Theater events: Improv Playhouse turns 'Maltese Falcon' into a radio play

'Maltese Falcon'

The Improv Playhouse stages the film noir classic "The Maltese Falcon" as a radio drama to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its release in October 1941. Based on Dashiell Hammett's novel, the play is about a hard-bitten detective who becomes involved with a young woman, a missing statue and several murders. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. $10 in advance, $20 at the door. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

Poe tales

Janus Theatre presents the ninth installment of its promenade series Walkabout: Theater on Your Feet. The company reprises its 2012 Edgar Allan Poe showcase featuring Poe's stories and poems adapted and directed by Sean Hargadon. Tour guides will lead audience members to various locations in downtown Elgin where actors will perform. Tours depart every 15 minutes beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29-30, at the Elgin Public House, 219 E. Chicago St., Elgin. $16. See janusplays.com.

Backstage romance

Bobby Child, a hoofer at heart who works for his family's bank, is sent to foreclose on a rundown Nevada theater. But after falling for the owner's daughter, Polly, he poses as a New York producer who wants to put on a show at the old theater. Broadway veterans Clyde Alves and Robyn Hurder star as Bobby and Polly in Drury Lane Theatre's revival of "Crazy for You," a romantic musical comedy by George and Ira Gershwin with a book by Ken Ludwig. Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Matt Crowle directs and choreographs. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The show opens Nov. 10. $43-$60. (630) 530-0111 or DruryLaneTheatre.com.

Other theater events

• Williams Street Repertory hosts a combination interactive screening and fundraiser of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" beginning at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28-29, at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Besides the film, the event includes a costume contest, a raffle and pre-movie entertainment. Tickets cost $15. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

• Barrel of Monkey's election season installment, "That's Weird, Grandma: It Came From the Voting Booth," runs through Nov. 28 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. The show consists of student-penned stories about politics, government and the 2016 election. (773) 506-7140 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• Magician David Parr reprises Haunting History, a Halloween event for ages 13 and older, at the Evanston History Center (also known as the Charles Gates Dawes House), 225 Greenwood St., Evanston. The combination magic show and history tour takes place at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. Friday through Monday, Oct. 28-31. $25. See davidparr.com.

• Haven Theatre Company showcases emerging directors Friday, Oct. 28, through Nov. 9 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Alyssa White, Zach Weinberg and Carol Ann Tan will each direct a one-act play as part of the company's Director's Haven. Admission is pay-what-you-can. See HavenTheatreChicago.com.

• ShawChicago Theater Company is among several resident companies to be showcased Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. ShawChicago will perform along with CDI/Concert Dance Inc., DanceWorks Chicago, Hedwig Dances and the Ruth Page Civic Ballet. Tickets are free, but reservations are recommended. See ruthpage.org.

• ComedySportz presents Halloween-themed shows at 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. At 10 p.m. the improv company hosts a Halloween party with a DJ, costume contest and prizes. Admission to the party is $10. (773) 549-8080 or CSzChicago.com.

• The Neo-Futurists adapt their signature show to the season. The adults-only "Too Much Fright, Makes the Baby Go Blind" puts a Halloween spin on the long-running show. Tickets are $20, and costumes are encouraged. Showtime is 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. The standard "TMLMTBGB" runs at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• A Red Orchid Theatre member Michael Shannon and "Chicago Fire" ensemble member Christian Stolte host the Hitchcock Halloween Gala from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, at Ignite Glass Studios, 401 N. Armour, Chicago. Tickets cost $200 and include dinner, beverages, dancing, and live and silent auctions. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• Joseph Jefferson Award winners Danni Smith and Amanda Horvath and Jeff nominees Sidney Charles, Harmony France and Christina Hall perform Monday, Oct. 31, at Firebrand Theatre's "No One Here But Us Witches." The Halloween cabaret featuring music from "Wicked," "Into the Woods," "Tangled," "The Wiz" and "Little Mermaid" (among other musicals) begins at 7 p.m. at the Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway, Chicago. $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Proceeds help fund Firebrand's inaugural season, which begins in 2017. See firebrandtheatre.org.

• "Graeme of Thrones," the original parody of George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" novels (the inspiration for the HBO series), opens Tuesday, Nov. 1, for a limited run at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 174 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. The action centers around "Thrones" fan Graeme, who's assisted by a couple of friends in re-creating his favorite fantasy saga on stage. (800) 775-2000 or BroadwayinChicago.com.

• Seven actors re-create the Apollo 11 lunar landing as part of Theater Unspeakable's family-friendly show "Moon Shot: A Race to Space" beginning Tuesday, Nov. 1. Chicago Children's Theatre presents the world premiere, which runs through Nov. 20 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (872) 222-9555 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• iO Chicago premieres a new sketch comedy show "Football High School," which flips the roles of the standard teenager coming-of-age tale by making the quarterback a female and the cute but nerdy bandleader male. Performances of the adults-only show begin Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com/chicago.

• The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's Artist's Lounge series continues with "Unforgettable: Falling in Love With Nat King Cole" featuring Joseph Jefferson Award nominee Evan Tyrone Martin ("Dreamgirls," "Far From Heaven") as the famed crooner. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or MetropolisArts.com.

• Previews begin Wednesday, Nov. 2, for Pegasus Theatre Chicago's world premiere of "Rutherford's Travels," adapted from Charles Johnson's "Middle Passage" about a freed slave who mistakenly stows away on an illegal American slave ship bound for Africa. Co-adapted by Ilesa Duncan and David Barr III and directed by Duncan, the play with music features a score by Shawn Wallace. Breon Arzell plays the title role. The show opens Nov. 5 at Chicago Dramatists, 773 N. Aberdeen, Chicago. See PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

• The first national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical "Fun Home" opens its brief run Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. It's based on Alison Bechdel's autobiographical graphic novel about her dysfunctional family and her struggle to understand her closeted father. (800) 775-2000 or BroadwayinChicago.com.

• Eclipse Theatre Company concludes its season showcasing Stephen Adly Guirgis with "The Little Flower of East Orange," Guirgis' family drama about a mother and son struggling with a long legacy of abuse. Previews begin Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by Goodman Theatre's Steve Scott, opens Nov. 6. (773) 935-6875 or eclipsetheatre.com.

• Halcyon Theatre and The Blind Owl will co-produce the U.S. premiere of "dirty butterfly," a play by Debbie Tucker Green about a couple whose thin apartment walls reveal more about their neighbor than they expected. Previews begin Thursday, Nov. 3, at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3253 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 10. (773) 413-0454 or halcyontheatre.org or theblindowl.org.

• "You Can Only Take the ACT 12 Times," Tracy Egan's one-woman show about parenting a college-bound child, marks the next production in the Greenhouse Theater Center's Solo Celebration! Series. Egan performs the show Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 3-6, at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org.

• Directors Henry Godinez and Susan Padveen participate in a post-show discussion of Lolita Chakrabarti's "Red Velvet," about the first African-American actor to play Othello on a London stage. Loyola University theater professor Jonathan Wilson moderates the discussion, which follows the 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, performance at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

• The Chicago Community Trust awarded Teatro Vista $50,000 to support the 2017 world premiere of "La Havana Madrid" by Sandra Delgado. The docu-theater piece tells the story of a 1960s Chicago nightclub of the same name and the staff, musicians and patrons who worked and played there. The play begins previews April 14 at Steppenwolf Theatre's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. See teatrovista.org.

• The Greenhouse Theater Center seeks applicants for its resident theater company program, which assists the growth of itinerant Chicago theater companies by providing them with affordable performance space. (773) 404-7336 or gm@greenhousetheater.org.

• Trap Door Theatre's recently announced 2016-2017 season is already underway with "Fantasy Island for Dummies," running thorough Nov. 5. Next up is Jean Racine's "Phedre" (Jan. 5-Feb. 11, 2017), followed by Bertolt Brecht's "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" (March 9-April 15, 2017) and "Into the Empty Sky" (May 11-June 17, 2017). Performances take place at 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago. A season subscription for eight performances is $120. A four-performance subscription is $75. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

• The New Colony's 2017 season devoted to world premieres begins Jan. 11 with "Psychonaut Librarians," a sci-fi tale by Sean Kelly. That's followed by Connor McNamara's "Scapegoat: Or (Why the Devil Always Loved Us)" (April 5-May 7, 2017), about a senator who's revealed as a Satanist. Next up is Beth Kander's "The Blue" (July 12-Aug. 13, 2017), about three sisters, one of them cursed with blue skin. The season concludes with Michael Allen Harris' "Punk." about prison inmates in a special unit for LGBTQ people. Performances take place at The Den Theater, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Tickets go on sale at a later date. See thenewcolony.org.