In the spotlight: 'Steel Magnolias,' 'School Girls' and a teenage Richard III take the stage
Friendship bonds
BrightSide Theatre revives Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias," the sentimental drama about a group of Louisiana women who gather at Truvy's beauty salon to share laughter and tears. Stephanie Murphy, a veteran of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble and Oil Lamp Theater, directs.
Opens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 6-7; 3 p.m. Sunday, March 8; and through March 22 at the Theater at Meiley-Swallow Hall, North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth St., Naperville. $23-$30. (630) 447-8497 or brightsidetheatre.com.
'Richard' redux
Playwright Mike Lew re-imagines William Shakespeare's "Richard III" as high school drama where Richard, who's bullied because he has cerebral palsy, is determined to become class president. Brian Balcom directs Theater Wit's Chicago premiere of the darkly funny "Teenage Dick," featuring MacGregor Arney as Richard.
Previews at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 6-7; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8; and through March 15 at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 18. $30-$42. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.
African mean girls
Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Lili-Anne Brown directs Goodman Theatre's Chicago premiere of off-Broadway's "School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play." The comedy, by Jocelyn Bioh, is about students at a girls boarding school in Ghana, where the queen bee's status is jeopardized by the arrival of an Ohio newcomer. "When it comes to African stories, people tend to paint them with the same brush of war, struggle and strife," said Bioh in a prepared statement. "I know that that's not my story and the story of my people ... It just proves that there is universality to all of our stories."
Previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 7; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, March 11-12; and through March 15 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens March 16. $20-$70. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.
Intimate arts
In 1905 Manhattan, Esther, an African-American seamstress, escapes poverty by creating fine lingerie in Lynn Nottage's "Intimate Apparel," which examines love, class and race. Northlight Theatre's revival stars Mildred Marie Langford as Esther and Sean Fortunato as Jewish shopkeeper Mr. Marks. Northlight artistic fellow Tasia Jones directs.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 13-14; 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday, March 15; and through March 19 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens March 20. $30-$89. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.