Theater events: Grant, Twain have a conversation at the Metropolis

Grant and Twain

A legendary general meets a legendary writer in "A Conversation With Grant and Twain" at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Written and performed by Joe Keefe and Richard Henzel, the show is an imagined account of a meeting between Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant as Grant was completing his memoirs before cancer claimed his life in 1885. Twain's publishing house released the two-volume set shortly after Grant's death. 3 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $25; $15 for seniors and veterans. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Sci-fi drama

Sideshow Theatre Company concludes its season with the world premiere of the apocalyptic sci-fi drama "Chalk." Written by ensemble member Walk McGough and presented in cooperation with Fresh Ink Theatre in Boston, it's about a woman who survives the end of the world but can't quite celebrate, even when her daughter reappears. Megan A. Smith directs Sideshow artistic associates Kathleen Akerley and Nina O'Keefe. Previews begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 24, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens May 28. $10-$30. (773) 871-3000 or sideshowtheatre.org or victorygardens.org.

Taylor's two decades

Goodman Theatre artistic associate Regina Taylor marks her 20th anniversary with the company with the Chicago premiere of her play "stop. reset." Taylor directs the drama about a Chicago businessman struggling to save his African-American publishing company, which is declining in the digital age. Eugene Lee stars as publisher Alex Ames, who finds in teenage techie J (Edgar Sanchez) a possible solution to his dilemma. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens June 1. $10-$40. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

Other theater events:

• The Brown Paper Box Co. presents the next in its cabaret series "Spring Forward, Fail Back: A Sunny Funny Cabaret" centered on all things spring and including songs by George Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederic Loewe, Jason Robert Brown and Tom Lehrer. The cabaret takes place at 9 p.m. Friday, May 22, and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at Uncommon Ground, 3800 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 929-3680 or brownpaperbox.org.

• Goodman Theatre artistic associate Chuck Smith, who directed the world premiere of Lydia R. Diamond's domestic dramedy "Stick Fly" nine years ago for Congo Square Theatre, helms Windy City Playhouse's revival. It begins previews Wednesday, May 27, at 3014 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. The play about class, race, identity and parental responsibility unfolds during a summer weekend on Martha's Vineyard where a young writer has accompanied her fiance to meet his family for the first time. The play opens May 31. (312) 374-3196 or windycityplayhouse.com.

• Rebecca Joy Fletcher reprises her musical salute to European-Jewish cabaret titled "Cities of Light." Fletcher performs alongside David Chack from Wednesday, May 27, through Sunday, May 31, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.com.

• The third annual Pivot Arts Festival, featuring a diverse lineup of music, theater, dance and puppetry, runs Thursday, May 28, through Sunday, June 7, in Chicago's Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods. Participating theaters include About Face Theatre, The Neo-Futurists and Lifeline Theatre. (773) 340-9637 or pivotarts.org.

• Transcendent Ensemble Theatre Company debuts its two-hour adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," set during 1968's Summer of Love, on Thursday, May 28, at 1434 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Dennis McLernon directs the seven-member cast. See transcendentensemble.com.

• The Neo-Futurists and CH Distillery, which distills vodka from Illinois-grown ingredients, host 30 minutes of "Booze and Beguilements" - featuring entertainment and cocktails - before Thursday performances of the Neo-Futurists' current production "Trust Us/Screw You." Juggler Brad French performs May 28. The night's featured cocktail is The Sting. French is followed by puppeteer Michael Montenegro on June 4 (featured cocktail The Dill Pickle Club) and vocalist Bethany Thomas, who performs June 11 (featured cocktail The Cacklebladder). Performances take place at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• Performances continue through June 13 at 3829 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago, for Strawdog Theatre Company's U.S. premiere of "Quiz Show," British writer Rob Drummond's examination of the power of celebrity set against a popular game show where contestants try to catch each other's lies to find out what's behind the "Door of Truth." Oracle Theatre artistic director Max Truax helms the production. (866) 811-4111 or strawdog.org.

• Trap Door Theatre's production of Roland Schimmelpfennig's "The Woman Before," a darkly comic study of obsession, desire and first love, continues through June 13 at 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

• "Good Morning Lakeview Goodnight," a morning talk show performed live at 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays continues though June 16 at the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The House Theatre of Chicago added 2 p.m. Sunday matinees to its long-running production, "The Magic Parlour," featuring magician and ensemble member Dennis Watkins. Performances are at 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 24. There is no 2 p.m. performance on June 21, but there will be a 4 p.m. performance on that day. (773) 769-3832, themagicparlourchicago.com or thehousetheatre.com.

• American Theater Company has extended its production of "The Project(s)," a docudrama about the history of public housing in Chicago conceived, directed and co-written by artistic director PJ Paparelli and co-writer Joshua Jaeger. Performances continue through June 21 at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company has extended its U.S. premiere of "The Herd," the debut drama by Olivier Award-winning actor Rory Kinnear about the long-standing tensions that result from family members dealing with a severely disabled son and brother. Performances continue through June 14 at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• Broadway in Chicago announced the 24 teenage finalists representing Illinois in the fourth annual High School Musical Theater Awards. The 12 young actors and 12 young actresses will participate in the program, which begins June 1 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and culminates in a performance. The winners, one actor and one actress, will receive a trip to New York City to compete in the national awards later this summer. Among the finalists are a number of students from the suburbs. They include: JT Snyder of Barrington; Teagan Earley of Wheaton; Grace Etzkorn of Lisle; Ken Lumb of Wheaton; Jon Mikel of Elgin; Mitchell Kedzior of Cary; Natalie T. Carioti of Mount Prospect; Katelyn Jassoy of St. Charles; Damion Rosa of St. Charles; Ethan Lupp of McHenry; and Annalisa Vitucci of Wauconda.

• Raven Theatre has named Brian Pastor, who served nine years as City Lit Theatre Company managing director, as its new executive director. Pastor succeeds Kelli Strickland, who left last month to take over as executive director of The Hypocrites. A Northwestern University graduate, Pastor is a former member of Chicago dell'Arte and The Mime Company. "I'm committed to the theater," said Pastor in a prepared statement, "and the chance to participate in the management of this venerable North Side institution is highly energizing and exciting."

• AstonRep Theatre Company begins it 2015-16 season Aug. 30 with the Chicago premiere of Nicky Silver's 2012 family drama "The Lyons," about a family enduring terminal illness, dubious relationships, a fragile psyche and a living room redesign. The performance takes place at The Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. That's followed by AstonActs, a series of one-acts running in January and February at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The season concludes with the Chicago premiere of "The Women of Lockerbie" (April 10-May 8, 2016, at Raven Theatre). Inspired by a true story, Alaska native Deborah Brevoort's drama centers on women determined to turn an act of terrorism into an act of compassion. Tickets go on sale at a later date. See astonrep.com.

• Sideshow Theatre Company announced its 2015-16 season will consist of three world premiere productions, beginning with a surreal comedy by Hansol Jung titled "No More Sad Things" (Nov. 15-Dec. 20) about a woman escaping her troubles in Maui who, while on the beach, meets a man riding a wave to a better life. Artistic Associate and Libertyville native Marti Lyons directs the second production "Mai Dang Lao" (March 6-April 10, 2016), David Jacobi's chilling drama about fast-food restaurant workers who are informed by the police that a crime has been committed in the restaurant and giving workers permission to restore order. The season concludes May 29, 2016, with "Caught," a collaboration with Xiong Art Gallery, about a Chinese dissident who publishes a harrowing account of his confinement by the government, which he is unable to probe. Performances take place at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Tickets are available through Victory Gardens; a membership program allows patrons a seat for every Sideshow production, and every other VGT show, for a flat rate of $15 per month. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date, see sideshowtheatre.org. Also Sideshow welcomed new artistic associates Katy Carolina Collins, Ann James and Cody Proctor. Lastly, Sideshow will remount its hit production "Stupid (expletive) Bird" from July 23 to Aug. 30 at Victory Gardens Theater.

• Stage Left Theatre's 34th season will include three premieres, beginning with the world premiere of Meridith Friedman's "The Firestorm" (Oct. 24-Nov. 29). Developed through the company's Downstage Left Playwright Residency last year, the play centers around an ambitious interracial political couple whose pursuit of the Ohio governor's mansion and their marriage are upended after a racially charged prank from the husband's college days comes to light. Next up is the Midwest premiere of Christopher Chen's satire "Mutt" (Jan. 9-Feb. 14, 2016), in which the Republican Party nominates for the 2016 presidential election a candidate of mixed Asian descent. But after the congressman doesn't conform to expectations, the party looks to a multiracial war hero who's also something of a mystery. The season concludes with the Midwest premiere of Dan O'Brien's "The Body of an American" (May 14-June 19, 2016), a two-hander, docu-theater piece inspired by Canadian photojournalist Paul Watson's photo of a dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu in 1993. All of the main stage shows take place at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The location of Stage Left's annual LeapFest, scheduled for later this year, is to be determined. Season subscriptions are $60 and include admission to all three main stage productions. Subscribers also receive discount admission to LeapFest. Single tickets will be available later. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.