On stage: Jared Bradshaw brings 'Swingin' on a Star' to Marriott Theatre

• Jane Lynch, Emmy Award-winning star of "Glee" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and a Dolton native, returns to The Raue Center for the Arts with "A Swingin' Little Christmas." A "comically kitsch throwback" to the World War II USO tours and 1960s TV Christmas specials, the show features Kate Flannery ("The Office," "New Girl"), singer/producer/arranger Tim Davis and the Tony Guerrero Quartet. Lynch and friends perform at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14, at 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Tickets start at $50. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

• The Factory Theater follows up its 2018 holiday show "The Christmas War: A Christmas Play" with "Christmas War II: Endgame," a holiday tale told in the style of "The Avengers" film series. Performances run Friday, Dec. 13, through Saturday, Dec. 21, at 1623 W. Howard St., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or thefactorytheater.com.

• Canadian actor/comedian Jon Dore performs stand-up at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14. Chicago comedian Matty Ryan opens. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.

• "Beauty and the Beast" director and co-choreographer Amber Mak, Paramount Theatre's director of new works development, participates in a free panel discussion from 6 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Paramount School of the Arts, 20 S. Stolp Ave., Aurora. Mak and Liv Hanson of the Chicago Public Library will discuss women's roles in fairy tales. See paramountschool.com.

• Silk Road Rising hosts staged readings by student participants in the company's Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course in partnership with After School Matters as part of its West Ridge Story Festival. The staged readings take place at Chicago Public Library's Northtown Branch, the Indian Boundary Park Cultural Center and the Music House School of Performing Arts. See silkroadrising.org.

• Former "Jersey Boy" and "Forbidden Broadway" veteran Jared Bradshaw brings his show "Swingin' on a Star, A Salute to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters" to the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, as part of the Artists Lounge Live concert series. Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, and 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17. (847) 634-0200 or artistsloungelive.com.

• Chicago Dramatists and Playwrights Aloud host Mark Larson, author of "Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater," participates in a discussion at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Larson will interview three theater artists featured in the book: actress Laura T. Fisher and playwrights Ike Holter and Mickle Maher. Registration deadline is Dec. 15.

• "The Phantom of the Opera," Andrew Lloyd Webber's gloriously excessive musical melodrama, returns to Chicago on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Performances run through Jan. 5 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The comedy showcase Take Your Best Shot runs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the Brauer House, 1000 N. Rohlwing Road, Lombard. Each week, a winner will qualify for the showcase held on Feb. 15. For information, contact producer Marc Cook at marcwcook@gmail.com.

• Hell in a Handbag Productions is accepting donations for its annual fundraiser Hams4Hams to benefit Groceryland, which provides food to and nutritional counseling for people living with HIV and AIDS in Chicago. The company will accept donations during the runs of its holiday shows "The Golden Girls: The Holiday Edition Vol. 2" and "Bette: Christmas at the Continental Baths" running at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. See handbagproductions.org.

• Firebrand Theatre has extended its revival of the two-hander musical, "Always ... Patsy Cline." Artistic director Harmony France and Christina Hall alternate in the roles of famed country singer Patsy Cline and her devoted fan, Louise Seger. Performances run through Jan. 4 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See firebrandtheatre.org.

• Victory Gardens Theater recently announced that artistic director Chay Yew will depart the theater at the end of the 2019-20 season. Yew, whose commitment to diversity and inclusion marked his eight-year tenure, initiated the Chicago Play Cycle, a new works initiative centered on plays that reflect the city's history. World premieres, a priority under his leadership, included: Lucas Hnath's "Hillary and Clinton," developed through 2014's IGNITION; the Obie Award-winning "Appropriate" by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; "Where Did We Sit on the Bus?" produced in cooperation with Teatro Vista and "How to Defend Yourself," liliana padilla's play, which will have its co-world premiere at Victory Gardens next year. "We are so grateful to Chay for his leadership ... Chay has shepherded Victory Gardens to a new level of engagement and artistic excellence. He has heightened the theater's visibility and leaves us in a very strong position," said board president Steve Miller in a prepared statement.

• A Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation survey of 41 small Chicago-area theaters including First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook and Piven Theatre in Evanston reports that 267,400 audience members (equivalent to 10% of Chicago's population) attended those theaters' productions last season. Also, the survey reports all the companies are committed to accessibility, diversity and inclusion in their programs and operations and 56% sponsor educational programs in their communities. Finally, one out of four charges $25 or less for tickets and one out of seven offers free or pay-what-you-can tickets, making these theaters among the most accessible performing arts organizations in Chicago.