Worth the trip
Metropolis' merry fare
The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's double-shot of seasonal favorites begins today. Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" and The Second City's "Dysfunctional Holiday Revue" share the stage at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, through the end of the year. See www.metropolisarts.com for a schedule. (847) 577-2121.
From film to stage
Steel Beam Theatre brings to the stage "A Christmas Story" -- the popular film based on Jean Shepherd's homespun and heartwarming tales about growing up in post-WWII America's heartland. The show opens today at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 587-8521.
Supernatural tale
A governess seeks to protect her two young charges from what she believes to be supernatural influences in Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," a psychological thriller where not everything is as it seems.
Previews of the Writers' Theatre version of Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation continue through Tuesday. "The Turn of the Screw" opens Wednesday at 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe. (847) 242-6000.
-- Barbara Vitello
Openings:
TUTA, AKA The Utopian Theatre Asylum, presents the national premiere of "It's Only the End of the World," French playwright Jean-Luc Lagarce's drama about a young man estranged from his family who returns home to inform them of his impending death. The play opens Saturday at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. (847) 217-0691.
American Theater Company's period radio-play adaptation of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" begins previews Wednesday at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. The staged radio play opens Dec. 3. (773) 929-1031.
Sentenced to rehab for a traffic violation, a desperate Santa tries to keep his condition under cover in "7 Santas," Bailiwick Repertory's new holiday show beginning previews today at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 883-1090.
"Farewell Umbrella (Au Revoir Parapluie)," a theatrical spectacle consisting of acrobats, dancers and musicians, conceived by Charlie Chaplin's grandson James Thierree, opened this week at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600.