1650, $20-$22.
This comedy by Hollywood actor and prolific playwright Jeff Daniels is a tall tale about UP rubes beset by paranormal phenomena while on a hunting trip: if you can look past the lowbrow humor, you'll find hints of the "man who married a witch" legend. Rob Chambers directs a sitcom-savvy ensemble who retain a tenacious grip on the play's adolescent-male slapstick.

(MSB) Through 10/29: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Circle Theatre, 7300 W. Madison, Forest Park, 708-771-0700, $21-$23.
UrbanTheater Co.

presents the midwest premiere of the late Nuyorican playwright and poet Miguel Pinero's gritty drama, set in 1970s Philadelphia. The dialogue is as operatic as in Bizet's Carmen--and likely to sound almost as antiquated to audiences now fluent in the language of the ghetto. But under Joel Moorman's direction the vibrant young cast, led by Ivan Vega as the doomed antihero, deliver uniformly vigorous, intense, well-crafted performances.

(MSB) Through 11/12: Thu-Sat 7 PM, Sun 3 PM, Batey Urbano, 2620 W. Division, 773-347-1203, $20.
Story-theater kids' show based on Bitty Bear's Family Album, recommended for children aged three to six.

Open run: schedule follows. Through 11/19: Thu-Fri 11 AM, Sat 10 AM (no show Sat 11/18), American Girl Place, 111 E. Chicago, 877-247-5223, $7.

50-$15.
Neil LaBute's 2004 play offers a variation on the theme of lovers kept apart by societal intolerance of their passion. Here the lovers aren't of different races, ethnicities, or religions.

He's thin and she's not, and in our fat-obsessed world that makes all the difference. LaBute shows surprising sensitivity here, mapping the many ways that our culture desexualizes and dehumanizes fat people, especially women. Darrell W.

Cox and Deborah Hearst are superb as the ill-fated lovers, displaying a chemistry at odds with the stereotype that a woman can't be both heavy and attractive. (JHe) Through 12/17: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway, 773-549-1815, $15-$25.

Tony Mendoza stars in his own comedy about a bike messenger. Mendoza has a great handle on the contradictions of the typical two-wheeled warrior's goofy/grave persona, and is immensely watchable as the anchor of this urban picaresque. His supporting cast of seasoned sketch and improv players handily flesh out a rogues' gallery of grotesques, and director Pat McKenna keeps things ticking along at a steady clip.

This is pretty funny as bitch-about-my-job, trials-and-tribulations tales go; ultimately its shop-talk specificity gets a little wearying, and the story deliberately goes nowhere, but it rings true all the way through the realistically desultory finish. (BN) Through 11/2: Thu 8 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 4840 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665, $7, $5 for bike messengers with ID.

Believe it or not, the fake ethnic dancing is the reason to see Corn Productions' long-running, low-budget comedy. It's certainly not the plot, which goes nowhere as the characters--an itinerant dance troupe from the fictional Bebo--recount how they've been chased from place to place while searching for their floss, or identity. More significant than the pointed satire of Riverdance is the fundamental sweetness and camaraderie of the endeavor: the show both parodies and celebrates dancers' hopeful yet often hopeless attempts to communicate.

It's also a real treat to see nondancers pour themselves into dancing. (LM) Open run: Sat 8 PM, Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln, 312-409-6435, $5-$15.

Stuart Ross and James Raitt's nostalgic musical incorporates a plethora of 50s and 60s pop tunes ("Three Coins in the Fountain," "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing," etc) into its slim story of a long-dead male vocal group, the Four Plaids, who return as teen angels to give the ultimate comeback concert. Through 12/17: Wed 1:30 PM, Thu 1:30 and 8 PM, Fri 8:30 PM, Sat 5 and 8:30 PM, Sun 2:30 and 7 PM, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Roosevelt and Butterfield, Oakbrook Terrace, 630-530-0111, $22-$41.50.

A collection of four original horror stories, written and directed by Jason R. Chin. 10/30-10/31: Mon-Tue 8 PM, Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N.

Sheffield, 773-259-6087, $5.
Four black women pass the time together in a Chicago train station in 1929--ten years after the race riot, sparked by the stoning death of a young black boy on a south side beach, that killed 23 blacks and 15 whites. Peter Chatman directs his own script.

Open run: Fri-Sat 7 PM, Sun 3 PM, NU Stage Theatre, Parkway Community House, 500 E. 67th, 773-493-0901, $15-$25.
Mary Shelley's classic horror tale, adapted by Tim J.

Kelley, is directed by Adam Webster in a Theatre-Hikes production. 11/3-11/18: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Rte. 53, Lisle, 630-725-2066.

Then at North Lakeside Cultural Center, 6219 N. Sheridan, 773-293-1358 $12-$15.
The Beverly Theatre Guild presents Victor Gialanella's adaptation of Mary Shelley's horror classic.

10/27-10/31: Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Tue 7 PM, Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., 773-445-3838, $19-$20.

Griffin Theatre Company restages its 1998 adaptation of Andrew Clements's story about a word-happy fifth-grader prior to a national tour. Through 10/29: Thu-Fri 9:45 and 11:30 AM, Sat-Sun 11 AM, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 Campbell, Arlington Heights, 847-577-2121, $9-$12.
Ancient Rome meets the borscht belt in this 1962 musical by Bert Shevelove, Larry Gelbart, and Stephen Sondheim, about a slave's attempt to win freedom by helping his master's son marry the girl he loves.

Michael Weber directs for Noble Fool Theatricals. Through 11/4: Wed-Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Pheasant Run Resort Spa, 4051 E. Main (Rte.

64), Saint Charles, 630-584-6342, $27-$37.
Tennessee Williams's memory play about a would-be writer, his emotionally fragile sister, and their difficult mother is directed by Alison Henderson for New World Repertory Theater. Through 11/5: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Mason's Building, 923 Curtiss, Downers Grove, 630-663-1489, $10-$20.

The same, presented in a community production by Unity Players. 10/27-11/5: Fri-Sun 7:30 PM, Sun 10/29 2 and 7:30 PM, Unity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1212 W. Balmoral, 773-878-4747, $5-$10.

Multiple-personality disorder is the subject of Roger Rueff's new play, directed in its world premiere by Russ Tutterow. The story starts out as a melodramatic tale about a disturbed artist and her uptight friend, but then Rueff pulls out an ending from the M. Night Shyamalan School of Cheap Twists.

This is a case of the playwright failing the actors by substituting psychobabble claptrap for honest, revelatory dialogue. (KR) Through 10/29: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago, 312-633-0630, $22-$28.

Creepy stories from writers versed in terrors both supernatural (Edgar Allan Poe) and existential (Samuel Beckett) make up this seasonal offering, set at the "Danvers State Insane Asylum." Lynda Marie Newton directs; not intended for children. Opens Thu 10/26, 8 PM.

Through 11/5: Thu-Sun 8 PM, Tue 10/31, 8 PM, Gift Theatre Company, 4802 N. Milwaukee, 773-283-7071, $20-$25.
Or, the case of the procrastinating prince.

Former Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Terry Hands stages Shakespeare's tragedy. This efficient, concept-free production is more intelligent than passionate. Free of doubt even when he's indecisive, Canadian actor Ben Carlson's Hamlet makes few discoveries before our eyes but knows so perfectly what he's saying, as well as why, that surrendering spontaneity to clarity feels right.

(LB) Through 11/18: Tue-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Wed 11/1, 1 and 7:30 PM, no show Tue 10/31, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand, 312-595-5600, $40-$67.
The famed fussin' and feudin' families inspired this new musical by Shawn Pfautsch and Kevin O'Donnell, presented by the House Theatre of Chicago.

Though Pfautsch fiddles with the facts to make a better story, its bare bones are true: a McCoy girl and Hatfield boy fall in love, adding fuel to the fire of a long, bloody battle between the clans. Some writers would have given the well-known story a light treatment, but Pfautsch and O'Donnell use it as a jumping-off point for a full-fledged Shakespearean tragedy and a nuanced portrait of Appalachians that would have made James Agee proud. (JHe) Through 11/4: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Viaduct Theater, 3111 N.

Western, 773-251-2195, $10-$22.
Erica Mott created this double bill of movement-based performance pieces. Imprint is a group collage that explores human trafficking; Digging is a solo piece about "the dissection of one's self image.

" 11/2-11/4: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Link's Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield, 773-281-0824, $10-$15.
Magician David Parr presents a holiday-themed show about ghosties, goblins, and other things that go bump in the night.

10/29-10/31: Sun-Tue 7:30 PM, Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $25, 17+.
Shakespeare's history play is presented by the Shakespeare Project of Chicago.

Sat 10/28, 10 AM, Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton, 773-334-8771. Then Sat 10/28, 2 PM, Wilmette Public Library, 1242 Wilmette Ave.

, Wilmette, 773-334-8771. Then Sun 10/29, 2 PM, Highland Park Public Library, 494 Laurel Ave., Highland Park, 773-334-9771.

Novelist Teresa Dovalpage makes her playwriting debut in this piece about a brassy Cuban emigre living with a traditional New Mexican family, and dealing with postpartum depression. Rosario Vargas directs. Opens Thu 11/2, 7 PM, $40 (includes postshow reception).

Through 12/3: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 5 PM, Aguijon Theater Company, 2707 N. Laramie, 773-637-5899, $15-$20.
Neil Giuntoli's economical, mercurial performance in his own new play is so compelling it almost compensates for the script's lack of urgency.

As Mayor Richard J. Daley, he's fascinating, eclipsing everyone else in the cast: Hizzoner is a one-man show waiting to happen. Though historical events are liberally telescoped, Giuntoli focuses on Daley's struggles against the changing political tides of 1967 and '68.

Still, without a central conflict, the play's more diorama than drama. (JHa) Through 2/25: schedule follows. Through 10/29: Thu-Sat 7 PM, Sun 3 PM.

Then 11/2-2/25: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM. Prop Thtr, 3502-4 N. Elston, 773-539-7838, $32, two-for-one with same-night purchase of ticket to a Rhinoceros Theater Festival event (click here for ), depending on availability.

Harold Pinter's dark comedy, written in 1958 but unproduced and unpublished for nearly 20 years, takes place at a government institution on Christmas Eve--a place where one patient has just died and another has just given birth. Dado directs. See .

Through 12/3: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Sun 11/19 2 PM only, A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells, 312-943-8722, $14-$20.
Chopin Theatre's annual presentation of European solo performances features artists from Finland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Germany-- and one domestic offering, Walkabout Theatre's Poor, Poor Lear (see ).

In addition to the Walkabout show, the opening night also features Slovenia's Mojtina Jurcer's Hamlet/Dreams, a nonverbal performance based on Shakespeare's tragedy. A complete schedule will appear in next week's paper, or see . Thu 11/2, 7 PM, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W.

Division, 773-278-1500, $10-$20, includes Poor, Poor Lear and Hamlet/Dreams and a reception.
Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts's musical features comedic sketches on modern romance. It's directed by Robyn Okrant.

Through 11/11: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 7 PM, Sun 3 PM, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 Campbell, Arlington Heights, 847-577-2121, $29-$38.
David Alan Moore's corker of a courtroom drama addresses the debates over national security vs. civil liberties.

The fact-based plot concerns eight German saboteurs arrested on Long Island in 1942 and subjected to a secret military tribunal. Paul Dunckel plays the Germans' fictional defense attorney, an American Jew, as a policy wonk--the kind of guy whose stolid attention to constitutional details is often the only barrier between freedom and tyranny. Jeremy Sher is multilayered as ringleader Georg, and Don Tieri exposes some raw nerves as a swaggering American colonel.

(KR) Through 11/11: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield, 773-883-8830, $18-$22.
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E.

Lee's drama script centers on the famed "monkey trial" of 1925, in which a small-town schoolteacher in Tennessee was prosecuted for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. Director Jessica Thebus's pared-down but moving production makes the characters' personal struggles immediate and affecting. The strong cast, ably led by Scott Jaeck and Tony Mockus as the charismatic attorneys (modeled on real-life antagonists William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow), provide thought-provoking entertainment, proving this is a work that still resonates.

(JG) Through 11/12: Wed 1 and 7:30 PM, Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Tue 11/7, 7:30 PM, Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, 847-673-6300, $36-$54.
Fairy tales from the darkside: Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical explores the uses and misuses of enchantment, drawing upon folklore collected by the Brothers Grimm as well as original stories.

Dominic Missimi directs. Through 11/19: Wed 1 and 8 PM, Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM, Sun 1 and 5 PM, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Rte. 21 (Milwaukee Ave.

), Lincolnshire, 847-634-0200, $42-$45.
Tireswing Theatre offers stories about northern India, written and directed by Andrew R. Lines, as part of the city's Silk Road Chicago celebration of Asian culture.

Through 11/12: Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, no shows Fri 10/27 and 11/10, Chicago Cultural Center, studio theater, 78 E. Washington (enter at 77 E. Randolph), 312-742-8497, $10-$15.

Terry Abrahamson and Stephen Joseph's tiresome new musical, about a couple frantic to resuscitate their sex life, is directed by Arnie Saks. Though the audience groans at the obvious but sometimes funny puns, some of the evening is downright nasty, and not in a sexy way: there's an ick factor when numbers are devoted to herpes or to recycling "love juices." Most of the ensemble have strong pipes, so bachelors or bachelorettes looking for a party probably won't be disappointed.

But other audience members are likely to wait patiently for over two hours, hoping for some sort of rewarding climax, then simply for a premature resolution. (JG) Through 10/28: Thu 7 PM, Fri-Sat 7 and 10 PM, Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, $32.

50-$36.50.
The disciple with the treacherous kiss provides the basis for this black comedy by Stephen Adly Guirgis, set during a modern-day trial and featuring celebrity witnesses including Jesus, Pontius Pilate, Mother Teresa, and a slick Satan.

Guirgis makes a good case for reexamining Judas's supposed crime in this inquest into the circumstances surrounding it, and an even better one if you know your theology, but the play never spills into outright blasphemy. Director Brad Akin's densely textured production loses steam in its final moments, but a sprightly ensemble makes the play's blend of scholarship and low comedy engaging. (MSB) Through 11/11: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Steep Theatre, 3902 N.

Sheridan, 312-458-0722, $18.
A bona fide born-in-Chicago international hit, this long-running comedy by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan concerns a nun instructing her students--that's you--on the dos and don'ts of dogma. The show is at once nostalgic and satirical.

(JHe) Open run: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Royal George Theatre Center, Great Room, 1641 N. Halsted, 312-988-9000, $30.
Tim Clue and Spike Manton's bittersweet comedy follows a man traveling country highways looking for a meaningful place to scatter his father's ashes.

Multilayered performances keep the gags from feeling tired. And beyond the somewhat cliched premise is the son's genuine sense of mourning--for his father, for his childhood, and for our nation's loss of its heartland to chain stores and parking lots. Try as you might not to be manipulated into nostalgic twinges, don't be surprised if Leaving Iowa gets you in the end.

(KWB) Through 12/31: Wed 2 PM, Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Royal George Theatre Center, 1641 N. Halsted, 312-988-9000, $15-$43.
Washington Irving's classic tale of a timid schoolteacher and a headless horseman is adapted and directed by Jessica Hutchinson for Rascal Children's Theater.

The company cautions that the show is "not appropriate for children under 7 years of age." Through 11/4: Sat 2 PM, Rogue Theater Company, 5123 N. Clark, 773-561-5893, $6-$11.

Washington Irving's classic is presented in a historic Old Town riding hall. Through 11/8: Tue-Thu 11 AM, Sat 2 and 7:30 PM, Sun 11/5 2 PM, Tue 11/7 11 AM and 7:30 PM, Noble Horse Theatre, 1410 N. Orleans, 866-468-3401 or 312-266-7878, $18-$32.

Gus Edwards's series of vignettes about black urban life is directed by James Pringle of New York's Harlem Theatre Company. The cast of characters includes some expected types: the alcoholic philosopher, the defiant prostitute, the middle-class matron dazzled by boho romance. But there are also more intriguing folks, like the hetero male who's disturbed by the anger lurking beneath gay cruising rites and the affluent executive whose widowed mother refuses his care, preferring the life of a bag lady.

Pringle's elegant staging and astute actors give these portrayals immediacy and compassion. (MSB) Through 11/5: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 and 7 PM, ETA Creative Arts Foundation, ETA Square, 7558 S. South Chicago, 773-752-3955, $25, two for one Thu and Sun 7 PM (except closing night).

This play by Rogue Theater artistic director Nate White is one of the odder things I've seen--a comedy of sorts but perversely flattened, its blank whimsy like a cross between Jim Jarmusch and Hal Hartley repackaged for the CW. An exercise in implausibility, but one whose dopey plot swings and overly direct dialogue are bluntly inarguable. In White's arcless tale, centered on a "lopsided romantic pentagon of unrequited love," the only real action happens offstage.

Given the whiff of magic banality hanging over everything, director Dan Foss coaxes remarkably natural, engaging performances from principal Eve Rounds and the other actors. But somehow their best moments all come when the script leaves them hopelessly adrift. A mixed but intriguing bag.

--Brian Nemtusak Through 11/11: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Rogue Theater Company, 5123 N. Clark, 773-561-5893, $12-$15.
Henry II and his estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitane, trade barbs and jockey for royal position along with their trio of sons in James Goldman's 1966 drama, performed by the Saint Sebastian Players.

Through 11/12: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Saint Bonaventure Church, basement-level theater, 1625 W. Diversey (enter on Marshfield), 773-404-7922, $7-$15.
Shakespeare's "Scottish play," directed by Karen Fort in a community production.

Through 11/18: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 1:30 PM, Chase Park auditorium, 4701 N. Ashland, 312-742-4701, $5-$7.
Paul Bruce penned this new musical, based on Alexandre Bisson's 1906 play about a nameless and silent woman in Bordeaux, France, accused of murdering her companion.

It's presented by AlleyCat Productions under the direction of Harry "C" Campagna. With its fallen woman, diabolical villains, deathbed redemption, and relentless moralizing, Bisson's melodrama was the kind of fare that audiences of 100 years ago couldn't get enough of: sentimental and silly, but also a ready vehicle for lavish spectacle, outsize acting, and juicy storytelling. It's this last aspect that's missing here.

(ZT) Through 12/3: Wed-Thu 7 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Wed 11/1, and 11/15, 2 and 7 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green, 312-733-6000, $40-$55.
Comedian Patti Vasquez performs the second installment in her autobiographical explorations of maternal life.

Through 12/3: Sun 7 PM, Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, 773-472-3492, $25.
Former vaudeville child star June Havoc penned this semiautiobiographical drama about, yes, a former vaudeville child star eking out a living on the marathon dance circuit of the Great Depression.

Havoc's play died a quick death when it opened on Broadway in 1963. Director Shade Murray's sprawling, noisy revival, which shoehorns 33 actors onto a tiny stage, makes it clear why. Though we spend two and a half hours watching the dancers sink into violence, backstabbing, and physical misery, no relationships emerge; mostly the play wallows in repetitive displays of the wretched exploitation the dancers suffered.

Kat McDonnell's blistering, superbly focused portrayal of June can't save the evening, but she provides more indelible moments than most performers deliver in an entire season. (JHa) Through 10/28: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Strawdog Theatre Company, 3829 N. Broadway, 773-528-9696, $15-$20.

Jenni Lamb's new play, based on her own family's experiences in Poland during World War II and in postwar America, is directed by Karen Yates for Overdog Productions. Previews Thu 11/2, 8 PM, $8. Opens Fri 11/3, 8 PM.

Through 12/2: Fri-Sat 8 PM, no show Fri 11/24, Peter Jones Gallery, 1806 W. Cuyler, 773-791-0469, $15.
Jeanie Linders's musical about women entering midlife features dull, borderline offensive song parodies set to tunes supposedly beloved by baby boomers.

Focusing on an aging soap actress, an executive, a 60s-style hippie, and a small-town tourist who meet at a lingerie sale, Menopause the Musical reduces women to symptoms: hot flashes, chocolate cravings, emotional outbursts. The changes menopause brings deserve a thoughtful, engaging, fresh response. This isn't it.

(JV) Through 11/19: Wed 2 and 8 PM, Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM, Sun 3:30 PM, Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $46.50.

Shakespeare's famously controversial drama, about a Jewish moneylender whose daughter elopes with a Christian in Renaissance Italy, is presented by Red Tape Theatre, Through 11/12: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Saint Peter's Church, 621 W. Belmont, 312-494-5822, $15, industry discount all shows.
Jen Ellison directed this send-up of evangelical Christian haunted houses that use scenes of sinners in hell to scare visitors into repentance.

The show is reportedly less bloody than its previous incarnations, but it's still remarkably unsettling. The fire-and-brimstone vignettes depicting herpes, murder, suicide, abortion (beware, it's a chunky one), rape, and vicious homophobia all get shockingly gross but clever effects. The gore and irreverent topicality may deter some, but for the thick-skinned this is weird, gut-busting camp.

(RH) Through 10/27: Fri midnight, Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, 773-655-7756, $10.
Shakespeare's fairy-tale romance is performed by students under Jonathan Wilson's direction.

11/2-11/12: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Loyola University Chicago, Kathleen Mullady Memorial Theatre, Centennial Forum, 6525 N. Sheridan (enter at 1125 W. Loyola), 773-508-3847, $5-$15.

A "highly distilled" adaptation of Herman Melville's behemoth of a novel, created and directed by Blake Montgomery and featuring music by Kevin O'Donnell. Opens Fri 10/27, 8 PM. Through 12/2: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Building Stage, 1044 W.

Kinzie (enter at 412 N. Carpenter), 312-491-1369, $10-$20.
Bertolt Brecht's devastating indictment of renegade capitalism and soulless profiteering in a time of "total fear" is adapted by British playwright David Hare--a combustible mix that proves eclectic, stylized, riveting, and tragically topical in Elizabeth Carlin-Metz's staging for the Vitalist Theatre.

Hare's dialogue is sardonic and corrosive, but the abundant gallows humor never undercuts Brecht's rage. (LB) Through 11/5: Fri 8 PM, Sat 2:30 and 8 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, $15-$20.

Jean-Paul Sartre's classic existential drama is directed by Christopher Dennis for LiveWire Chicago Theatre. Through 11/5: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis, 773-412-8089, $10-$12, industry shows Thu.

Plasticene unveils its newest physical theater piece, exploring the "method and madness" of bank robbery, created by the company and directed by Dexter Bullard. Previews 10/26: Thu 7:30 PM. Opens Fri 10/27, 7:30 PM.

Through 11/5: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Storefront Theater, Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, 66 E. Randolph, 312-742-8497, $15-$20.
Modjesko Theatre of Legnica, Poland, presents their pared-down experimental take on the Shakespearean tragedy, conceived and directed by Jacek Glomb.

Presented in Polish. Opens Fri 10/27, 8 PM. Through 10/29: Sat 8 PM, Sun 4 PM, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W.

Division, 773-278-1500, $25-$35, includes postshow reception.
Aaron Carter's drama is about black radicals who kidnap a governor's daughter and then attempt to convince the public that white supremacists are responsible. Andrea J.

Dymond directs the world premiere for Ma'at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre (MPAACT). Previews through 10/28: Thu-Fri 8:30 PM, Sat 8 PM, $16. Opens Sun 10/29, 3:30 PM, $30 (includes postshow reception).

Through 12/3: Thu-Fri 8:30 PM, Sat 8 PM, Sun 3:30 PM, Sat 11/25 5:30 and 9 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln, 773-871-3000, $19.50-$22.

50.
Robert Sherwood's 1935 drama delivers a ton of Depression-era desperation. Set in the Arizona desert, it chronicles the fertile juncture of three people: a supposedly outmoded intellectual, a gangster without a future, and a waitress-dreamer who refuses to become petrified like the famous "forest" down the road.

Can one lover's reason to die provide another's hope for happiness? Sherwood makes this melodramatic question a real life-and-death matter. If the dialogue sometimes lurches between the rapturous and the hard-boiled, director Kathy Scambiatterra's sure touch keeps it real.

So do John Mossman as the burned-out philosopher, Maria Stephens as the tough but trusting waitress, and Mike Carroll as the no-nonsense desperado. Mark Dillon is hilarious as Billy the Kid's last living fan, a garrulous grandpa. --Lawrence Bommer Through 11/26: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 5 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Artistic Home, 1420 W.

Irving Park, 866-811-4111, $17-$22.
Steve Martin's comedy posits a fateful (and fictitious) encounter between the young Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein in a turn-of-the-century Parisian art bar. Martin's good at dropping names of smart people, but he never explores the ideas his characters bring up.

This is especially true of this bloated sketch masquerading as a full-length play. The 20th Century Ensemble's production, which is staged in a bar, makes the evening a little more bearable thanks to the novelty of the environment and the pretty good to terrific performances. (JHe) Through 11/11: Fri-Sat 7 PM, The Spot, 4437 N.

Broadway, 773-250-3332, $20-$25.
Martin McDonagh's black comedy focuses on a self-absorbed young writer in a totalitarian state who is interrogated about similarities between his stories and a series of gruesome murders. McDonagh skillfully blends dark humor with toxic violence, and Amy Morton directs a stellar cast (including Jim True-Frost, Tracy Letts, and Yasen Peyankov) that finds nearly all the play's morbid humor and works overtime to compensate for McDonagh's uncharacteristic lack of coherence.

(JHa) Through 11/12: Tue 7:30 PM, Wed 2 and 7:30 PM, Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, downstairs theater, 1650 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650, $20-$65.
Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, creators of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, team up with director Frank Galati and the producers of Riverdance for this Broadway-bound musical version of Morgan Llywelyn's historical novel Grania--She King of the Irish Seas, itself inspired by the life of 16th-century chieftain and pirate Grace O'Malley.

Previews through 10/28: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM. Opens Sun 10/29, 6 PM. Through 11/26: Tue 7:30 PM, Wed 2 and 7:30 PM, Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, no show Thu 11/23, Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W.

Randolph, 312-902-1400, $28-$85.
Walkabout Theater Company premieres a reimagining by Kristan Schmidt and Nina Sallinen of Shakespeare's tragedy as a monologue for a 90-year-old Scandinavian actress. Sallinen, a native of Finland, performs under Schmidt's direction.

It's presented as part of the Chopin Theatre's annual I-Fest of European solo performances (see ). Opens Thu 11/2, 7 PM. Through 11/12: Sun 3 PM, Mon-Thu 7 PM, Fri 9 PM, Sun 11/12, 5 PM, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W.

Division, 773-278-1500, $10-$20 ($20 weekend admission includes two I-Fest shows per evening, plus reception).
David Auburn's drama, about the relationship between a young, troubled Hyde Park woman and her even more disturbed mathematician father, is directed by Gregory Gerhard. Previews 11/1-11/2: Wed-Thu 8 PM, $15.

Opens Fri 11/3, 8 PM. Through 12/10: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Actors Workshop Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, 773-728-7529, $20-$25, $10 industry through 12/3.

Vicki Quade's follow-up to her long-running Late Nite Catechism (see ) finds an old-school nun leading a class in etiquette. Patricia Musker and Lynda Shadrake alternate in the lead role. With more time to ripen, deeper dives into obscure Catholic lore, and perhaps more direct commentary on the church, the production could match the appeal of its predecessor.

As is, it's an entertaining excuse to sing "Kumbaya" and get spanked with a ruler. (KWB) Open run: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Royal George Theatre Center, 1641 N. Halsted, 312-988-9000, $30.

Quest Theatre Ensemble celebrates "puppets, percussion, and dance" in a day filled with free workshops and performances. For a complete schedule, see . Sun 10/29, 11:30 AM-6 PM, Saint Gregory the Great Church, Klasen Hall, 1609 W.

Gregory, 312-458-0895.
This affecting and lovely musical version of A Raisin in the Sun--Lorraine Hansberry's landmark drama about an African-American Chicago family's quest for a better life--has rarely been revived since its 1973 debut. Charles Newell's intimate staging, which stars the luminous Ernestine Jackson as the matriarch, restores the piece to its roots in Chicago's south side, and Hansberry's portrait of resilience in the face of racial oppression remains powerful.

Slow to start, the musical--created by Hansberry's ex-husband, Robert Nemiroff, with Charlotte Zaltzberg, Judd Woldin, and Robert Brittan--quietly draws us in with a series of ballads and a couple of rousing gospel numbers. (KR) Through 10/29: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 2:30 and 7:30 PM, Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis, 773-753-4472, $36-$54.

Jose Rivera's drama about a woman awaiting her husband's return from the 1991 gulf war is performed by students of the Theatre School at DePaul University. Previews Thu 10/26, 7:30 PM. Opens Fri 10/27, 7:30 PM.

Through 11/5: Wed-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Bailiwick Repertory, 1229 W. Belmont, 312-922-1999.
The 136th edition of the "greatest show on earth" promises a "hip, pop-style score," as well as 85 performers, including "American Idol" finalist Jennifer Fuenters, Chinese acrobats, Cossack riders, and a storyline involving one family's "magical circus journey.

" Opens Wed 11/1, 7 PM. Through 11/12: Wed-Fri 7 PM, Sat 11:30 AM and 3:30 and 7:30 PM, Sun 11/5 1 and 5 PM, Sun 11/12 12:30 and 4:30 PM, Fri 11/3 10:30 AM and 7 PM, Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim, Rosemont, 312-559-1212.

Then at United Center, 1901 W. Madison, 312-559-1212. Opens Tue 11/14, 7 PM.

Through 11/26: schedule follows. Through 11/21: Wed-Fri 10:30 AM and 7 PM, Sat 11:30 AM and 3:30 and 7:30 PM, Sun 1 and 5 PM, Tue 7 PM. Then 11/22-11/26: Wed 7 PM, Fri-Sat 11:30 AM and 3:30 and 7:30 PM, Sun 1 and 5 PM,, 6920 N.

Mannheim, Rosemont, 312-559-1212, $13-$50.
The second installment of Dan Telfer's late-night superhero comedy, featuring characters such as the Eel of the Deep and the Unfairy. Through 11/4: Fri-Sat 11 PM, Rogue Theater Company, 5123 N.

Clark, 773-561-5893, $8.
E.M.

Forster's love story about an English girl who finds her passions awakened during a trip to Tuscany is adapted by Christina Calvit and directed by Dorothy Milne. Through 12/3: Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 5:30 PM, Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood, 773-761-4477, $14-$26.

A priest in a small Michigan town is charged with killing a nun in Milan Stitt's 1976 drama, based on an actual 1911 murder.