On stage
Love of the game
There's nothing baseball lover Joe Boyd wouldn't do for his beloved Washington Senators, a team that consistently finds itself at the bottom of the standings. That includes selling his soul for a shot at the world championship. His efforts to do so without forfeiting his soul is the premise of the Richard Adler-Jerry Ross musical "Damn Yankees," which opens the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's 2008-2009 season.
Previews continue through Saturday, Sept. 20. Opens Sunday, Sept. 21, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.
Elvis is in the building
Twenty-four Elvis Presley tunes make up the score to "All Shook Up," about a motorcycle ridin', rock 'n' roll lovin' bad boy tagged the "Devil in Disguise," who captures the heart of Natalie, the local grease monkey. Director/choreographer Marc Robin directs Marriott Theatre's production.
Previews begin Wednesday, Sept. 24. Opens Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.
A story of two Latinas
"Kita y Fernanda," Tanya Saracho's examination of class, immigration and friendship, is the latest production from Berwyn newcomer the 16th Street Theater. Ann Filmer directs veterans of Teatro Vista and Teatro Luna in Saracho's play about the friendship between a daughter of privilege and the daughter of an undocumented worker.
Previews continue through Saturday, Sept. 27. Opens Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th St., Berwyn. (708) 795-6704 or 16thstreettheater.org.
Elsewhere
• Mia McCullough and Sean Graney are among the Chicago writers featured as part of Goodman Theatre's 2008 New Stages Series, its sixth annual showcase of new plays performed as free staged readings from Friday, Sept. 12 to Sunday, Sept. 21 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The plays include Cori Thomas' "Pa's Hat: A Liberian Legacy" about a former ambassador and his daughter abducted by a child soldier in Liberia; Keith Josef Adkins' "Safe House," a Civil War drama about a free black family that helps travelers along the Underground Railroad; McCullough's "Household Spirits" about a family dealing with assorted crises on Christmas Eve; Graney's future set "Without" about a couple who reunites after 15 years; David Adjmi's "Marie Antoinette," an irreverent look at the infamous queen and Brett C. Leonard's "The Long Red Road" about a man drinking himself to death. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.
• Chicago's Bricklayers Theatre Company collaborates with French theater Collectif Masque for a version of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" set in 2103 after a hundred years global war. The production, featuring Bricklayers ensemble members, marks the U.S. debut of French director Mariana Araoz and features original masks by Etienne Champion. It opens Friday, Sept. 12 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. (773) 935-6860.
• Lifeline Theatre ensemble member Robert Kauzlaric adapts Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," about a man granted eternal youth whose outward form remains beautiful while his soul festers and rots, for the company. The production, directed by Kevin Theis and starring Nick Vidal as Dorian Gray, marks the opening of the company's 26th season. Previews begin Friday, Sept. 12 at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The play opens Monday, Sept. 22. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.
• "TRANSITions," a new play by the members of Dramatis Personae theater company about getting from one place to another via public conveyance, opens Friday, Sept. 12 at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.
• Jedlicka Performing Arts Center presents the stage adaptation of William E. Barrett's novel "Lilies of the Field," about an itinerant construction worker (played by Sidney Poitier in the 1964 film) who helps a group of German nuns build a church. The show opens Friday, Sept. 12 at 3801 S. Central Ave., Cicero. (708) 656-1800 or jpactheatre.com.
• Victory Gardens Biograph Theater hosts free season previews at 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The previews consist of staged readings of the six productions that make up VGBT's 2008-2009 season. Reservations recommended. (773) 549-6788, Ext. 2167 or victorygardens.org.
Porchlight Music Theatre opens its season with Leonard Bernstein's operetta "Candide," based on Voltaire's 18th-century sendup of optimism and sentimentality. Previews continue through Saturday, Sept. 12. The musical opens Sunday, Sept. 13 at The Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or porchlighttheatre.com.
Two of Chicago's finest, Susie McMonagle and Michael Aaron Lindner, star in the national tour of "Mama Mia!," which begins a brief run in Chicago Wednesday, Sept. 17 at the Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. (312) 902-1400 or broadwayinchicago.com.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater associate artistic director Gary Griffin returns to CST to direct "Amadeus," Peter Shaffer's play with music detailing the supposed rivalry between bitterly jealous court composer Antonio Salieri and the wunderkind Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Previews continue through Sept. 16. The play opens Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
The House Theatre of Chicago revives and re-imagines its hit, "Dave Davinci Saves the Universe," about a scientist trying to invent a time machine in order to save his daughter's life. The limited run begins previews Thursday, Sept. 18 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Sept. 21. (773) 251-2195 or thehousetheatre.com.
Following its premiere at Schaumburg's Laugh out Loud Theater, Illuminated Productions brings its comedy "Hopelessly Devoted," about faithful Catholics living in a less-than-faithful world, to the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Thursday, Sept. 18 and runs Thursdays through Oct. 30. (773) 935-6100 or hopelesslydevotedshow.com.