Critic's notebook
Here is a look at currently running plays recently reviewed by the Daily Herald.
"Altar Boyz," Drury Lane Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. This high-energy, spot-on sendup of prefab boy bands and Christian pop has an ecumenical appeal. You don't have to be a member of the congregation to get the joke in a show that's pure fluff, but very well done. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 5 p.m. Sundays; through March 2. Running time: About 90 minutes, no intermission. Parking: Discounted parking in Water Tower Place garage with validation. Tickets: $45-$55. Rating: For teens and older, contains sexual innuendo. Box office: (312) 642-2000 or www.altarboyzchicago.com. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 3 stars
"Between Barack and a Hard Place," Second City Theatre, 1616 N. Wells St., Chicago. Second City sends up Illinois' junior senator in its 94th revue featuring requisite jabs at pop culture and politics. Showtimes: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 and 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; open run. Running time: About 1 hour, 45 minutes, including intermission. Parking: Paid lots nearby. Tickets: $17-$25. Rating: For adults. Box office: (312) 337-3992 or www.secondcity.com. Reviewed by Scott Morgan. 2½ stars
"Good Boys and True," Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Steppenwolf delivers a solid, respectable world premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's play about a sex scandal at an elite boys' prep school, although television seems like the more appropriate medium for this familiar, ripped-from-the-headlines drama. The acting, however, is very good, especially Stephen Louis Grush as Brandon Hardy, a young man caught between his own desires and the role America's upper crust have placed on him, and Martha Lavey, a model of subtle strength and decency, as his mother. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; through Feb. 16. Sunday evening performances through Jan. 20 only. Also 2 p.m. Jan. 23, 30 and Feb. 6. About two hours, including intermission. Parking: Paid lot adjacent to theater. Tickets: $20-$68 Rating: For older teens and adults. Box office: (312) 335-1650 or www.steppenwolf.org. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 2½ stars
"The Goodbye Girl," Drury Lane Theatre Oak Brook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Even the considerable talents of co-stars Susan Moniz and Bernie Yvon and director Gary Griffin can't elevate this mediocre musical about the unlikely romance between a recently dumped single mom and a struggling actor based on Neil Simon's 1977 comedy starring Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss. Showtimes: 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 1:30 and 8 p.m. Thursdays; 8:30 p.m. Fridays; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 6 p.m. Sundays through March 2. About two hours, 25 minutes, including intermission. Parking: Free lot adjacent to theater. Tickets: $22-$41.50 (show only); $39.75-$50 (dinner-theater packages) Rating: For teens and older. Box office: (630) 530-0111 or www.drurylaneoakbrook.com. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 2 stars
"Hunchback," Redmoon Central, 1463 W. Hubbard St., Chicago. Redmoon reprises its 2000 spectacle featuring masked actors, marionettes and puppets adapted from Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "Notre Dame de Paris," about a malformed bell-ringer in love with a beautiful gypsy girl. "Hunchback" is a beguiling, innovative theatrical event exquisitely directed by Leslie Buxbaum Danzig and infused with the kind of humor, pathos and loveliness I've not experienced since "The Sparrow." Showtimes: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays; through Feb. 3. About 90 minutes, no intermission. Parking: Street parking available. Tickets: $15-$35. Rating: For teens and older. Box office: (312) 850-8440, ext. 111, or www.redmoon.org. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 3½ stars
"Jersey Boys," LaSalle Bank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. The superb touring production of this exuberant bio-musical about the rags to riches to wreckage to reconciliation tale of The Four Seasons delivers on its promise as one of the season's most anticipated shows. The show looks and sounds great thanks to the Broadway design team, songwriters Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe, and Jarrod Spector, Drew Gehling, Michael Ingersoll and Jeremy Kushnier, who play the Seasons with charisma and conviction. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; through July 13. Running time: About 2½ hours, including intermission. Parking: Paid lots nearby. Tickets: $30-$150. Rating: For adults, includes explicit language and sexual references. Box office: (312) 902-1400 or www.ticketmaster.com. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 3½ stars
"Little Women," Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Marriott delivers a spirited, energetic version of the musical inspired by Louisa May Alcott's classic novel. Longtime Chicago-area favorites Heidi Kettenring (as Jo) and Paula Scrofano (as Marmee) are especially good in this coming-of-age tale, lushly costumed by Nancy Missimi. Showtimes: 1 and 8 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays; through Feb. 3. Running time: About 2½ hours, including intermission. Parking: Free lot adjacent to theater. Tickets: $42-$45, dinner packages extra. Rating: For all ages. Box office: (847) 634-0200 or www.marriotttheatre.com. Reviewed by Deborah Donovan. 3 stars
"Marrying Terry," Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theatre, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Like pleasant champagne that goes flat when left out too long, Greg Opelka's first nonmusical play -- a sluggish, overly long, romantic comedy about an attractive librarian and an uptight radiologist who get thrown together in a Drake Hotel suite on New Year's Eve -- loses its fizz as a frothy comedy. The cast does what they can with a script that feels phony and cliched. Showtimes: 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays; through Jan. 27. Running time: About 2 hours, 35 minutes, including intermission. Parking: Discounted parking in the Children's Memorial Hospital parking garage. Tickets: $24, $30. Rating: For adults, mild innuendo. Box office: (773) 871-3000 or www.victorygardens.org. Reviewed by Scott Morgan. 1½ stars
"Saint Joan," Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The Shaw Festival of Canada makes a triumphant Chicago debut with this superb production of George Bernard Shaw's masterful examination of faith and nationalism. It boasts an inspired performance by Tara Rosling as the doomed 15-century French girl who led France's revolt against the English and was burned at the stake for heresy. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 20. About two hours, 45 minutes, including intermission. Parking: Validated parking in the Navy Pier garage. Tickets: $54, $70. Rating: For teens and older. Box office: (312) 595-5600 or www.chicagoshakes.com. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 3½ stars
"Sunday on the Rocks," Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Theresa Rebeck's uninspired ode to female bonding and boozing about housemates debating men, morality, sex, politics and religion over a couple of pints of scotch suffers from a lack of conviction and superficiality resulting from the playwright's determination to push philosophical hot buttons. Showtimes: 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 10. About 100 minutes, no intermission. Parking: Metered, street parking available. Tickets: $20, $25. Rating: For adults, contains strong language, sexual subject matter. Box office: (773) 883-1090 or www.bailiwick.org. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 2 stars
"The Turn of the Screw," Writers' Theatre (at Books on Vernon), 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe. Kudos to actors LaShawn Banks and Kymberly Mellen and director Jessica Thebus for a gripping, evocative revival of Jeffrey Hatcher's taut, two-person adaptation of Henry James' classic ghost story about a governess who suspects malevolent spirits have targeted her two young pupils. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 6 p.m. Sundays; through March 30. Running time: About 90 minutes, no intermission. Parking: Street parking available. Tickets: $45-$58. Rating: For teens and older. Box office: (847) 242-6000 or www.writerstheatre.org. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 3½ stars
"White People," The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The Gift Theatre delivers a visceral, passionately acted production of J.T. Rogers' provoking dissection of race. The power of Michael Patrick Thornton's intimate production is that it forces the audience to confront their own prejudices as they watch the characters struggle to understand and articulate theirs. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays through March 1. Running time: About 90 minutes, no intermission. Parking: Street parking available. Tickets: $15-$25. Rating: For adults. Box office: (773) 283-7071 or www.thegifttheatre.org. Reviewed by Barbara Vitello. 3 stars