Theater forecast: World premieres, major Broadway tour on tap for 2016

Local theater lovers have nine long months before the Broadway blockbuster “Hamilton” — Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop bio-musical about the nation's first treasury secretary — arrives in September for what promises to be an extended stay at Chicago's newly renamed PrivateBank Theatre.

But with a pre-Broadway tryout in Oakbrook Terrace, ambitious shows in Lincolnshire and Arlington Heights and a classic revival in Aurora to tide them over, theater fans will have plenty to choose from until then.

Here's a look at upcoming suburban and city theater highlights:

• In Lincolnshire, Marriott Theatre departs from its typical fare with a limited run revival of the Tony Award-winning musical “Spring Awakening.” Adapted from Frank Wedekind's late 19th-century novel, this adults-only show about teen angst and sexual awakening features an award-winning score by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. Artistic director Aaron Thielen directs and choreographs. Runs Jan. 14-31 at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.

• Paramount Theatre artistic director Jim Corti, who received a 2015 Joseph Jefferson Award for his revival of “Les Miserables,” helms Leonard Bernstein's “West Side Story,” featuring a masterful score that will sound stellar thanks to Paramount's exceptional orchestra. Runs March 16-April 24 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

• Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace stages the world premiere of “Hazel,” based on Ted Key's “Saturday Evening Post” comic strip and the 1960s TV series starring Shirley Booth as a live-in maid with a take-charge attitude and a knack for getting her own way. Joshua Bergasse (Broadway's “On the Town,” TV's “Smash”) directs and choreographs. From March 31-May 29 at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. (630) 530-0111 or drurylanetheatre.com.

• Also departing from the norm is the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights, which revives Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rent.” Loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's “La Boheme” and set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, the musical centers on the personal and professional struggles of a group of New York City artists. Runs May 19-July 3 at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• In Chicago, Porchlight Music Theatre stages “Far From Heaven” by Scott Frankel (music), Michael Korie (lyrics) and Richard Greenberg (book). It's based on the 2002 movie about a 1950s couple whose seemingly happy marriage is a mirage. Summer Naomi Smart and Brandon Springman star in director Rob Lindley's Chicago-area premiere. From Feb. 5-March 13 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• Bona fide Broadway divas Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole star as groundbreaking cosmetic industry mavens Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden in the world premiere of “War Paint,” a musical by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie (“Far From Heaven,” “Grey Gardens”) beginning previews June 28 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Also opening at Goodman in 2016 is a stage adaptation of “2666” (Feb. 6-March 13) by artistic director Robert Falls and playwright in residence Seth Bockley. Chilean writer Roberto Bolano's epic novel examines death and violence over the course of 100 years. The following month, Goodman stages its world premiere commission “Carlyle” (April 2-May 1), Thomas Bradshaw's dark comedy about an African-American man who is a member of the Republican Party.

• “Jeeves at Sea” is First Folio Theatre's latest in its ongoing series of Margaret Raether's stage adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse's comic novels recounting the adventures of the dotty millionaire and his long-suffering gentleman's gentleman. The production reunites Christian Gray and Jim McCance as Bertie and Jeeves. It runs Jan. 27-Feb. 28 at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

• Three brilliant, recently deceased men locked in a near-empty room have nothing to do but examine the meaning of life and the nature of God in Scott Carter's “The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord.” Kimberly Senior directs Northlight Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of the 2014 dramedy. Runs May 6-June 12 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.

• In addition to unveiling its new theater complex, Writers Theatre debuts the product of its collaboration with The Second City: “Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf — A Parody.” Commissioned by Second City, the comedy imagines what might happen when iconic characters from 20th-century drama — Blanche du Bois, Willy Loman, and the hard-drinking, bitterly married George and Martha — find themselves sharing the same stage. Writers artistic director Michael Halberstam shares directing duties with Stuart Carden. From April 27-June 12 at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• Profiles Theatre premieres an evening of short plays centered around the theme of “love” — what it is and how far it can be stretched — by resident artist Neil LaBute (“In the Company of Men,” “Fat Pig,” “reasons to be pretty”). The works run in repertory Jan. 15-March 6 at 4147 N. Broadway St., Chicago. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

• The Hypocrites present a remount (of sorts) of Mary-Arrchie's acclaimed 2012 revival of Tennessee Williams' “The Glass Menagerie.” It's been re-imagined and directed by Hans Fleischmann. See it Jan. 22-March 6 at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See the-hypocrites.com.

• Steppenwolf Theatre's 40th anniversary season continues with the Chicago-area premiere of 2014's Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Flick” (Feb. 4-May 8) by Annie Baker. In a failing Massachusetts movie house, one of the last showing 35 mm movies, three co-workers form a tentative bond while they sweep up popcorn and debate film. That's followed by the world premiere of ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts' latest, “Mary Page Marlowe” (March 31-May 29), a portrait of an ordinary Ohio accountant who turns out to be an extraordinarily complex woman. The season concludes with Steppenwolf's Chicago premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy “Between Riverside and Crazy,” about an ex-cop, his ex-con son and the assorted characters who wander through their lives. It runs June 23-Aug. 21 at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• Timothy Edward Kane, who received a Jeff Award for his performance in Court Theatre's “An Iliad,” returns for the Midwest premiere of the slapstick comedy “One Man, Two Guvnors.” Richard Bean sets his adaptation of the descriptively titled 18th-century commedia dell'arte “Servant of Two Masters” in 1963 Britain. See it May 12-June 12 at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Lookingglass Theatre examines friendship, race and ambition in its world premiere production “Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure.” Written by ensemble member Kevin Douglas and set in 1908 Chicago, it tells of a vaudeville duo on the verge of hitting it big, whose dreams may be derailed by prejudice. June 1-Aug. 7 at Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

• One thing about The Gift Theatre, they think big. The Jefferson Park storefront revives Frank Galati's sprawling adaptation of John Steinbeck's “The Grapes of Wrath,” about a family driven from their Oklahoma farm during The Depression. Runs June 16-Aug. 14 at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.

• In celebration of William Shakespeare's 400-year legacy, Chicago Shakespeare Theater debuts a six-play history cycle examining war from the perspective of kings and commoners. Tug of War: Foreign Fire — consisting of “King Edward III,” “Henry V” and “Henry VI, Part 1” — runs from May through June. Tug of War: Civil Strife combines “Henry VI, Parts 2 and 3” and “Richard III” and runs from September through October at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.