Theater events: First Folio remounts 'Madness of Edgar Allan Poe'

Tribute to Poe

First Folio Theatre revives its original work "The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story," adapted by David Rice from Poe's poems and stories including "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum." "Madness" examines Poe's work and life, particularly his relationship with his beloved wife, Virginia, whose death at 24 devastated the writer. Christian Gray and Heather Chrisler play Poe and Virginia. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. The show opens Sept. 26. $22-$39. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

Steel Beam award

Steel Beam Theatre has a lot to celebrate. The National Endowment for the arts awarded the St. Charles theater a $10,000 grant. And the theater opened its 14th season with David Lindsay-Abaire's "Good People," about a struggling single mother in Boston who loses her job and is forced to ask for help from her former high school boyfriend, now a successful doctor. "Good People" continues at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 4 at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $28. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

The information age

Remy Bumppo Theatre opens its 19th season with the Midwest premiere of "Love and Information," a cutting-edge examination of how we interpret and manage information and the impact it has on relationships. Shawn Douglass directs the play, in which the director and designers determine the characters' age, race and gender and the order of the scenes ensuring no two productions are ever alike. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 28. $32.50-$57.50. (773) 404-7336 or remybumppo.org.

Other theater events

• The New Colony's Side Stage Line-Up continues with "The Best of The Goldfish Project," drawn from actual conversations, emails and texts Shawn Bowers had with people on online dating sites while pretending to be a girl named Margie. Performances of the adults-only show run at 10:30 p.m. through Saturday, Sept. 19, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See thenewcolony.org.

• After eloping with a Chinese-American man, an Indian-American woman believes she's found happiness until she introduces him to interfering relatives and neighbors in Rasaka Theatre Company's Midwest premiere of Nandita Shenoy's farcical "Washer/Dryer." The last review is Friday, Sept. 18, at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Saturday, Sept. 19. (773) 871-3000 or rasakatheatre.com.

• Thirty-five years after the release of the film, Citadel Theatre presents the stage adaptation of "Ordinary People," about a suicidal young man coping with the death of his older brother. Performances begin Friday, Sept. 18, at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Scott Phelps directs; Matt Ronzani stars as the troubled Conrad. (847) 75-8554 or citadelthatre.org.

• Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, opens its 41st season with the Midwest premiere of "Sucker Punch," Roy Williams' drama about African-British prize fighters and former friends who meet years after riots tore apart their London neighborhood and their friendship. Dexter Bullard directs the show, which begins previews Friday, Sept. 18. The show opens Sept. 25. (77) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

• Artemisia Theatre stages six full-length female-driven plays as part of its Fall Festival beginning Friday, Sept. 18, at The Frontier/Jackalope Theatre, 1106 W. Thorndale Ave., Chicago. The staged reading lineup includes: "Somewhere in the Middle" by Julie Proudfoot; "Converting to Bangladesh," about a graduate student who gets more than she bargained for during a trip to South Asia, by Victoria Cano; "Bohemians," about an aging punk rocker whose career stalls after a tragedy, by Jaki McCarrick; "Maize" by Judith Pratt; "Cuttings" by Thomas M. Atkinson; and "Visiting" by Ed Proudfoot. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. See artemisiatheatre.org.

• Chaos ensues in the prehistoric world after one dinosaur among a group of females suddenly turns male, causing all of them to question everything they held true, in the off-Broadway musical "Triassic Parq," by Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo. Tommy Bullington and Nicholas Reinhart direct Circle Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of the cult show, which begins Friday, Sept. 18, at the Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. See circle theatrechicago.org for more information.

• Performances begin Friday, Sept. 18, for (re) discover theatre's production of its original show "Farewell My Friend: The Romance of Romeo and Juliet," which examines the tale of William Shakespeare's doomed lovers in an immersive, promenade staging. Pay-what-you-can performances begin Friday, Sept. 18, at the Epworth United Methodist Church, 5253 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago. See rediscovertheatre.com.

• "Matarile," a new comedy by Rebeca Aleman about eight people passionate for life but obsessed with death, gets its premiere courtesy of Water People Theater. Performances begin Friday, Sept. 18, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org.

• Eta Creative Arts Foundation opens its 45th season on Friday, Sept. 18, with the Chicago premiere of "Sins of the Father," Synthia Williams' drama about three generations of Hamilton family men who share secrets in the hope of preventing more family pain. Performances run through Oct. 25 at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

• Michael Burgos performs his one-man show "The Eulogy," about a man who goes off book during a eulogy to a comically disastrous effect, Friday through Sunday, Sept. 18-20, at the Elgin Art Showcase, 8th Floor, 164 Division St., Elgin, as part of the second annual Elgin Fringe Festival. Festival buttons and tickets are available at 15 Ziegler, Elgin. See elginfringefestival.com.

• Black Ensemble Theater founder Jackie Taylor collaborated with Chaz Ebert, the wife of the late film critic Roger Ebert, on "The Black White Love Play," a play with music chronicling the couple's lives from their courtship through Ebert's death in 2013. Previews begin Saturday, Sept. 19, at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 27. (773) 769-4451 or blackensemble.org.

• Northwestern University student Olivia Cygan plays a 13-year-old girl whose house turns haunted with the arrival of her father's fiance, in Goodman Theatre's season opening comic thriller "Feathers and Teeth," by Charise Castro Smith. Previews begin Saturday, Sept. 19, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show, directed by artistic associate Henry Godinez, opens Sept. 27. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• In the spirit of the wandering, obsessed Librarian, traveling the world to uncover who returned a book 113 years overdue, Theatre Y will take its revival of Glen Berger's solo show, "An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences: Underneath the Lintel," to venues throughout Chicago. Darren Hill plays the Librarian in director Melissa Lorraine's "flash mob"-style production. It previews Friday, Sept. 18, at Theatre Y, 2649 N. Francisco, Chicago, and opens Saturday, Sept. 19, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2012 W. Dickens Ave., Chicago. Tickets are not required. For performance information, see theatre-y.com.

• Sideshow Theatre Company launches its ninth season with a house party from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1500 W. Monroe St., Chicago. Donations help support the company's programming. See sideshowtheatre.org/launch.

• Barrel of Monkeys presents "Fall Classic Grandma," a compilation of new works along with favorite sketches and songs from the last 18 years of "That's Weird, Grandma," a sketch revue based on stories by Chicago Public School students. The show opens Monday, Sept. 21, at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• Stage Left Theatre kicks off its 34th season titled "Something to Talk About," with its annual benefit from 7 to 10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at Lillstreet Loft, 4437 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. Greg Werstler serves as emcee for the benefit, which includes the presentation of Stage Left's Hallie Flanagan Award to David Schmitz, Steppenwolf Theatre's managing director, for his contribution to Chicago theater. Tickets are $50 in advance, $60 at the door for music, appetizers and a raffle. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• The cast of Chicago's long-running "Million Dollar Quartet" performs at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Burr Ridge Center's charity wine event to benefit Cure Search, an organization that helps fund research into children's cancer. The wine stroll, featuring Cooper's Hawk wine, begins at 4 p.m. at 701 Burr Ridge Parkway, Willowbrook. The donation is $10. See shopburrridge.com.

• Previews begin Tuesday, Sept. 22, for Nothing Without a Company's premiere of "Punk Punk," a dark comedy with music about a couple of female musicians trying to make it big on Chicago's punk rock scene. The show opens Thursday, Sept. 24, at Fat Cat Bar, 4840 N. Broadway St., Chicago. See nothing withoutacompany.org.

• "UnscripTED," an improvised parody inspired by brief talks on various topics - a concept that originated in 1984 at a Technology Entertainment Design conference to help spread ideas - opens Wednesday, Sept. 23, at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Also at the Annoyance, "Camp Funderstanding," a musical about a camp for socially awkward youngsters, opens Thursday, Sept. 24. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Hell in a Handbag Productions premieres "Scream, Queen, Scream" a campy thriller comedy by David Cerda comprised of three tales. It begins previews Thursday, Sept. 24, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. In "Taco Tuesday," a seemingly ordinary office temp is not what she appears. In "The Box," a shrewish woman pushes her long-suffering husband to the edge. Lastly in "Shut Up and Die, Maggie!," a carefree Maggie is convicted of murdering her twin sister Aggie's boyfriend and is sent to an insane asylum. Twenty years later, she returns home in an attempt to exorcise past demons. The show opens Sept. 27. See handbagproductions.org.

• Porchlight Music Theatre has extended its Chicago premiere of the newly revised "Side Show," the musical by Henry Krieger and Bill Russell inspired by the lives of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. Performances continue through Oct. 25 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• Performances continue for Artist Walk Theatre's revival of Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers," about two brothers who go to live with their stern grandmother and mentally challenged aunt during the 1940s. Performances continue through Sept. 26 at the Flossmoor Community House, 847 Hutchison Road, Flossmoor. (815) 277-1083 or artistwalktheatre.org.

• About Face Theatre will receive a $25,000 grant from the LGBT Community Fund to support its youth education program on Oct. 1, the theater company announced. "We are thrilled to be among the first grantees of the LGBT Fund at Chicago Community Trust," said artistic director Andrew Volkoff in a prepared statement. "We're honored that the Trust and the LGBT Fund see the value that About Face Theatre's youth education and outreach program brings to the community's young people."

• Windy City Playhouse announced its second season will begin Jan. 27, 2016, with the Chicago-area premiere of Neil Benjamin's farce, "The Explorers Club." It's about a woman eager to join a Victorian-era gentleman's club who believes her discovery of a blue-skinned aboriginal will gain her entry. That's followed on June 15, 2016, with the Chicago-area premiere of Melissa James Gibson's "This," about a group of forty-something former college pals whose reminiscences reveal evidence of betrayal. The season concludes with "Apartment 3," about a woman whose encounter with a new neighbor suggests some divine intervention is at work in her hectic, broken life. Performances take place at 3014 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. Flexible subscriptions are available. Single tickets range from $35 to $55. See windycityplayhouse.com or call (773) 891-8985.