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Theater events: 2nd Act Players premieres one-act play winners

Backstage comedy

BrightSide Theatre's sixth season continues with a revival of Ken Ludwig's comedy "Moon Over Buffalo" about fading Broadway veterans George and Charlotte Hay. Relegated to a struggling repertory company, the couple learn film director Frank Capra plans to attend a matinee, which they believe might be just the boost their careers need. Rob Frankel and Mary K. Nigohosian star. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, March 10, at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall, North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth St., Naperville. $24, $27. (630) 447-8497 or brightsidetheatre.com.

'Most Happy Fella'

In the Frank Loesser musical "The Most Happy Fella,"a middle-aged Italian immigrant named Tony arranges for a mail-order bride, who agrees to the proposal after she assumes the photo he sent her is him. It's not. It belongs to a handsome, restless young farm foreman, Tony. William Roberts stars in Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's revival helmed by artistic director Fred Anzevino. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, at No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The show opens Monday, March 13. $20-$39. (800) 595-4849 or theo-u.com.

One-acts in Evanston

2nd Act Players, an Evanston company that produces plays exploring the second acts in people's lives, premieres the winning entries in its one-act play competition. "Falling Into Macy," by Wheaton playwright Richard Conlon, is about an older couple falling out of love while a younger couple tries to find love. Tess Light's "The Last Days of Wonder" centers on the relationship between two daughters and their often absent mother, who spent their childhood traveling around the world, leaving others to raise them. Opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at Northminster Church Theater, 2515 Central Park Ave., Evanston. $22. See evanston2ndactplayers.com.

Other theater events

• Route 66 Theatre Company hosts Revolution: Songs of Protest and Empowerment, featuring Chicago-area theater artists, Friday, March 10, at Mayne Stage, 1328 W. Morse Ave., Chicago. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. concert, which benefits Route 66's upcoming season. Artists scheduled to perform include Drury Lane, Marriott and Paramount theater veterans Missy Aguilar, Dara Cameron, Devin DeSantis Lara Filip, Heidi Kettenring, Andrew Mueller, Malcolm Ruhl, Bethany Thomas and Stef Tovar among others. Reserved admission is $60. General admission is $45. See route66theatre.org.

• American Blues Theater welcomes the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright David Auburn ("Proof"), author of the company's current production "The Columnist." Auburn participates in a talkback following the 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, performance of the play about an influential journalist at the height of the Cold War. The performance is at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or americanbluestheater.com.

"Destiny of Desire," Karen Zacarias' relationship comedy done in the style of Spanish-language telenovelas, begins previews Saturday, March 11, at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The play, a co-production with South Coast Repertory, centers around two baby girls - one born into wealth and the other born into poverty - who are switched at birth. The show opens March 20. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Silk Road Rising hosts its next combination staged reading and panel discussion as part of its ongoing, free series "The Art of Translating: Interpreting Cultures and Context" at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 11-12, at The Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. The event includes a staged reading of "Illegal Helpers" a documentary play by German writer Maxi Obexer about Western Europeans who aid migrants, even though doing so is against the law. (312) 857-1234 or silkroadrising.org.

• Filament Theatre's latest installment of "The Van Gogh Cafe," an immersive theatrical and culinary experience centered around a young girl and her cafe owner father, takes place Saturday, March 11, through March 26, at Fannie's Cafe, 5044 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago. See filamenttheatre.org.

• Ten-year-old girl detective Penelope and her best friend Tillie return to Li'L Buds Theatre Company in an original production of "Penelope Pennyworth: Girl Detective and the Case of Mr. Nobody." The family-friendly show examines how the girls' friendship is tested after a newcomer joins their detective agency. Performances begin Saturday, March 11, at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago. See lilbudstheatre.org.

• iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, debuts a new comedy show in which guests read their old diary entries titled "Dear Diarrhea." The adults-only show runs at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11, and April 8. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com/chicago.

• Previews begin Sunday, March 12, for Sideshow Theatre Company's U.S. premiere of Debbie Tucker Green's "truth and reconciliation" at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. This hourlong examination of some of history's major crime scenes - in South Africa, Rwanda, Bosnia, Zimbabwe and Northern Ireland - looks at how victims and perpetrators find meaning in the aftermath of injustice. Artistic director Jonathan L. Green directs the production, which features Glen Ellyn native Michael Holding. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org or sideshowtheatre.org.

• Solo performers present works examining "the messes of life" as part of The LIVINGroom's March performance series titled "Hot Mess." It runs at 7 p.m. Sundays, March 12, through March 26 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• A lesbian couple's announcement that they are expecting rocks their friendship with another lesbian couple in "The Kid Thing," Sarah Gubbins' examination of parenthood within the LGBTQ community. Nothing Without a Company's revival of the play begins previews Monday, March 13, at the North Mansion of Berger Park Cultural Center, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. The production, directed by Jake Fruend, opens Thursday, March 16. See northingwithoutacompany.org.

• While "Pops" performs standards in a piano bar, his daughter "Kiddo" headlines international concert halls in "Upright Grand," a play with music by Laura Schellhardt. Citadel Theatre's production begins previews Tuesday, March 14, at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. The show opens Thursday, March 16. (847) 735-8554 or citadeltheatre.org.

• Joseph Jefferson Award winner E. Faye Butler hosts Porchlight Music Theatre's latest installment of its New Faces Sing Broadway series celebrating 1969 musicals including "1776," "Hair," "George M!" and "Promises, Promises" among others. Performers include: Kayla Boye, Lucia Godinez, Jordan Dell Harris, Brandy Miller, Lewis Rawilson and Denzel Tsopnang among others. The performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway, Chicago, and at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie. See porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• The adults-only "The Naked Magicians" delivers what it promises: magicians Christopher Wayne and Mike Tyler performing without sleeves and without pants. The show runs Tuesday, March 14, through March 19 at the Broadway Playhouse, Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Katherine Biskupic and Leah Frires examine contemporary life through the filter of 1920s America in their new sketch comedy show "Roaring in Our 20s" opening Tuesday, March 14, at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Francis Guinan and Penny Slusher play Marty and Mary Murphy, a Staten Island couple struggling to rebuild after their home is destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, in "By the Water" by Sharyn Rothstein. Cody Estle directs Northlight Theatre's Midwest premiere of the play, which begins previews Thursday, March 16, at 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens March 24. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.

• Interrobang Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of "Falling," Deanna Jent's family drama about a mom struggling to raise her severely autistic teenage son. Previews begin Thursday, March 16, at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 19. (773) 935-6875 or interrobangtheatre.org.

• A lowly servant to England's King Edward plots his death in Joseph Zettelmaier's Medieval thriller "The Scullery Maid." Evan Jackson helms Idle Muse Theatre Company's Chicago-area premiere, which previews Thursday, March 16, at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 17. (773) 340-9438 or idlemuse.org.

• Trap Door Theatre revives "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui," Bertolt Brecht's social satire on the ascent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, set during the mafia wars in 1930s Chicago. Performances begin Thursday, March 16, at 1655 W. Cortland St., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

• The arrival of a new team member upends the lives of a pair of roller derby stars in "For the Love of (or, The Roller Derby Play)" by Gina Fermia. Pride Films and Plays premieres the drama, which begins previews Thursday, March 16, at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens March 20. (800) 737-0984 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

The Magic Cabaret celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. David Parr and Joe Diamond perform up-close sleight of hand and illusion at 8 p.m. Wednesdays. Tickets are $25. (773) 404-7336 or magiccabaret.com.

• The Artistic Home has extended its production of "By the Bog of Cats," Marina Carr's play about an Irish woman who, after enduring a lifetime of disappointment, claims what's owed her with the help from some locals. Performances run through April 15 at 1376 W. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 811-4111 or theartistichome.org.

• Tony Award nominee Daniel Breaker ("Passing Strange") joins Chicago's "Hamilton" cast as Aaron Burr beginning April 11. "Hamilton" is scheduled to run through Jan. 7, 2018, at The PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, recently received a donation in the amount of $7,000 from Nicor Gas to benefit its arts education programs. "As a small nonprofit, we are extremely grateful for the support from Nicor," said Raue Center executive director Richard Kuranda in a prepared statement.

• Tickets for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2018 production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" are on sale now. Timothy Sheader's production from London's Regent's Park Open-Air Theatre will be presented at the Civic Opera House from April 27-May 20, 2018. Single tickets, which start at $44, are available at the box office at 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, lyricopera.org or (312) 827-5600.

• Court Theatre examines the life of a poet, a Supreme Court justice and a jazz pioneer during its recently announced 63rd season, which begins Sept. 7 with "Five Guys Named Moe," a musical tribute to saxophonist Louis Jordan. That's followed by "The Belle of Amherst," which reveals the life of poet Emily Dickinson (played by Kate Fry) through her poems and diary entries. Sean Graney directs the revival, which runs Nov. 2-Dec. 3. Artistic director Charles Newell helms a revival of "All My Sons" (Jan. 11-Feb. 11, 2018), Arthur Miller's post-World War II drama about war profiteering and morality. A socially progressive Caucasian couple in 1960s San Francisco have their principles tested when their daughter informs them she's marrying an African-American man in Todd Kreidler's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" based on William Rose's screenplay. It runs March 15-April 15, 2018. The season concludes with the Chicago premiere of John Strand's "The Originalist" (May 10-June 10, 2018) about a law clerk who finds a mentor in Justice Antonin Scalia. Performances take place at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. Three-, four- and five-play subscriptions range from $96 to $300 and are available at the box office, (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Porchlight Music Theatre kicks off its 2017-2018 main stage season with the coming-of-age musical "Billy Elliot" (Oct. 6-Nov. 19). That's followed on Jan. 26, 2018, by Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," which chronicles the relationships between three friends and business partners over three decades. The main stage season concludes with "Memphis" (April 19-June 3, 2018) about the early days of R&B, the Caucasian DJ who champions the music and the African-American chanteuse looking for her big break. The theater company also announced Porchlight Revisits, consisting of staged concert performances of rarely performed musicals, including John Kander and Fred Ebb's "Woman of the Year" (Nov. 14-16); Neil Simon, Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager's "They're Playing Our Song" (March 6-8, 2018); and "Do Re Mi" (May 22-24, 2018), the Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical about a con man trying to go straight. Performances take place at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Subscriptions are available. Single tickets go on sale in July. (773) 777-9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

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