Theater events: Sideshow stages Midwest premiere of 'Ridiculous Darkness'

• Pride Films and Plays stages "Afterglow," S. Asher Gelman's drama about love, trust, relationships and commitment. Suitable for adults, "Afterglow" centers on Josh and Alex, a gay couple with an open marriage. Previews begin Friday, March 22, at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. Director David Zak's revival opens Wednesday, March 27. (773) 857-0222 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Theatre Momentum premieres what it describes as an "instant theater" piece titled "Scarred for Life," beginning Friday, March 22, at 1803 W. Byron St., Chicago. Actors solicit from audience members real-life "scar stories" from which they will craft a two-act dramedy. Performances run through May 4. See theatremomentum.com.

• "My Name is Rachel Corrie" is a one-woman show inspired by the letters of the 23-year-old American activist killed in March 2003 in the Gaza Strip during a pro-Palestinian protest against the Israel Defense Forces. Halie Robinson stars as Corrie in newcomer Jacaranda Collective's production. It opens Friday, March 22, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See jacarandacollective.com.

• ShawChicago Theatre Company presents "The Doctor's Dilemma," George Bernard Shaw's problem play about a doctor who discovers a cure for tuberculosis and has enough serum for only one last patient: a womanizing artist or a kind fellow physician. Performances run Saturday, March 23, through April 15 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 587-7390 or shawchicago.org.

• Chicago comedian Beth Stelling, of Netflix's "The Standups" and a writer for Hulu's "I Love You America With Sarah Silverman," performs at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com.

• Previews begin Sunday, March 24, for Sideshow Theatre Company's Midwest premiere of "The Ridiculous Darkness," a surreal satire by German writer Wolfram Lotz based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" about a rogue colonel who has gone mad and established his own society in the wilderness. The production, directed by artistic associate Ian Damont Martin, opens Thursday, March 28, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.

• A longtime theater critic claims he will retire in 30 days unless he sees the perfect play, prompting a scramble among San Francisco directors and writers at the same time someone is murdering all the other critics in town in "The Perfect Play," by Benjamin Vigeant and Stephen Winchell. The show runs Sundays from March 24 through April 14 at Nox Arca Theatre, 4001 Ravenswood Ave., Chicago. See noxarcatheatre.com.

• Chicago Children's Theatre concludes its 13th season with the premiere of "The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963," a civil rights drama based on Christopher Paul Curtis' young adult novel about the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that claimed the lives of four little girls. It centers on members of a family who take a trip to the city and find themselves caught up in one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in African-Americans' fight for civil rights. Wardell Julius Clark directs the production, which begins performances Tuesday, March 26, at 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago. The show opens March 30. In other CCT news, the company recently received its sixth National Endowment for the Arts grant in recognition of the company's excellence and public engagement and to support "The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963." (312) 374-8835 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Broadway in Chicago presents the national tour of "Anastasia," the musical based on the 1997 animated film about amnesiac orphan Anya whom two con men try to pass off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia, the only surviving child of Russia's last royal family. Performances begin Tuesday, March 26, at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• The Second City brings its greatest hits revues from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to UP Comedy Club at Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. Each decade's revue will play at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays for a month according to the following schedule: '90s edition - March, July and October; '80s edition - April, August and November; '70s edition May and September. Also The Second City's Improv Brunch returns at noon Saturday, March 24. (312) 337-3992 or secondcity.com.

• The League of Chicago Theatre's Theatre Thursdays series continues Thursday, March 28, at Lookingglass Theatre Company, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, with a performance of "Act(s) of God," Kareem Bandealy's play about members of a family gathering for dinner who find themselves welcoming "a visitor of cosmic proportion." The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a preshow reception and light appetizers followed by the performance. Tickets are $30 with the code ThTh. (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org/events/acts-of-god/.

• Short Story Theatre showcases tales about a banana, mating dogs, a spa day and how to be an athlete during its next incarnation at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at Miramar Bistro, 301 Waukegan Ave., Highwood. Tickets are $10 at the door; preshow dinner reservations are available. (847) 433-1078 or shortstorytheatre.com.

• Miguel Cervantes, who plays the titular role in the acclaimed Chicago production of "Hamilton," hosts Theatre at the Center's final performance of its hit production of "Million Dollar Quartet" at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 31, at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. The performance will be a fundraiser for CURE: Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy. Cervantes and his wife, Kelly, became ambassadors for the organization after their daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy. Tickets are $46. A limited number of meet-and-greet tickets with Cervantes are available for an additional $50. All proceeds, along with an additional $5 from each single-day ticket sold that day, will go to CURE. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• The Artistic Home has extended its production of "Requiem for a Heavyweight," Rod Serling's drama about an aging boxer at the end of his career. Company co-founder John Mossman stars as Harlan "Mountain" McClintock in the production, which runs through April 14, at 1376 W. Grand Ave., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or theartistichome.org.

• Steppenwolf Theatre named actor/director/documentarian Leelai Demoz, who first performed with Steppenwolf in "The Grapes of Wrath," its new associate artistic director. Demoz will oversee the day-to-day operations of the theater and assist artistic director Anna D. Shapiro. In other Steppenwolf news, Shapiro has been named the director of the stage adaptation of "The Devil Wears Prada," based on Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel and the 2006 film about an aspiring writer who gets a job working for the imperious editor of a fashion magazine. The proposed tuner features music by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub and a book by Paul Rudnick. A production timeline has not been announced.

• Writer/actor Dael Orlandersmith, Goodman Theatre artistic associate and resident artist, received a grant from The Fox Foundation and Theatre Communications Group to develop a solo play about the struggle of mixed-race Irish people to be recognized as fully Irish.

• Remy Bumppo Theatre announced its 23rd season will begin Aug. 29 with the company's first commissioned work, Chicago playwright Douglas Post's adaptation of E.M. Forster's "Howard's End" about three families at the turn of the 20th century: the wealthy Wilcoxes, the smart cultured Schlegel sisters and an impoverished lower-class couple. That's followed by a revival of "Top Girls" (Jan. 16-Feb. 22, 2020), Caryl Churchill's examination of what it means to be a successful woman. The season concludes with "The Agitators" (April 30-June 6, 2020), Naperville native Mat Smart's play about the relationship between statesman/abolitionist Frederick Douglass and women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony. Performances take place at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Season subscriptions, consisting of two- or three-play flex passes, range from $78 to $158. They're available online at remybumppo.org.