Theater spotlight: Fast-talker makes big promises in Goodman's 'Music Man' revival

'The Music Man'

Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman returns to the Goodman Theatre to helm Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey's feel-good musical comedy "The Music Man," about fast-talking con man Harold Hill (Geoff Packard) who promises the residents of a small Iowa town he'll transform their youngsters into a first-rate marching band. Everyone buys into his fantasy except savvy librarian Marian (Monica West). Music director Jermaine Hill conducts Goodman's 11-member orchestra for the revival, which has been extended through Aug. 11.

Previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 29; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30; and through July 7 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Opens July 8. $45-$142. (312) 443-2800 or goodmantheatre.org.

'All Shook Up'

Williams Street Repertory presents "All Shook Up," a jukebox musical pairing William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" with Elvis Presley's music. Set in a small town in 1950s America, the tuner is about the impact a guitar-playing stranger has on the locals. Mark R. Mahallak directs.

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 28-29; 3 p.m. Sunday, June 30; and through July 21 at 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. $39.50. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

'The Recommendation'

Class, race and male friendship underscore Jonathan Caren's psychological thriller "The Recommendation" in its Chicago-area premiere at Windy City Playhouse. Jonathan Wilson directs the play about the friendship between the struggling son of Ethiopian immigrants and the privileged son of a successful attorney whose relationship becomes strained after one of them spends time in jail. Michael Aaron Pogue and Julian Hester star.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, July 2-3, and through July 10 at 3014 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. The show opens July 11. $50-$100. (773) 891-8985 or windycityplayhouse.com.