Theater events: 'In the Heat of the Night' closes Shattered Globe's season

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Shattered Globe Theatre concludes its 25th season with a timely production of "In the Heat of the Night," adapted by Matt Pelfrey from John Ball's mystery novel. Set in the racially segregated South during 1965, the tale centers on an African-American homicide detective passing through town who's asked to assist with a murder investigation. Manny Buckley stars as Virgil Tibbs, a role made famous by Sidney Poitier in the 1967 film. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 24. $20-$33. (773) 975-8150, theaterwit.org or shatteredglobe.org.

Eclipse opens season

Eclipse Theatre Company opens its 24th season dedicated to works by Stephen Adly Guirgis with "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train," a prison drama about a young man who tries to "do a great right by a little wrong" and finds himself incarcerated in Rikers Island alongside a serial killer. Jonathan Nieves and D'Wayne Taylor star in the revival directed by Glendale Heights native Anish Jethmalani. Previews continue at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 15-16. Opens Sunday, April 17, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. $20, $30. (773) 935-6875 or eclipsetheatre.com.

Adults-only comedy

The music-comedy duo Marie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame bring their adults-only show to Zanies at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. The duo have released two albums pairing country melodies with bawdy lyrics. 8 p.m. Friday, April 15, and 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $20 plus a two-item minimum. (630) 524-0001 or zanies.com.

Other theater events:

• The New Colony continues its season with the world premiere of "Even Longer and Farther Away," Chelsea Marcantel's drama about a young man hiking the Appalachian Trial who gets stuck in a small town with a half-sister and a couple of strangers who know more about his family than they should. Thrisa Hodits directs and ensemble member Patriac Coakley stars in the play beginning previews Friday, April 15, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens Monday, April 18. See thenewcolony.org.

• Joseph Jefferson Award-winners Brian Parry and Elaine Carlson star as King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Promethean Theatre Ensemble's revival of James Goldman's "The Lion in Winter." Previews for the domestic drama about love, betrayal, sibling rivalry and power begin Friday, April 15, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 23. (773) 935-6875 or prometheantheatre.org.

• About Face Theatre hosts its 20th anniversary fundraiser Wonka Ball: Dragstrip, beginning with a VIP cocktail reception at 7 p.m. Friday, April 15, at the Ravenswood Event Center, 4011 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $200 for the VIP reception, $150 for the event beginning at 8 p.m., which includes food, beverages, live entertainment, music, dancing, and live and silent auctions. Proceeds benefit About Face's main stage productions, new play development and educational programs. (773) 784-8565 or at aboutfacetheatre.com.

• A Night at Ascot, Light Opera Works annual benefit, begins at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Sunset Ridge Country Club, 2100 Sunset Ridge Road, Northfield. The event, commemorating the company's 36 years, includes cocktails, dinner, entertainment, and live and silent auctions. Tickets benefit productions, workshops and scholarships. They start at $195 per person. (847) 920-5360 or lightoperaworks.org.

• Previews begin Saturday, April 16, for Teatro Vista's Chicago-area premiere of Caridad Svich's "In the Time of the Butterflies," based on novelist Julia Alvarez's fictionalized account of the true story of sisters from the Dominican Republic who were murdered in 1960 after resisting dictator Gen. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. The production, directed by Ricardo Gutierrez, opens April 22, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or teatrovista.org.

• Performances begin Saturday, April 16, for Li'l Buds Theater's original production of "Penelope Pennyworth: Girl Detective and the Case of the Boogeyman," by co-founder Jenny Lamb. The show centers on the attempts of 10-year-old Penny and her friend Matilda to help their pal Michael defeat a ghoul. Performances run through May 8 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway St., Chicago. See lilbudstheatre.org.

• The Actors Gymnasium hosts its 1920s themed 20th anniversary gala from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at 27 Live, 1012 Church St., Evanston. Tickets for Learning to Fly are $120 and include circus entertainment, food and beverages and an auction. Proceeds benefit the company fund scholarships and programs. (847) 328-2795 or actorsgymnasium.org.

• Black Ensemble Theater continues its 40th anniversary season comprised of revivals of its favorite bio-musicals with "Don't Make Me Over (In Tribute to Dionne Warwick)." The show, which stars Kylah Frye, Renelle Nichole and Rose Simmons as Warwick at different stages of her life, opens Sunday, April 17, at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 769-4451 or blackensemble.org.

• Barrel of Monkeys celebrates the 15th anniversary of its weekly revue "That's Weird, Grandma," made up of sketches inspired by stories from Chicago public school students, with shows at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 17, and 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, at the Neo-Futurist Theater at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. The 90-minute shows will feature two songs or sketches from the last 15 years. (773) 506-7140 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• "Gender is a Drag," a new monthly show examining gender, begins Monday, April 18, at iO Chicago, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. It runs the third Monday of every month. Also at iO Chicago, Rose Boyle's autobiographical sketch show "I Wrote This for Me; Do You Like It?," which runs at 10:30 p.m. Thursdays, through April 28. The adults-only show is premised on a dead woman looking back on her life. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• Cabaret performer Jason M. Hammond debuts his new show, "From the Balcony: The Ultimate Phan," about his obsession with "The Phantom of the Opera" at 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Joining him is Paramount and Drury Lane Theatre veteran Emilie Lynn. (773) 278-1830 or davenportspianobar.com.

• Charles Ross brings his "One-Man Star Wars Trilogy" to the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 N. Chestnut St., Chicago, for a limited engagement. Performances begin Tuesday, April 19, for the show, which condenses plots from the three original films into one. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Piven Theatre in Evanston hosts several events as part of its Quality of Mercy Project in conjunction with its production of "Dead Man Walking," adapted by actor/director Tim Robbins from the novel by Sister Helen Prejean. A screening of Lauri Feldman Fisher's documentary "The Innocent" about people wrongly sentenced to death, takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., Evanston. A panel discussion on mercy and the criminal justice system takes place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at the Rotary International Auditorium, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston. See piventheatre.org.

• Pope Paul VI's 1965 visit to Queens, New York, upends the life of struggling songwriter Artie, his heavily medicated wife, Bananas, and his mistress Bunny in John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves." Raven Theatre revives the 1971 dark comedy with Jon Steinhagen, Kelli Strickland and Sarah Hayes in the lead roles. Previews begin Wednesday, April 20, at 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show, directed by Raven co-artistic director JoAnn Montemurro, opens April 26. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

• Previews begin Wednesday, April 20, for ARLA Productions' Midwest premiere of "A Splintered Soul," by Alan Lester Brooks. Set in 1947, the play centers on a group of Jewish Holocaust survivors in San Francisco who are haunted not only by the deaths of their loved ones, but by what they had to do to survive the concentration camps. The show, directed by Keira Fromm, opens April 23, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• St. Charles resident Ann Keen directs Polarity Ensemble Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," about young lovers' misadventures exacerbated by feuding gods and a mischievous sprite. Previews begin Wednesday, April 20, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 22. (773) 404-7336 or petheatre.com.

• Collaboraction Theater Company stages the world premiere of "Connected," the story of humankind as told by the solar system's nine planets, beginning with the Big Bang and encompassing "numerous historical and future campfires along the way." Previews begin Thursday, April 21, at the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show, devised and directed by artistic director Anthony Moseley, opens April 27. (312) 226-9633 or collaboraction.org.

• Waltzing Mechanics announced its 25th incarnation of El Stories, a theatrical series inspired by stories shared by people using public transportation. "Tunnel Vision," examines what happens when people are "forced to step outside of their protective bubbles," said director Mary Patchell in a prepared statement. The show runs through June 18 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or waltzingmechanics.org.

• "Nate Varrone's Pontiac Dreams," a solo sketch show written and performed by Nate Varrone, opens April 22 at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Also at The Annoyance, the all-female improv show "Shebeast" has been extended through June 3. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Red Theater announced it will spend its fifth season in residency at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The 2016-2017 season begins Sept. 16 with the Chicago-area premiere of "The Feast," Celine Song's drama set during a "post-meat apocalypse." That's followed by artistic director Aaron Sawyer's adaptation of "Beowulf" (Feb. 11-March 11, 2017), the epic poem about heroes and monsters. Next up is the world premiere of Ellen Struve's "Prince Max" (April 22-May 20, 2017) about a German nobleman and explorer who, along with a Swiss artist, traveled up the Missouri River between 1832 and 1834 to explore America's interior. The season concludes with Sawyer's adaptation of a show with the working title of "Red Riding Cyrano" (July 2017). This deaf and hearing collaboration combines the stories of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Little Red Riding Hood." See redtheater.org.