What's new in theaters

Holiday humor

Forget carols and TV specials. What really inspires the spirit of the season is Second City's “Dysfunctional Holiday Revue.” Fox Valley Repertory welcomes the touring production, which features St. Charles native Chris Witaske.

8 p.m. Fridays, Dec. 2-16, and 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $39. The special New Year's Eve performance costs $50 and includes party favors and champagne. (630) 584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org.

‘Twist-a-Carol'

Vex Theatre presents its latest holiday show, “Twist-a-Carol II: Moby-Nick.” Inspired by Herman Melville's novel, about Captain Ahab's lifelong search for the elusive white whale, the musical and sketch comedy revue finds Ahab searching for “the equally elusive St. Nick.” Once again Vex will donate 10 percent of ticket sales to the Elgin Community Crisis Center.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2-3, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin. $10. (847) 991-8081 or vextheatre.org.

Christmas treat

The Williams Street Repertory celebrates the holidays with a production of “The Santaland Diaries,” the stage adaptation of David Sedaris' wry recounting of his stint as a Macy's elf dealing with hyper parents and moody children during the hectic holiday season.

8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. $18. (815) 356-9212 or wsrep.org.

• Griffin Theatre Company opens its 23rd season with the Chicago area's first locally produced production of “Spring Awakening,” the Tony Award-winning musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater inspired by Frank Wedekind's late 19th century sexual coming-of-age novel. Jonathan Berry directs the show currently in previews at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. It opens Sunday, Dec. 4. (773) 975-8150 or griffintheatre.com.

• GayCo Productions presents “Lit!” a weekly Christmas-themed sketch comedy running Thursdays through Dec. 29 at the Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. See gayco.com for more information.

• The Shelter Comedy sends up the season with “A Holiday Special: An Improvised Comedy Play,” a one-act showcasing the best and worst of holiday tales. Performances run Thursdays through Dec. 29 at the Laugh Out Loud Theater, located at the Streets of Woodfield, 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg. (847) 240-0386 or loltheater.com.

• The Neo-Futurists celebrate the 23rd anniversary of “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” — the production that promises 30 plays in 60 minutes — by showcasing the best playlettes from 2011. The best-of performances begin Friday, Dec., 2, and continue through Sunday, Dec. 11, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. The company hosts a special, all-ages New Year's Eve performance of “TMLMTBGB” featuring nonalcoholic beverages and hors d'oeuvres, midnight toast and pizza. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. The performance begins at 11 p.m. Tickets are $50 and advance reservations are required. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• The Circus Cats of Chicago perform their “Meowy Christmas Show” at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago at 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3-4; and at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dec. 11. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Hell in a Handbag productions hosts a benefit from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. It includes a performance of “Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer,” an open bar, raffle and live auction. Tickets are $50 at the door, $35 for industry members. (312) 409-4357 or handbagproductions.org.

• Victory Gardens Theater, Silk Road Rising and the Theatre Communications Group host a reception on Sunday, Dec. 4, to celebrate the release of a new anthology of Asian-American drama edited by Victory Gardens artistic director Chay Yew titled “Version 3.0.” The free reception takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. at VGT, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The event includes readings and a discussion with Yew and playwright/activist Luis Alfaro. (773) 328-2130.

• Halcyon Theatre hosts The Ceyx Series beginning 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Curator Jennifer Adams explains the weekly variety show featuring music, stand-up, dance, spoken word, theater and other performances. Tickets are pay-what-you-will at the door. The suggested donation is $10. See halcyontheatre.org for a complete lineup.

• Previews begin Wednesday, Dec. 7, for redtwist theatre's Chicago area premiere of “Opus,” Michael Hollinger's play about the clash between two charismatic leaders of a world-renowned string quartet and the fate of the ensemble after one of them leaves. Jason Gerace, artistic associate with American Theater Company, directs. The show opens Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.

• Immediate Theatre has added performances of its production of “Five Flights,” about siblings who inherit an aviary from their recently deceased father. Performances run at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Red Tape Theatre, 621 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or immediatetheatre chicago.com.

• Street Tempo Theatre has added late night performances of the adults-only musical about human sexuality “Let My People Come.” Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday through Dec. 31, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or streettempotheatre.com.

• Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Tracy Letts has joined the cast of “Penelope,” currently in previews at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Letts replaces John Mahoney, who left the production following an unexpected death in his family. “Penelope” opens Saturday, Dec. 10. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• TimeLine Theatre Company recently welcomed nine new associate artists. They include: Will Allan, a graduate of Naperville's North Central College; writer/director/actor William Brown; Aaron Carter, literary manager at Steppenwolf Theatre; frequent TimeLine actor Andrew Carter; set designer John Culbert; Mildred Marie Langford who has appeared at Next, Northlight and Steppenwolf theaters; Mechelle Moe, a founding member of the Hypocrites and Jeff Award winner for her performance in that company's “Machinal;” Ann Wakefield, an actress who teaches at The Theatre School of DePaul University; and Alex Weisman, a Northwestern University graduate who received a Jeff Award for his performance in TimeLine's “The History Boys.” See timelinetheatre.com.

• The Chicago Children's Theatre received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to fund a 2012 interactive, multi-sensory, workshop production of “Red Kite by the Sea,” a new play designed to accommodate the needs and interests of children with autism. For information on the company's ongoing Red Kite Project, call (773) 227-0180, ext. 15, or see theredkiteproject.org.

• Representatives from Ka-Tet Theatre Company announced that they received a $25,000 grant from Chase Community Giving. Ka-Tet received 1,484 votes placing it 88th in the online competition. Co-founder Dan Meisner said the money will help defray rehearsal and performance space rentals and help the company begin its search for a permanent home.

• Playwright Joel Drake Johnson (“The Fall to Earth,” “A Guide for the Perplexed,” “Four Places”) a former Stevenson High School teacher, is a finalist in California's Aurora Theatre Company's seventh annual Global Age Project promoting new works. Johnson was nominated for “Rasheeda Speaking,” an examination of race in which a white doctor enlists his office manager to get rid of a black receptionist who makes the doctor uncomfortable. Aurora Theatre Company will showcase the four finalists during staged readings next February in California.