What's new on stage: Paramount salutes Black History Month

History on stage

The Paramount Theatre salutes Black History Month with TheatreworksUSA's "The Color of Justice," inspired by Brown vs. the Board of Education. Set during the 1950s, the play centers around 8-year-old Grace Carter, who teams up with attorney Thurgood Marshall to challenge the segregation laws that deny her the opportunities white children enjoy.

9:30 and 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

Chicago premiere

A year after a woman's husband dies while serving in Iraq, his identical twin arrives on her doorstep seeking comfort and asking questions about his brother's accidental death in "Dying City," Christopher Shinn's examination of war's less-obvious impact. Former Next Theatre artistic director Jason Loewith returns to direct the Chicago premiere of the finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in drama.

Opens Monday, Feb. 9, at Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. (847) 475-1875, ext. 2, or nexttheatre.org.

'Da Mare' returns

"Hizzoner: Daley the First," writer/actor Neil Giuntoli's critically acclaimed look at Richard J. Daley's storied tenure as mayor of Chicago, gets a monthlong remount at the Skokie Theatre.

Opens Friday, Feb. 6, at 7924 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.org.

• An Englishman with romantic notions about Ireland and a Irishman who's under no illusions at all return to the Emerald Isle to develop some land in "John Bull's Other Island," George Bernard Shaw's 1904 examination of the conflict between Irish independence and British paternalism. ShawChicago's production opens Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Ruth Page Theater, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 587-7390 or shawchicago.org.

• British actor Michael Pennington brings "Sweet William," his one-man salute to William Shakespeare's life and work, to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of its world stages series. The limited engagement continues through Feb. 22 at CST's upstairs theater at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.

• Appealing to the canine lover in us all, Village Players presents "Sylvia," A.R. Gurney's comedy about a man in the middle of a midlife crisis, who brings home a stray female dog who usurps his wife's role and upends their lives. The production begins a limited run Friday, Feb. 6, at 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. (866) 764-1010 or village-players.org.

• Apple Tree Theatre's new Orchard Series featuring one-night theatrical, comedy and cabaret performances debuts with "Quick & Dirty," Braden LuBell's look at how twentysomethings navigate sex, before and after marriage. The performance takes place at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Karger Recreation Center, 1850 Green Bay Road, Highland Park. (847) 432-4335 or appletreetheatre.com.

• Infamous Commonwealth Theatre hosts its winter fundraiser - a contest involving Wii's "Rock Band Tournament" - on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Ravenswood Pub, 5455 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. Twelve "bands" will compete for a weeklong stay at a resort. It's $30 to play, $5 to watch. Registration is at 6:30 p.m. The competition begins at 7 p.m. See infamouscommonwealth.org for information.

• TimeLine Theatre Company presents eight concert readings of Sophie Treadwell's "Machinal," featuring Mechelle Moe, reprising the role that won her a non-equity Jeff Award for The Hypocrites' 2003 production. The readings are held in conjunction with TimeLine's production of "Not Enough Air," Masha Obolensky's look at the events that inspired Treadwell to write her landmark play based on the trial (and subsequent execution) of Ruth Snyder, convicted of murdering her husband in 1927. Performances run at 7 p.m. Mondays, Feb. 8, to March 2, at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. (773) 281-8463 or timelinetheatre.com.

• The rarely produced "Modigliani," Dennis McIntyre's examination of 20th century artist Amedeo Modigliani as he began to ascend to the ranks of Paris' artistic elite, marks the next production at Artistic Home. McIntyre's play looks at what happens when the pressure to produce collides with the desire to savor one's hard-won success. It opens Sunday, Feb. 8, at the company's new home at 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or theartistichome.org.

• In honor of Valentine's Day, Royal George Theatre extends three-for-two ticket offers for performances of its production of the Marc Camoletti farce "Don't Dress for Dinner." The "bring your wife and your mistress attends for free" three-ticket offer is good for performances from Thursday, Feb. 12, through Sunday, Feb. 15. Patricia Kalember ("Sisters") stars in the comedy about a husband whose wife's change in weekend plans puts a crimp in the tryst he has arranged with his comely mistress. Performances run through March 1 at 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. (312) 988-9000 or dontdressfordinner.com. Mention "trio offer" when ordering.

• "Talking Bones," the 1993 winner of the Kennedy Center's Lorraine Hansberry Award, about three generations of African-American women who run Ancestor's Books and Breakfast, opened recently at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. Also at eta, the young people's production "Destination Freedom," featuring the radio plays of "The Making of a Man" about abolitionist, editor and statesman Frederick Douglas, and "Truth Goes to Washington," about abolitionist freedom fighter and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.