What's new and notable on stage

Musical whodunit

Drury Lane Oakbrook marks its 25th season with the regional premiere of "Curtains," a play-within-a-play in which the leading lady is murdered during the curtain call and a stage-struck detective arrives to investigate. Writers' and Northlight Theatre's William Brown directs an all-star cast featuring Sean Fortunato, Nancy Voigts, John Reeger, Paula Scrofano and Jessie Mueller among others.

Previews through Wednesday, March 25. Opens Thursday, March 26, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. (630) 530-0111 or drurylandoakbrook.com.

Baumgartner plays Barrymore

Actor/painter Jeffrey Baumgartner, who's performed at Marriott, Court and Chicago Shakespeare theaters among others, brings "Barrymore's Ghost," Jason Miller's one-man show examining the life and times of the legendary actor, to Aurora's New England Congregational Church. An exhibition of Baumgartner's paintings, including Barrymore as Hamlet, accompanies the production.

Thursday, March 26, to Sunday March 29, at 406 W. Galena Blvd., Aurora. (630) 606-5375.

Radio plays on stage

LA Theatre Works brings its stage productions of classic radio plays - Orson Welles' adaptation of H.G. Wells; "The War of the Worlds" and an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" - to the McAninch Arts Center for one performance only.

8 p.m. Saturday, March 21 at 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.

• Previews continue through March 27 for Silk Road Theatre Project's "Pangs of the Messiah," Israeli playwright Motti Lerner's drama about Jewish settlers living in Israel's West Bank. Susan Adler and former Northwestern University professor Bernie Beck star in the SRTP's Midwest premiere directed by Piven Theatre's Jennifer Green. The play opens Saturday, March 28. (312) 857-1234 or srtp.org.

• Mexico City's Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes brings its sendup of Baroque opera, "Monsters and Prodigies" about a pair of conjoined twins - an opera critic and a surgeon who uses his training to create "castrati," young boys castrated before puberty to maintain their soprano range - to the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Performances run Friday, March 20, to Sunday, March 22. (312) 397-4010 or mcachicago.com

• Recently divorced Ellen juggles jealous lover Jack along with several other men and her twin daughters in "All My Love," at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The Diamante Productions' world premiere continues previews through Saturday, March 21. The production opens Sunday, March 22. (773) 327-5252.

• Coming on the heels of A Red Orchid Theatre's "A Very Merry Unauthorized Scientology Pageant," comes Annoyance Theatre's "Scientology! The (Unauthorized) Musical" in which the government seeks help from Scientology's leader after learning aliens plan to land in Clearwater, Florida. Previews are Friday, March 20 and 27. The show opens Friday, April 3, at 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 561-4665 or annoyanceproductions.com.

• Annette O'Toole and John Earl Jelks star in Goodman Theatre's world premiere of actress/writer/director Regina Taylor's "Magnolia." Tony Award-winner Anna D. Shapiro directs the play, which is set in Atlanta in 1963 and centers around the dispute between an heiress whose family estate faces foreclosure and a businessman who has designs on the estate where his ancestors were enslaved. Previews continues through Saturday, March 21, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The production opens Monday, March 23. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Eclipse Theatre continues its celebration of the first 10 playwrights featured in the 10 years since it introduced its one playwright/one season initiative with Rebecca Gilman's "Blue Surge," about small town cops trying to help a couple of prostitutes working at a local massage parlor. Previews continue through Saturday, March 21. The production opens Monday, March 23, at the Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or eclipsetheatre.com.

• The world premiere of "Bible B-Sides," SiNNERMAN Ensemble's original, multimedia showcase of lesser known Old Testament stories adapted by director Matt Miller, takes place Monday, March 23, at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. (773) 296-6024 or sinnermanensemble.org.

• The national tour of "Mary Poppins," the Broadway hit inspired by the movie, featuring the original Richard and Robert Sherman score along with new music by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, opens Wednesday, March 25, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 902-1400 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Park Ridge native Gene Weygandt follows up his three-plus years playing the Wizard in "Wicked" by taking over the philandering husband role in the long-running "Don't Dress for Dinner," which also stars TV's Patricia Kalember as the unfaithful wife. The production of Marc Camoletti's sex farce has been extended through May 3 at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Also joining the cast are Chicago actresses Bethany Caputo and Katherine Keberlein. (312) 988-9000 or dontdressfordinner.com.

• Second City reprises "Rod Blagojevich Superstar," its smash sendup of the disgraced governor, at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The six-week engagement begins Thursday, March 26, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. A 20-minute, audience prompted improv follows each performance. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• Laugh Out Loud Theater at 601 Martingale Road, Schaumburg, debuts a new improv show "Mousetraps and Water Torture" on Thursday, March 26. (847) 240-0386 or loltheater.com.

• Dog & Pony Theatre Company presents the Midwest premiere of "God's Ear," Jenny Schwartz's surrealistic play about a couple mourning the death of their son. Previews begin Thursday, March 26, at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. The show opens Saturday, March 28. (773) 296-6024 or dogandponychicago.org.

• The family-friendly "Dora The Explorer Live!" plays the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago, Thursday, March 26, to Sunday, March 29. (312) 559-1212 or thechicagotheatre.com.

• "A mix tape for the stage" describes poetry slam champion Marc Bamuthi Joseph's "the break/s," a multimedia performance piece examining race, gender and class and incorporating hip-hop, humor and storytelling. Joseph performs the piece at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, from Thursday, March 26 to Saturday, March 28. (312) 397-4010 or mcachicago.org.

• Buried Ember, a new company comprised of recent Northwestern University and Kenyon College graduates, marks its debut with Lanford Wilson's "Burn This" about a woman mourning her late roommate united in grief with her roommate's volatile brother. The production continues through Sunday, March 22, at the Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org.

• An early play by Chicago's own Adam Rapp ("Blackbird," "Red Light Winter") called "Animals and Plants" about a couple of snowbound men involved in a drug deal, runs through April 2 at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.