Theater events: 'Guys and Dolls' a post-holiday treat
‘Guys and Dolls'
Light Opera Works' gift to theater lovers comes in the form of “Guys and Dolls,” Frank Loesser's musical inspired by Damon Runyon's stories about the colorful denizens of New York City's underworld during the 1920s and 1930s. Elizabeth Telford stars as the upright Sarah Brown and Woodridge native Justin Adair plays Sky Masterson, the charismatic high-roller who romances her. Music director/conductor Shawn Stengel conducts LOW's 18-piece orchestra playing such standards as “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat” and “If I Were a Bell.” Opens at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. $34-$94. (847) 920-5360 or lightoperaworks.com.
NYE at Zanies
Standup comedian Ron Funches, co-star of NBC's “Undateable” and a regular on the Comedy Central shows “Kroll Show” and “@Midnight,” headlines shows at Zanies in St. Charles and Rosemont next week. 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 524-0001, and 8 and 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31, at MB Financial Park, 5437 Park Place, Rosemont, (847) 813-0484. $30, $40, plus a two-item food or beverage minimum. zanies.com.
Neo-Futurists NYE
The Neo-Futurists return from their two-week hiatus for a New Year's Eve performance of their long-running revue, “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.” The adults-only show highlights 30 plays in 60 minutes and features Jessica Anne, Lisa Buscani, Ida Cuttler, Nick Hart, Kirsten Riiber, Lea Urzendowski and Malic White. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., performance starts at 11 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. $50, includes preshow refreshments and midnight toast. Advance reservations required. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.
Other theater events
• ComedySportz presents several New Year's Eve shows — 5, 7 and 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31 — at 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $30 for the early shows and $40 for the late show, which includes a champagne toast with the cast. Also, ComedySportz welcomes new artistic director Padriac Connelly, an instructor at CSz Chicago and at iO Theater, on Jan. 1. (773) 549-8080 or cszchicago.com.
• The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, remounts its seminal show “Co-Ed Prison Sluts,” which ran from 1989 to 2000, for one night only on New Year's Eve. The adults-only show runs at 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31. Tickets are $50 and include the performance, a food buffet, three drink tickets and a champagne toast. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.
• Ring in 2016 with a bit of burlesque at the Uptown Underground's New Year's Eve Hullabaloo beginning at 9 p.m. Thursday at 4707 N. Broadway St., Chicago. The speakeasy-style party features a two-hour burlesque performance, music by a six-piece jazz ensemble, hors d'oeuvres and a champagne toast. Tickets range from $60 to $100. See uptownunderground.net.
• Pegasus Theatre Chicago presents its 29th annual Young Playwrights Festival, beginning previews Jan. 1, at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The festival features three world premieres by Chicago high school students whose professionally staged productions will run in repertory through Jan. 23. Featured works include: “Our Little Secret,” by Myka Buck about a high school senior struggling to come out to her conservative mother; “the Adventures of FeRB,” by Brian Hayes about a freshman eager to make friends in high school; and “A Cup of Souls and One Grim Reaper, Please” by Keauna Pierce, about the new grim reaper who doesn't relish his job of collecting souls. The festival opens at 7 p.m. Jan. 4. Tickets range from $18 to $30 and are available at (866) 811-4111 or pegasustheatrechicago.org.
• Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre has extended “My Way ... A Musical Salute to Frank Sinatra.” The musical revue showcases dozens of standards made famous by the late crooner performed by Christopher Logan and Kyrie Anderson and Theo Ubique newcomers Carl Herzog and Caitlin Boho. They're accompanied by music director/pianist Jeremy Ramey's trio. Performances run through Jan. 31 at No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. See theo-u.com.
• Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, has extended “Twist Your Dickens,” its seasonal satire on the holidays produced in collaboration with The Second City. Performances, which include a 6 p.m. New Year's Eve show, continue through Jan. 2. Francis Guinan plays Scrooge and Peter Gwinn (who co-wrote the show with Bobby Mort) plays Jacob Marley. Matt Hovde directs. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.