On stage: Theatre-Hikes takes on Jackie O

Theatre-Hikes takes on Jackie

Theatre-Hikes satirizes one of the nation's iconic first ladies - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - in its latest production "Jackie: An American Life" which traces Onassis' life from her days as a debutante to her tenure as first lady to her marriage to a Greek shipping magnate.

3 p.m. weekends through Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle. (630) 725-2066 or mortonarb.org.

Stand-up in St. Charles

Hoffman Estates comedian Jim McHugh headlines this weekend at Zanies in St. Charles, the club where he has performed for 25 years. McHugh shares the bill with Dr. Bill Miller, a practicing physician who truly believes laughter is the best medicine.

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Pheasant Run Resort & Spa, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com.

New show at the Shrine

The comedians who came up with "Chickshtick," introduce their new show "Ladies Night for Ladies of All Sexes," a sendup of Lifetime Television, next week at Naperville's Comedy Shrine. Included in the improve and sketch comedy show is the Best Friends Forever Game Show in which audience members demonstrate how well they know their BFFs.

8 p.m. Thursdays at 22 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. (630) 355-2844 or comedyshrine.com.

• Redmoon Theater holds its outdoor spectacle 2009 "Last of My Species" - featuring music by Laarna Cortaan along with Redmoon's trademark puppets and signature sets and special effects - at 7 p.m. Saturday to Monday, Sept. 5-7, and Thursday to Sunday, Sept. 10-13, at Belmont Harbor, at Addison Street and Recreation Drive in Chicago. The theater holds its annual benefit gala at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at the harbor. Tickets for the benefit are $150. (312) 850-8440, ext. 111, or redmoon.org.

• An American film star, who comes to Sligo, Ireland, to star in a film about poet William Butler Yeats, upends the world of three Irish sisters in Rebecca Lenkiewicz's romantic comedy "The Night Season." Vitalist Theatre artistic director Elizabeth Carlin-Metz directs the company's Chicago-area premiere beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (800) 982-2787 or vitalisttheatre.org.

• Victory Gardens Theater hosts a preview of its 2009-2010 season at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, and 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The theater inaugurates its new studio theater with the world premiere of "Year Zero," about a Cambodian trying to assimilate in modern-day California, running Friday, Sept. 11, to Sunday, Oct. 18. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

• Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon, a founding member of A Red Orchid Theatre, returns to the company to star in that company's world premiere of "Mistakes Were Made" by Craig Wright. Dexter Bullard directs the comedy about a producer (Shannon) looking to turn around his career and his personal life with a film epic about the French Revolution. Ensemble member Mierka Girten co-stars. The production opens Thursday, Sept. 10, at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, Sept. 10, for Steppenwolf Theatre's season opening production of "Fake," written and directed by ensemble member Eric Simonson and starring ensemble members Kate Arrington, Francis Guinan and Alan Wilder along with Coburn Goss and Larry Yando. Developed as part of Steppenwolf's new plays initiative, "Fake" unfolds at a dinner party hosted by mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which each visitor has a connection to the Piltdown man considered to be the missing link between ape and man. The production opens Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650 or Steppenwolf.org.

• Independent Stars Playhouse presents the stage adaptation of "Tuesdays with Morrie," Mitch Albom's recounting of life lessons learned from his dying professor. The production opens Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Elmwood Parks Park and Recreation Center, 2 Conti Parkway, Elmwood Park. (708) or indistars.org.

• "Man of La Mancha," the play-within-a-musical inspired by Cervantes' "Don Quixote" is the next production at the Theatre at the Center, 1030 Ridge Road, Munster, Ind. The musical by Joe Darion and Mitch Leigh centers on a man who fancies himself a knight and proceeds - with the help of his faithful servant - to roam the country assisting the downtrodden and defending maidens. The production begins previews Thursday, Sept. 10, and opens on Thursday, Sept. 17. (219) 836-3258 or www.theatreatthecenter.com