Drury Lane Oak Brook offering Sweetest Day special

Drury Lane Oak Brook offers a special Sweetest Day dinner theater package including a champagne toast and tickets to its production of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers beginning at $77.50 per person.

Info: Performances at 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.

Ruhl takes on Chekhov

Piven Theatre Workshop presents the Chicago area premiere of Sarah Ruhl's translation of Anton Chekhov's classic tale of unfulfilled expectations, “Three Sisters, in which three women dream of escaping their provincial Russian town for the bright lights of Moscow where they imagine they will at last be happy. Co-founder and Piven emeritus artistic director Joyce Piven directs the production, which features Ruhl's mother Kathy Ruhl in the role of Anfisa.

Info: Previews begin Saturday, Oct. 16, at 927 Noyes St., Evanston. The show opens Monday, Oct. 18. (847) 866-8049 or piventheatre.org.

Noble masquerade

Noble Fool, soon to be re-christened Fox Valley Repertory, hosts a family-friendly masquerade ball to benefit students of the company's performing arts academy. Tickets are $60 for adults, $30 for students and include dinner, music, a silent auction and raffle and entertainment courtesy of members of the Noble Fool Theatre Youth Ensemble.

Info: 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 443-0438 or noblefool.org.

What's new

• Chicago area middle-school students wrote and perform in “Six Stories Up on Ellis Island, an original play about U.S. immigration originated from the mentoring program developed by Tellin' Tales Theatre. The show, for ages 6 and older, runs weekends from Friday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 24, at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. (312) 409-1025.

• 3LR Productions opens its original musical comedy “Unicorn City, about a man whose plan to build tourism through unicorns backfires. The show opens Friday, Oct. 15, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. See 3lrcomedy.wordpress.com for more information.

• Previews begin Saturday, Oct. 16, for Teatro Vista and Rivendell Theatre's Midwest premiere of “26 Miles, a drama by Quiara Alegria (“In The Heights, “Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue) about a cross-country road trip from Philadelphia to Yellowstone Park taken by a Cuban mother and her estranged 15-year-old Jewish daughter. Rivendell artistic director Tara Mallen directs the show, which opens Thursday, Oct. 21, at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The producers invite the public to post a photo of their most memorable road trip on the Teatro Vista website at teatrovista.org or at either company's Facebook page for two tickets to the show and a chance to win a road trip package from Nescafe Clasico. (312) 334-7728 or teatrovista.org or rivendelltheatre.net.

• Black Ensemble Theater stages a revival of the company's first show, “The Other Cinderella, an Afro-centric take on the classic fairy tale. Previews begin Saturday, Oct. 16, at 4520 N. Beacon St., Chicago. The show, written and directed by founder Jackie Taylor, opens Sunday, Oct. 24. (773) 769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org.

• A Red Orchid Theatre hosts its annual benefit show and dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at the theater at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. Tickets are $150 per person and include a performance of “Louis Slotin Sonata, about the final days of a Los Alamos engineer whose blunder cost him his life, as well as dinner with open bar and a discussion with Oscar nominee and Red Orchid ensemble member Michael Shannon. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• Stage Left Theatre presents the world premiere of “Kingsville, a play by Andrew Hinderaker (“Suicide, Incorporated) inspired by the shootings at Virginia Tech and developed through the company's Downstage Left play development series. In it a teacher must choose between protecting his son and enforcing a policy he abhors, which allows students to carry guns to class. The show opens Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• Previews begin Wednesday, Oct. 20, for Lookingglass Theatre Company's world premiere of “Peter Pan (A Play), adapted from J.M. Barrie's books by Amanda Dehnert, who also directs the company's darkly comic take on the story. Ryan Nunn plays Peter and Thomas J. Cox plays his nemesis, Captain Hook. The show opens Saturday, Oct. 30, at Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

• The Scooty & JoJo Show's seasonal favorite, “Carpenters Halloween, a campy, musical sendup that marries John Carpenter slasher films with classic songs from The Carpenters, returns. The preview is Wednesday, Oct. 20, at Circuit Nightclub, 3641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, Oct. 21. (800) 838-3006 or scootyjojo.com.

• Trap Door Theatre's production of “Me Too, I am Catherine Deneuve a family drama in which the members suffer identity crises, by French playwright Pierre Notte and produced in conjunction with the French Consulate in Chicago, continues through Saturday, Nov. 20, at 1655 W. Cortland, Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

• American Theater Company has extended its David Mamet double-bill of “Speed-The-Plow and “Oleanna. The plays, both directed by Steppenwolf Theatre's Rick Snyder, run through Sunday, Oct. 31, at 1909 W. Byron, Chicago. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• Levi Kreis, who played Jerry Lee Lewis when “Million Dollar Quartet opened its run here two years ago and later won a Tony Award for featured actor in a musical for that performance on Broadway, returns for an acoustic show at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Kreis also performs an encore with the cast members at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, as part of the show's “Sitting in with the Band initiative that pairs area musicians with the cast. (773) 935-6100 or ticketmaster.com.

• The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation awarded Writers' Theatre artistic director Michael Halberstam the 2010 Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes a director or choreographer who has helped transform the regional arts landscape. Director David Cromer, who recently awarded a genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation, will present the award which includes a $5,000 grant at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The evening includes a panel discussion with directors Seth Bockley, Timothy Douglas, Gary Griffin, Kimberly Senior and Dennis Zacek moderated by Sheldon Patinkin. The event is free.

• Longtime Porchlight Music Theatre artistic director Walter Stearns will step down at the end of the season to take over as executive director of the Mercury Theatre, 3745 N. Southport, Chicago. During Stearns' 12-year tenure, Porchlight produced 37 musicals and received more than 50 award nominations winning several Jeff Awards for its stellar productions of “Sweeney Todd and “Ragtime. As the Mercury's new executive director, Stearns will showcase homegrown artists and present commercial productions.

• Piven Theatre Workshop's board of directors has appointed Leslie Brown, former director of programs and communications for the Ragdale artists retreat in Lake Forest, as the company's executive director. Brown, a member of Piven's first young people's troupe, “grew up in the workshop said board president Elizabeth Guscott Mueller, who added that her outside experience and “institutional memory will serve Piven well.

• Chicago Dramatists welcomed three new resident playwrights recently. Randall Colburn (“Ghostbox), Carlos Murillo (“Dark Plays or Stories for Boys) and Emily Schwartz (“The Dastardly Ficus and Other Comedic Tales of Woe and Misery) join 40 writers who include Rebecca Gilman (“Spinning into Butter), Keith Huff (“A Steady Rain), Lydia R. Diamond (“Stick Fly), Brett Neveu (“Gas for Less) and Tanya Saracho (“Our Lady of the Underpass).

• To celebrate its 20th season, Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Ind., will raffle off a 2011 Chevy Malibu from Christenson Chevrolet in Highland, Ind. Tickets are $20 each or six for $100 and are available at the box office. Proceeds benefit main stage productions and the theater's young audiences program. The raffle winner's name will be drawn during intermission of the Dec. 19 performance of “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. (219) 836-3255.