Squeaky-clean comedy and magic at the Metropolis
Clue's clean comedyComedian Tim Clue, the Second City trained comedian who penned the play "Leaving Iowa" and performs standup so clean you could invite your grandmother to the club, headlines the St. Charles Zanies this weekend. 8 p.m. Friday, July 16, and 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com.Magic to doMagician Bill Blagg III returns to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre with all-new illusions for two shows that will find him levitating audience volunteers and walking through steel. A limited number of VIP packages, which include a preshow meeting with Blagg and preferred seating, are available. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.Locals in 'Hairspray'Long Grove resident Amanda Nianick and Carol Stream's Michael Kott star in Jedlicka Performing Arts Center's production of "Hairspray," inspired by the 1988 John Waters film about a teenage girl who tries to integrate a TV dance show in 1960s Baltimore. JPAC artistic director Dante Orfei directs. Opens Friday, July 16, at 3801 S. Central Ave., Cicero. (708) 656-1800 or jpactheatre.com.bull; Chicago Dramatists and At Play Productions team up to present the world premiere of "Dental Society Midwinter Meeting," a new comedy by Chicago Dramatists resident playwright Laura Jacqmin. After their president is caught in a scandal, members of the Chicago Dental Society convene a meeting to debate the future of dentistry in this play directed by Megan Schuchman. Previews begin Friday, July 16, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The show opens Wednesday, July 21. (773) 828-4331 or thedentistsarecoming.com.bull; Adventure Stage Chicago hosts a free reading of ensemble member Merissa Shunk's adaptation of "The City of Ember," Jeanne DuPrau's novel about people trying to save the last city in an increasingly darkening world. The reading takes place at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 18, at Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble St., Chicago. (773) 342-4141 or adventurestage.org.bull; Playwright Stephen Dietz drew from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories and from a 1899 collaboration between Doyle and Victorian actor William Gillette for his play, "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure." Idle Muse Theatre Company's production begins performances Thursday, July 22, at the Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis, Chicago. See idlemuse.org for more information. bull; The Neo-Futurists' Film Fest IX, featuring annual staged readings of the worst screenplays ever, continues Thursday, July 22, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, with 1988's "Brain Damage," about an average guy who wakes up one morning to find a brain-eating parasite named Elmer attached to his body and demanding sustenance from innocent victims. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.bull; Longtime Strawdog Theatre member Jennifer Avery took over as interim artistic director at Evanston's Next Theatre, where she has been an artistic associate for five years, appearing in productions including "The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer" and the recent "War with the Newts." Former production manager Jim Davis has taken over as managing director in the wake of Kevin Heckman's recent departure from the theater. The upcoming season marks Next's 30th.bull; Writers' Theatre announced its final extension of its hit revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire," directed by David Cromer and starring Natasha Lowe as Blanche and real-life husband and wife Matt Hawkins and Stacy Stoltz as Stanley and Stella Kowalski. Performances continue through Aug. 1 at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.bull; Theo Ubique has added five performances to its run of "Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen" featuring classics like "Stormy Weather," "One For My Baby" and "Over the Rainbow." Performances run through Aug. 15 at No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood, Chicago. (773) 347-1109 or theoubique.org.bull; Lookingglass Theatre has again extended its hit revival of "Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale" through Aug. 15, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or lookingglasstheatre.org.