Theater events: 'Book of Mormon' returns to Chicago for a brief run

• Promethean Theatre Ensemble opens its 13th season with "Arcadia," Tom Stoppard's century-spanning play about the pursuit of knowledge, the nature of love and the tension between art and science, set at an English country estate inhabited by different characters 200 years apart. Previews begin Friday, Nov. 16, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Monday, Nov. 19. See prometheantheatre.org.

• Tony Award nominee Gavin Lee ("Mary Poppins," "SpongeBob SquarePants") headlines "How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical," which begins its limited run Friday, Nov. 16, at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. Max the Dog narrates Dr. Seuss' tale about the mean schemer Grinch who's determined "to steal Christmas from the holiday-loving Whos." (800) 745-3000 or chicagotheatre.com/grinch.

• Chicago Fringe Opera celebrates the season with a production of German composer Paul Hindemith's "The Long Christmas Dinner," adapted by Thornton Wilder from his play about a string of family Christmas dinners that unfold over 90 years. Before each performance, cast members will perform lesser-known holiday tunes. Artistic director George Cederquist directs the production, which runs Friday, Nov. 16; Sunday, Nov 18; and Nov. 25, 29 and Dec. 1 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. (773) 278-1500 or chicagofringeopera.com.

• Otherworld Theatre hosts its fourth annual Paragon Play Fest, showcasing science fiction and fantasy works, running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 17-18, at 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. Among the 40 plays are those by Otherworld playwrights D. Matthew Beyer, whose time-travel farce is titled "Everything is Fine" and Elizabeth A.M. Keel's "Missives" about two messengers at the beginning of the world. Tickets are $10 per show, $20 for a single day and $30 for the weekend. See otherworldtheatre.org.

• The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, celebrates the season with naughty and nice productions. The former includes the adults-only burlesque and improv show, "Burlesque is More Presents: Nice N' Naughty" beginning at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. The latter includes Annoyance's annual family-friendly double-bill consisting of stage adaptations of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Annoyance's Christmas pageant opens Saturday, Nov. 17, and runs at 7 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 22 and 3 p.m. Sundays, Dec. 9-23. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• Previews continue for Theatre at the Center's revival of "Miracle on 34th Street," the musical adapted by Meredith Willson from the 1947 film about a man hired by Macy's to play Santa Claus who insists he is Kris Kringle himself. Marriott and Drury Lane theater veteran Neil Friedman plays Kriss Kringle opposite Stella Rose Hoyt's Susan, the young girl who doesn't believe. Linda Fortunato directs the production, which opens Sunday, Nov. 18, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. (800) 511-1532 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• Porchlight Music Theatre's New Faces Sing Broadway Series celebrates 1964 on Monday, Nov. 19, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie, and on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St., Chicago. The multimedia show features singer-actors performing songs from such 1964 Broadway hits as "Funny Girl," "Hello, Dolly!" and "Fiddler on the Roof" among others. (773) 777-9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.

• Chicago Dramatists continues its Monday Night Drama Series consisting of public readings of in-progress plays at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, at 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Next up is resident playwright Arlene Malinowski's "Where All of It is True and None of It is Real." See chicagodramatists.org.

• "The Book of Mormon," the gleefully subversive, record-breaking, coming-of-age musical by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, returns to Chicago for a brief run on Tuesday, Nov. 20. The story centers around a pair of earnest, young Mormons whose mission to a drought-stricken African village goes hilariously awry. Performances run through Dec. 2 at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, which will be renamed the James N. Nederlander Theatre in February 2019. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• In local theater news, the American Theatre Wing, responsible for the Tony Awards, awarded Chicago's Silk Road Rising a 2018 National Theatre Company Grant in recognition for its efforts to "integrate Asian and Middle Eastern American stories into American theater." "Being recognized now twice by the American Theatre Wing communicates to us that the mission of Silk Road Rising matters to the American theater and deepens the American story," said founding artistic director and Mount Prospect native Jamil Khoury in a prepared statement.

• Collaboraction, a 21-year member of the Chicago theater community that for the last five years has examined the impact of racism and poverty on violence in Chicago, received a 2018 Otto Award. Named after the Guatemalan poet and activist Otto Rene Castillo, the award recognizes companies that produce socially challenging theater. In a prepared statement, artistic director Anthony Moseley said the theater will "forge ahead with our vision to use theater to bring Chicagoans together to challenge oppression ... and we will use theater to bring us together and cultivate peace and equity."

• Comings and goings: The University of Chicago recently opened a new, professional performing arts space serving the South Side arts community. The opening of the Green Line Performing Arts Center in Chicago's Washington Park marks the first new theater to open in the Hyde Park/Washington Park/Woodlawn communities in a generation. The 6,000-square-foot facility includes a black box theater, separate rehearsal and performance space and an outdoor courtyard for public programs. See arts.uchicago.edu/glpac.

• Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, announced it has acquired the Li'L Buds Theatre Company, a children's theater company. Founded in 2005 by Jenny Lamb, Maggie Portman and J. "Preddie" Predmore, Li'L Buds presented professional, main stage productions and offered training, camps, after-school programming and other activities for children. The first joint venture will be Play in a Day, a class for kids 5-10, that runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on days when Chicago Public Schools are not in session and culminates in an end-of-day performance. See stage773.com.

• The New Millennium Theatre Company announced this week that it was closing after 20 years. In a prepared statement, artistic director Ali Keirn and marketing manager Sam Long thanked audiences and "each and every actor, technician, director and lover of pop-culture parody theater who contributed to our long-running success."

• American Blues Theater announced five new ensemble members including director and designer Elyse Dolan; lighting designer Jared Gooding; actor Philip Earl Johnson; director and Goodman Theatre resident director Chuck Smith; and actress/playwright Wandachristine. Zachary Stevenson, who recently received an equity Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance in ABT's "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story," was named artistic affiliate.

• Nothing Without a Company announced its 2019 season will begin Feb. 14, 2019, with Ryan Oliveira's "The Soccer Player in the Closet" about a top-ranked online soccer player who hasn't left his apartment in two years. It runs through March 17, 2019, at Christy Webber Landscapes, 2900 W. Ferdinand St., Chicago. That's followed by the second in Hannah Li-Epstein's trilogy examining drug abuse in Hawaii titled "Pakalolo Sweet," an examination of the medical uses, benefits and cultural aspects of marijuana. It runs Sept. 18-Oct. 5, 2019, at the Berger Park Cultural Center, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. The company's 13th season also includes the 24 Hour Play Fest during which playwrights, directors and actors create a 10-minute play within 24 hours and the New World Play Festival showcasing new works. See nothingwithoutacompany.org.