Theater events: Modern 'Matchmaker' opens at Goodman

'The Matchmaker'

Goodman Theatre presents a modern take on Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker," about the dynamic Dolly Levi, who's contracted to find a wife for prickly widower Horace Vandergelder. Henry Wishcamper directs Wilder's social farce, which stars Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen and Allen Gilmore. Previews begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens March 14. $25-$82. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

World premiere at Sideshow

Libertyville native Marti Lyons helms Sideshow Theatre Company's world premiere of "Mai Dang Lao." Set in a fast-food restaurant, David Jacobi's drama is partly inspired by a 2004 incident in which restaurant employees strip-searched and attacked a female employee on instructions from a caller who identified himself as a police officer. Previews begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 6, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, March 10. $10-$30. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

Griffin brings 'Frindle' to the Metropolis

Griffin Theatre brings its adaptation of Andrew Clements' children's book "Frindle" to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre as part of the theater's Stories in Action! series for young audiences. It's about a young boy who invents new words, which lands him in a power struggle with his language arts teacher. Opens at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 7, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $12, $14. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Other theater events

• City Lit Theater's season continues with a salute to composer Harold Arlen ("Over the Rainbow," "Stormy Weather," "Come Rain or Come Shine") devised by the late Sheldon Patinkin and directed by artistic director Terry McCabe. "I've Got the World on a String: Harold Arlen's Songs of Love and Loss," a revue comprised of 23 Arlen songs with music directed by Kingsley Day, begins previews Friday, March 4, at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. The show opens Tuesday, March 8. (773) 293-3682 or citylit.org.

• Previews continue through Wednesday, March 9, for Profiles Theatre's Midwest premiere of Jez Butterworth's "Jerusalem," a comedy about Rooster, a wastrel and world-class storyteller living in rural England whose supply of drugs and alcohol make him a magnet for and target of locals. Artistic director Joe Jahraus directs the production, which stars ensemble member Darrell W. Cox. The show opens Thursday, March 10, at 4139 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

• The Brown Paper Box Co. adapts William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" with women playing the roles of Caesar and Mark Anthony and a male playing Caesar's wife, Calpurnia. Previews begin Friday, March 4, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Director Lavinia Jadhwani examines how we elect female leaders in "a male-dominated political system" in this production, which opens Saturday, March 5. See brownpaperbox.org.

• An ice cream man struggles with leaving his hoarder father and starting life anew in "Burn." The play is by Ian Michael James, an ensemble member at Mercy Street Theatre, which presents the world premiere. Previews begin Friday, March 4, at 1914 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago The show opens Tuesday, March 8. See brownpapertickets.org.

• ColorBox Theatre revives David Auburn's "Proof," about a brilliant mathematician who leaves school to care for her mentally ill father. After his death, one of his graduate students discovers a paradigm shifting proof among his papers. The question is, who's proof is it? Performances begin Friday, March 4, at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 988-9000 or colorboxtheatre.com.

• "Hey Peter, Bye Peter," a new sketch comedy and music show, begins Friday, March 4, at the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Also at the Annoyance, "Baby Wine," the improv show with an all gay cast, has been extended through April 22. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• ShawChicago's season concludes with George Bernard Shaw's "You Never Can Tell," a British tale about women's suffrage and right to education, a job and marriage. Performances begin March 8 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 587-7390 or shawchicago.org.

• Short Shakespeare, the children's arm of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, presents a 75-minute adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" about a shipwrecked young woman who disguises herself as a boy to locate her brother, then meets a handsome duke. Performances begin Saturday, March 5, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• Actors performing in Goodman Theatre's "2666" will be on hand to answer questions as part of the theater's Artist Encounter event at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• The inaugural production of The Neo-Lab, "Saturn Returns" returns to the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, for a combination workshop/performance at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 7. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• The backstage musical "42nd Street," in which a starry-eyed young dancer gets her shot at the big time after the leading lady breaks her ankle, returns to Chicago courtesy of a national tour. Performances begin Tuesday, March 8, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Harris Yulin and Mary Beth Fisher star as James and Mary Tyrone in Court Theatre's revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night," beginning previews Thursday, March 10, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. The play traces the splintering of this already fractured family over the course of a long day spent at their Connecticut summer home. The show opens March 19. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• During a grade school lesson on the Civil Rights movement and Rosa Parks, a Latino boy raises his hand and asks "where did we sit on the bus?" That incident inspired "Where Did We Sit on the Bus?" Brian Quijada's solo show about growing up Hispanic in America. Previews for Teatro Vista's world premiere production begin Thursday, March 10, at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago. The show opens March 17. Chay Yew, of Victory Gardens Theater, directs. See teatrovista.org or victorygardens.org.

• Previews begin Thursday, March 10, for Pride Films and Plays' world premiere of "Raggedy And," a comedy by David Valdes Greenwood starring transgender actress Delia Kropp as a trans woman poet tapped to speak during the inauguration of the nation's first female president, whose family has problems withstanding the glare of the media spotlight. The March 10 and 11 previews will benefit Illinois Safe School Alliance and Legacy Walk respectively. The production, directed by Cecilie D. Keenan, opens March 12 at Rivendell Theater, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. Pride Films and Plays also announced the finalists in its 2016 Great Gay Play and Musical Contest. They are Donald Gecewicz, Jason Jacobs, Brian Pracht, Paul Elliott, Stephen deGhelder and Brad Simmons. The five scripts will be performed as staged readings April 22-24 at the Hoover-Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted, 3540 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (800) 737-0984 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• New addition to the Chicago scene, Black Mamba Theatre announced its inaugural production of Martin McDonagh's tragicomedy "The Pillowman," about a writer living in a totalitarian state whose stories are uncomfortably similar to a series of child murders. It opens Thursday, March 10, at The Right Brain Project Theatre, 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. See blackmambatheatre.com.

• This marks the closing weekend for Jedlicka Performing Arts Center's revival of "E/R ("Emergency Room"), a show developed during the 1980s at the Organic Theater Company in Chicago about a typical evening in a busy emergency room. Performances continue through Saturday, March 5, at 3801 S. Central Ave., Cicero. JPAC managing director Steve Calzaretta directs. See jpactheatre.com.

• Red Theater announced playwright Rae Binstock has been named the winner of the theater's fourth annual Red Playwriting Competition. Binstock's future-set play "We are the Light of the World" is about two people trying to survive post-apocalyptic chaos. It will receive a free reading March 13 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See redtheater.org.

• Northlight, Porchlight, Victory Gardens, American Theater Company, The Second City, The Hypocrites and House Theatre of Chicago are among the theaters partnering with TodayTix on a new app that will provide theatergoers with discounts and last-minute admission to Chicago and suburban theaters. TodayTix is a free mobile app for iO and Android devices. For information, go to todaytix.com.

• Goodman Theatre recently announced that Chicago director Vanessa Stalling, who has helmed productions at Oracle, Stage Left, Red Tape and the Actors Gymnasium among others, has been named its 2015-2016 Michael Maggio directing fellow. Additionally, Goodman Theatre announced the Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program has expanded to include 10th grade girls from city and suburban high schools. Produced with the Association for Women Journalists Chicago, the CBYC is a free seven-month program that introduces 10th and 11th grade girls to arts journalism and theater. See goodmantheatre.org.

• In the wake of founding artistic director Amber Mak's appointment as Paramount Theatre's director of new works, FWD Theatre Project named director/choreographer Michael Gillis as her replacement. Mak will remain on the board of directors of FWD, which discovers and helps develop new works. "New work has been a passion of mine," said Gillis in a prepared statement. "This opportunity to discover and develop new works that will engage and challenge our audience is a dream come true." See fwdtheatre.org.

• Red Tape Theatre announced the addition of eight new ensemble members: actors Derek Van Barham, Alex Grelle, Emma Ladji-Ensemble, Charlotte Long, Austin D. Oie, Stephanie Shum and Jake Szczepaniak, and writer Ruth Magraff. See redtapetheatre.org.

• Erasing the Distance founder Brighid O'Shaughnessy is stepping down after 10 years as the ensemble's artistic director. ETD uses performance to educate the public about mental illness. The company, which numbers 15 actors and five staff members, has begun a national search for her replacement. See erasingthedistance.org.

• Broadway veterans Sutton Foster ("Thoroughly Modern Millie," "The Drowsy Chaperone") and Brian D'Arcy James ("Something Rotten," "Shrek") will receive Chicago's Sarah Siddons Society Actor of the Year Award May 16 at Northwestern University's Pick Staiger Concert Hall. Proceeds benefit theater education programs at Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Northwestern University and Roosevelt University. See sarahsiddonssociety.org.

• Hell in a Handbag Productions, known for its satirical pop culture sendups for mature audiences, announced its 2016 season. It begins June 4 at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, with the Chicago-area premiere of "The Divine Sister," Charles Busch's homage to Hollywood movies inspired by nuns. That's followed by the remount of "Bette, Live at the Continental Baths" (Aug. 12-Sept. 10 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago), a tribute to Bette Midler's early days as a cabaret singer. The world premiere of "Scooby Don't," an adults-only parody of the animated series, opens Sept 29 at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. The season concludes Nov. 20 at Mary's Attic with "The Rip Nelson Holiday Spectacular," about a newly sober comedian in 1982 trying to launch his comeback with a Christmas TV special. Subscriptions are available online at handbagproductions.org.