Theater spotlight: Comedy, drama, rock concert 'Cambodian Rock Band' opens at Victory Gardens
Face the music
Thirty years after he fled Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge's slaughter of more than 1.5 million people, a father returns to search for his wayward daughter in “Cambodian Rock Band,” Lauren Yee's tale of race, human rights and refugees. Marti Lyons directs Victory Gardens Theater's production of this combination comedy, drama and rock concert presented in a co-production with Pennsylvania's City Theatre Company and Massachusetts' Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Previews at 5 p.m. Friday, April 5; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6; 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7, and through Thursday, April 11, at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 12. $25-$65. (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org.
Agatha Christie spoof
Steel Beam Theatre stages Tom Stoppard's farcical whodunit “The Real Inspector Hound.” Anne Slivinski directs the comedy about British theater critics Moon and Birdboot, who insert themselves into the manor house mystery they've been sent to review. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 5-6, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7, and through April 28 at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. $22-$28. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.
Passion & politics
The relationship between German-Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt and German philosopher Martin Heidegger is tested when Arendt learns her former mentor and lover is working for the Nazi Party in “Hannah and Martin” by Kate Fodor. Shattered Globe Theatre's revival, directed by ensemble member Louis Contey, stars ensemble member Christina Gorman as Arendt and Lawrence Grimm as Heidegger. Glen Ellyn native Christopher Kriz, a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning composer and sound designer, composed the music for the production, which also features Des Plaines native Cortney McKenna. Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 11-13, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 14. $15-$39. (773) 770-0333 or shatteredglobe.org.