Spotlight: Metropolis extends ‘Grease,’ Music Theater Works revives ‘Godspell’
‘Grease’ cruises on at Metropolis
• Metropolis Performing Arts Centre has extended its hit revival of “Grease,” Jim Jacobs’ and Warren Casey’s tuner inspired by Chicago’s Taft High School about teenagers navigating life and love during the 1950s. Director Dina DiCostanzo’s production stars Eric Amundson as bad boy Danny Zuko and Morgan Wolfe as good girl Sandy Dumbrowski.
2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 18 and 25; 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 19 and 26; and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $29-$55. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.
• Also at Metropolis, The Chicago Kids Company presents its original musical version of “Peter Pan” by Jesus Perez and Amy Wolski. The production features adult actors and incorporates sing-alongs and audience participation to tell the tale of Peter, Wendy and Tinkerbell in Neverland.
10 a.m. and noon Monday through Thursday, Oct. 20-23, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $18. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.
‘Godspell’ revival
Director Matthew Silar helms Music Theater Works’ revival of “Godspell,” a pop-rock retelling of Bible parables from St. Matthew’s Gospel by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and writer John-Michael Tebelak. Eldon Warner-Soriano plays Jesus and Jacob Simon plays John the Baptist/Judas in the show, which features the songs “Day By Day,” “All for the Best,” “Beautiful City” and “By My Side,” among others.
The preview is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. The show opens Oct. 24. $19.50-$106. (847) 673-6300 or musictheaterworks.com.
New play examines Black men in America
New York’s Flea Theater brings “Hang Time,” Zora Howard’s play examining the “great loves and bitter blues” of Black men in America. Howard also directs the play — described as deeply moving and subversive — which is intended for mature audiences.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for Performing and Media Arts, Northwestern University Chicago Campus, Abbott Hall, 710 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. $15, $12 students, $8 full-time NU students. wirtz.northwestern.edu/hang-time.
Spooky theatrics
• Saint Sebastian Players open its 44th season with “The Haunting of Hill House,” F. Andrew Leslie’s adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror story about four people investigating paranormal activity at a remote mansion.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Parkway, Chicago. The show opens Oct. 24. $25, $30. saintsebastianplayers.org.
• Green Man Theatre, in cooperation with the Elmhurst History Museum and the Churchville Cemetery Association, hosts a cemetery walk recounting the stories of notable Elmhurst residents.
30-minute tours run from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Churchville Cemetery and the Churchville One-Room Schoolhouse, 3N784 N. Church Road, Bensenville. $12; reservations required. greenmantheatre.org.
Uniting the world, one neighborhood at a time
Theatre Y’s site-specific, immersive theater piece “In Good Company” has its Chicago premiere following performances in Houston, Milwaukee and St. Paul, Minnesota. Combining theater, music and dance, the ambulatory performance invites participants to reflect on community, democracy, neighborliness and civic pride as they walk through a Chicago neighborhood. The three-hour, three-mile walk concludes with a meal.
Beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18-19, and through Nov. 9, starting at 3611 W. Cermak Road, Chicago. Free, but reservations are required. theatre-y.com.
Beloved tuner on tour
The national tour celebrating the 65th anniversary of Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein’s beloved “The Sound of Music,” about novice nun Maria and the von Trapp family, stops briefly at the James M. Nederlander Theatre. Cayleigh Capaldi stars as Maria opposite Kevin Earley’s Captain Georg von Trapp in director Jack O’Brien’s revival.
7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 21-24 and 28-31; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 and Nov. 1; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26. Also 1 p.m. Oct. 29 and Nov. 2. $40-$110. broadwayinchicago.com.
Red Theater premiere
Red Theater premieres “The Pilon,” by Zach Barr, who described his play as “a love letter: to transgender people, to sports fans and to my hometown of Seattle.” Jessica Love directs.
Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 22-24, at The Edge Off Broadway, 1122 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago. The show opens Oct. 25. $30. redtheater.org.