What's new and notable on stage
Steel Beam gets 'Goat'
The new musical "Wild Goat" by Tony Award winning composer/lyricist Mark Hollmann ("Urinetown") and Daily Herald writer Jack Helbig has its Chicago-area premiere at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles. Based on "Dyskolos" by Greek playwright Menander, it's about a young couple whose romance is threatened by their parents.
Opens Friday, May 15 at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.
Metropolis stages 'Baby'
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre concludes its season with "Baby," the musical by composer David Shire and lyricist Richard Maltby Jr., about three couples facing the highs and lows of impending childbirth. Metropolis resident director Lauren Rawitz directs.
Opens Sunday, May 17, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.
'Bee' at Marriott
Six precocious pre-pubescents compete for first prize in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," the endearing musical by composer/lyricist William Finn and writer Rachel Sheinkin in previews at Marriott Theatre. Director and choreographer Rachel Rockwell and music director Doug Peck head up the creative team.
Previews continue through Sunday, May 17, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The show opens Wednesday, May 20. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.
• Goodman Theatre's Steve Scott directs Shattered Globe Theatre's production of "Buried Child," Sam Shepard's darkly comic Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a dysfunctional family with an unsettling secret. Previews continue through Saturday, May 16, at the Greenhouse Theatre, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The production opens Sunday, May 17. (773) 404-7336 or shatteredglobe.org.
• Previews begin, Friday, May 15, for the Chicago premiere of "Love Person," Aditi Brennan Kapil's romantic drama encompassing three cultures, centered around four Sanskrit love poems about two couples (one gay, one straight) involved in four separate relationships. The production opens Tuesday, May 26, at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.
• Scott Bradley of the Scooty and JoJo Show replaces Nora Dunn in "Dueling Divas," Hell in a Handbag Productions' staged reading of "Sunset Boulevard" to benefit its upcoming production of "Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical." The performance is Friday, May 15, at Hydrate, 3458 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 409-4357 or handbagproductions.org.
• Ron OJ Parson directs Court Theatre's production of August Wilson's 1990 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "The Piano Lesson," part of the playwright's remarkable 10-play cycle chronicling the black experience in America during the 20th century. Set in the 1930s, the play centers on siblings Boy Willie (Ronald L. Conner) and Bernice (Tyla Abercrumbie) whose conflict over an heirloom reveals very different ideas about family legacy. The production opens Saturday, May 16, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.
• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble marks its third residency as part of Steppenwolf Theatre's Visiting Company Initiative with the world premiere of Lisa Dillman's play "The Walls" about a scholar's attempt to honor her artist mother's creativity and avoid her psychosis. The production opens Sunday, May 17, at the Garage Theatre, 1624 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650 or Steppenwolf.org.
• Next Theatre hosts a benefit titled The New Black (and Red) beginning at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at the Gruen Art Galleries, 226 W. Superior St., Chicago. The evening includes selections from Next's hit show, "Adding Machine: A Musical," dinner and a silent auction. (847) 475-1875, ext. 2 or nexttheatre.org.
• Rock critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot bring their WBEZ show "Sound Opinions" to the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, on Monday, May 18. The free taping is among several special events held in conjunction with Goodman's production of Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll." (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.
• Lookingglass Theatre reprises its original production of "The Arabian Nights," adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman, beginning previews Wednesday, May 20, at Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. First produced in 1992, the play centers around the intriguing stories Scheherezade tells King Shahryar in order to save her life and that of the kingdom's other virgins. The show opens Saturday, May 30. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.
• Playwright Eric Bogosian joins The Gift Theatre for a preshow reception, performance and post-show discussion of the company's Jeff recommended production of Bogosian's play "Talk Radio," at 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 20, at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $50 and $100. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.
• "Death Roast," the third play to emerge from Annoyance Theatre's new director's series, Triple Feature, begins previews on Thursday, May 21, at 4820 N. Broadway, Chicago. The play is about a convicted serial killer who requests celebrities and comedians "roast" him before his execution. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.
• Jay Paul Deratany dramatizes the true story of two Iranian teenagers tried and executed in 2005 for "moral sins" - which human rights advocates insist had to do with their sexuality - in "Haram Iran." David Zak's production runs Friday, May 22, to Sunday, May 24, at The Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (773) 472-6469 or centeronhalsted.org.
• Red Tape Theatre's world premiere of ensemble member Robert L. Oakes' adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's "Enemy of the People," in which an expert in water reclamation discovers a contamination in the mineral spring that supplies the town spa and jeopardizes its citizens' livelihood, continues through May 30, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 621 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. For information, see redtapetheatre.org.