Naperville actress returns to area for 'Late Nite Catechism'
Lisa Braatz can't get out of the habit. Literally. This spring, the Naperville actress starred in "Late Nite Catechism" at Pheasant Run and its spinoff "Put the Nuns in Charge" at the Copley Theatre. Next week she returns to Aurora's Copley Theatre to reprise her performance as Sister in Vicki Quade's interactive Roman Catholic comedy, "Late Nite Catechism." Praise be.
Facts: Performances run Wednesday, Oct. 1, to Nov. 2 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. (630) 896-6666 or theparamounttheatre.com.
Political humor
The Capitol Steps got into the habit of lampooning politicos 27 years ago when founders Elaina Newport, Bill Strauss and Jim Aidala put on a Christmas show for their boss, Illinois Sen. Charles Percy. They've been satirizing statesmen ever since, and this weekend they do it at Elgin's Hemmens Theatre.
Facts: 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. (847) 931-5900 or hemmens.org.
'Turn of the Century'
Talk about your pedigrees. The new musical "Turn of the Century" features a score taken from the American songbook, direction by nine-time Tony Award winner Tommy Tune, a book by "Jersey Boys" authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and film star Jeff Daniels and Broadway veteran Rachel York playing a cabaret duo transported back to 1899. All of which adds up to a highly anticipated premiere.
Facts: Opens Monday, Sept. 29, at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.
What's new
• The death of a country western star sparks a family reunion that leads to a squabble over royalties in "Ten Cent Night," Marisa Wegrzyn's quirky family comedy that opens Chicago Dramatists' 30th anniversary season. The play opens Friday, Sept. 26, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. (312) 633-0630 or chicagodramatists.org.
• Comprised of former members of Cirque du Soleil, the Pickle Family Circus and the Moscow Circus, the ensemble known as Cirque Mechanics brings its show "Birdhouse Factory" to the Hemmens Theatre, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin, on Friday, Sept. 26. (847) 931-5900 or hemmens.org.
• A fabled 1956 Memphis jam session uniting Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley inspires "Million Dollar Quartet," a new musical about Sun Records' Sam Phillips bringing together four legends-in-the-making for one night of scintillating rock 'n' roll. Previews begin Friday, Sept. 26, at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Oct. 5. (312) 443-3800 or milliondollarquartetlive.com.
• The New Colony, a new company dedicated to producing world premieres only, begins its inaugural season with "Amelia Earhart Jungle Princess," an alternate history of the missing aviatrix that imagines her living as a "semi-amnesiatic jungle-woman." Previews begin Friday, Sept. 26. The play by James Asmus and Andrew Hobgood opens Monday, Sept. 29, at National Pastime Theater, 4139 N. Broadway St., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or thenewcolony.org.
• Steppenwolf Theatre opens its 33rd season with Frank Galati's adaptation of Haruki Murakami's fanciful novel "Kafka on the Shore," about a young boy's coming of age set against an old man's realization of his destiny. Galati directs ensemble members Francis Guinan and Jon Michael Hill in the world premiere opening Saturday, Sept. 27, at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650.
• "The Day Patient," Lake Forest resident J. Sean Callan's drama about a Dublin husband determined to uncover why his wife slipped into a coma following routine surgery, opens Shapeshifters Theatre's 2008 season. The play opens Friday, Sept. 26, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox, Chicago. (773) 282-7035 or irishamhc.com.
• Lifeline Theatre remounts its disarming swashbuckler "The Mark of Zorro" at the Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. James Elly reprises his role as the mysterious stranger battling government corruption in 19th-century California. The preview is Saturday, Sept. 28. The show opens Sunday, Sept. 28. (773) 327-5252 or lifelinetheatre.com.
• Chicago-based dancer and Joffrey Ballet member Britta Lazenga co-stars as Penny Johnson in the U.S. premiere of "Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage." The stage version of the Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey film - re-imagined by original screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein - comes to Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., for its pre-Broadway tryout beginning Sunday, Sept. 28. Musicians perform the show's 35 hits while dancers/actors take on the roles of Baby, Johnny and the rest. The show opens Sunday, Oct. 19. (312) 902-1400 or broadwayinchicago.com.
• Standup comedian, drag queen and theater artist Taylor Mac makes his Chicago debut at About Face Theatre with his show "The Young Ladies Of," a portrait of the father he barely knew inspired by the letters his father received from women who wrote to him during his tour of duty in Vietnam. The show opens Tuesday, Sept. 30, at The Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. For tickets, see aboutfacetheatre.com.
• Zanies Chicago 30th anniversary celebration continues Tuesday, Sept. 30, with "30 Comics in 30 Minutes" featuring Chicago-area comedians performing one-minute routines beginning at 8 p.m. at 1548 N. Wells St., Chicago. Headliner Taylor Mason, a former Chicagoan and Zanies alum, follows the set. (312) 337-4027 or zanies.com.
• Director and Hypocrites founder Sean Graney makes his Chicago Shakespeare Theater debut with "The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of England, With the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer," by Shakespeare rival Christopher Marlowe. It's about revolt, infidelity and duplicity at the English court. Actors perform the play "promenade style," meaning audience members move around the space during the 75-minute production. Previews begin Wednesday, Oct. 1. The play opens Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
• A physical theater piece titled "ANGELUS NOVUS" by Filipina-American Angeline Gragasin marks the debut of NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS. Paul Klee's 1920 painting "Angelus Novus" and the works of German philosopher Walter Benjamin inspired the piece, which is centered around social activism and power struggles. The preview is Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the AV-aerie, 2000 W. Fulton St., Chicago. (312) 850-9729 or nationalheadquarters.org.
• C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters," an example of contrary theology in which the devil Screwtape instructs his novice demon nephew Wormwood in the ways of corrupting a young convert to Christianity, comes to the Mercury Theater beginning Thursday, Oct. 2. Adapter Jeffrey Fiske directs one of Lewis' most widely read works. (773) 325-1700 or screwtapeonstage.com.