Thomas, friends coming to Sears Centre

Well-loved Thomas the Tank Engine and his pals Sir Topham Hatt and the people of Sodor assist a traveling circus in the family-friendly "Thomas and Friends Live! Onstage: A Circus Comes to Town" coming to the Sears Centre Arena for a brief run.

Facts: Friday, May 8, to Sunday, May 10, at 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. (312) 559-1212 or searscentre.com.

Chicago goes 'Blonde'

"Legally Blonde the Musical," the stage version of the Reese Witherspoon film about a sweet but frivolous coed who gets dumped by her Harvard Law School-bound boyfriend looking for a more serious girlfriend, makes its Chicago debut. The national tour features Broadway understudy Becky Gulsvig as plucky Elle Woods. The cast also includes reality show contestants Rhiannon Hansen and Lauren Ashley Zakrin from MTV's "The Search for Elle Woods."

Facts: Performances begin Tuesday, May 12, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (312) 902-1400 or legallyblondethemusical.com.

Sweet 'Dreams'

Aerialists, acrobats, jugglers and musicians converge on Aurora's Paramount Theatre for "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy," a family-friendly show inspired by nature and its creatures. Note: This show is not affiliated with Cirque du Soleil.

Facts: 7 p.m. Friday, May 8, and 1 and 6 p.m., Saturday, May 9, at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

What's new

• Northlight Theatre's production of Martin McDonagh's darkly comic examination of violence and extremism "The Lieutenant of Inishmore," in which the death of a cat leads to an ever-escalating cycle of violence, opened this week. The production runs through June 7 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.

• The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre hosts its annual fundraising gala from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, May 8, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. "Saturday Night Live" alum Tim Kazurinsky hosts the black tie-optional event which includes dinner, a silent auction and entertainment, including a musical number from the theater's upcoming production of "Baby The Musical." Tickets are available at the box office (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• N.U.F.A.N. Ensemble examines responsibility, sexuality and death in "Caliban Dancing," by Chicago Dramatists resident playwright emeritus Evan Guilford-Blake, about how the death of a child affects four people. The world premiere production opens Friday, May, 8, at the Chicago Actors Studio, 2040 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. (773) 282-0344 or nufanensemble.com.

• The unheralded women who helped conduct astronomy research at the Harvard University observatory inspired "Unsung Stars," The Moving Dock Theatre Company show opening later this year. The company invites the public to meet the characters at preview/fundraisers Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10, at the Fine Arts Building, suite 702, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. (312) 427-5490 or movingdock.org.

• Previews begin Friday, May 8, for Circle Theatre's production of "The Who's Tommy" about a traumatized young boy who becomes a pinball wizard. Former Circle producing director Jeffrey Cass directs the show which opens Wednesday, May 13, at 7300 W. Madison St., Forest Park. (708) 771-0700 or circle-theatre.org.

• Misty De Berry performs her solo play "Milkweed," about three black women who have been the victims of horrific crimes, Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield, Chicago. (773) 281-9824 or linkshall.org. De Berry also performs the play May 28 and 29, at Annie Mae Swift Hall, Northwestern University, 1920 Campus Drive, Evanston. (847) 491-3171.

• Porchlight Music Theatre's production of "Once on This Island," a Caribbean-inspired musical by the Tony Award-winning composing team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty ("Ragtime") begins previews Saturday, May 9, at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Partly inspired by "The Little Mermaid," the musical centers on a peasant girl and an upper-class young man whose love is tested by the gods. Mark Lococo directs and Eugene Dizon serves as music director. The show opens Monday, May 11. (773) 327-5252 or porchlighttheatre.com.

• "Thems," an improvised sci-fi thriller in which humans search another planet for a rare element they need to survive, opens Saturday, May 9, at the Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (773) 419-0571 or themsiscoming.com.

• Governors State University hosts the Montana Repertory Theatre Company's production of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at the Center for Performing Arts, 1 University Parkway, University Park. (708) 235-2222 or centertickets.net. A free conversation about the production featuring members of the company takes place at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at the Flossmoor Public Library, 1000 Sterling Ave., Flossmoor.

• Court Theatre artistic director Charles Newell makes his Goodman Theatre directorial debut with "Rock 'n' Roll," Tom Stoppard's heady drama about political upheaval and rock music, whose soundtrack includes the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man," Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and The Rolling Stones "It's All Over Now" among others. The production, starring Timothy Edward Kane and Mary Beth Fisher, opens Sunday, May 10, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Among the special events held in conjunction with this Chicago premiere is a panel discussion on "Reading, Writing, Revolution" featuring Bill Ayers, Erica Meiners, Therese Quinn and David Stovall. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• When it comes to adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, Lifeline Theatre's Frances Limoncelli is three-for-three and going for four-for-four. Limoncelli adapts another Sayer novel for the company's latest production of "Busman's Honeymoon," in which Sayers' amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, marries his beloved Harriet Vane. The couple's country honeymoon turns into a working holiday when a dead body is discovered in a wine cellar. Previews continue through Sunday, May 10, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The production opens Monday, May 11. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.

• LeapFest 6, Stage Left Theatre's sixth annual new play festival, begins Tuesday, May 12, at 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. Five plays, presented in workshop productions, will run in repertory through May 30. Three plays featured during the festival's first five years received Joseph Jefferson Awards for best new work. This year's plays include David Alan Moore's "Safe," about an emergency dispatch operator whose trapped caller dies awaiting rescue; Karla Jennings' "The Ruby Vector" about attempts to prevent a biological attack on the U.S.; Andrew Hinderaker's "Kingsville" about two families arguing over the right to bear arms; and M.E.H. Lewis' "Hungry Ghosts" about an anthropologist retrieving U.S. soldiers' remains from Vietnam. (773) 883-8830 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• Village Players presents a limited engagement of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" featuring former Chicago alderman Burton Natarus and WYLL radio talk show hosts Cathi Watson. Performances run Wednesday, May 13, to Friday, May 16, at the Village Players Performing Arts Center, 1010 W. Madison St., Oak Park. (866) 764-1010.

• "Hurtful and Bizarre Accusations," about a self-described counselor trying to fix a dysfunctional family runs Sundays through May 17, at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Also at Gorilla Tango, "Between Rock - and a Dead Place," about a rock band trying to rebound from its troubled past. The show runs Saturdays through May 30. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• The improvised mystery comedy, "Pat Patton: Solver of Mysteries," about a grandmother sleuth, runs Tuesdays through June 16, at the Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.