Metropolis to present 'Alice in Wonderland'

Stories in action

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre invites young audiences to its production of "Alice in Wonderland," Lewis Carroll's fantasy tale of a young girl's trip down a rabbit hole and the eccentric creatures she encounters there.

Runs Tuesday, Oct. 13, to Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

Meany headlines Zanies

Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Kevin Meaney, who co-starred in "Hairspray" on Broadway, returns to Zanies to headline shows this weekend.

8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at Zanies Pheasant Run, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 584-6342, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at 230 Hawthorn Village Commons, Vernon Hills, (847) 549-6030 or zanies.com.

Seinfeld in Rosemont

Fresh from the "Seinfeld" reunion on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Jerry Seinfeld - the king of observational comedy - returns to stand-up and headlines a couple of shows at the Rosemont Theatre.

Info: 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont, (847) 671-5100 or rosemonttheatre.com.

What's new

• Chicago Dramatists opens its season with "Lucinda's Bed," Mia McCullough's new comedy about the monster under a little girl's bed who reinserts himself into her adult life at the most inopportune moments. Former Stage Left Theatre artistic director Jessi D. Hill directs this play about growing up. The production opens Friday, Oct. 9, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. (312) 633-0630 or chicagodramatists.org.

• A new company - A Lighted Match - makes its debut with "Anton in Show Business," Jane Martin's behind-the-scenes comedy about a self-centered TV star, a jaded New Yorker and a peppy ingénue brought together for a production of Anton Chekhov's "The Three Sisters." The production opens Friday, Oct. 9, at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252.

• Goodman Theatre's Steve Scott directs redtwist theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's comedy "Lettice and Lovage," about a free-spirited docent at a historic British home who spins fanciful and untrue stories about the residence, and the proper, by-the-rules, bureaucrat who fires her for telling tall tales. The production opens Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.

• Lookingglass Theatre Ensemble member J. Nicole Brooks re-imagines the Greek myth of Phaedra - the story of a queen whose stepson spurns her romantic advances - in a Caribbean setting. Ensemble member Laura Eason directs "Fedra: Queen of Haiti," opening Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

• Former Piven Theatre artistic director Joyce Piven directs the company's season opener, a double bill of Harold Pinter one-acts "The Lover" and "The Collection." "The Lover" looks at the relationship between a wife and a husband who try to spice up their marriage by adopting the role of whore and lover. "The Collection" addresses the question of whether a married dress designer had an affair with a colleague who is involved in a relationship with another man. Previews are Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Piven Theatre Workshop, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. The production opens Monday, Oct. 12. (847) 866-8049 or piventheatre.org.

• Oracle Theatre reprises "Disturbed," a adults-only Halloween-themed performance. Previews begin Friday, Oct. 9, at 3809 N. Broadway, Chicago. The production opens Saturday, Oct. 10, and runs weekends through Nov. 1. (773) 244-2980 or oracletheatre.org.

• Emerald City Theatre presents "The Jolly Rogers Halloween," a family-friendly musical opening Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The combination concert and party is about a groovy band of pirates out to find a new member. The performance is followed by Halloween games with the cast. (773) 935-6100 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• "Magical Exploding Boy," Dean Evans' one-man performance piece incorporating mime and clowning techniques, tells various fantastical stories involving a child who has telekinesis, an amoeba struggling to survive and a man adrift in space. The show opens for a brief run on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Charnel House Chicago, 3421 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago. (773) 387-8766 or magicalexplodingboy.com

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company opens the doors of its scene shop for a Behind the Curtain fundraiser beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1010 N. Kolmar Ave., Chicago. Guest will see where the sets are created and meet the designers who create them, including Tony Award-winning Todd Rosenthal. The evening includes appetizers, cocktails and a silent auction. Tickets are $250 per person. They're available by phone at (312) 654-5632 or specialevents@steppenwolf.org.

• The Acro-Cats and their trainer Samantha Martin return to Gorilla Tango Theatre with their show "Circus Cats of Chicago" on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11. The cats ride skateboards, jump through hoops and perform other feats of agility at 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Previews of "Calls to Blood," the latest show from The New Colony, begin Monday, Oct. 12, at the Royal George Studio, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The show concerns a perfect American couple whose desperate attempts to conceive a child could destroy everything they've achieved. The show opens Thursday, Oct. 15. (312) 988-9000 or thenewcolony.org.

• Lillian Hellman's rarely produced play "Days to Come" marks the opening of The Artistic Home's 2009-2010 season. Hellman's follow up to "The Children's Hour," "Days to Come" is about a wealthy Midwestern family whose fortune and position are threatened when the employees at their factory go on strike. Artistic director Kathy Scambiatterra directs the production, which begins previews Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. The production opens Sunday, Oct. 18. (866) 811-4111 or theartistichome.org.

• Steppenwolf Theatre's Young Adults 2009-2010 series begins Tuesday, Oct. 13, with "The House on Mango Street," Tanya Saracho's adaptation of Chicago writer Sandra Cisneros' novel about a young girl coming of age in an ethnically diverse Chicago neighborhood. Previews continue through Oct. 16. Hallie Gordon's production opens Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• Neo-Futurists ensemble member and New Leaf Theatre associate Bilal Dardai adapted G.K. Chesterton's 1908 novel "The Man Who Was Thursday," about a poet-turned-policeman in futuristic London who infiltrates an anti-anarchist task force for New Leaf. The world premiere is Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West, Chicago. (773) 516-3456 or newleaftheatre.org.

• A Free Night of Theater, a nationwide program designed to attract new audiences to live theater, begins Thursday, Oct. 15. As part of the program, some Chicago-area theaters will offer free admission to select performances. For information on participating companies, see freenightoftheater.net.