Holiday tuner alternatives: Music Theater Works’ ‘Legally Blonde’ and BET’s ‘Hitt Records’

Posted December 17, 2024 4:41 pm

Kayla Shipman stars as Elle Woods in Music Theater Works’ revival of “Legally Blonde the Musical” at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. Courtesy of Anthony Robert La Penna

Pretty in pink

Music Theater Works concludes its season with “Legally Blonde the Musical,” adapted from the hit 2001 film about a Malibu princess who follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School in an effort to win him back. Kayla Shipman stars as Elle Woods in director Mandy Modic’s revival. Opens at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21; 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, and through Dec. 29 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. $19.50-$106. (847) 673-6300 or musictheaterworks.com.

The Practical Theatre Company’s holiday revue “Weird” plays Studio5 in Evanston Dec. 20-22. Courtesy of Bradford Rogne Photography

Year-end comedy review

Members of The Practical Theatre Company, founded in 1979 by Northwestern University undergraduates Paul Barrosse and Brad Hall, reunite for “Weird,” a new revue that pairs 1940s radio show elements and contemporary sketch comedy, all with a holiday sensibility. Joining Barrosse for performances at Evanston’s Studio5 are PTC members Victoria Zielinski, Dana Olsen and Steve Rashid, along with singer Paul Marinaro and pianist Larry Schanker. 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Dec. 20-22, at Studio5, 1934 Dempster St., Evanston. $35-$40 theater seating; $50-$55 cabaret tables. studio5.dance.

The Conspirators premiere the satirical “Ayn Rand’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ as Performed by the Conspirators Under the Direction of President Biden NO WAIT, Liz Cheney (RAND/CHENEY)” by Sid Feldman. Courtesy of The Conspirators

Conspirators’ premiere

The Conspirators premiere “Ayn Rand’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ as Performed by the Conspirators Under the Direction of President Biden NO WAIT, Liz Cheney (RAND/CHENEY).” Written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, the satire centers on a TV holiday special that goes awry and becomes a retelling of “It’s a Wonderful Life” through the eyes of writer/philosopher Ayn Rand. 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Dec. 20-22, at Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. $15. conspirewithus.org.

From page to stage

After she received her great-grandfather’s diary chronicling his family’s life in Berlin before World War II, playwright Andrea Stolowitz traveled to Germany to learn about her extended Jewish family and their experience during the Holocaust. That inspired her play “The Berlin Diaries,” opening this weekend in a co-production by Open Space Arts/Arts Judaica and Her Story Theatre. Izadorius Tortuga directs. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20-21, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, and through Jan. 5 at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago. $25, $20 for students and seniors. openspacearts.org.

BET premieres new tuner

Black Ensemble Theater’s next Season of Affirmation production is “Hitt Records,” a new jukebox musical about vintage-record-shop owners who school their family and customers on some of pop and soul music’s all-time greats. The score features songs by Curtis Mayfield, Phil Collins, Shalamar, Sister Sledge and Bob Marley, among others. Previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21 and 28, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens Dec. 29. $56.50-$66.50. (773) 769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org.

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