Theater events: Fortune Feimster comes to Rosemont's Zanies
Fortune in Rosemont
“Chelsea Lately” regular Fortune Feimster headlines shows this weekend at Zanies in Rosemont. A former Hollywood columnist, Feimster was a semifinalist last year on “Last Comic Standing” and performs regularly with The Groundlings, a famed Los Angeles improv company.
8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at MB Financial Park, 5437 Park Place, Rosemont. $25, plus a two-item food or beverage minimum. (847) 813-0484 or zanies.com.
Romp with a rogue
Out of money, roguish Sir John Falstaff decides to replenish his purse by wooing the most prominent women in town (who team up and conspire against the would-be seducer) in Shakespeare's jolly comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Scott Jaeck stars as Sir John in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's production, which features Kelli Fox and Heidi Kettenring as Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. CST artistic director Barbara Gaines directs the production, which is set in post-World War II England. Previews begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. The show opens Dec. 11. $48-$78. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com.
Mystery revealed
Remy Bumppo Theatre artistic associate David Darlow directs the company's revival of J.B. Priestley's “An Inspector Calls.” Set in 1912 England, the whodunit centers around the Birling family, whose upper-middle-class existence is upended by the arrival of Inspector Goole (artistic director Nick Sandys), who brings news of the suicide of a young woman with whom the family, as it turns out, is intimately familiar.
Previews begin 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Dec. 9. $32.50-$57.50. (773) 404-7336 or remybumppo.org.
What's new
Ÿ Previews begin Saturday, Nov. 30, for Black Ensemble Theater's world premiere “Once Upon a People: A Dancesical,” running in repertory with BET's “The Curtis Mayfield Story,” at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. Rueben D. Echoles wrote the book and lyrics, Echoles, Alexis J. Rogers and Kelvin Roston, Jr. composed the score for this original fairy tale in which a prince and princess learn to “embrace the joy of living.” The show opens Dec. 3. (773) 769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org.
Ÿ Rejected by his love — scientist Kit Smart — Dr. Guy Better struggles with a life crisis in the middle of an unusual evening in the clinic's ER. There, he and Kit encounter a pair of quirky patients, a surly police officer and an imaginary dog in the steampunk-inspired “Tell Me When It Hurts.” Three Cat Productions presents the world premiere of Lisa Scott's play, beginning previews Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Berger Park Coach House Theater, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. (312) 970-9840 or threecatproductions.com.
Ÿ Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, presents two new shows. Kaos Productions “The Arkansaw Bear,” Aurand Harris' family-friendly play about a grieving young girl who uncovers the world of magic, where inhabitants include a dancing bear and his silent companion. It opens Saturday, Nov. 30. Also at Gorilla Tango is Be Out Loud Theatre's adults-only “Rough Sex and Other Bad Words,” a one-man show written and performed by Michael Swinford about his experiences growing up gay and working in theater. It runs Wednesday, Dec. 4, to Dec. 12. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.
Ÿ To commemorate the debut 25 years ago of its sketch comedy show “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” The Neo-Futurists — with help from Chicago Comics — presents a one-night-only performance of its greatest hits. It is staged in the building where the show debuted, the former Stage Left Theatre, at 3244 N. Clark St., Chicago. Space is limited and patrons will likely have to stand for the duration of the performance at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2. (773) 878-4557 or neofuturists.org.