Local theater: Spouses share 'They're Playing Our Song'

Made for each other

Offstage spouses Michael Mahler and Dara Cameron play onstage lovers in “They're Playing Our Song,” the musical by composer Marvin Hamlisch, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager and writer Neil Simon chronicling Hamlisch and Sager's real-life romance. Mahler plays uptight composer Vernon and Cameron, a Naperville native, plays the quirky lyricist Sonia. Griffin Theatre artistic associate Jonathan Berry directs.

Previews continue through Friday, Aug. 26, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. The show opens Saturday, Aug. 27. (630) 584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org.

Willey returns

Actor Walt Willey may be out of daytime drama when “All My Children” wraps up its long run on ABC this fall, but he won't give up performing. For years Willey has juggled his role as TV's Jackson Montgomery with his second career as a standup comedian. To that end, the Ottawa native returns to his home state to headline Zanies this weekend.

8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com.

Quinn's world view

Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and Comedy Central's “Tough Crowd” host Colin Quinn brings his one-man recap of world history “Colin Quinn: Long Story Short” to the Broadway Playhouse for a limited engagement. The show aired on HBO earlier this year following its four-month Broadway run.

Performances begin Wednesday, Aug. 24, at 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

Other theater events happening this week:

Ÿ Previews continue for TimeLine Theatre's revival of “A Walk in the Woods” through Saturday, Aug. 20. Nick Bowling directs the play, about a fictionalized meeting between two superpower arms negotiators, which stars company members Janet Ulrich Brooks and David Parkes. The show opens Sunday, Aug. 21, at an alternate location, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or timelinetheatre.com.

Ÿ Mary-Arrchie Theatre hosts its 23rd annual theater festival dubbed Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins, inspired by the 20th anniversary of Woodstock. The three-day festival begins Friday, Aug. 19, and continues through Sunday, Aug. 21, at Angel Island, 735 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago. More than 40 Chicago area theater groups perform around the clock. Participating ensembles include A Red Orchid Theatre, The Factory Theater, Nothing Special Productions, Steep Theatre Company and the host company, Mary Arrchie, among many others. The festivities begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, with a march from the Daley Center to Angel Island where Abbie Hoffman (Richard Cotovsky) presides over the opening ceremonies. A one-day pass is $10. A weekend pass is $25. See maryarrchie.com/abbie.html for a schedule. (773) 871-0442.

Ÿ Strangeloop Theatre opens “Strangers & Romance,” consisting of two-one act plays by Barbara Lhota set in a train station and a church. The show runs through Sunday, Sept. 18, at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago. (773) 757-6689 or strangelooptheatre.org.

Ÿ Babes With Blades, the all-female, stage combat theater ensemble opens its production of “The Double,” by ensemble member Barbara Lhota, on Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Lincoln Square Theatre, 4754 N. Leavitt, Chicago. The script, developed through BWB's new play development program, is set in the 1940s and centers on Minnie, an actor and stage combatant who's cast in a production of “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Also, the company hosts an ice cream social at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, in association with the League of Chicago Theatres. A performance of “The Double” follows. (773) 904-0391 or babeswithblades.org.

Ÿ A mother's search for her missing daughter impacts the lives of three mother-daughter pairs from Canada, the United States and Mexico in Chicago Dramatists playwright Dana Lynn Formby's “Corazon de Manzana,” a drama inspired by the unsolved murders and sexual assaults of more than 3,000 women in Juarez, Mexico since 1993. Previews for Mortar Theatre Company's world premiere begin Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Storefront Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center, 66, E Randolph St., Chicago. The show, directed by Jason Boat, opens Friday, Aug. 26. (312) 742-8497 or dcatheater.org or mortartheatrecompany.org.

Ÿ The Music Theatre Company presents four 15-minute musicals written, rehearsed and performed in 48 hours. The theatrical experiment concludes with performances at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Monday Aug. 22, and at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, at 1850 Green Bay Road, Highland Park. (847) 579-4900 or themusictheatrecompany.org.

Ÿ Silk Road Theatre Projects presents a staged reading of “Calligraphy,” by Velina Hasu Houston, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25; 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, at the Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. The play centers on cousins in Los Angeles and Tokyo dealing with their aging mothers. The readings are free, but reservations are recommended. See srtp.org for more information.

Ÿ Profiles Theatre opens its 2011-12 season with the Chicago area premiere of “A Behanding in Spokane,” Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's dark comedy about a gunslinger searching for his missing left hand who encounters a pair of bickering lovers looking for a buyer for a hand they have to sell. Previews begin Friday, Aug. 26, at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show, directed by Steppenwolf Theatre's Rick Snyder and starring ensemble members Eric Burgher and Darrell W. Cox, opens Thursday, Sept. 1. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

Ÿ The Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago, hosts its 2nd Annual Improv Marathon beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, and continuing through 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. Eight members of the improv troupe K.C. Redheart test their skills over 30 hours during which they'll improvise 30 original shows. They'll be joined by guest artists from Second City, iO Chicago, ComedySportz and the Annoyance Theatre. All-ages matinee performances are $5. Evening performances are $10 and are suitable for ages 13 and older. Late-night performances are $10 and are suitable for ages 18 and older. A $25 pass offers unlimited access. (773) 871-3793 or the-playground.com.

Ÿ Raven Theatre presents a doubleheader consisting of “Wiggerlover (white boy + black dad = gray areas),” James Anthony Zoccoli's one-man show examining his multiracial heritage, and “The Game Show Show,” an interactive variety show developed at Strawdog Theatre by Zoccoli and Anderson Lawfer. Performances begin at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 26-27, at 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

Ÿ About Face Theatre has extended its world premiere production of “The Homosexuals,” a play about friendship and self-awareness centered on the coming-of-age of a young gay man. Performances run through Sunday, Aug. 21, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or aboutfacetheatre.com.

Ÿ Broadway in Chicago and Emerald City Theatre have extended the family-friendly show “Pinkalicious: The Musical” about a girl who catches a disease called “pinkititis” from eating too many pink cupcakes. Performances run through Jan. 7 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com or emeraldcitytheatre.com.