Theater events: '2 Unfortunate 2 Travel' premieres at Prop Thtr; 'Sweat' previews at Goodman

• Prop Thtr stages the world premiere of "2 Unfortunate 2 Travel," adapted and directed by Zach Weinberg from Thomas Nashe's 16th-century novel "The Unfortunate Traveller" about the adventures of Jack Wilton and his encounters with some of European history's most famous artists and academics. In Prop Thtr's version, Jack shares his adventures in the form of a variety show. Previews begin Friday, March 8, at 3502 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 11. See propthtr.org.

• Four people applying to become the first colonists on Mars contemplate what the one-way trip means and the friends and family they will leave behind in "How to Live on Earth" by MG Kaufman. Gwendolyn Wiegold directs Chimera Ensemble's Chicago-area premiere, which previews on Friday, March 8, at the Pentagon Theater in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The production opens Saturday, March 9. See chimeraensemble.com.

• Pulse Theatre Chicago revives "In The Blood," Suzan-Lori Parks' modern take on Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." Parks' version centers on impoverished Hester struggling to raise her five, fatherless children alone, who eventually asks her children's fathers for financial help. The production opens Friday, March 8, at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or pulsetheatrechicago.com.

• Previews begin Saturday, March 9, for Goodman Theatre's revival of "Sweat," the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Lynn Nottage about a group of longtime friends and factory co-workers whose relationships fray when layoffs hit their company. Ron OJ Parson directs the production featuring Tyla Abercrumbie, Ronald Connor, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Keith Kupferer, Edgar Sanchez among others. The show opens March 18 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Professional wrestler turned playwright Jason Calabrese brings his wrestling-theater hybrid "We Don't Play Fight" to the Greenhouse Theater Center for one night only. The story centers on a struggling group of theater artists competing with a struggling group of wrestlers for the same performance space. Show time is 8 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $20 and a portion of the proceeds benefits PAWS Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org.

• "Detour Guide," a solo show written and performed by Karim Nagi, begins previews Monday, March 11, at the Chicago Temple Building Pierce Hall, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. The world premiere - which marks the first collaboration between Silk Road Rising and Stage Left Theatre - opens March 15. Nagi combines music, dance and storytelling to take audiences "on an alternative tour of the Arab World and Arab America ... extolling the virtues of revolution, immigration and hummus along the way." Anna Bahow directs. (312) 857-1234. silkroadrising.org or stageleftheatre.com.

• Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, hosts a benefit concert performance of "All That He Was," the 1993 musical about a man's struggle with AIDS, at 8 p.m. Monday, March 11. Proceeds benefit Pride Films and Plays, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the Test Positive Aware Network. See allthathewas.brownpapertickets.com.

• Chicago Dramatists continues its Monday Night Drama Series consisting of public readings of in-progress plays at 7 p.m. Monday, March 11, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Next up is "The Guest," by resident playwright Zina Camblin. See chicagodramatists.org.

• Broadway in Chicago presents the national tour of "A Bronx Tale The Musical," adapted from writer/actor Chazz Palminteri's 1989 off-Broadway solo show (and the 1993 film it inspired), with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, and book by Palminteri. Set during the 1960s, the musical centers on a young man torn between civilian life with his family and mobster life with a charismatic crime boss. Performances run Tuesday, March 12, through March 24 at the Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• "The Choir of Man," a revue featuring a male choir performing everything from pop hits to pub tunes to Broadway ballads to folk songs, runs from Tuesday, March 12, through March 17 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, opens its 64th season with a revival of "for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf," Ntozake Shange's play with music and movement. Directed by Seret Scott who performed in the original Broadway cast from 1976 to 1978, the well-loved work consists of eight women performing poems about the oppression and obstacles endured by women of color, who gain strength by sharing their stories. Previews begin Thursday, March 14. The show opens March 23. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• The Second City's revamped "She the People: The Resistance Continues" opens at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 14, at Up Comedy Club at Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. "People coming back to 'She the People' for the second or third time will be delighted to see that about half the show is new," said Second City CEO and executive producer Andrew Alexander. (312) 337-3992 or secondcity.com.

• The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, welcomes a pair of comedians. Maria Bramford, star of the semi-autobiographical Netflix series "Lady Dynamite," performs there Thursday through Sunday, March 14-17. Kate Quigley ("The Office," "The Josh Wolf Show") headlines The Den Thursday through Saturday, March 14-16. Both performances are for adults. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.

• Haven and About Face theaters have extended their collaboration on the Midwest premiere of "The Total Bent," a musical about fathers and sons by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. Performances run through March 17 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See haventheatrechicago.com.

• In other theater news, American Blues Theater announced Benjamin Benne is the recipient of the company's 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award for his play "Alma (or #nowall)" about a single mom who discovers her daughter Alma - on the eve of the SAT test - is not at home studying like she promised. ABT established the award in 2010 to support and help develop new works.

• The creators of "Hamilton: The Exhibition," a 360-degree, immersive exhibition devoted to the life and times of the Founding Father and the nation's first treasury secretary, will open April 27 at Northerly Island, 1535 S. Linn White Drive, Chicago. The new exhibition marks a collaboration between "Hamilton" creator, composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail, producer Jeffrey Seller, Yale University historian Joanne Freeman, creative director and set designer David Korins and Harvard University professor and historian Annette Gordon-Reed. See hamiltonexhibition.com or ticketmaster.com.

• Black Button Eyes Productions, a company that specializes in fantasy and the surreal, announced its season will open July 12 with the Chicago premiere of "Ghost Quartet." The musical by Dave Malloy ("Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812") is about four friends who love each other, kill each other and then spend centuries drinking whiskey and commiserating. It runs July 12 through Aug. 17 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com. The season concludes with the Duncan Sheik ("Spring Awakening") and Kyle Jarrow musical "Whisper House" about a boy who is sent to live with his imposing aunt after his father is shot down in the Pacific during World War II. It runs Jan. 10 to Feb. 15, 2020, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2639 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Tickets will go on sale at a later date.