What's new in theater: openings and closings

• Steppenwolf Theatre's annual Garage Rep begins previews on Friday, Feb. 11, at the Merle Reskin Garage Theatre, 1624 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Among the ensembles featured in rotating repertory through April 24 is Sideshow Theatre Company presenting the Chicago premiere of “Heddatron,” Elizabeth Meriwether's play about a pregnant Michigan housewife who gets kidnapped by sentient robots who force her to perform the title role in “Hedda Gabler.” The Strange Tree Group presents the world premiere of “The Three Faces of Doctor Crippen,” Emily Schwartz's darkly comic play about a turn-of-the-20th century British doctor who's also a serial killer. Lastly, Urban Theater Company presents the Midwest premiere of Jose Rivera's “Sonnets for an Old Century” in which recently deceased people comment on their lives while awaiting the start of their afterlife. Performances run Wednesday through Sunday beginning Wednesday, Feb. 16. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• Previews continue through Sunday, Feb. 13, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago, for Lifeline Theatre's world premiere of “Moonstone,” adapted by Robert Kauzlaric from Wilkie Collins' book considered to be the first detective novel. Paul S. Holmquist directs the mystery tale about a stolen gem that is also cursed. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com

• The interactive, adults-only comedy “Red Bastard” — alter-ego of creator/clown Eric Davis, a practitioner of what one critic called “confrontational clowning” — runs Friday, Feb. 11, and Saturday, Feb. 12, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.

• Goodman Theatre presents the world premiere of “Mary,” a commission by Thomas Bradshaw and first seen as part of the theater's 2009 New Stages Series. Set in 1983, “Mary” tells the story of a gay college student who invites his boyfriend to his southern Maryland home to meet his parents. May Adrales directs. Previews continue through Sunday, Feb. 13, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Monday, Feb. 14. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• New Beast Theatre Works combines drama, science and music in “Light Waves and Their Uses,” a semi-opera inspired by the life of physicist Albert Michelson — a pioneer in the field of optics and the velocity of light — about the impact a scientist's obsessions have on his family. The show opens Friday, Feb. 11, at The Building Stage, 412 N. Carpenter St., Chicago. (312) 491-1369 or buildingstage.com.

• Team StarKid, whose parody “A Very Potter Musical” premiered on YouTube in 2009, presents its first live Chicago production, the comedy-musical “Starship,” beginning previews on Friday, Feb. 11, at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Set in the distant future on a planet inhabited by giant alien insects, “Starship” centers around an outsider named Bug who sets out to find fulfillment. Written and directed by Matt Lang, “Starship” features puppets by Russ Walko and music and lyrics by StarKid co-founder Darren Criss, who currently appears on Fox's “Glee.” The show opens Sunday, Feb. 13. See teamstarkid.com for information.

• Baby Wants Candy, the ensemble whose members perform an improvised musical each week, begins its residence at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, on Friday, Feb. 11. Performances begin at 10:30 p.m. every Friday on the theater's main stage. (773) 935-6100 or babywantscandy.com.

• Tommy Gun's Garage Dinner Theater, 2114 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, celebrates St. Valentine's Day with its interactive Roaring 20s Musical Comedy Dinner Show followed by an historical re-enactment of one of Chicago's most infamous crimes in which members of Al Capone's gang reportedly gunned down members of Bugs Moran's gang. Performances run from Friday, Feb. 11, to Monday, Feb. 14. (312) 225-0273 or tommygunsgarage.com.

• “Riverdance” — the celebration of Celtic music and dance — returns to the suburbs for two shows. Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, hosts the tour at 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

• Following a bomb blast that kills dozens of people, police question a known anarchist who subsequently falls from a fourth floor window during the interrogation in Dario Fo's satirical, “Accidental Death of an Anarchist.” Anthony Ingram directs Signal Ensemble Theatre's revival featuring ensemble members Vincent Lonergan, Simone Roos and Joseph Stearns. Previews begin Saturday, Feb. 12, at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago. The show opens Monday, Feb. 14. (773) 347-1350 or signalensemble.com.

• A poor, young boy unwraps one of five golden tickets that earn him admission to the domain of candy-maker Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Emerald City Theatre opens its family-friendly production of the children's favorite on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6100 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• “Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies,” a musical revue featuring the jazz legend's classic tunes including “Take the A Train” and “Mood Indigo,” comes to the Center for the Performing Arts at Governors State University at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12. The theater is at 1 University Parkway, University Park. (708) 235-2222 or centertickets.net.

• The Neo-Futurists present “Too Much Love: 30 Love Plays in 60 Love Minutes,” a special Valentine's Day edition of its long-running sketch show, at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• Halcyon Theatre begins performances of the Chicago premiere of “Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart (a rave fable)” on Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Caridad Svich's play with music and video is inspired by Euripides' “Iphigenia at Aulis” (in which Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia so that his troops may depart for Troy). Svich sets her version in an unnamed Latin American country where Iphigenia finds it impossible to escape her destiny. (773) 404-7336 or halcyontheatre.org.

• Larry Yando and Lance Baker star in Theatre at the Center's revival of Anthony Shaffer's “Sleuth,” a manor-house thriller in which successful mystery writer Andrew Wyke (Yando) tries to convince his wife's lover Milo Tindle (Baker) to participate in a staged heist of her jewelry. Previews begin Thursday, Feb. 17, at Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. The show, directed by William Pullinsi, opens on Sunday, Feb. 20. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• A new theater company named The Inconvenience revives Brett Neveu's dark and bloody comedy “The Earl,” about sibling rivalry taken to its extreme. The show runs through Wednesday, Feb. 23, at A Red Orchid Theatre. (773) 658-4438 or theinconvenience.org.

• Tuta Theatre's “The Wedding,” inspired by Bertolt Brecht's farcical “A Respectable Wedding,” continues through Sunday, March 6, at the Chopin Theatre at 1543 W. Division St. Chicago. (847) 217-0691 or tutato.com.

• “Shadowlands,” the love story of British writer C.S. Lewis and American poet Joy Davidman, continues through Sunday, March 20, at Provision Theater, 1001 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago. (312) 455-0065 or provisiontheater.org.

• Real breakup letters, e-mails, text messages and Facebook posts submitted by formerly coupled folks comprise the eighth incarnation of “Letters/X,” the annual “anti Valentine's Day cabaret” which examines heartbreak with often hilarious results. Anthony Roberts adapted the letters and wrote the music for the show which runs through Saturday, March 12, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6100 or apollochicago.com.

• Stephen Louis Grush (currently appearing in Steppenwolf Theatre's “Sex With Strangers”) re-imagines Anton Chekhov's “Three Sisters” in a rural community outside New Orleans in “Feet of Clay” in which newly orphaned siblings try to define their lives. The production from Chicago newcomer Last Match Theatre Company runs through Saturday, March 19, at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 988-9000 or lastmatch.org.

• Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, celebrates the carnival season with “Viva Nola!” a sketch comedy revue celebrating and satirizing New Orleans. The show runs at 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Feb. 25. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Writers' Theatre has extended its production of “Travels With My Aunt.” Performances run through April 3 at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• In honor of the 10th anniversary of its show “That's Weird, Grandma,” consisting of stories written by Chicago schoolchildren, Barrel of Monkeys has added performances of the show at 2 p.m. Sundays through April 3. Tenth anniversary performances of the show, featuring current and veteran ensemble members, take place at 7 and 9 p.m. April 11 at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• Redtwist Theatre recently received a grant from Chicago's Alphawood Foundation to support its operations. The theater's Jeff Award-winning production of Conor McPherson's “Shining City” runs through Sunday, Feb. 27, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.

• Pride Films & Plays announces Women's Work, a contest for female playwrights and screenwriters whose work is “pertinent to the lesbian community and relevant to the world.” Applications will be accepted through Monday, March 28. Finalists will receive a cash prize and a staged reading of their work in June. For information see pridefilmsandplays.com.

— Barbara Vitello