Theater events
Ÿ Performances continue through March 1 for Trap Door Theatre’s production of “Judith: A Parting From the Body,” Howard Barker’s retelling of the apocryphal story from the Book of Judith. It’s about a beautiful widow who ingratiates herself to an enemy general Holofernes with the intent of killing him to save her country. Then she develops feelings for him. Trap Door is at 1655 W. Cortland St., Chicago. (773) 384-0494 or trapdoortheatre.com.
Ÿ In his acceptance speech for his Academy Award-winning film on bullying, a director calls out the bully who finds himself the face of intolerance in Michael Perlman’s “From White Plains.” Broken Nose Theatre presents the Chicago premiere, which begins previews Friday, Jan. 24, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Jan. 31. Spenser Davis directs. (773) 404-7336 or greenhousetheater.org or brokennosetheatre.com.
Ÿ Out Front, About Face Theatre’s free staged readings of in-development works, continues at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Next up is “when we last flew,” by Harrison David Rivers. Inspired by Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” the play centers around a teenage boy who steals his library’s only copy of “Angels in America” and begins reading, after which strange things happen to him and the residents of his small town. (773) 784-8565 or aboutfacetheatre.com.
Ÿ Winter matinees for Barrel of Monkeys’ long-running show “That’s Weird, Grandma” return on Sunday, Jan. 26. The show, based on sketches conceived and written by Chicago public high school students, runs through Feb. 23 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.
Ÿ After returning home for a friend’s funeral and their grandmother’s birthday, siblings Dani and Mani encounter shifting relationships among their old friends and a sense that something is about to happen in “hamlet is dead. no gravity,” a play by Austrian writer Ewald Palmetshofer in its U.S. premiere at Red Tape Theatre. Performances begin Monday, Jan. 27, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 621 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Seth Bockley directs Neil Blackadder’s translation. See redtapetheatre.org.
Ÿ Previews begin Tuesday, Jan. 28, for TimeLine Theatre’s “The How and the Why,” by Sarah Treem, writer producer of Netflix’s “House of Cards” and HBO’s “In Treatment.” The two-hander stars Janet Ulrich Brooks as an evolutionary biology professor and Elizabeth Ledo as a graduate student with a radical new theory about sex, who spar over evolution, feminism and generational differences. Keira Fromm directs the show, which opens Feb. 6 at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. (773) 281-8463 or timelinetheatre.com.
Ÿ Polarity Ensemble Theatre begins previews on Thursday, Jan. 30, for its production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” incorporating percussion and martial arts. Artistic director Richard Engling adapts and directs the tragedy, which stars Jovan King as the ambitious soldier and Lana Smithner as his wife. It opens Feb. 1 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or petheatre.com.
Ÿ Performances continue through Feb. 2 at 3829 N. Broadway, Chicago, for Strawdog Theatre Company’s remount of its hit 2012 show, “Pontypool,” by Tony Burgess. Anderson Lawfer directs the play about a washed-up morning zoo radio personality relegated to a small Illinois station, who begins receiving phone calls about people eating other people. The question is, is any of it real, or is it all a prank on the newcomer? (866) 811-4111 or strawdog.org.
Ÿ “One Two Many,” a new sketch comedy show about the desires that drive us starring Alan Linic and Adam Archer, runs Thursdays through Feb. 27 at iO Theater, 3541 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 880-0199 or ioimprov.com.
Ÿ The adults-only, BYOB “Comedy Q,” a combination sketch comedy and improv show, runs at 10 p.m. Saturdays through Feb. 22 at The Playground, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago. See comedyq.info.
Ÿ Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, has extended its Chicago premiere of “Tribes,” Nina Raine’s examination of community, conformity and identity within the deaf and hearing communities. Performances, including accessible performances, continue through Feb. 15. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.
— Barbara Vitello