Classics highlight fall theater schedule

Talk about art all you like. The business of theater demands companies put bodies in the seats. And nothing draws a crowd like a classic play, unless it's a rollicking musical.A glance at the offerings for fall -- accessible, familiar dramas and Broadway-style spectacles -- suggests not only do artistic directors know what pleases the masses, they are happy to deliver it. To that end, this fall features revivals of mid-century gems by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, plus a couple of bona fide blockbuster musicals.Still, Chicago has plenty of room for the offbeat and the original supplied by ensembles like Profiles Theatre, which launches its Neil LaBute season this month with "Some Girl(s)," and the edgy A Red Orchid Theatre, which premieres ensemble member Brett Neveu's latest, "Weapon of Mass Impact," in October. Also on tap for fall: Court Theatre's version of Seneca's tragedy "Thyestes"; Victory Gardens Theater's collaboration with Teatro Vista on Nilo Cruz's "A Park in Our House"; and Blindfaith Theatre's "Lord Butterscotch and the Curse of the Darkwater Phantom" by Lisa Dillman, Rebecca Gilman and Neveu, which will determine whether three playwrights can collaborate without driving each other crazy.As for the tried-and-true, a list of picks follows, along with a couple of premieres worth checking out.Let's hear it for the (Jersey) boys"The Producers" -- Scoring the rights to the regional premiere of the Broadway blockbuster "The Producers" amounts to quite a coup for Marriott Theatre and director/choreographer Marc Robin. Ross Lehman and Guy Adkins star as the titular schemers who discover there's more profit in a flop than a hit.Sept. 12 to Dec. 2 at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. $45-$55 (dinner packages available). (847) 634-0200."Phantom" -- Marriott Theatre and Drury Lane have long dominated local musical theater. Not any more. Chicago's Porchlight Music Theatre claimed a place among the titans several years ago with its stripped-down production of "Sweeney Todd" and confirmed it this year with a stellar season that concluded with a splendid "Ragtime" that broke box office records in its extended run to become the biggest hit in the company's 13-year history. They follow up with Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit's "Phantom," the musical based on the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel that lost the Broadway sweepstakes to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera."Sept. 16 to Nov. 11 at the Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. $34, $35. (773) 327-5252."Passion" -- Gary Griffin, has a flair for Stephen Sondheim musicals. The director, who earned accolades for Chicago Shakespeare Theater's "A Little Night Music," "Pacific Overtures," "Sunday in the Park With George" and for Broadway's "The Color Purple" (which ends its extended Chicago engagement this month) returns to Navy Pier to stage Sondheim's "Passion," an unlikely love story centered around an unusual love triangle. SNL alum and Broadway veteran Ana Gasteyer, who turned heads here a couple of years ago as Elphaba in "Wicked," returns to Chicago to play Fosca, a sickly, homely woman in love with dashing officer Giorgio (Adam Brazier) who is himself involved with the beautiful but married Clara (Kathy Voytko).Oct. 2 to Nov. 11 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier; 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. $44-$70. (312) 595-5600."The Jersey Boys" -- The most eagerly anticipated opening this fall (especially among baby boomers) has to be the long-awaited Chicago debut of "The Jersey Boys," the 2006 Tony Award winner for best musical. The jukebox show about how four blue-collar boys transformed themselves into the platinum group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons stars Jarrod Spector as Valli with Chicagoan Michael Ingersoll, Drew Gehling and Jeremy Kushnier rounding out the quartet.Oct. 6 to April 13 at the LaSalle Bank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. $30-$150. (312) 902-1400.New takes on classic tales "The Crucible" -- After concluding its 2006-2007 season with the world premiere of Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County," which critics hailed as a new American classic, Steppenwolf Theatre opens its 32nd season with an acknowledged one: "The Crucible," Arthur Miller's examination of greed, intolerance and fear. Anna D. Shapiro directs fellow ensemble members and "August" cast members Sally Murphy, Francis Guinan and Ian Barford, all of whom will likely head east when the company remounts "August" on Broadway next month.Sept. 11 to Nov. 11 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. $20-$68. (312) 335-1650."Suddenly, Last Summer" -- A company uniquely suited to American classics, Shattered Globe Theatre dusts off Tennessee Williams' 1958 one-act "Suddenly, Last Summer" about the investigation into the mysterious death of a troubled young man. Linda Reiter, whose inspired performance as Lola grounded Shattered Globe's "Come Back, Little Sheba" earlier this year, stars.Sept. 13 to Oct. 27 at Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $15-$35. (773) 770-0333."Desire Under the Elms" -- The Hypocrites, a risk-taking ensemble, opens a more conventional season of American classics with its version of "Desire Under the Elms," Eugene O'Neill's stark tragedy examining greed and lust in a 19th-century New England family.Sept. 27 to Nov. 11 at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. $10-$20. (312) 409-5578."The Night of the Iguana" -- Raven Theatre also gets on the Williams bandwagon, opening its 25th season with "The Night of the Iguana," the playwright's last great play about loneliness, longing and guilt that plays out in a love triangle between a defrocked, alcoholic minister, a spinster artist and a lusty hotel owner.Co-founder Michael Menendian directs a production that reunites several cast-members from Raven's first-rate "The Sea Gull" from earlier this year.Oct. 9 to Dec. 8 at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. $15-$25. (773) 338-2177."What the Butler Saw" -- The Hypocrites' Sean Graney makes his Court Theatre debut directing Joe Orton's once-shocking "What the Butler Saw," a fast-paced "comedy of circumstance" filled with plot twists and subterfuge, about the havoc that results when a psychiatrist tries to seduce his secretary.Nov. 8 to Dec. 8 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. $32-$54. (773) 753-4472.New tales"Passion Play: a cycle in three parts" -- Goodman Theatre opens its season with Sarah Ruhl's sprawling "Passion Play: a cycle in three parts," from 2005 that addresses politics and religion within three high-charged eras: Elizabethan England, 1930s Nazi Germany and 1980s America. Goodman imports East Coast talent for the production (which follows Goodman's version of Ruhl's "The Clean House" last season) directed by Mark Wing-Davey.Sept. 15 to Oct. 21 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. $20-$70. (312) 443-3820."Merchant on Venice" -- Silk Road Theatre Project combines the Bard with a Bollywood-style musical in its world premiere of Shishir Kurup's "Merchant on Venice," a multicultural, pop culture re-imagining of Shakespeare's play about intolerance.Sept. 15 to Nov. 4 at the Historic Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. $18-$33. (888) 745-5849."The Island of Dr. Moreau" -- Few companies adapt literary works as adeptly as Lifeline Theatre. To open its 25th anniversary season, Lifeline ensemble member Robert Kauzlaric tackles H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau" -- a combination horror tale, satire and Darwinian critique -- about a misguided scientist's attempt to create his own human/animal super race.Oct. 12 to Dec. 2 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. $10-$25. (773) 761-4477."Farewell Umbrella (Au Revoir Parapluie)" -- Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents James Thi#233;rr#233;e's fantastical spectacle of mime, music, acrobatics and dance, "Farewell Umbrella (Au Revoir Parapluie)," whose brief run should provide a welcome alternative for audiences inundated with holiday fare.Nov. 21 to Dec. 1 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. $46-$56. (312) 595-5600."The Sparrow" -- On the heels of its sold-out initial run and extension earlier this year, the House Theatre's breakout hit "The Sparrow" gets a remount at the Apollo Theater courtesy of Broadway in Chicago. If you haven't yet seen this award-winning show, now's your chance. Although it likely won't be the last.Sept. 26 to Dec. 31 at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $34.50-$49.50. (773) 935-6100.