Area theater
Goodman's latest
As Fidel Castro marches into Havana, a fleeing aristocrat entrusts her estate to her young Afro-Cuban cook, leaving her to weather the political and personal fallout of the revolution in Eduardo Machado's "The Cook," in previews at Goodman Theatre. Henry Godinez directs the show, which opens Monday at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800.
Family-friendly
A wise quiltmaker transforms the heart of a greedy king in "The Quiltmaker's Gift," an adaptation of Jeff Brumbeau's children's book in a joint production from Premiere Theatre & Performance Moving Dock Theatre and Clock Productions.
Previews begin today. The play opens Tuesday at the Athenaeum Theatre, third floor, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (312) 902-1500. Note: A portion of ticket sales from the Nov. 30 performance benefit Project Linus, which provides handmade blankets to needy children.
-- Barbara Vitello
Openings:
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical spectacle "The Phantom of the Opera" returns to Chicago next week. Previews begin Wednesday. The show opens Nov. 2 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 E. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 902-1400.
Open Door Repertory Company begins its 10th season with Yasmina Reza's "Art," about longtime friendships nearly destroyed by a piece of expensive abstract art, opening Saturday at Hatch Auditorium, 1000 N. Ridgeland, Oak Park. (708) 802-1723.
The Right Brain Projects transfers film noir to the stage in "Chalk," company member Brad Lawrence's detective tale about a private eye who gets drawn into a conspiracy by a woman from his past. The play opens Saturday at the Studio Theater, Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 742-8497.
St. Charles native Amy Steele, daughter of Steel Beam Theatre founder Donna Steele, stars in Jedlicka Theater's "In My Life," about the unlikely romance between a musician with Tourette's Syndrome and a journalist with OCD. The show opens today at the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, 3801 S. Central Ave., Cicero. (708) 656-1800.
"Dirty Diamonds," about a naïve guy who gets involved with a femme fatale and a plot to recover some buried diamonds in Las Vegas, concludes Factory Theater's 15th anniversary season. The show opens Saturday at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. (866) 811-4111.