Spotlight: Music Theater Works revives Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘Carousel’

‘Carousel’ revived

Music Theater Works continues its season with a revival of “Carousel,” the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical about the romance between carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Conor Jordan) and millworker Julie Jordan (Maliha Sayed). Sasha Gerriston directs and choreographs the show, which includes such favorites as “If I Loved You” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Preview at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens at 7 p.m. Aug. 9. $19-$106. (847) 673-6300 or musictheaterworks.com.

Up close and personal

Williams Street Repertory stages “An Act of God,” a 90-minute conversation with the almighty written by Emmy Award-winning comedy writer David Javerbaum (“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method”) and adapted from his book “The Last Testament: A Memoir by God.” Goran Norquist plays the titular deity in director Pat Henderson’s production. 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4; and other times and dates through Aug. 24 at 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Tickets start at $39.50; $27.65 for RaueNOW members. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

Magic at A Red Orchid

Magician and storyteller Jon Tai (“Missed Connections”) returns to Chicago with his show “Road Signs,” described as a journey through America’s wilderness “where past and present blur and audience members’ dreams are brought to life around a campfire.” Previews at 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, and 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, and Thursday, Aug. 8, at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. The show opens Aug. 9. $25-$45. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

Convention-appropriate comedy

Just in time for the Democratic National Convention, the comedy musical “44 — The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical (As Told Through the Hazy Recollection of Joe Biden)” opens a limited run at Chicago’s Epiphany Center for the Arts. The show, which earned acclaim in New York and Los Angeles, sends up the recent past when “the White House was full of hope, the president didn’t endorse a violent attack on his own vice president and the president’s largest scandal was wearing a tan suit.”

7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 7-8 and Aug. 13-15; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 10 and 16-17; and 2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at 201 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago. $44-$129. 44obamamusical.com or epiphanychi.com.

New tuner showcase

Kokandy Productions presents its 2024 Chicago Musical Theatre Festival — which showcases new works by emerging artists in concert-style performances — as part of Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut series. The festival has introduced more than 50 new tuners to Chicago stages since Underscore Theatre Company inaugurated it in 2014. Featured works include: “Wanderlust,” about a guy whose tech mogul boss shows up on his surfing vacation; “The Brass Teapot: A New Musical,” about a magical teapot that produces money when it senses pain; “Jenny: A New Musical,” about a woman who must choose between her family and pursuing her purpose; “ei hytte (the cabin),” an a cappella tuner about two strangers trapped in a Norway cabin during a blizzard; and “Out of Focus,” a coming-of-age rock musical about a college photography student confronting his newfound independence and his mother’s newly diagnosed dementia. 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 8-9; 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 10; and 3 p.m. Aug. 11 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St., Chicago. $20. steppenwolf.org/cmtf or kokandyproductions.com.