Theater events: BrightSide opens fifth season with 'Noises Off'

Funny business

BrightSide Theatre begins its fifth season on a funny note with Michael Frayn's classic backstage farce "Noises Off." David Belew directs the comedy chronicling romantic and other misadventures of a theater company from early its rehearsals to the conclusion of its hapless tour. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth Ave., Naperville. $25. (630) 447-7469 or brightsidetheatre.com.

Michael Shannon returns

Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon, who co-stars in the recently released "99 Homes," returns to Chicago's A Red Orchid Theatre, his artistic home, for the world premiere of "A Pilgrim's Progress." Playwright Brett Neveu's latest unfolds during Thanksgiving Dinner and uncovers decades of deceit and dysfunction. Ensemble member Shade Murray directs. Begins previews at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 9. $15-$35. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

Funny for the Fringe

Zanies regulars Pat McGann, Mike Toomey and Patti Vasquez join Jim Flannigan ("Last Comic Standing") and Eddie Brill ("Late Night With David Letterman" warm-up comedian) for a fundraiser for West Chicago High School drama students who've been selected to represent the United States in the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland next summer. The show is suitable for high school students and older. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the West Chicago Community High School Auditorium, 326 W. Joliet St., West Chicago. $20. (866) 967-8167 or wegotheatre.com.

Other theater events

• Writers Theatre opened its production of Jordan Harrison's "Marjorie Prime" this week at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe. A 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Marjorie Prime" marks Writers' last production in the bookstore before it moves into its new home next year. Kimberly Senior directs the play, which is set in the future and centers on elderly Marjorie who takes advantage of a service that provides clients with computer versions of their loved ones, in this case Marjorie's late husband Walter. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• The Hypocrites remount one of the company's signature productions, "The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide," by founder Sean Graney. The production features students from Senn Arts Magnet High School's "The Yard" whose members have performed with professional theater companies around the city. Performances begin Friday, Oct. 30, at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, for this play about a fourth-grade student who commits suicide and leaves behind a play to be performed as a memorial. See the-hypocrites.com.

• Performer/playwright Hershey Felder returns to Chicago with "Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin," his latest bio-drama with music chronicling the life story of the early 20th-century composer of such American standards as "Blue Skies," "Always" and "Heat Wave" along with the scores to "Annie Get Your Gun," "Easter Parade" "Holiday Inn" and others. Performances begin Friday, Oct. 30, at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 988-9000 or theroyalgeorgetheatre.com.

• Previews begin Friday, Oct. 30, for Strawdog Theatre Company's production of "The Long Christmas Ride Home," Paula Vogel's drama about three siblings whose lives are changed after a Christmas Eve car accident. Ensemble member Josh Sobel directs the production, which incorporates Japanese puppetry to tell the story of a life-changing event. The show opens Nov. 9 at 3829 N. Broadway St., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or strawdog.org.

• Joseph Jefferson Award nominee Jayson JC Brooks plays Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Mayne Stage's "The Rocky Horror Revue With Johnny Chastain and The Heartbeats." The adults-only show is at 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1328 W. Morse Ave., Chicago. It includes a dance party and costume contest. (773) 381-4551 or mayne stage.com.

• Writings by such African-American literary giants as Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Mari Evans and others comprise the solo show "My Soul is a Witness," which award-winning actress/activist Val Gray Ward performs, in association with the DuSable Museum of African American History, at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, at Logan Center, at the University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago. Special guests includes music director Robert "Baabe" Irving and vocalist Joan Callaso. (773) 702-2797 or tickets.uchicago.edu.

• Actress/vocalist and transgender activist Alexandra Billings headlines a Pride Films and Plays benefit at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. A $175 VIP ticket includes a preshow reception at Marketa Sivek Gallery, 1123 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, and a post-show meet-and-greet with Billings. General admission is $75. See pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Filament Theatre's ongoing concert series continues at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, with a performance by New Orleans singer-songwriter Sonia Tetlow, formerly of the roots rock band Cowboy Mouth. The theater is at 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See filamenttheatre.org/2015concerts.

• Sandra Marquez and Mark Montgomery star as Clytemnestra and Agamemnon in Court Theatre's world premiere of Nicholas Rudall's translation of Aeschylus' tragedy "Agamemnon." Previews begin Thursday, Nov. 5, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, for the drama that examines the retribution Clytemnestra exacts for her husband who sacrificed their oldest daughter for good sailing weather. The show opens Nov. 14. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Eclipse Theatre Company, the only regional theater that devotes each season to one playwright, concludes its Terrence McNally season with "The Lisbon Traviata," starring ensemble members JP Mendy and Joe McCauley as Mendy and Stephen - friends and opera fans obsessed with Maria Callas - who discuss Stephen's troubled relationship with his boyfriend who Stephen believes is leaving him for a younger man. Ensemble member Steve Scott directs. Previews begin Thursday, Nov. 5, at The Athenaeum, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 8. (773) 935-6875 or eclipsetheatre.com.

• The next edition of Short Story Theatre takes place at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. at Miramar Bistro, 301 Waukegan Ave., Highwood. Featured storytellers include Denise Kirshenbaum who tells about the drama that unfolds in her writing class; Rick Leslie whose story is about a bullying teacher; Anne Shimojima who describes how a folk tale relates to divorce; and Anne Purky whose story examines the struggle of a Weight Watcher at a buffet restaurant. (847) 433-1078 or shortstorytheatre.com.

• Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, presents "A Woman Alone," by playwright Dario Fo and his actress wife, Franca Rame, about a housewife caught in the world of imagination. It runs Thursdays through Dec. 3. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• The ensemble Cigarette Sandwich performs its horror-themed sketch-comedy revue "Tales From the Scrypt" through Wednesday, Nov. 4, at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Lifeline Theatre KidSeries this week premiered the new musical "Mr. Poppers Penguins" adapted from the novel by Richard and Florence Atwater by ensemble member Robert Kauzlaric, with music and lyrics by George Howe. Ensemble member Paul S. Holmquist directs the show about an out-of-work house-painter whose life is upended by the arrival of a spirited penguin named Captain Cook. The show runs Saturdays through Nov. 29 at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.

• The producers of "Million Dollar Quartet" announced the jukebox musical will close early next year after seven years. Performances of this fictionalized account of the 1956 meeting at Sun Records in Memphis between Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley run through Jan. 17, 2016, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. "When 'Million Dollar Quartet' opened at the Goodman Theatre in 2008, we were hoping for the best for our 4-week run at the Owen. To quote Sam Philips, father of rock 'n' roll, we've enjoyed success beyond our wildest imaginings," said producer Gigi Pritzker, in a prepared statement. (773) 935-6100 or milliondollarquartetlive.com.

• "The Musical Armando," a musical version of iO Chicago's long-running improv show "The Armando Diaz Experience," runs at 10 p.m. Fridays at iO Chicago, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• Eclipse Theatre Company announced that 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning Stephen Adly Guirgis ("Between Riverside and Crazy") will be the company's 2016 featured playwright in keeping with its one playwright-one season mission. "As we continue through our third decade, the Eclipse ensemble is excited to present the works of one of the most important and imaginative voices in contemporary American theater," said artistic director Nathaniel Swift in a prepared statement. "Stephen Adly Guirgis' plays are funny and heartbreaking, written in the poetic voice of everyday people, exploring the most grand questions of human existence, and the most intimate moments of human connections." The season begins April 14, 2016, with "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" an examination of morality centered on two inmates awaiting trial for murder. That's followed by "Our Lady of 121st Street" (July 14-Aug. 21, 2016) about a recently deceased nun (whose body has been stolen from the funeral home) and the folks from the neighborhood trying to deal with grief and uncertain futures. The final production, scheduled for Nov. 6 to Dec. 18, 2016, is to be determined. Performances take place at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (312) 869-4870 or eclipsetheatre.com.