Spotlight: Goodman Theatre premieres coming-of-age comic thriller ‘Dead Girl’s Quinceañera’
Goodman premieres coming-of-age tale
After an unknown emergency ended Maria’s quinceañera and she failed to respond to texts in 19 hours, her three best friends try to find out what happened in “Dead Girl’s Quinceañera,” Phanésia Pharel’s comic thriller premiering at Goodman Theatre in cooperation with Barrington Stage Company and Hartford Stage. “I wrote this play for my best friend, to celebrate how much our relationship changed my life,” said Pharel in a prepared statement. “It’s been a beautiful experience to see this coming-of-age story resonate with people who may have never been to Miami and/or who might not be of Hispanic descent. It reminds me that even at this moment where forces are hoping to divide us, theater can connect us all to our true humanity.”
Saturday, Sept. 26, through Nov. 1, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. $34-$70. 312-443-3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org.
Theater for young people
The Young People’s Theatre of Chicago marks its fifth anniversary season with “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” adapted by Jody Davidson from Laura Joffe Numeroff’s children’s story about a thoughtful young boy who shares his snack with a mouse. However, his gesture spirals into a series of misadventures with a mouse who isn’t content with just a cookie. Artistic director Randy White directs.
Saturday, Sept. 26, through Oct. 25, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Tickets start at $32.95 for adults, $22.95 for kids 12 and younger. 773-404-7336 or yptchi.org.
World War II deception inspires new tuner
Broadway In Chicago presents the national tour of the musical “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical.” Inspired by real events during World War II, the tuner is about Great Britain’s efforts to disguise the Allied invasion of Sicily by making the Axis powers believe it would take place in Greece or Sardinia.
Tuesday, Sept. 29, through Oct. 11, at CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. $40-$135. BroadwayInChicago.com.
Premiere examines one woman’s choices
The film “Black Swan” meets the solo play “Every Brilliant Thing” is Instrumental Theatre Company’s description of “The Trick of Threes” by Annika Andersson. A play with music, it’s a woman’s reflection about the time she spent in a fictional Christian cult and how “she fell victim to her mind, family and society.”
Thursday, Oct. 1, through Oct. 25, at the Lycée Français de Chicago Center for the Arts, 4702 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. $25. InstrumentalTheatre.org.
The Addams Family returns
BrightSide Theatre inaugurates its 15th season with “The Addams Family,” a comic tuner by composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa and writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice inspired by the ghoulish family created by cartoonist Charles Addams. The show, which premiered in Chicago in 2009, centers on teenage Wednesday who falls in love with a young man from a “normal” family who is decidedly different from her own. De Haddad directs.
Friday, Oct. 2, through Oct. 18, at North Central College, Meiley-Swallow Hall, 31 S. Ellsworth, Naperville. $32, $37. 847-447-8497 or BrightSideTheatre.com.
Oil Lamp stages classic thriller
Oil Lamp Theater revives “Dial M for Murder,” adapted and updated by Jeffrey Hatcher from Frederick Knott’s original suspense thriller about a husband who schemes to murder his wealthy wife. Daniel King directs the production, which stars John Chambers as Tony Wendice, Paige Klopfenstein as his wife, Margo, Charlotte Foster as her friend Maxine, Robert Austin Love as Tony’s former schoolmate Lesgate and James Sparling as Inspector Hubbard.
Friday, Oct. 2, through Nov. 1, at 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview. $30, $55. OilLampTheater.org.