Theater events: Whitney comes to Chicago Improv

Weekend with Whitney

Whitney Cummings, a former “Chelsea Lately” regular who co-created the CBS sitcom “Two Broke Girls,” headlines the Chicago Improv in Schaumburg this weekend. Cummings starred for two years in her own self-titled NBC comedy several years ago. Her second comedy special “I Love You” aired last year on Comedy Central. This weekend, you can see her in Schaumburg.

8 and 10:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27; 7, 9:15 and 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at 5 Woodfield Road, Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg. $32, plus a two-item minimum. (847) 240-2001 or chicago.improv.com.

Doctor in the house

Dr. Bill Miller, a physician who's been doing comedy since he attended Northwestern University Medical School in the 1980s, brings his show #8220;Doctors are People Too#8221; to Zanies at Pheasant Run. The California native turned suburban Chicago resident has appeared on the showtime Comedy Club Network and #8220;An Evening at the Improv#8221; among other shows.

7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Zanies, Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $20, plus a two-item food or drink minimum. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com.

#8216;Antigonick'

Sideshow Theatre Company presents its re-imagined version of Sophocles' tragedy #8220;Antigone,#8221; translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson. Set in the present day, #8220;Antigonick#8221; examines the conflict between morality and patriotism as Antigone defies the law in order to bury the body of her brother Polynices. Jonathan L. Green directs.

Previews begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 5. $10-$30. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org or sideshowtheatre.org.

What's new

#8226; Performances continue through March 7 for Jedlicka Performing Arts Center's revival of Ken Ludwig's comedy #8220;Moon Over Buffalo.#8221; It's about George and Charlotte, a fading 1950s theater couple on the verge of splitting up who are starring in repertory productions in Buffalo, New York. JPAC managing director Steve Calzaretta directs the show at 3801 S. Central Ave., Cicero. (708) 656-1800 or jpactheatre.com.

#8226; Previews begin Saturday, Feb. 28, for the world premiere of #8220;Picture Imperfect,#8221; a collaboration between Bread Roses Productions, The Athenaeum Theatre, Inglis Hall Productions and Suzanne M. Gray. The play by Joel Z. Cornfield and Richard James Zieman centers on Mary, the single mother of an autistic son who battles to recreate the #8220;perfect family#8221; she once had. The show opens Thursday, March 5, at 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6875 or athenaeumtheatre.org.

#8226; Quest Theatre Ensemble will stage a musical revue titled #8220;by special reQuest!#8221; for five Saturdays beginning Saturday, Feb. 28, at The Blue Theatre, 1609 W. Gregory St., Chicago. The revue showcases songs from shows the company has produced over its 13 seasons including #8220;Evolution/Creation,#8221; #8220;Drum Circle Pandora#8221; and #8220;The People's History of the United States.#8221; Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. (312) 458-0895 or questensemble.org.

#8226; The Chicago Fringe Festival hosts its annual Lottery Party beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Rex Tavern, 4933 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. This is the event where individuals and organizations learn if they will perform at the 2015 Chicago Fringe Festival taking place from Sept. 3 to 13, 2015, in Chicago's Jefferson Park. The party is free and includes live music, bingo, food and drink specials. See chicagofringe.org.

#8226; Barrel of Monkeys presents #8220;That's Weird, Grandma: The Musical,#8221; beginning Sunday, March 1, at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. Made up of stories penned by Chicago public school students with music by BOM company members, the show is directed by Joseph Schupbach. Performances run Sundays and Mondays through March 30. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

#8226; International Voices Project 2015, consisting of concert readings of eight international plays, continues at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, with #8220;No Matter How Hard We Try,#8221; by Polish playwright Dorota Maslowska. A coproduction with Trap Door Theatre, the play is about a schizophrenic surviving in post-communist Poland. That's followed on Monday, March 2, by a Chilean play by Trinidad Gonzalez titled #8220;The Reunion.#8221; Translated by Alexandra Ripp and produced in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes, Columbia College Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art, the one-act play imagines a conversation between Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus in 1504, after Columbus had been accused of abusing his power in the Indies. (773) 250-7055 or ivpchicago.org.

#8226; Eve Krueger examines the awkward encounters and social missteps of her childhood in #8220;The Socially Awkward Show,#8221; a solo performance beginning previews Sunday, March 1, at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show runs at 8 p.m. Sunday through March 30. Also at The Annoyance, the #8220;Comedy Combo Open Mic,#8221; which consists of improv followed by open mic, opens at 9:30 p.m. March 7. #8220;Bring on the Ladies,#8221; a series of female-centric variety shows, runs at 10 p.m. Wednesdays through March 11. On March 18, The Annoyance debuts #8220;That's What She Said,#8221; an all-female variety hour directed by Susan Glynn featuring recurring characters and musical guests. The theater has extended to March 20 its production of the dark comedy #8220;Contention: A Love/Hate Story#8221; about the emotions that define a relationship. Lastly, #8220;Buffalo,#8221; a musical improv group, now runs at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays through April 2. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

#8226; Writer/comedian Cody Melcher, co-producer of ComedySportz's #8220;100 Proof Comedy,#8221; hosts a monthly variety show centered on randomly selected themes such as #8220;emotion,#8221; #8220;logic#8221; and #8220;democracy#8221; beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

#8226; The 16th Street Theater performs #8220;Letters From Dad#8221; as part of a special event at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at FitzGerald's 6615 W. Roosevelt Road, Berwyn. Company members will read excerpts from letters collected from members of the community as part of the theater's season titled #8220;Fathers, Daughters, Mothers, Sons.#8221; #8220;It surprised me how much one letter from my father communicated his personality, his dreams and his life,#8221; said founder/artistic director Ann Filmer in a prepared statement. (708) 795-6704 or 16thstreettheater.org.

#8226; Sketch comedy group Slacktivity Abyss debuts its first show #8220;See Attached#8221; at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

#8226; Performances continue through Sunday, March 1, for the Chicago Children's Theatre production of Blair Thomas Company's #8220;The Selfish Giant.#8221; The all-ages production incorporates Thomas' puppets and Michael Smith's music in the retelling of the Oscar Wilde story about a grumpy giant who forbids the neighborhood children from playing in his garden. Performances are at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (872) 222-9555 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

#8226; A Red Orchid Theatre has extended its production of Grant James Varjas' #8220;Accidentally, Like a Martyr,#8221; a slice of life that unfolds in a dive, gay bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side where the regulars laugh, joke and battle their way through a wintry evening. Performances continue through March 15 at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

#8226; #8220;Mr. Burns, a post-electric play#8221; is Anne Washburn's #8220;The Simpsons#8221;-inspired musical dramedy about a band of survivors negotiating the apocalypse with help from Bart, Homer, Marge and Lisa. Performances continue through March 22 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.

#8226; Theater-goers can register for a preshow drawing for a chance to purchase $25 tickets to Broadway in Chicago's #8220;The Book of Mormon,#8221; which runs through May 17, at the Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. In person registration is required. Registration starts when the box office opens. Each person fills out a card with his or her name and the number of tickets (1 or 2) the person wishes to purchase. Names will be drawn two hours before curtain. One entry per person. A limited number of tickets are available. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

#8226; Attendance for last month's Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival topped 14,000. Organizers heralded the inaugural event as a success. They say more than 80 percent of the 83 events sold out and others played to an 87 percent capacity over the course of the festival, which ran from Jan. 14 to 25. #8220;When you go to the theater and the collective attention of a full house of people is focused on a very small gesture made by a puppet, that tells us something about being a human being,#8221; said Blair Thomas, the festival's artistic director, in a prepared statement. Organizers intend the festival to be a biannual event.