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Theater events: Improv Playhouse remounts 'The Gathering' for ninth time

'The Gathering'

For the ninth consecutive year, Improv Playhouse remounts "The Gathering," Josephine Raciti and Rolf Forsberg's modern take on The Last Supper. Shahab Astabraghpour and Tyler Ankey share the role of the Teacher. Aaron Sjoholm plays Judas in the production directed by David Brian Stuart. Opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. $15-$22.50. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

Cult classic

Steel Beam Theatre revives "Ruthless! The Musical," a 1992 tuner by Marvin Laird and Joel Paley that mashes up "Gypsy" and "All About Eve" with a side of "Mommie Dearest." Dubbed "the stage mother of all musicals," the campy tuner centers on a precocious but sociopathic 8-year-old willing to do anything to get the lead in her school play, with help from her equally driven agent and to the chagrin of her mild-mannered mother. Kevin Wiczer directs the adults-only production. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, April 7, at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $23-$28. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

A second chance

To coincide with the season of rebirth and redemption, Provision Theater Company presents the world premiere of "Redeemed: The Fall and Rise of Chuck Colson." Written and directed by artistic director Timothy Gregory, the play chronicles the downfall of the late Colson, the former special counsel to President Richard Nixon who was sentenced to federal prison for his part in the Watergate scandal. After his release, Colson founded the Prison Fellowship, a faith-based organization that promotes prisoner rehabilitation and prison reform. Rod Armentrout stars as Colson. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the Athenaeum Theater, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 15. $28-$33. (773) 935-6875 or provisiontheater.org.

Other theater events

• weAreproductions adapts to the stage 1977's "Smokey and the Bandit," a raucous road comedy dominated by good old boys and car chases. "Smokey and the Bandit: The Musical" opens Friday, April 7, at MCL Chicago, 3110 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. Timmy Hart Barron stars as the Bandit tasked with hauling 400 cases of illegal beer from Texas to Georgia in under 28 hours. See mclchicago.com.

• Gift Theatre co-founder and artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton teams up with A Red Orchid Theatre artistic director Kirsten Fitzgerald for an entirely improvised show titled "You & Me." The performance is at 9 p.m. Friday, April 7, at The Second City Training Center's Blackout Cabaret, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. (312) 337-3992 or secondcity.com.

• Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, debuts its new, adults-only show, "GoldiSocks and Her Three Bears' Fabulous Fairy Tales of Drag." The fairy tale-drag performance mashup runs at 9 p.m. Fridays from April 7 through May 26. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Brown Paper Box Co. opens its 2017/2018 season with "Positively Present: An Uplifting Cabaret" featuring performances by company members and friends to encourage audience members to keep up their spirits during times of adversity. It takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 7-8, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. See brownpaperbox.org.

• WGN radio host Steve Cochran and standup comedian John Da Cosse join other WGN personalities at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. The performance is part of Metropolis' ongoing comedy series. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• The national tour of Disney's "Aladdin" kicks off Tuesday, April 11, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. Adapted from 1992's hit animated film about a poor, young man who wins the heart of a princess with help from a Genie, the musical features a score by Oscar winners Howard Ashman, Alan Menken and Tim Rice. Adam Jacobs, who originated the title role on Broadway, headlines the tour, whose Chicago stay was recently extended through Sept. 10. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The latest installment of Pride Films and Plays' "His and His" cabaret series tracing the development of gay characters on Broadway takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. The program consists of selections from "Days Like Today," which premiered at Writers Theatre in 2014 and two shows that premiered during 2016's Chicago Music Theatre Festival. The cabaret also features selections by composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa ("Big Fish," "The Addams Family"). (800) 737-0984 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Eclipse Theatre opens its 25th anniversary season devoted to works by playwright Kia Corthron with "Force Continuum," about an African-American police officer struggling to reconcile his race and his profession while protecting his community. Previews begin Thursday, April 13, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Michael Aaron Pogue directs the show, which opens April 17. (773) 935-6875 or eclipsetheatre.com.

• Previews begin Thursday, April 13, for The New Colony's premiere of "Scapegoat; Or (Why the Devil Always Loved Us)," a political thriller by Connor McNamara about a family whose political dynasty is threatened after a news report tags the patriarch as a Satanist. Kristina Valada-Viars directs the production, which opens April 17 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See thenewcolony.org.

• Windy City Music Theatre revives "Hairspray," the 1962-set tuner about an activist teen who struggles to integrate a popular TV teen dance show. Director Jordan Richardson's production runs Thursday, April 13, through April 30 at the Jefferson Playhouse, 4766 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See windycityperforms.org.

• The League of Chicago Theatres' Theatre Thursdays series continues Thursday, April 13, at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, with a performance of Tracy Letts' "Linda Vista." The world premiere comedy centers on a 50-year-old recently divorced man and his efforts to revive his love life. Tickets are $20. The event begins at 6 p.m. at 1624 N. Halsted St., Chicago, with a preshow reception followed by the 7:30 p.m. show. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• The sketch comedy "What's My Again Again?" continues Mondays through April 17 at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Random Acts and the Greenhouse Theater Center have extended "Strangest Things! The Musical" based on the Netflix series set in 1983, about the disappearance of a young boy from his small Indiana town. Performances run April 14 through May 13 at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or randomactschicago.com or greenhousetheater.org.

• Kokandy Productions revives "The Wiz," the urban musical inspired by L. Frank Baum's novel about a young girl's journey to a magical land. Performances run through April 23 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or kokandyproductions.com.

• To commemorate National Husband Appreciation Day on Saturday, April 15, the producers of "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" offer a buy-one-get-one-half-off tickets for the Friday and Saturday, April 14-15, performances at Resurrection Church, 3309 N. Seminary Ave., Chicago, and Chicago Theatre Works, 1113 N. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Use the code "HUBBY" when ordering tickets online at tonylovestina.com.

• The Chicago Fringe Festival, Definition Theatre Company, Midsommer Flight, Route 66 Theatre and Windy City Playhouse are among the finalists for the 2017 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award. The award will be presented May 22 at the Four Seasons Hotel, 120 E. Delaware Place, Chicago.

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