Theater events: Pulitzer-winning 'The Flick' premieres at Steppenwolf

Movie time

Co-workers at a rundown Massachusetts movie theater form an unlikely friendship in "The Flick," Annie Baker's 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama in its Chicago-area premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre. Dexter Bullard, of A Red Orchid Theatre, directs Will Allan, Danny McCarthy, Caroline Neff and Travis Turner. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show opens Feb. 13. $20-$89. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Recalling Rosemary

Amanda Flahive stars in Williams Street Repertory's Chicago-area premiere of the bio-musical "Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical." The musical chronicles the beloved crooner's life, loves and challenges, including divorce and battles with addiction and depression. Mark R. Mahallak co-stars in director Robin Hughes' production. Continues at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, through Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. $32.50, $38.50. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

In the artists lounge

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's Artists Lounge Series, conceived and curated by former "Jersey Boy" Michael Ingersoll, continues with Jenny Lee Stern (Broadway's "Rocky") channeling a country music legend in "Patsy Cline: She's Got You." That's followed by Jason Watson (Broadway's "Mamma Mia!") saluting old school Las Vegas headliners including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in "From Vegas With Love." "Patsy Cline" is at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, and "From Vegas With Love" is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $40, $45. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Other theater events

• Mary-Arrchie marked the beginning of the end this week with the opening of "American Buffalo" by David Mamet. It's the final show in the company's 30-year history. Co-founder and artistic director Richard Cotovsky plays Donny, the owner of a Chicago junk shop, who plans a coin heist with antsy poker buddy Teach and Bobby, a young addict. Carlo Lorenzo Garcia directs the revival, which runs through March 6 at Angel Island, 735 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago. (773) 871-0442 or maryarrchie.com.

• Performances continue for Mercury Theater Chicago's world premiere musical, "The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes," by composer/lyricists Michael Mahler and Julie Shannon and writer John Reeger. Joseph Jefferson Award winners Michael Aaron Lindner and Nick Sandys star in the show, which begins with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Lindner) killing off the famous sleuth to the ire of fans everywhere. Attempting to escape harassment, he flees to London where he encounters his character (Sandys) and a mystery that needs solving. Director Warner Crocker's production runs through March 20 at 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (773) 325-1700 or mercurytheaterchicago.com.

• Refuge Theatre Project opens its second season with "High Fidelity," the musical by composer Tom Kitt, lyricist Amanda Green and writer David Lindsay-Abaire based on Nick Hornby's 1995 novel and Stephen Frears' 2000 film about a vintage record store owner who tries to make sense of his busted romance by reviewing his top five breakups. Arlington Heights native Max DeTogne stars in director/choreographer Christopher Pazdernik's production, which begins previews Friday, Jan. 29, at Refuge Records, 666 W. Hubbard St., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Jan. 31. See refugetheatreproject.com.

• "Incendium," a cabaret-style performance by Chicago Slam Works examining what the afterlife might be like if it unfolded in a dungeonlike club, opens Friday, Jan. 29, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The performance combines spoken word, sketch comedy, drama, movement and music. See chicagoslamworks.com.

• The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, hosts a wine-tasting fundraiser and raffle from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. Tickets are $45 per person and include hors d'oeuvres and wines from Tuscan Market & Wine Shop. Proceeds benefit Metropolis' theatrical productions and arts education programs. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• New sketch comedy venues for emerging sketch artists, The Beat Lounge and The Blackout Cabaret, are set to open at Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. "Clued In: An Improvised Murder Mystery" previews Saturday, Jan. 30, and begins its regular run Feb. 13. (312) 337-3992 or secondcity.com.

• Nancy Hays and Michelle Lauto star as Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli in "Once Upon a Lifetime: The London Palladium Concert - A Tribute," a re-creation of the mother-daughter concert performed in 1964 at the London Palladium by Pride Films & Plays. Performances begin Sunday, Jan. 31, at the Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway St., Chicago. (773) 867-1946 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• The Chicago Inclusion Project, which promotes inclusion and diversity in Chicago theater, announced a partnership with The Chicago Cultural Alliance, a consortium of Chicago-area cultural centers and ethnic museums to expand its salon-style play readings to neighborhood cultural venues. "This expanded series will allow us to reach communities beyond the theatrical community," said Inclusion Project founder Emjoy Gavino in a prepared statement. A reading of Sam Shepard's "True West" takes place at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, at the Open Center for the Arts, 2214 S. Sacramento Ave., Chicago. See thechicagoinclusionproject.org or chicagoculturalalliance.org.

• A young girl struggles with being different in "Homebound: A Play for Nobody," an examination of childhood depression running at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Previews begin Thursday, Feb. 4, for The Neo-Futurists' production of "Pop Waits," a performance piece incorporating music, monologue and movement created by Molly Brennan and Malic White and inspired by their rock heroes Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. The show opens Feb. 8 at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• The Arc Theatre inaugurates its new home at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston, with the world premiere of "The Things We Keep" by artistic director Mark Boergers. Ensemble member Natalie Sallee directs the domestic drama about the turmoil that unfolds when a local artist's family members come together to settle her estate. Previews begin Thursday, Feb. 4. The show opens Feb. 5. See arctheatrechicago.org.

• Scott Woldman, resident playwright at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, redtwist and Chicago Dramatists theaters, premieres his latest, "Beautiful Autistic," at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Set during the early 1990s, "Beautiful Autistic" is about a young man named Jimmy, whose autism makes it difficult for him to make friends, and the awkward Eric who attempts to instruct Jimmy on how to pick up girls. Previews begin Thursday, Feb. 4. Director Rachel Edwards Harvith's production opens Feb. 13. (312) 633-0630 or chicagodramatists.org.

• Up Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago, welcomes the return of "#DateMe: An OKCupid Experiment," created by Robyn Lynne Norris and based on responses to "undateable" profiles of fictional people placed on an online dating site. Performances of the adults-only show run Thursdays through Sundays, Feb. 4 through May 29. (312) 662-4562 or upcomedyclub.com.

• Court Theatre has extended its production of "Satchmo at the Waldorf," Terry Teachout's one-man show about jazz legend Louis Armstrong (Barry Shabaka Henley), who reminisces about his life and career following a 1971 concert at New York City's Waldorf Astoria. Performances run through Feb. 14 at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• "Hero's Welcome," a long-form musical improvisation, continues Wednesdays through March 2 at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace announced the hiring of New York-based producer Laura Stanczyk as director of new works. Stanczyk's appointment comes in the wake of Drury Lane's pre-Broadway tryout last year of the new musical "Beaches." "I am thrilled to join the Drury Lane team as they broaden their commitment to bring first-class entertainment to their audience with new, imaginative, heartfelt shows. It's a natural extension for an organization as experienced as Drury Lane," said Stanczyk in a prepared statement.

• Steppenwolf Theatre announced recently that it will open a flexible, 80-seat theater at 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago, this spring. The new black box theater will be home to comedy, solo performances, ensemble member projects and to visiting companies. Additionally, Steppenwolf will partner with Boka Restaurant Group to open a new cafe and bar at the same location. "We wanted to create a space that elevates the notion of what a full theater experience can be," said artistic director Anna D. Shapiro in a prepared statement. "For a long time we have craved a comfortable setting where our audiences, artists, staff and friends can interact. The care and bar is a perfect solution."

• Pivot Arts and Loyola University's department of fine and performing arts announced the fourth performing arts incubator program to assist artists and ensembles in the development of new works incorporating music, dance, theater and other disciplines. The 2016 program begins in February with Walkabout Theater's "The Cure," an examination of mortality, disease and violence. That's followed by "Azure & Indigo," a dance/theater piece by Heather Overbeck examining jazz in Chicago. The program concludes with "Rumspringa! An American Odyssey," which follows four Amish teens who are inspired by divine revelation to take a cross-country trip. The programs conclude with a public performance March 21 at Loyola University's Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, 1020 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago. See pivotarts.org.