Theater events: It's that time of year for Goodman's 'Christmas Carol'

Holiday classic returns

Goodman Theatre stages its 38th annual production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," starring Larry Yando in his eighth year as Ebenezer Scrooge. Henry Wishcamper directs the production, which features newcomer and Naperville native Amaris Sanchez as Emily Cratchit. Returning cast members include Kareem Bandealy as Young Scrooge, Nathaniel Buescher as Tiny Tim and Ron E. Rains as Bob Cratchit. Previews begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 22. $25-$102. (312) 443-3820 or goodmantheatre.org.

Fats Waller remount

Porchlight Music Theatre remounts its Joseph Jefferson Award-winning 2014 production of the Fats Waller revue "Ain't Misbehavin'." Director/choreographer Brenda Didier, a native of Lincolnshire, returns to helm the production. The cast includes Lina Wass of Hoffman Estates, Lorenzo Rush Jr. of West Chicago, Robin DaSilva, Sharriese Hamilton and Donterrio Johnson. Austin Cook returns as pianist and serves as music director. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 17. $35-$48. (773) 327-5252 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

Local standup returns

DuPage County native Kyle Kinane, who's appeared on "Conan," "Comedy Bang Bang" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," headlines UP Comedy Club. Kinane has also done voices for "Bob's Burgers" and "TripTank" among other animated series, and he appeared in his first Comedy Central special earlier this year. 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, and 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, at Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. $20. (312) 662-4562 or upcomedyclub.com.

Other theater events:

• Veterans Day salute. ComedySportz Chicago thanks veterans for their service by offering two free tickets to performances running through Saturday, Nov. 14. Performances are at 8 and 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, and 6, 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Mention "Vet Day" when ordering tickets at (773) 549-8080 and bring your military identification to the performance. See cszchicago.com.

• Lost souls play board games such as chess, Clue and Yahtzee with the creator to determine their fate in the new play "Playing God" by Matt Rieger. Curious Theatre Branch's world premiere opens Friday, Nov 13, at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. Beau O'Reilly stars in the production, which is directed by Stefan Brun. (773) 742-5420 or curioustheatrebranch.com.

• Irish Theatre of Chicago hosts ceili, a party/fundraiser that includes singing, storytelling, music and dancing. It begins at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Chief O'Neill's Pub, 3471 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, and includes a raffle. $25 admission. See irishtheatreofchicago.org.

• Broadway in Chicago and Emerald City Theatre present the stage adaptation of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" based on characters created by Charles M. Schulz and the television special by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Previews begin Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. The show, directed by Emerald City's Ernie Nolan, opens Nov. 21. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The adults-only Kiss Kiss Cabaret presents "Holiday Spectacular and Sparkle-Fest" running at 8 p.m. Saturdays from Nov. 14 to Dec. 19 at the Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway St., Chicago. The shows feature solo and variety acts inspired by the season. See uptownunderground.net.

• AstonRep Theatre Company hosts its seventh annual Writer's Series, a daylong festival of staged readings by local and regional writers. It takes place from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. It begins with Jim Lucason's "Dancing With the Devil" about two sisters whose deal with the devil comes due in 1896 Ireland. That's followed at 1:30 p.m. by Kevin Daly's "Two By Night" about a former Olympian desperate to preserve his reputation, who buries his friend in the backyard after a drunk-driving accident. Jeff Helgelson's "Shooter," about a debate between a young father and social workers about the challenge of escaping poverty, runs at 3 p.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. reading of selections from M.L. Finnell's "Restoration Dogs" adapted from Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" as a restoration comedy. The readings conclude at 4 p.m. with Warren Hoffman's "The Black Slot," a satire about racism and hypocrisy in regional theater. (773) 828-9129 or astonrep.com.

• Red Theater Chicago and Oracle Productions host a fundraiser from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, following the 8 p.m. performance of their signed and spoken co-production "R + J: The Vineyard" adapted from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." The performance and fundraiser take place at 3809 N. Broadway St., Chicago. Admission to the play is free, but donations are accepted. See publicaccesstheatre.org.

• A Red Orchid Theatre ensemble member Michael Shannon and nightclub impresario Billy Dec host a fundraiser gala beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Sunda, 110 W. Illinois St., Chicago, with an after-party from 9:30 to 11 p.m. at The Underground, 56 W. Illinois St., Chicago. Tickets are $300 and include cocktails, dinner, and live and silent auctions. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• Sideshow Theatre Company opens its 2015-2016 season with "No More Sad Things," a surreal comedy by Hansol Jung in a premiere co-production with Boise Contemporary Theatre. The play is about a woman on vacation in Hawaii, who is 32 years old, who meets and beds a young man who is not. Previews begin Sunday, Nov. 15, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by Elly Green, opens Thursday, Nov. 19. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org or sideshowtheatre.org.

• Performances begin Sunday, Nov. 15, for First Floor Theater's world premiere of "Animals Commit Suicide," a dark comedy by J. Julian Christopher about a young gay man named Chance who gives up his seemingly perfect life to delve into the "city's seedy underbelly" where he uses drugs and begins a sexual relationship with an HIV-positive man while falsely claiming that he (Chance) is also HIV-positive. Artistic director Hutch Pimentel directs the production, which runs through Dec. 12 at Collaboraction Theater, in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See firstfloortheater.com.

• The Second City brings its seasonal sendup "The Second City's Holidazed and Confused" to Up Comedy Club in Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago, beginning Sunday, Nov. 15. The adults-only show runs through Dec. 31. (312) 662-4562 or upcomedyclub.com.

• Barrel of Monkeys debuts "That's Weird, Grandma: The Holiday Special," on Monday, Nov. 16, at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. The show consists of holiday-related stories written by Chicago public school students. See barrelofmonkeys.org.

• George McAuliffe brings his one-man show "Not All Cops are Bad!" to the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, at 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16. McAuliffe plays a police officer in a fictional town who attempts to justify the "occasional abuse of power." "Double Monster" is about two surviving triplets forced to continue a performance of their traveling variety show in the aftermath of their brother's death at the hands of a monster. The show runs Wednesdays through Dec. 9. Standup comedian Dave Maher, who fell into a diabetic coma and was unconscious for several weeks last year, brings his one-man production, "Dave Maher Coma Show," to the Annoyance on Fridays through Dec. 18. Last but not least "Nice N' Naughty," the holiday version of the theater's adults-only burlesque show, runs Saturdays through Dec. 2, 2016. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Issues of morality, complicity and free will underscore Arthur Miller's one-act play "Incident at Vichy," which unfolds at a police station in a small French town where locals are detained by the Nazis for a "racial inspection." Redtwist theatre revives the play, which begins previews Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. The show opens Nov. 21. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.

• Previews begin Wednesday, Nov. 18, for ShPieL-Performing Identity's world premiere of "Angina Pectoris," Michal Aharoni's satire about a fictional Israeli minister who pushes a law requiring Jews to receive organ transplants only from Jewish donors. Problems arise when the minister needs a heart transplant and the only one available is from an Arab Palestinian. The show opens Nov. 21 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org or shpieltheatre.com.

• Theater critics Jonathan Abarbanel and Kelly Kleiman, who discuss Chicago-area productions on their WDCB 90.9 FM radio show, serve as guest judges for ComedySportz Chicago's two-person improv competition, "Dual Duel." The show is at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 549-8080 or cszchicago.com.

• The Hypocrites present the Ruffians' remount of their critically acclaimed show "Burning Bluebeard," Jay Torrence's play inspired by the December 1903 Iroquis Theatre fire that claimed the lives of more than 600 audience members who were attending a Christmas pantomime. In Torrence's version, six clown performers perform the show cut short by the fire. Previews begin Thursday, Nov. 19, at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by Halena Kays, opens Nov. 22. See the-hypocrites.com.

• Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, presents its third annual holiday mash-up "It's a Wonderful Santaland Miracle, Nut Cracking Christmas Story ... Jews Welcome!" comprised of familiar carols, original songs and sketch comedy. Performances begin Thursday, Nov. 19. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• A Middle-Eastern American woman from Chicago gains insight into her culture in "My American Cousin," a show written and performed by Jameeleh Shelo. It opens Thursday, Nov. 19, for a one-week run at Silk Road Rising, in the Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. (312) 857-1234, ext. 201, or silkroadrising.org.

• Lucky Plush Productions, a company whose performances combine dance, theater and improv, is the featured ensemble at Mix at Six, the Harris Theater's weekly happy hour/performance series. Lucky Plush performs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org.

• "A Christmas Story," the musical adapted from the 1983 movie based on writer Jean Shepherd's memoirs of growing up in Northwest Indiana, comes to Indiana's Theatre at the Center. Linda Fortunato directs the show, which begins previews Thursday, Nov. 19, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. It opens Nov. 22. (219) 836-3255 or (800) 511-1552 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• Lifeline Theatre has extended its KidSeries production of "Mr. Popper's Penguins," about the adventures that ensue after a flock of penguins comes to live with a daydreaming house-painter and his wife. Performances run through Dec. 13 at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.

• 16th Street Theater announced its ninth season - centered on the theme of loyalty and including three new plays by writers of color - will begin Jan. 21, 2016, with the world premiere of "Yasmina's Necklace." Written by resident playwright Rohina Malik, the play is about a young man with an Iraqi father and Puerto Rican mother who renounces his cultural heritage, calls himself Sam, identifies as Italian and marries an American. That's followed by the Chicago premiere of Karen Zacarias' "The Book Club Play" (April 7-May 14, 2016) about how the organization's dynamics change with the addition of a new member. Next up is Z. Zell Williams' "Carroll Gardens" (Sept. 1-Oct. 8, 2016), about childhood friends who drift apart and the conflict that arises when one shows up unexpectedly on the other's doorstep. Running in repertory from Oct. 20 to Nov. 19, 2016, is "Killadelphia" by writer/performer Sean Christopher Lewis, an examination of crime and incarceration through the eyes of the inmates of Pennsylvania's Graterford Prison, and "Dogs of Rwanda," also by Lewis, who describes his experiences as a church missionary during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Performances take place at 6420 16th St., Berwyn. The theater hosts a season preview party from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. at Wire, 6815 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn. Subscriptions start at $50. (708) 795-6704 or 16thstreettheater.org.

• Oracle Productions announced its sixth season of public access theater will begin Jan. 23, 2016, with a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape," an examination of class conflict centered on Yank, a coal shoveler on an ocean liner whose worldview is upended after he encounters a wealthy socialite. That's followed by Federico Garcia Lorca's "The House of Bernarda Alba" (June 4-July 23, 2016) about the tragedy that results from an overprotective mother's attempts to maintain her daughters' purity. The season concludes with an original musical by writer Nigel O'Hearn and composer Nicholas Tonozzi titled "The Kindling" (Oct. 15-Dec. 3, 2016). Artistic director Max Truax directs the show about three women working in a sweatshop who struggle to achieve workplace equality. Performances take place at 3809 N. Broadway St., Chicago. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. See publicaccesstheatre.org.

• The Latino/a Theatre Commons recently announced that all 12 playwrights featured during its 2015 Carnaval showcase, hosted by the Theatre School at DePaul University, have been promised productions at theaters around the country, including New York, California, Florida and in Illinois at Teatro Visto and Teatro Luna.