Theater events: Finding love at the heart of Steel Beam's 'Ordinary Days'

‘Ordinary Days'

The lives of four New Yorkers searching for love and happiness intersect in “Ordinary Days,” a contemporary musical by composer/lyricist Adam Gwon seen earlier this year at Chicago's Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. Richard Pahl directs Steel Beam Theatre's revival. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Friday, April 10, at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $23-$28. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

Drury Lane coup

The Jeff Award-winning duo of director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell and music director Roberta Duchak reunite to helm Drury Lane Theatre's regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning “Billy Elliot.” Adapted from the hit 2000 film for the stage by Elton John and screenwriter/lyricist Lee Hall, the musical centers on a young boy from a British mining town whose passion for dance inspires his community. Nicholas Dantes and Kyle Halford share the role of Billy. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Friday, April 10, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The show opens April 16. $45-$60. (630) 530-8300 or drurylane.com.

Anne's story

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre presents “The Diary of Anne Frank,” adapted by Wendy Kesselman from the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Alexandra Kunath of Arlington Heights directs the Stories in Action production, which stars Rachel Shapiro as the young Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis with her family and others in an Amsterdam attic during World War II. Michael Denini plays Anne's father, Otto. Opens at 9:30 a.m. Monday, April 13, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $12, $14. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Other theater events

• Steven Pasquale plays carnival barker Billy Bigelow opposite Laura Osnes as the innocent millworker Julie Jordan in Lyric Opera of Chicago's revival of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's “Carousel,” the third production in its American Musical Theater Initiative. Rob Ashford (“The Barber of Seville” and TV's “The Sound of Music Live!”) directs the production, which features mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves as Nettie Fowler and Broadway and film star Tony Roberts as Starkeeper. Previews begin Friday, April 10, at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. The show opens Saturday, Aril 11. (312) 827-5600 or lyricopera.org.

• Waukegan's Three Brothers Theatre presents an original adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's adventure tale “The Lost World,” about a team of scientists on a dinosaur quest through the South American jungle. Performances of the adaptation by artistic director Caroline Beadle and founding member Rick Abrams begin Friday, April 10, at 115 Genesee St., Waukegan. (708) 548-0283 or 3brostheatre.com.

• The accomplished improv duo TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi — co-founders of The Mission Theatre, located in the iO building at 1501 N. Kingsbury Ave., Chicago — helm The Mission's new sketch comedy revue “Undressed,” which examines how people behave when they are exposed. Previews begin Friday, April 10. The show opens April 14. Additionally, Jagodowski and Pasquesi perform their all-improvised show TJ & Dave at 10:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the venue. (312) 929-2401 or missiontheaterchicago.com.

• Steppenwolf Theatre's auxiliary council hosts its annual Red or White Ball beginning with a 7:30 p.m. VIP reception Friday, April 10, at Venue One, 1034 W. Randolph St., Chicago. The VIP reception includes food by Chicago's leading chefs and is followed at 9 p.m. by a party open to the general public, which features an open bar, food, auction, raffle and DJ. Tickets cost $125. VIP tickets are $250. See bidpal.net/redorwhiteball.

• Light Opera Works hosts a benefit “Salute to Movie Musicals” beginning with a VIP reception at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at the North Shore Country Club, 1340 Glenview Road, Glenview. That's followed at 5:30 p.m. by cocktails and a silent auction. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. followed by a live auction and a musical program. Tickets range from $195 to $380. (847) 920-5360 or lightoperaworks.org.

• Previews begin Saturday, April 11, for Teatro Vista's world premiere of Raul Castillo's “Between You, Me and the Lampshade.” Teatro Vista artistic director Ricardo Gutierrez directs the comedy about a single mother and her teenage son whose lives are upended after a wounded, undocumented immigrant breaks into their south Texas trailer home. The show opens Wednesday, April 15, at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or teatrovista.org or victorygardens.org.

• Collaboraction hosts its third free Let Hope Rise event beginning at noon Saturday, April 11, at Loyola Park, 1230 W. Greenleaf Ave., Chicago. Part of an ongoing performance series designed to promote peace within Chicago neighborhoods, Let Hope Rise includes a community meal sponsored by Connie's Pizza, free workshops, performances and a variety show hosted by Collaboraction artistic director Anthony Moseley. (312) 226-9633 or collaboraction.org.

• Porchlight Music Theatre celebrates the late Broadway stalwart Elaine Stritch as part of its annual ICONS Gala taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12, at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, 505 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Porchlight's annual benefit pays homage to a theater artist who has made a lasting impact. The event also includes the presentation of the annual Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre in Chicago. Chicago theater artists will perform a tribute to Stritch during the event, which includes brunch and auctions. Tickets are $125, $40 for children. See porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• An interactive, multimedia dramatization of nine traditional folk tales from around the world titled “Down the Moonlit Path” marks Nothing Without a Company's 10th anniversary season. Previews for the world premiere — created and directed by Rachel Staelens from Tate A. Geborkoff's adaptation — begin on Monday, April 13, at the Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 17. See nothingwithoutacompany.org.

• Chicago's citywide August Wilson celebration, held in conjunction with Goodman Theatre's revival of “Two Trains Running,” continues with a staged reading of “Jitney” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. The celebration concludes at 2 p.m. April 18 with a reading of “King Hedley II” by Congo Square Theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Bailiwick Chicago hosts a beer tasting fundraiser at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at Revolution Brewing, 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The event includes an open tap from 7 to 9 p.m. and performances by Bailiwick guest artists. Tickets are $40. See bailiwickchicago.com.

• Redtwist theatre revives Arthur Miller's rarely produced “The American Clock A Vaudeville.” A play with music inspired by Studs Terkel's “Hard Times,” it's comprised of vignettes depicting the American experience during the Great Depression and featuring popular tunes from the 1920s and 1930s. Previews begin Wednesday, April 15, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. The show, directed by Jan Ellen Graves, opens April 18. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.

• Professional matchmaker Stef Safran will lead a Q&A on modern matchmaking following the 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, performance of “First Date,” a musical revue that unfolds during a blind date between two New Yorkers. The show is at the Royal George Cabaret, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 988-9000 or firstdatechi.com.

• Metropolis Performing Arts Centre has extended its production of “An Evening With C.S. Lewis,” written, adapted and starring British actor David Payne. Performances run through April 19 at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• Performances continue through June 13 for the Waltzing Mechanics' ongoing series “El Stories,” adapted from interviews cast members conduct with people using public transportation. This latest incarnation, which runs at 11 p.m. Saturdays at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, examines “Stranger Danger.” (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org or waltzingmechanics.org.

• The children's ensemble Emerald City Theatre announced that more than 5,700 low-income Chicago Public School students will receive new books and free admission to performances as part of the company's One Fund program. The program offsets the cost of school performances, field trips to the theater and costs associated with bringing Emerald City teaching artists into classrooms. The campaign, which concluded last month, raised $57,626 for the program. See emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• Idle Muse Theatre Company opens its 10th season with the Chicago-area premiere of “The Woman Who Amuses Herself” by Victor Lodato. Performances begin Oct. 24 for the drama about Vincenzo Peruggia, a worker at Paris' Louvre Museum who in 1911 stole the “Mona Lisa” and kept the masterpiece in his apartment for two years. The whydunnit asks the question: Was he a patriot who wanted to return the painting to its native land or a common thief seeking notoriety? Ensemble member Nathan Pease directs. That's followed on March 5, 2016, by “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” adapted by Althos Low from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tale about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson tracking the Baskerville curse and the bloodthirsty hound. Artistic director Evan Jackson directs. Performances take place at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. Tickets are available at (773) 340-9438 or idlemuse.org.