Local theater: Dreaming of a 'White Christmas'?

Nearly the season

Holiday cheer comes early at Marriott Theatre, which presents the stage adaptation of “White Christmas.” The 1954 film, about a pair of Army buddies turned song and dance men who romance a sister act, features “Sisters,” “Blue Skies” and the titular tune among others.

Previews continue through Sunday, Oct. 23, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. The show opens Wednesday, Oct. 26. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.

A classic revived

Jeff Award winner Rachel Rockwell directs Drury Lane Theatre's revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “The Sound of Music,” starring Larry Adams and Chicago area newcomer Jennifer Blood.

Previews continue through Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The show opens Thursday, Oct. 27. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.

Clockwise's ‘Awaited'

Clockwise Theatre heralds the opening of its 2011-2012 season with Claudia Allen's “The Long Awaited,” about a selfless, middle-aged woman who gets one last shot at love.

Opens Friday, Oct. 21, at 221 N. Genesee St. Waukegan. (847) 775-1500 or clockwisetheatre.org.

Suburban newcomer

Williams Street Repertory marks its debut with a stage version of the camp classic, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” at the Raue Center for the Arts, where the company is in residence.

Opens Friday, Oct. 21, at 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

• The American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, has named Chicago's TimeLine Theatre as one of the nations' 10 most promising emerging theaters for its mission, artistic development and audience outreach efforts. The award comes with a $10,000 grant to be presented Monday, Oct. 24, in New York City. “Timeline has followed the path that so many great Chicago theater companies have forged,” said artistic director PJ Powers in a prepared statement. “We started small and dreamed big, stayed true to our mission and to the Chicago aesthetic of provocative, intimate productions.” To that end, Timeline hosts a “meet the union artists reception” following the 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, production of “The Pitman Painters” about a group of union miners in 1930s Northern England who take an art class and then take up painting. The production is at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. The reception takes place around the corner at Art de Triumph/Artful Framer Studios, 2938 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or boxoffice@timelinestheatre.com.

• The State Theatre of Chicago opened “The World Over” this week at ARCC Ballet, 2200 N. Elston. The play by Keith Bunin (“The Busy World is Hushed,” “The Credeaux Canvas”) centers on a castaway who learns he may be heir to a kingdom, for which he searches the world. The cast features Daniel Gilbert as the castaway Adam and Genevieve Lallyknuth as Puppeteer. For tickets and information see statetheatrechicago.com.

• Performances begin Friday, Oct. 21, for Saint Sebastian Players' revival of “The Elephant Man.” The 1977 play by Bernard Pomerance tells of John Merrick, a seriously deformed, fatally ill man who becomes the toast of Victorian London society. Director Don Johnson's production consists of nontraditional casting and features actress Simina Contras as John Merrick. Performances continue through Sunday, Nov. 13, at St. Bonaventure Church, 1625 W. Diversey, Chicago. (773) 404-7922 or saintsebastianplayers.org.

• Salsation Theater Company and Wig Bullies Productions team up for a new gay-themed revue, “The Girl With the Drag Queen Tattoo,” opening Friday, Oct. 21, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.(773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Troupe Strozzi, a new performance ensemble specializing in bawdy, adults-only comedy inspired by the Commedia dell'Arte, presents a short run of “The Sack of Troy,” beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, at 160 First St., Batavia. (630) 887-7269.

• The young members of Fox Valley Repertory's Performing Arts Academy present two performances of “Alice in Wonderland” benefiting homeless pets in the Western suburbs. Admission is free to the 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, and the 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, performances. However, in honor of the beloved Cheshire cat, audience members are asked to bring a donation of food, cat litter or bedding for Anderson Animal Shelter, a South Elgin organization that assists homeless cats and dogs. (630) 364-0550 or foxvalleyrep.org/education.

• Shattered Globe Theatre Company marks its 20th season and its residency at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, with a series of staged readings celebrating four of the company's most popular works from the last two decades. The “greatest hits” series begins Sunday, Oct. 23, with a reading of “Judgment at Nuremburg,” followed by “The Manchurian Candidate” on Nov. 20; “Talk Radio” Dec. 18; and “A View from the Bridge” Feb. 10. (773) 327-5252 or shatteredglobe.org.

• Teatro Vista begins its season with “Momma's Boyz,” by new resident playwright Candido Tirado. Ensemble member Ricardo Gutierrez directs Steve Casillas, Jesse David Perez and Marvin Quijada in the drama (reset in Chicago) about a young man who turns back time to save a friend. Previews begin Sunday, Oct. 23, at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, Oct. 27. (312) 666-4659 or teatrovista.org.

• Lookingglass Theatre hosts a free panel discussion in conjunction with its current production, “The Great Fire,” beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at the theater at the Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Geoffrey Baer, of WTTW and the Chicago Architecture Foundation discusses “The Great Fire and the American Skyline: How the Fire Changed Architecture.” (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

• “Words and Music,” a new concert reading series showcasing original musicals, begins Monday, Oct. 24, with a performance of the in-development show “Verve” by Fran Zell and Karena Mendoza at Light Opera Works' second stage at 1420 Maple St., Evanston. The series is a joint effort between Midwest New Musicals and LOW. (847) 869-6300 or lightoperaworks.com.

• The Illinois Theatre Association has conferred its 2011 Award of Excellence in Children's Theatre upon Chicago's Barrel of Monkeys. The award ceremony follows a 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, performance of BOM's “That's Weird, Grandma” at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. The ceremony includes performances from ensemble member Cliff Chamberlain, currently co-starring in Steppenwolf Theatre's “Clybourne Park.” (773) 878-4557.

• The cast of Broadway in Chicago's production of “Mary Poppins” will be joined by members of The Second City for a benefit cabaret performance on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Proceeds benefit Chicago House and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, organizations that assist people with HIV and AIDS. For tickets and information, see mercurytheaterchicago.com.

• Northwestern University's Theatre and Interpretation Center brings British theater to Evanston as part of its National Theatre Live initiative bringing broadcasts of London's Royal National Theatre productions to the North Shore. Next up, “The Kitchen,” Arnold Wesker's play about a West End restaurant on the brink of collapse in 1950s London. It runs at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. (847) 491-7282 or tic.northwestern.edu.

• Steppenwolf Theatre's 7th annual First Look Repertory of New Work, showcasing in-development productions in repertory along with three free play readings, begins Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Featured plays include Christina Anderson's “Man in Love,” a drama set against the backdrop of a series of murders that take place in a 1936 metropolis; Zayd Dohrn's “Want,” about junkies and sex addicts who converge on a California beach house for some “tough love” therapy; and Carly Mensch's “Oblivion,” about a pair of progressive Brooklyn parents whose facade crumbles when they discover their daughter has been lying to them about her whereabouts. See steppenwolf.org for a schedule. (312) 335-1650.

• New Leaf Theatre's free Treehouse Readings Series continues Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West, Chicago with Jessica Hinds' “What Dies Inside Us While We Live.” The play centers on a young orphan named Naveen, who runs away in the hope she can forestall impending adulthood. See newleaftheatre.org for more information.

v “Ripper the Musical,” about Sherlock Holmes' search for the elusive killer who terrorized Victorian London, previews on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens Wednesday, Nov. 2, and runs Wednesdays through Nov. 30. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.

• Goodman Theatre's New Stages Amplified series continues with Kathleen Tolan's “Chicago Boys” about a protégé of famed University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman who gets caught in a Chilean coup and is enlisted to establish a capitalist economy but whose loyalties waver after he meets a local woman whose brother has disappeared. The show runs Thursday, Oct. 27, through Sunday, Nov. 6, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Ann Filmer directs Brad Armacost, Dan Cantor and Sandra Delgado among others. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• The Chicago Children's Theatre presents a new musical version of “Goodnight Moon,” based on Margaret Wise Brown's beloved children's bedtime story about a bunny bidding his belongings good night. David Kersnar (“The Last Act of Lilka Kadison”) directs the show by writer/composer/lyricist Chad Henry. Previews begin Thursday, Oct. 27, at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Nov. 6. Additionally, Chicago Children's Theatres hosts pajama party performances at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, and Dec. 9 to which audience members may wear their PJs. (773) 871-3000 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, has extended its production of Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize-winning “Clybourne Park” through Sunday, Nov. 13. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Ÿ The absurdist sketch comedy revue known as “the tim&micah project: Collection” continues Saturdays through Oct. 29, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or timandmicahproject.com.

• Goodman Theatre has named Chicago writers Philip Dawkins (“The Homosexuals”), Nambi E. Kelley (“The Blue Shadow”), Elaine Romero (“Ponzi”) and Martin Zimmerman (“White Tie Ball”) to its Playwrights' Unit, a season-long residency program to assist promising local playwrights. The writers will develop new plays, which will be presented during readings next spring. Goodman's New Stages Amplified series, featuring plays developed by last year's Playwright's Unit, continue through Sunday, Nov. 20, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. See goodmantheatre.org for information.

• NEC Display Solutions, which supplies commercial LCD displays, donated two 46-inch flat-screen displays and a professional installation projection to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Metropolis will use the new project to incorporate more visual media into productions and will use the flat-screen displays to communicate information to patrons.

— Barbara Vitello