Spotlight: 'Christmas Carol' returns to the Goodman
Jolly holiday
Marcia Milgrom Dodge, who expertly re-imagined "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for Drury Lane, returns to the Oakbrook Terrace theater to stage "Mary Poppins," the musical based on P.L. Travers stories and adapted from the 1964 Walt Disney film. Emilie Lynn plays "practically perfect" nanny Mary Poppins and James T. Lane plays her chimney sweep pal, Bert.
Previews at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16; and 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, and through Nov. 20 at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The show opens Nov. 21. $60-$75. (630) 530-0111 or drurylanetheatre.com.
Reviving 'Godot'
Director Dennis Zacek and actor Michael Saad reunite for a revival of "Waiting for Godot" 48 years after Zacek (then a Loyola University professor) directed Saad in Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy about two down-on-their-luck men Vladimir and Estragon, awaiting the arrival of the mysterious Godot. Saad reprises the role of Estragon opposite Larry Neumann Jr.'s Vladimir. Rounding out the cast is Larry Russo as Pozzo, Nima Rakhshanifar as his servant Lucky and Cooper Hoyt as the boy.
Previews at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15-16, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17. $20-$40. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.
Goodman's 'Carol'
Yorkville native Paris Strickland returns to Goodman Theatre for the third time to play the role of Tiny Tim in the company's 42nd annual production of "A Christmas Carol." Director Henry Wishcamper's production also marks Larry Yando's 12th year playing Ebenezer Scrooge, the flinty miser who learns the importance of keeping Christmas in his heart every day of the year.
Previews at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, and 2 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, and through Nov. 23 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Nov. 24. $25-$89. (312) 443-2800 or goodmantheatre.org.
'Annie' returns
Citadel Theatre revives the family-friendly "Annie" as this year's holiday offering. Sophie Kaegi and Kayla Norris alternate the titular role of the orphaned young girl who escapes an orphanage run by the bitter Miss Hannigan and finds a home with the wealthy Daddy Warbucks. Robert D. Estrin directs.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 20-21, at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. The show opens Friday, Nov. 22. $20-$45. (847) 735-8554, ext. 1, or citadeltheatre.org.