Theater events: Join Raven's Sherlock Holmes discussion
Ÿ Writer and Chicago native Graham Moore (“The Sherlockian”) discusses the popularity of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character following the 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, performance of “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose,” at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.
Schmidt in St. Charles
Comedian Lenny Schmidt headlines Zanies in St. Charles. A Bolingbrook High School graduate, Schmidt was introduced to sketch comedy and acting at iO Chicago. In addition to standup, Schmidt has acted in TV shows including “True Blood,” “Big Love” and “Desperate Housewives.”
8 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20 and 27; 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21 and 28; and 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $23 plus a two drink or beverage minimum. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com.
Theatre Hikes indoors
Theatre Hikes performs “A Very Irreverent Christmas Carol,” adapted by Matthew Powell from Charles Dickens' tale and performed as part of the company's Solstice fundraiser. A rock 'n' roll sendup, this “Carol” features Dolly Parton, Bob Marley and Elvis as the ghosts.
7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at Evviva Bar & Eatery, 1017 Front St., Lisle. $30. (872) 202-4963 or theatre-hikes.org.
Sharp shootin'
A contest between tomboyish Annie Oakley and star sharpshooter Frank Butler sets in motion a bumpy romance that nearly gets upended by their respective egos in the Irving Berlin musical “Annie Get Your Gun.” Colette Todd and James Rank play the competitive couple in Light Opera Works' revival helmed by Rudy Hogenmiller with music direction by Roger L. Bingaman.
Opens at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. $32-$94. (847) 920-5360 or lightoperaworks.com.
Ÿ Redtwist theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago, presents Scott Woldman's “Men Exposed,” the latest installment of Dark Red, the company's late-night, adults-only series showcasing Woldman's “luv cycle,” a series of plays chronicling the evolution of a relationship. Performances begin at 10:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20. Also at redtwist, Dark Red, the company's off-night series featuring local collage-age theater artists, continues at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, with “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment.” Subtitled “The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as told by himself),” the play centers on a late 19th-century globe-trotter who shares his incredible tales. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.
Ÿ Previews begin Friday, Dec. 20, for Bare Knuckle Productions' “Inglourious B*****,” a stage adaptation of Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film “Inglorious Basterds,” in which Jewish-American soldiers take on a covert mission targeting Nazis during World War II. The show opens Dec. 27 at Ravenswood Studio, 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. See bareknuckle.productions.org for more information on the show.
Ÿ EEK! Theatre premieres “A Very Merry (expletive) Christmas” — an adults-only comedy featuring off-color observations of the yuletide season — one night only, at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.
Ÿ Former Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher appears onstage in Goodman Theatre's production of “A Christmas Carol” on Friday, Dec. 27, as part of the theater's partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to make 17-year-old actor Kenneth Schumacher's dream of being in a professional theater production come true. Both will appear in select scenes on that day. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org. Also, Goodman Theatre recently announced that Anne Garcia-Romero, resident playwright with Chicago Dramatists; Gift Ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker; Theater Oobleck co-founder Mickle Maher; and Laura Schellhardt, who oversees undergraduate playwriting at Northwestern University, have been named members of Goodman's 2014 playwrights unit, a partnership with Chicago Dramatists. Playwrights meet bimonthly with Goodman's artistic team to discuss works-in-progress. The yearlong residency includes readings next winter and staged readings next summer. Goodman also named director Erica Weiss (who directed the acclaimed “Twist of Water” for Route 66 Theatre Company) the recipient of the 2013-2014 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow.
Ÿ Lookingglass Theatre Company has extended its production of “The Little Prince,” based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Performances continue through Feb. 23, 2014, at Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.
Ÿ Mercury Theater Chicago recently announced its 2014 season, which begins in February with Stephen Sondheim's fairy-tale inspired “Into the Woods” (Feb. 6-March 20, 3014). It's followed in April with “Avenue Q,” the musical by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx that uses puppets to tell the tales of twentysomethings on their own for the first time in a big city. That's followed by the Chicago-area premiere of “The Addams Family” (September). Inspired by Charles Addams' cartoons and the subsequent TV show and films, the musical by Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice had its pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago several years ago. The season concludes Nov. 26 with a remount of the holiday musical “The Christmas Schooner” by John Reeger and Julie Shannon. Tickets are available at Mercury's box office at 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, online at mercurytheaterchicago.com or by phone at (773) 325-1700.
Ÿ The Chicago Commercial Collective announced recently that it will tour five, off-Loop shows to universities in the Midwest in 2014 and 2015. The shows includes: Mickle Mahler's “There is a Happiness That Morning Is;” “A Steady Rain” by Keith Huff; “Unveiled” by Rohina Malik; “Honeybuns” by Dean Evans; and “Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology” by Anthony Moseley. “The Collective carefully selected these shows because they exemplify the spirit, ingenuity and authenticity that defines the theatrical landscape of the Windy City,” said CCC founder and producer Aurelia Cohen in a prepared statement.
Ÿ Recently named League of Chicago Theatre board members are Brittany Barnes, managing director of the Pavement group; Peter Handler, program director of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Bill Melamed, chief marketing and development officer of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; and Regina Taylor, artistic associate with Goodman Theatre. The League represents more than 200 Chicago-area theaters to support and promote the industry locally, nationally and internationally.