Theater events: Clockwise premieres 'Courting Vampires'

In the blood

A woman puts on trial the vampire she believes infected her younger sister with a fatal blood disease in Laura Schellhardt's drama “Courting Vampires,” in its Chicago-area premiere at Clockwise Theatre. The Gift Theatre's Alexandra Main directs. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at 221 N. Genesee St., Waukegan. $16.50; (847) 775-1500 or +"http://www.clockwisetheatre.org" target="_blank">clockwisetheatre.org.

BTE's #8216;Moon'

A supposed visit from film director Frank Capra sends the members of a hapless theater company into a tizzy in Ken Ludwig's #8220;Moon Over Buffalo,#8221; the next production in Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's 25th anniversary season. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays now through Sunday, Feb. 12, at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $25-$33. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org.

Stage mama Rose

Klea Blackhurst stars as Mama Rose in Drury Lane Theatre's revival of the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents' musical #8220;Gypsy,#8221; directed by William Osetek with Andrea Prestinario and David Kortemeier. In previews. The show opens Thursday, Jan. 26, at 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. $35-$46. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.

Inside Hollywood

The making of #8220;Gone With the Wind#8221; inspired Ron Hutchinson's backstage comedy #8220;Moonlight and Magnolias,#8221; Fox Valley Repertory's first show of the year, directed by former Victory Gardens artistic director Dennis Zacek. In previews. The show opens Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $32, $42. (630) 584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org.

What's new

#376; Former high school friends show up at a bachelorette party over the course of which they reveal some unpleasant truths about themselves and their less-than-perfect lives in Leslye Headland's #8220;Bachelorette,#8221; which is now a film scheduled to premiere this month at the Sundance Film Festival. Profiles Theatre presents the Midwest premiere directed by ensemble member Darrell W. Cox. Previews begin Friday, Jan. 20, at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. The show opens Feb. 1. (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org.

#376; The comedy ensemble Butch LaRue debuts its new show, #8220;Butch LaRue presents: Mexicans, Jews and Muppets,#8221; Friday, Jan. 20, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or stage773.com.

#376; The Chicago Shakespeare Theater collaborates with the Chicago Chamber Musicians for #8220;Witches, Wizards, Spells and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare,#8221; a family-friendly introduction to the Bard's work through music and performance. Matt Schwader directs the production featuring Steppenwolf's James Vincent Meredith as Prospero and Steve Haggard as Puck, along with Charin Alvarez, Susan Shunk, Penelope Walker and Eric Parks. Performances are at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, and Sunday, Jan. 22, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5633 or chicagoshakes.com.

#376; Teaching children problem-solving skills is one of the objectives of Emerald City Theatre's original, family-friendly show, #8220;Snow White as Performed by Professor TJ Barker's Troupe of Theatricals,#8221; by producing artistic director Ernie Nolan. The hourlong show opens Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Apollo Theatre, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. It runs through May 8. (773) 935-6100 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

#376; Theatre at the Center's Theatre for Young Audiences celebrates Black History Month with Theatreworks USA's production of #8220;The Color of Justice,#8221; a play inspired by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Performances run Monday, Jan. 23, through Friday, Jan. 27, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. (219) 836-3258 or theatreatthecenter.com.

#376; Erasing the Distance, a not-for-profit organization that sheds light on mental health issues through theater and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, remount #8220;Finding Peace in this House,#8221; a series of monologues examining individual conceptions of #8220;house#8221; under the direction of Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Performances run Monday, Jan. 23, through Tuesday, Jan. 31 at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at the Center, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago. See brownpapertickets or erasingthedistance.org.

#376; Chicago Children's Theatre presents the world premiere musical, #8220;The Houdini Box,#8221; based on the first novel by Brian Selznick (whose book #8220;The Invention of Hugo Cabret#8221; inspired Martin Scorsese's film #8220;Hugo#8221;). The show is about a mischievous boy who receives a box that might contain Houdini's greatest tricks. Previews begin Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. The show, directed by master puppeteer Blair Thomas who also created the puppets, opens Jan. 27. (773) 325-1700. CCT will remount the show March 14 to 25 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. (847) 673-6300. For information and tickets see chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

#376; Uncovered Theatre Company brings to Chicago the musical drama #8220;The Disorientation of Butterflies,#8221; about a 29-year-old art student obsessed with death, that recently played at the International Fringe Festival in New York. Performances begin Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the American Heritage Center, 4536 N. Knox Ave., Chicago. See uncoveredtheatre.com for information.

#376; More than 10 years and several remounts after its 2001 premiere, Theater Oobleck re-imagines as an opera its original show #8220;The Hunchback Variations,#8221; an examination of collaboration and the creative process conceived by Mark Messing (music) and Mickle Maher (libretto). The show centers on the attempts of Quasimodo (Larry Adams) and Beethoven (George Andrew Wolff) to create a sound effect for Anton Chekhov's #8220;The Cherry Orchard.#8221; Performances begin Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or theateroobleck.com.

#376; The Capitol Steps return to Skokie's North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., for their annual January engagement from Wednesday, Jan. 25, to Sunday, Jan. 29. Comprised of selections from the group's latest CD, #8220;Desperate Housemembers,#8221; the revue includes parodies about the Arab spring, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and George W. Bush's memoirs. (847) 673-6300 or northshorecenter.org.

#376; #8220;If Hurricane Katrina happened again, would we be ready?#8221; The ensemble Universes answers that question with #8220;Ameriville,#8221; a show that incorporates poetry, hip-hop and dance to ask what responsibility Americans have to each other. Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show, developed with and directed by Victory Gardens artistic director Chay Yew, opens Feb. 6. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

#376; Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the world premiere of #8220;Motion,#8221; co-artistic director Ronan Marra's play about a sports agent determined to make his troubled client the number one pick in the NFL draft by a team helmed by the agent's ex-wife. Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 26, at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago. The show opens Saturday, Jan. 28. Signal hosts a special Super Bowl Sunday performance at 2 p.m. Feb. 5, followed by a Super Bowl party. (773) 698-7389 or signalensemble.com.

#376; A teenage boy's experience in online game-playing takes an unexpected turn when real life and virtual worlds collide in #8220;dark play or stories for boys#8221; by Carlos Murillo. Collaboraction's Chicago area premiere, directed by artistic director Anthony Moseley, continues through Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (312) 226-9633 or collaboraction.org.

#376; Christopher Durang's adults-only #8220;Titanic#8221; is a bizarre one-act about an ill-mannered couple aboard a ship that may have been hit by an iceberg. Cock Bull Theatre Company's revival of the 1974 play continues through Saturday, Jan. 28, at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, Chicago. (773) 935-6860 or cockandbulltheatre.org.

#376; Writers' Theatre's 6th annual tour of #8220;The MLK Project: The Fight for Civil Rights,#8221; a one-woman show by Yolanda Androzzo about a student researching the Civil Rights Movement, continues free public performances at area schools through Tuesday, Feb. 24.