Local theater: Steel Beam presents 'Glass Menagerie'

‘Glass Menagerie' at Steel Beam

Steel Beam Theatre stages Tennessee Williams' “The Glass Menagerie.” An elegiac ode to unrealized aspirations, the play premiered in 1944 in Chicago and marked the playwright's first major success.

Opens Friday, Feb. 17, at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $23, $25. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

‘Laramie Project' reading at redtwist

Downers Grove resident Greg Kolack directs redtwist theatre's staged reading of “The Laramie Project,” by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Company. It centers on the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death in 1998. Redtwist pairs the readings with its Chicago-area premiere of the companion piece, “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” opening next month.

Staged readings run Friday, Feb. 17, to Saturday, April 7, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago. $15. (773) 728-7529 or redtwist.org.

‘North Plan's' 2nd look

Jason Wells' drama “The North Plan,” featured during Steppenwolf Theatre's 2010 First Look Repertory of New Work, gets a second outing courtesy of Theater Wit. Kimberly Senior, who helmed last year's “Bad Dates” at Fox Valley Repertory, directs the play about an imprisoned bureaucrat attempting to prevent a constitutional crisis.

Previews begin Thursday, Feb. 23, at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Tuesday, Feb. 28. $18-$36. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.

• Silk Road Rising presents free staged readings of Israeli playwright Motti Lerner's new play “Paulus,” an historical drama chronicling Paul of Tarsus' attempts to introduce Christianity to the ancient world, whose translation from Hebrew to English Silk Road commissioned. The readings are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at Pierce Hall, the Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Chicago. Lerner, director Daniella Topol and Silk Road artistic director Jamil Khoury will participate in talk-back sessions following the performances. Admission is free, but reservations are required at silkroadrising.org.

• Saint Sebastian Players celebrate an American original with the world premiere of ensemble member John Oster's “Mark Twain: Patriot, Teacher, Philosopher,” a show with music that incorporates such Twain works as“The War Prayer,” “The Diaries of Adam and Eve,” “Running for Governor” and others. “The emphasis of the text is on Twain's patriotism, his philosophy and his lifelong quest to change the world and make it a better place,” Oster said in a prepared statement. The show opens Friday, Feb. 17, at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey, Chicago. (773) 404-7922 or saintsebastianplayers.org.

• The State Theatre examines the themes of Shakespeare's “The Winter's Tale” as a performance piece. Dubbed “Crowded House,” it unfolds as a guided tour beginning at the Blue Line Lounge, 1548 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, and concludes around the corner at the Wicker Park Art Center, 2215 W. North Ave., Chicago. Tours begin at 7, 7:30, 8:15 and 8:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18. See statetheatrechicago.com.

• Previews begin Saturday, Feb. 18, for Stage Left Theatre's world premiere of Jayme McGhan's onetime playlette “The Fisherman,” which was named a 2006 finalist for the National Ten-Minute Playwriting Award, which the author expanded into a full-length play showcased during Stage Left's 2008 LeapFest. That version was also a semifinalist at the O'Neill Playwrights Conference in 2008. The play centers on brothers whose retirement plans are upended after the airline they work for forces them out of their jobs and strips them of their pensions. Ensemble member Drew Martin directs fellow ensemble member Sandy Elias and guest artist Michael Pacas who star as brothers Chucky and Carl. The show opens Saturday, Feb. 25, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or stagelefttheatre.com.

• Director Nick Bowling and music director Doug Peck take the reigns of Porchlight Music Theatre's production of “A Catered Affair” the musical by John Bucchino (music and lyrics) and Harvey Fierstein (book) based on the film starring Bette Davis about a blue-collar couple during the 1950s who have to decide whether to spend their life savings on their taxicab business or a lavish wedding for their daughter. Porchlight favorites Rebecca Finnegan and Craig Spidle star as the parents in the production, which begins previews Saturday, Feb. 18, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Tuesday, Feb. 21. (773) 327-5252 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• Fate seems to be conspiring against Alexander, the central character in Emerald City Theatre's production of the family-friendly musical, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” with book and lyrics by Judith Viorst and music by Shelly Markham. The show opens Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Apollo Theatre, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago Mark Kosten stars as Alexander. Ernie Nolan directs and choreographs the 60-minute production. (773) 529-2690 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• Spartan Theatre Company presents Andy Monson performing “Train of Thought,” his solo piece examining the creative process at 11 p.m. Saturdays, Feb. 18 and 25, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org.

• Members of The New Colony, The House Theatre, Dog & Pony and Mary-Arrchie theater are among the performers participating in the Pavement Group's second annual Karaoke Show Down beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Elegant Mr. Gallery, 1355 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Raffle prizes include tickets to Chicago storefront theaters. See pavementgroup.org for information.

• The series of concert readings of in-development musicals from Midwest New Musicals and Light Opera Works continues with a new show called “Morality Play,” about a troupe of traveling actors in the 14th century who attempt to save a young woman convicted of murder by uncovering the truth about the crime. Performances are at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, and at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at LOW's Second Stage at 1420 Maple St., Evanston. (847) 920-5360.

• Shattered Globe Theatre hosts a fundraiser in celebration of its 20th anniversary and in conjunction with its current production of Tennessee Williams' “Orpheus Descending” about a young musician who romances a heartbroken woman in a repressed Southern town. The fundraiser begins at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. It includes music, food, entertainment and a meet and greet with the “Orpheus” cast. Tickets are $15. For $49, you can attend the fundraiser and see the 3 p.m. performance that precedes it at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or shatteredglobe.org.

• A Red Orchid Theatre hosts a Fake Month at the Museum fundraiser beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. The evening includes games quizzes and a screening of the faux documentary “Fake Month at the Museum” which chronicles a man's stay at a made-up museum. Tickets are $10. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

• A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Company's monthly stage adaptation of TV reruns continues Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. The season devoted to lust continues with episodes from “How I Met Your Mother,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Eastbound and Down.” (773) 418-4475 or arftco.com.

• Previews begin Tuesday, Feb. 21, for TUTA Theatre Chicago's world premiere, cabaret-style show “Fulton Street Sessions.” Written and developed by artistic director Zeljko Djukic with original music by Josh Schmidt, the show addresses via music and sketches current news and gossip. “Sessions” opens Thursday, Feb. 23, at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. (847) 217-0691 or tutato.com.

• Heather Beck has taken over the lead role in Theatre at the Center's revival of “Always ... Patsy Cline,” which begins previews Thursday, Feb. 23, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Ind. The show, about the singer's friendship with a Houston fan, opens Sunday, Feb. 26. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• First Folio Theatre announced additional performances of its comedy “Unnecessary Farce.” The shows are at 7:30 p.m. Sun. Feb. 26; 1 and 8 p.m. Thursday, March 1, and 4 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org.

• Profiles Theatre announced its final extension for the world premiere of Diedre O'Connor's “Assisted Living,” about a middle-aged woman's relationship with a sweet, but slow younger man. Performances run through Sunday, March 18, at 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

• The Annoyance Theatre has extended its production of “Tiny Fascists — a Boy Scout Musical,” about two groups of Boy Scouts trying to survive a plane crash. The show runs Fridays through March 30, at 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.

• The Ruckus Theater and Tympanic Theatre announced their collaboration on the world premiere of playwright Scott T. Barsotti's “Brewed,” about six sisters obliged to stir a pot all day, every day and what happens when the obligation becomes too much. The show will open in 2013.

• Chicago Children's Theatre's hit shows “The Hundred Dresses,” by Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills which premiered here in 2009 will open in New York this month. “Jackie and Me,” adapted by Steven Dietz from Dan Gutman children's novel about baseball player Jackie Robinson, will play in Houston this month and St. Louis next year.

• Steppenwolf Theatre appointed Jeffrey Fauver, former public relations specialist with the Goodman and Chicago Shakespeare theaters, as its new communications director. Fauver takes over for David Rosenberg who left the position late last year.

— Barbara Vitello