Holiday cheer: Paramount and Citadel theaters revive seasonal shows
Holiday tales
• Dreaming of a “White Christmas?” Check out Paramount Theatre's revival of the holiday favorite “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.” Based on the classic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, the tuner is about former GIs turned song-and-dance men who meet up with a pair of singing sisters and head to upstate Vermont to help their former commanding general save his ski resort. Stephen Schellhardt directs.
Previews at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 12 and 13 and 20; 7 p.m. Nov. 14; 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 15; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Nov. 16; 1 and 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The show opens Nov. 21. $31-$106. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.
• Just in time for the holidays, Citadel Theatre revives the warmhearted “Miracle on South Division Street,” Tom Dudzick's Buffalo, New York-set comedy about the Nowak family, who have always believed in the story that the Blessed Mother appeared in their grandfather's barber shop on Christmas Eve. But when granddaughter Ruth digs deeper into the miracle, new information threatens to unravel the legend, and the family. Scott Shallenbarger directs Citadel Theatre's production.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 12 and 13, at the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. The show opens Nov. 14. $20, $45. (847) 735-8554, ext. 1, or citadeltheatre.org.
A Truman plays Truman
Clifton Truman Daniel, the oldest grandson of President Harry S. Truman, portrays his grandfather in “Give 'Em Hell, Harry!,” Samuel Gallu's solo bio-play about the nation's 33rd president. The play chronicles Truman's early life in Missouri, his political apprenticeship as a county judge, his years in the U.S. Senate and his momentous two terms as president.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 2501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. $47.80-$70.35. (847) 673-6300 or northshorecenter.org.
Deathly thrills
MadKap Productions revives Ira Levin's darkly comic thriller “Deathtrap,” about famous playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Lomenick), who is struggling with writer's block and decides to murder a young writer in order to steal his promising script. Beck Damron, Jeanne Dwan and Aidan Sternberg co-star in director Christa Retka's production.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, and through Nov. 23 at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie. $38, $42. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.org.
Satirical ‘Urinetown’ revived
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre continues its season with “Urinetown,” Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis’ dystopian-set musical about a government-enforced ban on private toilets that forces citizens to pay to use public amenities. That is until the heroic Bobby Strong and his friends “rise from the sewage to spark a revolution.” Danny Kapinos directs the revival, which stars Luke Nowakowski as Bobby and Amanda Rodriguez as his forbidden love Hope Cladwell.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7, 8, 14 and 15; and 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at 721 Howard St., Evanston. The show opens Nov. 16. $30-$60. (773) 939-4101 or theo-u.com.
A myth re-imagined
The Village Theater, which debuted in 2024, premieres “Calypso,” a retelling of a Greek myth developed through the company. The play centers on the exiled nymph who fell in love with the shipwrecked Odysseus, who remained with her seven years until he left to return to his wife.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8; 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, and through Nov. 23 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. $25 or pay-as-you-can. the-village-theater.com.
New works showcase
Rivendell Theatre showcases in-development plays as part of its reading series “Fresh Produce: New Plays with Women+ at the Core.”
7:30 p.m. select days, Monday, Nov. 10, through Dec. 6 at 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. Suggested donations $10, $25. (773) 334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org.
New theater company
“Smokefall,” Noah Haidle's surreal dramedy that contemplates family, love and loss, is the inaugural production from newcomer Wild Door Theater staged in the round. “What moves me most about ‘Smokefall,’” says director Andrew Gallant in a prepared statement, “is how each character faces the quiet unraveling of their own small corner of the world, yet amid that growing darkness, they find hope, courage and strength in one another.”
Opens at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 21. $25-$39. wilddoortheater.com.
Alicia Keys’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ arrives
The national tour of “Hell's Kitchen,” the Tony Award-winning, semiautobiographical jukebox musical about the life of Grammy Award-winning R&B singer/composer/pianist Alicia Keys, stops in Chicago for a brief run. Maya Drake stars as Ali, a young woman searching for her place in the world, whose family and community help her realize her dreams.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Nov. 11-14; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16, and through Nov. 30 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. $50-$149. broadwayinchicago.com.
Six plays, four actors, one stage
Santa Fe, New Mexico, physical theater ensemble Theater Grottesco, in collaboration with the Lisa Fay and Jeff Glassman Duo, brings to Chicago, for a limited engagement, its show “Action at a Distance … in 2025.” Described as a kaleidoscopic theatrical experience, the production blends six plays performed simultaneously on a small stage by four actors.
8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Nov. 13-15; 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Facility Theater, 1138 N. California Ave., Chicago. $15-$30. lisafayandjeffglassmanduo.org.