Theater events: Catch 'White Christmas' before it closes

Last chance

This weekend marks your last chance for holiday cheer courtesy of Drury Lane Theatre, whose production of "White Christmas, The Musical" closes Sunday. Based on the 1954 film, the show uses the music of Irvin Berlin to tell the story of a pair of army buddies who romance two sisters as they all try to save a failing Vermont inn. 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, and 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 3, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. $45-$60. (630) 530-0111 or drurylane.com.

Moving on

Kimberly Senior directs Route 66 Theatre Company's Midwest premiere of "No Wake," William Donnelly's dramedy examining grief as experienced by a divorced couple who reunite after an unexpected tragedy. Ensemble members Raymond Fox, Lia Mortensen and Stef Tovar star. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, at The Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Jan. 10. $25, $35. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org or route66theatre.org.

Midwest premiere

Barry Shabaka Henley ("Better Call Saul," "The Terminal") stars as Louis Armstrong in Court Theatre's Midwest premiere of "Satchmo at the Waldorf," by Wall Street Journal critic-at-large Terry Teachout. Based partly on Teachout's book "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong," the one-man show takes place in 1971, after Armstrong's set at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel's Empire Room, as the musician reminisces on his life, legacy and music. Artistic director Charles Newell directs. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. The show opens Jan. 16. $35-$45. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

Other theater events

• Looking for something to do New Year's Day? ComedySportz hosts its sixth annual New Year's Hangover Stand-Up Marathon, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 1, at 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Cody Melcher hosts the four-hour event featuring local comedians. Tickets are $20. (773) 549-8080 or cszchicago.com.

• The Gift Theatre kicks off 2016 with its annual short play festival Ten (+5) featuring works by Will Eno, Tracy Letts and artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton. Expanded to 15, 10-minute plays in honor of the company's 15th season, the free showcase runs Friday, Jan. 1, through Jan. 10, at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The plays include: "Last Stop" by Gift ensemble member Jenny Davis; "Sitayana" by Lavina Jadhwaani; "Mare Cognitum" by Jennifer Rumberger; "Signs" by Thornton, directed by Gift ensemble member Darci Nalepa, of Elk Grove Village; "giftED" by Thornton; "Austin, Texas" by ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker; "Filmmaker" by ensemble member Ed Flynn; "A Long Arduous Journey" by Jacqueline Lawton; "Stay Woke" by Ike Holter; "Furcher vs. the Dark" by ensemble member Will Eno; and "The Stretch" by Letts. Reservations are recommended. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.

• The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, combines drama and improv as part of "Generals," which returns at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 3. The show features a Chicago-area stage or film actor performing two monologues, which Antoine McKay and Christy Bonstell use as inspiration for a series of improv scenes. First guest actor is Aaron Todd Douglas, a member of Congo Square Theatre Co. Opening at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, is "For Real America!?" a sketch comedy revue written and starring Sarah Dell'Amico and Rashida Olayiowa and examining race, women's rights and freedom. Also at The Annoyance, "Improvised Twilight Zone" runs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Jan. 20, and "Nervous Breakdown," a mashup of standup and improv, continues at 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays, through Feb. 9. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• iO Chicago remounts "Tribulation: The Musical." Inspired by the Book of Revelation, the show is about a young woman who takes a desk job she hates after she's left behind after the Rapture. It runs at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 3, through Feb. 28, at 1501 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago. (312) 929-2401 or ioimprov.com.

• On Monday, Jan. 4, eta Creative Arts Foundation inaugurates a new series titled Magic Box, which features performers engaging in staged readings, solo performances, investigative workshops and collaborative works with the intent of exposing new artists. The series includes readings of McKinley Johnson's play with music "Eye of the Storm - The Bayard Rustin Story," depicting the life of Civil Rights organizer Rustin at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 and 3 p.m. Jan. 17. It's followed by a reading at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 of Nikkole Salter's "Carnaval," about two men who look after the younger brother of their deceased friend and a vacation to Rio de Janeiro that takes an unexpected turn. Paulette Flowers and Diane Corder, known as the "funky diva of comedy," showcase African-American female comedians at 7 p.m. Jan. 18. At a 3 p.m. concert Jan. 24, The Jazz Institute of Chicago's Jazz Ambassadors showcase student musicians in grades 6 through 12. Chicago's Prologue Theatre Company - which produces works about women, people of color and the LGBTQ community - presents a free reading of Caridad Svich's "A Little Betrayal Among Friends" adapted from the 17th-century Spanish romantic comedy "La Traicion en la Amistad" by Maria de Zayas y Sotomayor. Eta is located at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

• Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, for Chicago Theatre Week, the fourth annual celebration of Chicago-area theater sponsored by the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. Tickets are $30 and $15 for the mini-fest, which takes place Feb. 11-21. See chicagotheatreweek.com for a list of participating theaters. "Last year, Chicago Theatre Week was expanded to 11 days and it was the most successful one yet. Theatre Week, with tickets on sale for comedies, dramas, musicals and the entire range of Chicago productions throughout our city, offers the perfect opportunity for people to visit their favorite theatres or to check out a new company," said Deb Clapp, Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres in a prepared statement.

• Citadel Theatre and Canamac Productions present a joint production of "Botanic Garden," Todd Logan's examination of grief and acceptance that centers on a widow about to go on her first date following the death of her husband of 25 years. Performances begin Thursday, Jan. 7, at Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Carmen Roman and James Leaming reprise the roles they created for Victory Gardens Theater's 2008 world premiere. Ann Filmer directs. (847) 735-8554 or citadeltheatre.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 7, for American Theater Company's world premiere of "Bruise Easy" by Dan LeFranc ("The Big Meal," Showtime's "The Affair"). Joanie Schultz directs the examination of middle-class America about siblings who meet up in the driveway of their childhood home after a long estrangement. The show opens Jan. 11 at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• The 15th annual Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival begins Thursday, Jan. 7, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. More than 165 solo performers and ensembles will take the stage over the festival's eight-day run. Scheduled performers include: Siblings of Doctors featuring Danny Pudi (NBC's "Community") from Los Angeles; Pop Roulette featuring "Saturday Night Live" writer Sudi Green, from New York City; along with local favorites The Cupid Players, Stir Friday Night, Patti Vasquez and The Defiant Thomas Brothers among others. The festival schedule is at chicagosketchfest.com. All festival passes are $165; limited passes range from $37 to $57; and individual performance tickets are $15. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

• Writers Theatre has extended its production of "Marjorie Prime," Jordan Harrison's future-set drama about memory and technology in which the daughter and son-in-law of an elderly woman whose memory and health are failing, enlist the services of a hologram programmed to help Marjorie recall her past, or the past she desired. Performances run through March 13 at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.

• After four months, the world premiere of "Assassination Theater: Chicago's Role in the Crime of the Century" will close this month. Written by investigative reporter Hillel Levin, the play examines the connection between the city and the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Performances run through Jan. 10 at The Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or assassinationtheater.com.

• Filament Theatre announced its ninth season will begin Jan. 22 with "Pinocchio: A Folk Musical" an examination of what it means to be real, adapted from Carlo Collodi's stories by Tyler Beattie. That's followed on May 21 by Jessica Wright Buha's "Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Portage Park," an interactive piece that requires audiences to walk and bike through Filament's Portage Park neighborhood to interview witnesses and unearth clues in an attempt to solve the mystery. From Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, Filament partners with the Community Tavern restaurant - across the street from the theater at 4028 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago - to produce Andy Lampl's adaptation of Cynthia Rylant's book, "The Van Gogh Cafe," about a Kansas restaurant where miracles happen. The season concludes Nov. 13 with Filament's latest installment of its Crossing Six Corners series in which company members adapt written and oral histories of residents of the northwest side neighborhood into scenes, monologues and songs in a production that features community members. "As the vitality, visibility, and excitement of our Six Corners business district grows, Filament Theatre sits at its center, orchestrating neighborhood engagement from the stage to the streets," said Kelli Weffenstette, executive director of the Six Corners Association in a prepared statement. "New development blooms along Milwaukee Avenue due in large part to the open doors of theater, that welcome in residents and business folk alike, and their team that forges community partnerships that strengthen our economic corridor." Most performances take place at 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 270-1660 or filamenttheatre.org.