Theater events: 'Christmas Carol' radio play

1930s ‘Carol'

Libertyville ensembles Improv Playhouse and GreenStick Theater Company team up to re-create Mercury Theatre's 1939 Christmas Eve broadcast of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol.” Libertyville resident Egon Schein plays Ebenezer Scrooge and Hainesville's George Elliot plays Bob Cratchit.

8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16; 2, 7:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, at 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. $10, $15. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

‘La Cage' in Chicago

The relationship between nightclub owner Georges and his partner Albin, the star of Georges' drag show, is upended when Georges' son brings home his fiance and her very conservative parents in the musical “La Cage Aux Folles,” by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein. George Hamilton stars in the national tour of 2010's Tony Award-winning revival.

Begins Tuesday, Dec. 20, at the Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. $32-$95. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

Holiday Holmes

Raven Theatre artistic director Michael Menendian and writer John Weagly adapt Arthur Conan Doyle's tale “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose” as a staged radio play with live musical accompaniment and an audience singalong. The play centers around the disappearance of a gem hidden inside a Christmas goose, which leads Holmes and Watson to a surprising conclusion.

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16-17, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. $15. (773) 338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

• Longtime iO Chicago improviser Terry Horan debuts his first solo sketch show “Displays of Affection” beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at Live Bait Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 960-7881.

• Eta Creative Arts Foundation hosts a holiday version of its Ladies Ring Shout — a combination spoken word and musical performance — Sunday, Dec. 18, through Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

• Midwest New Musicals in association with Light Opera Works presents a staged concert reading of the in-progress musical “Mrs. Magi” by Charmaine Spencer and Karena Mendoza at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, at LOW's second stage at 1420 Maple St., Evanston. (847) 920-5360 or light-opera works.org.

• Barrel of Monkeys presents its annual holiday show featuring classic and new skits like “Santa and the Muscle Bound” and “The Time I Ate the Christmas Ball” celebrating Christmas and cold weather. Performers get their material from Chicago schoolchildren. Performances run at 8 p.m. Mondays through Jan. 2 at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Company's stage adaptation of TV reruns centered around the theme of sin continues at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. Featured series include: “Seinfeld,” “30 Rock,” “The O.C.” and “The Colbert Report.” (773) 418-4475 or arftco.com.

• The Neo-Futurists have added performances of their original show “Burning Bluebeard” about the devastating fire that broke out at Chicago's Iroquois Theatre on Dec. 30, 1903. The performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, and Wednesdays, Dec. 21 and Dec. 28, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (773) 275-5255 or neofuturists.org.

• American Theater Company has extended its production of “It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play.” Performances continue through Dec. 30 at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• The complications that arise when friends become lovers animates “The Exiled” a dramedy by Stuart Bousel. The show from Harvest Arts Production runs through Wednesday, Dec. 21, at The Second Stage, 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. See harvestartsproductions.org for more information.

• Trap Door Theatre's U.S. premiere of “The Word Progress on My Mother's Lips Doesn't Ring True” — Joyce Nettles' translation of the surrealist play by Romanian writer Matei Wisniec about a family of refugees trying to rebuild their lives — runs through Saturday, Jan. 14, at 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.

• Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, debuts two new shows. “Crimson Rain” is about a girl abused by her stepfather whose friends rally around her. “Poncho y Papaya — A Clown Tragedy” centers on four clowns performing an absurd tragedy. Both shows run Wednesdays through Dec. 21. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Chicago Children's Theatre asks parents taking their children to the final performances of “Goodnight Moon the Musical” to donate a new pair of pajamas for Chicago's needy children. The show runs through Friday, Dec. 23, at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Lifeline Theatre welcomes Alex Kyger as its first development manager, responsible in part for securing funding for the company's 30th anniversary 2012-2013 season. Next up at Lifeline is “Hunger,” beginning performances Feb. 3 at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.

— Barbara Vitello