Theater events: First Folio uses 'Unnecessary Farce'

First Folio's ‘Farce'

First Folio Theatre livens winter with some laughs courtesy of Paul Slade Smith's “Unnecessary Farce,” about a pair of incompetent detectives trying to corner a crooked mayor. Alison C. Vesely directs Kevin McKillip and Erin Noel Grennan, who star as the officers, and local legend Dale Benson as the mayor. Previews begin Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. The show opens Feb. 4. $30-$37. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

Writers' ‘Hesperia'

A woman leaves behind her less-than-pristine past and returns to her small town where she becomes engaged to the youth minister. Everything's fine until her old boyfriend shows up and threatens her new life in Randall Colburn's “Hesperia.” Stuart Carden directs the Writers' Theatre production starring Kelly O'Sullivan in her Writers debut. Previews run through Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The show opens Feb. 2. $35-$70. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

ATC's ‘Disgraced'

Fresh from Fox Valley Repertory's “Moonlight and Magnolias,” director Kimberly Senior helms American Theater Company's world premiere of “Disgraced,” Ayad Akhtar's drama about an up-and-coming Muslim-American lawyer who's betrayed just as his professional dreams are about to come true. Usman Ally (“The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity”) stars. Previews begin Friday, Jan. 27, at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. The show opens Monday, Jan. 30. $30-$40. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• The Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago, debuts “Masquerade,” a new variety show at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27. The show, which features circus, burlesque, magic, improv and sketch performers, continues Fridays through March 16. (773) 871-3793 or the-playground.com.

• Theatre Y hosts a benefit performance of its acclaimed show “Vincent River” — about a grieving mother and the 17-year-old who has been stalking her — at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, at the Stan Mansion, 2408 N. Kedzie Ave., Chicago. Proceeds will help send the company's show “I Killed My Mother” to New York in February. Tickets are $20. See theatre-y.com for information.

• Bootstraps Comedy Theater introduces its live show/podcast “The City Life Supplement” — a naughtier, more irreverent version of “The Prairie Home Companion” — at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at Transistor Chicago, 3819 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show will be performed the last Saturday of every month in front of a live audience and will be distributed via citylifesupplement.org and on iTunes. Reservations recommended (214) 460-1735 or citylifesupplement.org.

• Art lovers who attend the gallery opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Tom Robinson Gallery, 2416 W. North Ave., Chicago, can vote on one piece that will serve as the inspiration for the plays submitted to LiveWire Chicago Theatre's short play festival VisionFest. Playwrights must use the image that receives the most votes as inspiration for the original play they submit to VisionFest 4: Where the Image Meets the Stage. LiveWire will accept short play submissions from Feb. 13 through May 5. The fest will be held in June. See livewirechicago.com.

• The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers return for their 12th match benefiting the Sideshow Theatre Company and Marwen from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at Club 162, 3551 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. See sideshowtheatre.org for information.

• Gift Theatre artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton joins the improv ensemble Natural Gas on Sunday, Jan. 29, for the latest in Victory Gardens Theater's Crip Slam. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

• E. Faye Butler, Rob Lindley, Paul Oakley Stovall and Hollis Resnik are among those performing from 8 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, as part of About Face Theatre's variety show fundraiser (Ho) Motown. The show takes place at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $25. Proceeds benefit the company's Youth Theatre, which offers programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youngsters. See aboutfacetheatre.com for information.

• When an everyman pretends not to understand English, people around him let down their guard and speak freely, revealing both humorous and dangerous secrets in Larry Shue's comedy, “The Foreigner.” Provision Theater Company artistic director Timothy Gregory directs that company's revival, which begins previews Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 1001 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago. The show opens Feb. 4. (866) 811-4111 or provisiontheater.org.

• The National Theatre of Scotland returns to Chicago for a Chicago Shakespeare Theater production held at the music venue The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago. The show — “Long Gone Lonesome” — celebrates the life of one of Scotland's unsung musical heroes, Thomas Fraser. Fraser, who sang in the style of Hank Williams and Big Bill Broonzy, made thousands of recordings, which he shared only with family and friends. Twenty-five years after his death the recordings were released on several CDs. The performances run from Thursday, Feb. 2, through Saturday, Feb. 4. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• A couple trade their children for a shot at a successful career then have second thoughts in Mark Schultz's darkly comic fable, “The Gingerbread House.” James D. Palmer directs the Red Tape Theatre production, which begins previews Thursday, Feb. 2, at 621 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Feb. 6. See redtapetheatre.org for more information.

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents its third annual Garage Rep showcasing three storefront theater companies presenting shows in rotating repertory beginning Thursday, Feb. 2, and continuing through April 8, at the Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted St., Chicago. LiveWire Chicago presents “Oohrah!” Bekah Brunstetter's drama about the impact a soldier's return from Iraq has on his wife and family. The Inconvenience performs “Hit the Wall,” Ike Holter's drama about the early days of the gay rights movement set to a soundtrack performed by a rock band. Lastly, Theatre Zarko, a company whose shows incorporate puppetry and masks, presents “He Who.” Written and directed by Michael Montenegro, this examination of the limits of love centers on a grotesquely enormous baby and the four women who care for him. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org/garage.

• Performances continue through Thursday, Feb. 2, for the latest in The Side Project's Cut to the Quick series of short plays. “In/Corporate (Five Tales of Anxiety)” consists of five 10-minute plays about the anxieties of office life. Performances are at 1439 W. Jarvis St., Chicago. See thesideproject.net for information.

• “Pinkalicious,” Emerald City Theatre's popular all-ages show about a girl who contracts pinkitis from eating too many pink cupcakes, has been extended. Performances continue through May 27 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• “National Sensation,” a darkly comic political thriller about a man thrust into the spotlight after he foils a terrorist attack, continues through March 1 at the Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.

• Fox Valley Repertory will collect donations during its run of “Moonlight and Magnolias” to assist low-income and uninsured St. Charles residents in paying for medical services. FVR has teamed up with the Tri City Health Partnership to collect the donations through March 11 at the Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org. Also, Kiwanis of St. Charles awarded FVR's Performing Arts Academy $750 to go toward scholarships for needy St. Charles students.

• The League of Chicago Theatres' ShowGo! promotion returns. Theater lovers pick up a game card at chicagoplays.com or at Hot Tix at 72 E. Randolph St., Chicago, or 163 E. Pearson St., Chicago. Participants then attend five theaters in a row on the game card by March 17, and return the card, along with their ticket stubs to Hot Tix by March 18, to win a $50 gift certificate to Petterino's. See chicagoplays.com.

• Northwestern University professor emeritus Dominic Missimi has been named the new executive director of the Sarah Siddons Society, the theater organization that celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Among the celebratory activities are a “Sarah Siddons Production” on March 5, at Lincolnshire's Marriott Theatre featuring Hollis Resnick, Arlene Robertson, Heidi Kettenring, Ross Lehman, Mary Ernster, Andy Lupp and Johanna McKenzie Miller among others. See sarahsiddonssociety.org for information.