At the theater
A PR agency owner on the skids desperately tries to get back on top in the new comedy "Pitching Penguins." The show opens Saturday at Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000.
Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Nora Dunn makes her Chicago directorial debut with "Agusta," Richard Dresser's satire on blue collar life about a couple of women whose work friendship is threatened by the arrival of a new manager. The play opens Monday at American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. (773) 929-1031 or www.atcweb.org.
Lifeline Theatre's 25th anniversary season continues with ensemble member Peter Greenberg's adaptation of "Talking It Over," Julian Barnes' dark comedy about a love triangle involving a newly married couple and the husband's longtime school pal. The play opens Monday at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (773) 761-4477 or www.lifelinetheatre.com.
"Rent" returns to the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago for a brief run beginning Tuesday. (312) 902-1400.
Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles, delivers a Valentine treat courtesy of founder Donna Steele and Richard Culliton who star in "Love Letters," the epistolary play that chronicles the relationship between longtime friends. The show opens Thursday and runs through Feb. 17. (630) 587-8521.
"Round and Round: a sexfarcetragedy," a bedroom farce presented by the Curious Theatre Branch, runs through Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. (312) 397-4010 or www.mcachicago.org.
Mystery theater
A mysterious visitor arrives at the home of a prominent family to announce the suspicious death of a young woman in "An Inspector Calls." New World Repertory Theater ensemble member Alison Henderson directs the J.B. Priestly thriller.
Opens Saturday, 923 Curtiss St., Downers Grove. (630) 663-1489; newworldrep.org
Musical whodunit
Noble Fool presents "Drood," the musical mystery with multiple endings based on Charles Dickens' novel. Conceived as a play-within-a-play, it centers on a hapless theater company performing Dickens' story about an unsavory choirmaster in love with a student who is engaged to his nephew.
Opens Saturday, Pheasant Run Resort and Spa, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342; noblefool.org
'Garden' at Greenhouse
Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis directs American Theater Company veterans Carmen Roman and James Leaming in the world premiere of Todd Logan's "Botanic Garden," about a widow embarking upon a new romantic chapter in her life.
Opens today, Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000; victorygardens.org
-- Barbara Vitello