Theater events: Fox Valley Rep stages chilling 'Woman in Black'

Ghost story

Fox Valley Repertory artistic director John Gawlik directs the company's revival of the chilling thriller “The Woman in Black.” Stephen Malatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's novel centers on a London lawyer who hires an actor to help him tell of the horror he experienced while ironing out the will for an elderly recluse. Ron Rains and Alex Hugh Brown star in the two-hander.

Begins Friday, Oct. 14, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org.

Looking for Peabody

First Folio Theatre and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County team up for “Searching for Peabody's Tomb.” A combination history lesson and interactive Halloween event, the performance/tour salutes F.S. Peabody, the coal magnate who built the Mayslake mansion and the Franciscan monks who once called it home. Alison C. Vesely directs Chrissie Howorth's play, which also examines the ghost rumors that surround the mansion.

Opens Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

Naperville newcomer

Bright Side Theatre heralds its DuPage County debut with Ray Cooney's farcical, “Run for Your Wife,” about an everyman cabdriver who is married to two different women and tries desperately to keep his stories straight and his wives from meeting each other.

Opens Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Meiley-Swallow Theater at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth, Naperville. (630) 637-7469 or brightsidetheatre.com.

Other theater events:

Ÿ Bohemian Theatre Ensemble opens its season with Stephen Schwartz's musical “Pippin,” about a young prince determined to live an extraordinary life who navigates war, politics and romance guided by the somewhat sinister Leading Player. Previews begin Friday, Oct. 14. The show opens Saturday, Oct. 15, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or bohotheatre.com.

Ÿ Urban Theater Company has rebounded after losing its Chicago Center for the Performing Arts venue and will stage its fall production of Nilo Cruz's family drama “Beauty of the Father” at the Wicker Park Art Center, at St. Paul's Church, 2215 W. North Ave., Chicago. The show opens Friday, Oct. 14. For tickets and information, see urbantheaterchicago.org.

Ÿ The Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago, remounts its Halloween-inspired show, “Salem! The Musical” featuring an all-female cast. The show opens Friday, Oct. 14, and runs through Nov. 25. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.

Ÿ Founder and executive director Jackie Taylor hosts Black Ensemble Theater's 35th anniversary celebration and the opening of the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, 505 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Thirty-Five Fabulous Years — A Legendary Celebration includes dinner, dancing and selections from BET's recent productions “All in Love is Fair” and “Nothing But the Blues.” Tickets are $200. Proceeds benefit productions and BET's education and outreach efforts. (773) 769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org.

Ÿ Previews begin Friday, Oct. 14, for the late-night production of the live, interactive performance “The Game Show Show ... and Stuff” at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show by Anderson Lawfer and James Anthony Zoccoli premiered at Strawdog Theatre as part of its late-night series in 2006. The production runs at 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 31. (773) 325-1700.

Ÿ Hot & Heavy Burlesque pays tribute to classic horror films like “Poltergeist,” “Carrie,” “Suspiria” and others beginning at 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. See stage773.com for information.

Ÿ Tesseract Theatre Ensemble presents a free stage reading of “The Lutwidge Canvas” by David Alex at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Hoffman Estate's Park District's Vogeli Barn, at 650 W. Higgins Road, Hoffman Estates. The comedy is about a whip-smart couple who try to untangle the mystery surrounding a murder.

Ÿ Fox Valley Repertory hosts its second annual, family-friendly Masquerade Ball from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Batavia Park District's Shannon Hall. The event — which includes food, music, dancing, a costume contest and student performances — is a fundraiser for the company's Performing Arts Academy. Tickets are $25, $50 and $125 for a family of four. (630) 443-0438 or foxvalleyrep.org.

Ÿ Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Rick Snyder returns to Profiles Theatre to direct Martin McDonagh's dark comedy “A Behanding in Spokane.” The play is about a gun-toting man searching for his missing hand who encounters a young couple who coincidentally have a hand to sell. Previews begin Sunday, Oct. 16, at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens Oct. 21. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

Ÿ Emerald City Theatre hosts its 6th Annual Oz Ball Gala at Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The family-friendly event includes a costume contest, dancing and other kid-friendly activities. It takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16. Proceeds from the fundraiser assists underprivileged Chicago schoolchildren. Tickets are $75 and up. See emeraldcitytheatre.com.

Ÿ Lookingglass Theatre hosts a free panel discussion in conjunction with its current production, “The Great Fire,” beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the theater at the Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. The topic is “How Disasters Impact Society and Culture: From the Fire to September 11 to Katrina.” (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

Ÿ The poems of “Fleurs du Mal” by 19th-century French poet Charles Baudelaire inspired Theater Oobleck's ongoing production: Baudelaire in a Box, which unfolds over seven years and culminates in 2017, the sesquicentennial of the writer's death. The latest is “Death and Other Excitements” and it runs Oct. 19-22 at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. See theateroobleck.com for more information.

Ÿ Citadel Theatre stages its latest show “Poe in Octo” — which chronicles the life of the famed American writer — on the grounds of the Mellody Farm Preserve at 350 N. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Performances of the family-friendly, outdoor show begin Thursday, Oct. 20, and run Thursday to Saturday through Oct. 29. Citadel's production of the thriller “Wait Until Dark,” continues through Oct. 30, at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. (847) 735-8554 or citadeltheatre.org.

Ÿ Writer Paul Barile delivers a twist on a famed TV family in his show and a favorite Chicago-area sport in his new show, “The Munsters of the Midway,” in which Herman and Grandpa help young Eddie learn about football with help from Coach Dikith. The Possibility Playhouse's preview is Thursday, Oct. 20, at the First Trinity Community Center, 643 W. 31st St., Chicago. The show opens Friday, Oct. 21. (773) 412-7780 or possibilityplayhouse.com.

Ÿ Chicago-area newcomer, the Underscore Theatre Company re-imagines “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” by setting the show in an old movie theater where Brad and Janet fall asleep and dream of the characters and creatures they saw in previews and on posters. The show runs Oct. 20-30 at the Underground Lounge, 952 W. Newport Ave., Chicago. See chicagorocky.com for information.

Ÿ “The Boy in Black” opened recently at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Chicago Fusion Theatre presents this production of Tony Meneses' play about a world where everyone is gray until they fall in love, at which time their true color emerges, except for the boy in black. Performances run through Nov. 12. (312) 988-9000 or chicagofusiontheatre.org.

Ÿ Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Yazen Peyankov directs Trap Door Theatre's U.S. premiere of “Overweight, unimportant: Misshape — A European Supper,” by Austrian playwright Werner Schwab, translated from German by Michael Mitchell. The play is a dark comedy, set in a bar, which is frequented by troubled, desperate and depraved individuals. Performances run through Nov. 12 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

Ÿ Infusion Theatre Company's “Pluto is Listening” by David Parr continues through Nov. 20 at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. An examination of friendship, the play unfolds over 20 years during which pals Grace and Benjamin send out transmissions from their home in Pluto, Ohio, to the former planet, Pluto. (773) 935-6100 or infusiontheatre.com.

Ÿ Taylor Miller (“All My Children”) and local actresses Cindy Gold and Whitney White will join the cast of “Love, Loss, And What I Wore” — in which five women recollect milestone events through the prism of fashion — beginning Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

Ÿ Chicago Shakespeare Theater's hit production of the musical comedy whodunit “Murder for Two — A Killer Musical” enters its sixth month at the Navy Pier theater located at 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The latest extension runs through Nov. 27. (312) 595-5633 or chicagoshakes.com.

Ÿ Speaking of extended productions, Gorilla Tango Theatre's “Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque,” which has run for more than a year, concludes its Friday night performances on Oct. 21 and its Saturday night performances on Nov. 19 at 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

Ÿ Light Opera Works has left Evanston's Noyes Cultural Arts Center after 31 years and relocated to a new administrative office and rehearsal center at 516 4th St., Wilmette. The former Duxler Tire Center has been remodeled to include a sprung dance floor and equal the dimensions of Evanston's Cahn Auditorium where LOW continues to produce its main stage productions. The new facility will also include the LOW daytime box office. The box office number is (847) 920-5360.