Theater events: Des Plaines resident stars in Mary-Arrchie's 'December Man'

Tragedy revisited

Mary-Arrchie Theatre presents Colleen Murphy's "The December Man (L'homme de Décembre)," inspired by the 1989 massacre at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique by a 25-year-old anti-feminist, who shot to death 14 women and injured 14 others before killing himself. Des Plaines resident Barbara Roeder Harris co-stars with Rudy Galvan and Mike Speller in this drama about a couple who tries to help their son, a survivor of the rampage, cope with the aftermath. Patrick New directs. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at Angel Island, 735 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago. It opens May 21. $10-$25. (866) 468-3401 or maryarrchie.com.

Delectable confection

Resident director Lauren Rawitz helms Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's revival of "The Drowsy Chaperone," a delicious send up and celebration of 1920s musicals by composer/lyricists Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and writers Bob Martin and Don McKeller. Narrated by the enthusiastic Man in Chair (Matt McNabb), this show within a show centers on Broadway star Janet Van De Graaff (Shari Mocheit) who decides to give up her career for marriage, thereby upending the lives of everyone around her. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, May 15, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $30, $38. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Judy, Judy, Judy

Judy Tenuta, the self-described "love goddess" from Oak Park, frequent TV chat-show guest, star of her own HBO, Showtime and Lifetime specials and Diet Dr Pepper pitchwoman, headlines the Comedy Shrine this weekend. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, at 4034 Fox Valley Center Drive, Aurora. $25. (630) 585-0300 or comedyshrine.com.

Other theater events

• Synapse Arts premieres Rachel Damon's "You're So Stubborn," an examination of identity, trust and survival running Friday through Sunday, May 15-17, at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago. See synapsearts.com.

• Chicago Loop Alliance launches its first ACTIVATE event from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 15, at Sullivan Center Alley on Monroe Street between Wabash Avenue and State Street in Chicago. The pop-up event dubbed "Nightbloom" combines art, performance and music. Details are available at loopchicago.com/activate.

• Five Irish women, orphaned by famine and out on the street, hope to make a fresh start in a new land in Irish writer Jaki McCarrick's "Belfast Girls," inspired by real women who sought passage to America aboard the Inchinnan in 1850. Artemisia Theatre presents the American premiere of this tale of Irish immigrants beginning performances on Saturday, May 16, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See artemisiatheatre.org.

• Sideshow Theatre Company hosts its annual fundraising gala from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at 1326 N. Cleveland Ave., Chicago. The event, which pits two fictional families - Peascott and Buckford-Washington - against each other in a series of contests, also includes food, libations and a silent auction. Tickets are $100 and $150. (773) 809-4782 or sideshowtheatre.org.

• Emerald City Theatre hosts its first Wicked Soiree fundraising event beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at The Untitled Supper Club. 111 W. Kinzie St., Chicago. It includes dining, dancing, casino games and whiskey tasting. Tickets start at $125. (773) 529-2690 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• Erasing the Distance's 10th anniversary season continues with a remount of "Veterans Voices," in which five storytellers examine how former soldiers cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, May 19-21, at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. Erasing the Distance uses theater to educate theatergoers on mental health issues and promote tolerance. See erasingthedistance.org.

• Pegasus Theatre Chicago hosts a festival titled "Spring Muse: Hope & Justice" from Tuesday, May 19, through May 28 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The festival begins with a performance of Rachel DuBose's "The Healer" about a woman about to be designated the family's next healer, who finds something dark within herself. It runs at 7:30 p.m. May 19, 24, 25 and 26. "Project Hope," consisting of stage readings of works that use hope as a catalyst for change, runs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 and 27. Lastly, there's "Still I Rise," in which female artists of color examine how difficult it is to stand strong amid adversity. See pegasustheatrechicago.com.

• Performances begin Wednesday, May 20, for Broadway in Chicago's "Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles," a multimedia concert event that takes theatergoers on a journey through the career of The Beatles. Performances run through May 24 at the Bank of America Theatre, 17 E. Adams St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Collaboraction debuts the next installment of the company's ongoing "Crime Scene" series, "Crime Scene The Next Chapter," on Thursday, May 21, at the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. This latest incarnation profiles five Chicago residents who experienced neighborhood violence firsthand and used it to become peacemakers in their communities. (312) 226-9633 or collaboraction.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, May 21, for AstonRep Theatre Company's revival of Christopher Hampton's drama about sex and power, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." Director Charlie Marie McGrath sets the play in early 20th-century Russia, where aristocrats and former lovers manipulate and betray unwitting victims for sport. The show opens May 24 at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 828-9129 or astonrep.com.

• Court Theatre artistic director Charles Newell helms the theater's revival of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon's chamber musical "The Secret Garden." Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the production stars Round Lake native Tori Whaples as Mary Lennox, an orphan who goes to live at her reclusive uncle's estate where she makes a discovery that inspires hope in both of them. Doug Peck serves as music director for the show, which begins previews Thursday, May 21, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 30. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Chicago Shakespeare Theater has extended its world premiere of "Sense and Sensibility," composer/lyricist Paul Gordon's musical adaptation of Jane Austen's novel about the romantic entanglements of two sisters with opposite temperaments. Performances continue through June 14 at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• Emerald City Theatre's 2015-2016 season dubbed Season of Discovery begins Sept. 12 at 2933 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, with "Three Little Kittens," about kittens searching for their missing mittens. The following productions take place at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. "Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans" runs Oct. 3 to Jan. 2, 2016, and centers around Jack and Annie's efforts to set 14-year-old Louis Armstrong on his musical path. Next up is "Dragons Love Tacos" (Oct. 17-Jan. 3, 2016) based on the book by Adam Rubin. "Skippy Jon Jones in the Cirque de Ole," about a cat who discovers an imaginary circus world, runs Feb. 13-June 8, 2016. The seasons concludes with "Schoolhouse Rock Live!" inspired by the 1970s animated TV series, Feb. 26-June 5, 2016. Season subscriptions go on sale June 4. See emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• Chicago Children's Theatre's 2015-2016 season will feature an as yet unnamed world premiere about the civil rights movement by Nambi E. Kelly, who adapted Richard Wright's "Native Son" for American Blues and Court Theatre last year. The season begins Sept. 29 with the Chicago premiere of "Goodnight Moon & The Runaway Bunny" by Mermaid Theater of Nova Scotia. That's followed by the Chicago premiere of "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane," adapted by Dwayne Hartford from Kate DiCamillo's book about a china rabbit who gets lost at sea. Next up is Will Bishop's interactive world premiere of "A Snowy Day With Beatrix Potter & Friends" (Nov. 28-Dec. 19). The Chicago premiere of Gale LaJoye's "Snowflake," about a kindhearted soul who transforms what others find useless, runs Jan. 27 to Feb. 14, 2016, after which Calgary's Quest Theatre presents the all-movement piece "Snow Angel" (Feb. 16-21, 2016). Next up is Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis' "Seedfolks" (April 6-17) in which one woman plays 14 characters to tell the story of a community garden in Cleveland, Ohio. The season concludes April 26, 2016, with Kelley's play. All shows except "A Snowy Day With Beatrix Potter & Friends" (which takes place at a venue to be determined) take place at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (872) 222-9555 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Factory Theater recently announced its 23rd season, the first at its new space at 1621-23 W. Howard St., Chicago. The season opens Sept. 25 with "Zombie Broads," Corrbette Pasko and Sara Sevigny's comedy thriller about a couple who try to prepare their teenage daughter for the zombie uprising without much success. That's followed by Ernest Frank Deak's "The Last Big Mistake" (Jan. 22-Feb. 27, 2016), about two women paid to transport a package in 1975 who fail in their task, upsetting the package's owner, whose search for his property leaves a trail of dead bodies in his wake. Manny Tamayo directs. The season concludes May 6, 2016, with Mike Ooi's "Dating and Dragons" about a guy who loves to play sword and sorcery games with his friends, until he meets a girl and falls under her spell. For ticket information, see thefactorytheater.com.