Drury Lane snags 'Spamalot'
Drury Lane coup
Drury Lane Oak Brook begins 2011 on a high note, having snagged the rights to the regional premiere of the delightfully silly “Spamalot,” the hit Broadway musical inspired by the 1975 film, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Sean Allan Krill stars as Galahad in the production helmed by artistic director William Osetek.
Previews begin Thursday, Dec. 30, at 100 Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace. Reservations available for New Year's Eve special including dinner, dancing and a champagne toast. The show opens Thursday, Jan. 6. (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.
A classic at LOW
Light Opera Works closes 2010 with Jerry Herman's sparkling musical, “Hello, Dolly!” about a matchmaker who determines the perfect spouse for her millionaire client is her. Artistic director Rudy Hogenmiller directs Mary Robbin Roth in the titular role.
Opens Sunday, Dec. 26, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. (847) 869-6300 or lightoperaworks.com.
10 for 1
Zanies Comedy Club ushers in 2011 with the “Dec-A-Laffs Comedy Extravaganza,” a showcase celebrating a decade of comedy and featuring 10 Chicago area comedians performing in one show.
8 p.m. Thursday Dec. 30, at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 584-6342; and 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31, at 230 Hawthorn Village Commons, Vernon Hills. (847) 549-6030 or zanies.com. Late shows at both venues include a champagne toast.
Other new and notable
• Looking to do something a little different on Christmas Eve? How about having Chinese takeout followed by Theater Wit's production of David Sedaris' “The Santaland Diaries,” starring Mitchell Fain as an unemployed writer working as a Macy's elf. The dinner-theater combination includes Chinese food, beverages and the show for $45 per person. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, followed by a 7:30 p.m. performance, which runs 90 minutes without intermission. Also, Theater Wit has added 7:30 p.m. performances on Wednesday, Dec. 29, and on Friday, Dec. 31. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.
• Don't expect a silent night at the Skokie Theatre when musician/comedian Sean Altman performs his irreverent show “Jewmongous!” for two shows on Sunday, Dec. 25. Altman and special guest, comedian and songwriter Cindy Kaplan, perform at 7 and 9 p.m. at 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.com.
• Toys come to life to teach a young girl about gratitude and respect in “Ama and the Magic Toy Box,” a family-friendly show that runs Tuesday, Dec. 28, through Thursday, Dec. 30, at the eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.
• Jeff Award winning actress E. Faye Butler returns to Northlight Theatre to usher in the New Year for the second time in as many years. Butler and her band perform tunes made famous by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, and Friday, Dec. 31, at 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.
• Comedian and former WGN radio host Steve Cochran brings his “New Year's Eve Comedy Show for People Who Can't Stay Awake Until Midnight,” to DeKalb's Egyptian Theater. Cochran's eighth annual show features comedians Mike Toomey, John DaCosse and Tim Clue. The show begins at 7 p.m. at 135 N. Second St., DeKalb. Dancing and hors d'oeuvres follow at 9:30 p.m. (815) 758-1225 or egyptiantheatre.org.
• The Gift Theatre has extended its production of Martin McDonagh's “The Lonesome West,” about a pair of battling middle-aged brothers and the third in the Irish playwright's celebrated Leenane trilogy. Performances continue through Jan. 30 at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.
• “Alien Queen,” a mash-up of the “Alien” films set to the music of Queen and performed with large-scale puppets, has been extended. Performances of the adult show continue Saturdays, Jan. 8-22, at Circuit Nightclub, 3641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (800) 838-3006 or scootyjojo.com.
• Two Chicago area playwrights are among the five finalists selected by Pride Films and Plays as part of its playwriting contest examining gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes. Tyler Dean's farcical “Save the Date,” about a wedding that doesn't go exactly as planned, and Corinne J. Kawecki's “Short Expanse,” about revelations that take place at a 10-year-old's birthday party, are among the plays performed in a festival of staged readings March 3-6 at the Hoover-Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., Chicago.