Theater events: Chicago Children's Theatre hosts signed performance

• The 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, performance of the Chicago Children's Theatre production of Leo Lionni's “Frederick” will include sign language interpretation for deaf or hard-of-hearing audience members. The 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, performance will be exclusively for families with children on the autism spectrum. The show, about a mouse who daydreams while his fellow mice are preparing for winter, runs through Nov. 16 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (872) 222-9555 or chicagchildrenstheatre.org.

• 'Dracula' on the air: Using Orson Welles' 1938 script, Improv Playhouse stages Bram Stoker's “Dracula” as a radio play. “By far the closest to the original novel,” says director David Stuart of the adaptation, reportedly broadcast months before Welles' famous “War of the Worlds” production. Presented as diary readings and newspaper clippings, the G-rated show is accompanied by live and recorded sound effects. Libertyville resident David Cocks plays the count and Egon Schein plays Van Helsing. 7:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. $12.50, $8, in advance; $15, $10, at the door ($2 off for those in costume). (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

• Combat stories: Interviews with female soldiers who laid their lives on the front lines inspired “Women at War,” Megan Carney's examination of the lives of women in the military from recruitment to deployment to their return home. Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, where Carney is a member, presents the world premiere of the drama, which inaugurates the company's 20th season. Tara Mallen directs. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 8. $15-$35. (773) 334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org.

• House heralds season: The first theater company bringing holiday cheer to Chicago-area stages this year is The House Theatre of Chicago with its family-friendly version of “The Nutcracker.” Adapted by ensemble members Jake Minton and Phillip Klapperich, the tale centers on young Clara who battles the Rat King to save her family. Tommy Rapley directs and choreographs the show, which features puppets, song and The House's trademark spectacle. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 14. $15-$45. (773) 769-3832 or thehousetheatre.com.

• A reclusive millionaire learns he's the target of a murderous psychopath, and is powerless to do anything but wait for the inevitable, in “Solitary Confinement,” by Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes (“The Mystery of Edwin Drood”). Performances run through Nov. 15 at Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, Morton College, 3801 S. Central Ave., Chicago. (708) 656-1800 or jpactheatre.com.

• Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, hosts an adults-only Halloween burlesque cabaret at 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31. Also at Gorilla Tango, EEK! Theatre Company serves up some seasonal satire during its “Schlocktoberfest! A Killer Komedy Show” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• TV actor Alan Thicke hosts the national tour of “Dancing Pros: Live!” featuring Chelsie Hightower and Edyta Sliwinksa from “Dancing With the Stars” and Ryan Di Lello from “So You Think You Can Dance.” The Broadway in Chicago-sponsored tour comes to the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2. The show also features “American Idol” vocalist Joanna Pacitti and “The Voice” contestant Angel Taylor. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The Museum of Contemporary Art and the Chicago Humanities Festival welcome the Chilean theater company Teatro en el Blanco, who will perform “La Reunion,” about an imagined final meeting between Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, and 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, at the MCA, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The show is presented in Spanish with English subtitles. (312) 397-4010 or chicagohumanities.org or mcachicago.org.

• Li'l Buds Theatre Company hosts its first young playwright's contest at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at Senn Hall, Senn High School, 5900 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The performance features four short plays written during the company's residency at Frances Xavier Warde School that were inspired by short stories submitted by second graders. The audience will vote on the winning play, which ensemble members will adapt and expand into a 60-minute work to be produced in 2016. (773) 334-4543 or lilbudstheatre.org.

• Previews begin Tuesday, Nov. 4, for “Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale,” written by and starring the former Twisted Sister frontman and directed by Adam John Hunter. The show is about a 1980s hair metal band whose members sell their souls to the devil to achieve their rock star dreams. The problem is, when they try to seal the pact, their rock anthems turn into Christmas carols. Performances continue through Jan. 4, 2015, at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Raven Theatre presents a workshop production of playwright/composer Douglas Post's new comedy “Forty-Two Stories” as part of its [Working Title] new play development series. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 3-5, at 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. Jessica Fisch directs the comedy about the inhabitants of a Chicago high-rise, including a University of Chicago student moonlighting as a janitor, a harried apartment manager, and assorted residents and employees. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

• UrbanTheater Company opens its ninth season with the Midwest premiere of Carmen Rivera's “Julia De Burgos: Child of Water” about 20th-century Puerto Rican playwright and civil rights activist Julia De Burgos, who championed Puerto Rican independence. Previews begin Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, 3015 W. Division St., Chicago. The show, directed by Juan Castaneda, opens Nov. 7. (312) 239-8783 or urbantheaterchicago.org.

• “The American Revolution,” Theater Unspeakable's original, family-friendly take on the founding of the nation, begins previews Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble St., Chicago. Marc Frost directs seven actors who re-create the fight for independence beginning with the battle of Lexington and Concord in a production presented by Adventure Stage Chicago. Performances run through Nov. 29. (312) 342-4141 or adventurestage.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, Nov. 6, for Court Theatre's production of Euripides' “Iphigenia in Aulis,” about King Agamemnon's decision to sacrifice his own daughter to the gods in return for victory over Troy, in a translation by Court's founding artistic director, Nicholas Rudall. Current artistic director Charles Newell directs the production, which marks the first in a series of three Greek tragedies to be produced by the theater. Mark L. Montgomery plays Agamemnon, 2014 Jeff Award winner Sandra Marquez plays his wife, Clytemnestra, and Stephanie Andrea Barron plays Iphigenia. The show opens Nov. 15 at 4435 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Teatro Vista announced the addition of new ensemble members Ramon Camin and Tommy Rivera-Vega. The company, which is devoted to showcasing Latino theater and Latino artists, also named seven new artistic associates. They are Jennifer Aparicio, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Carlo Lorenzo Garcia, Isaac Gomez, Ayssette Munoz, Yunuen Pardo and Jessie Prez. See teatrovista.org.