Spotlight: Metropolis goes 'Blonde,' 'Rent' returns, Steppenwolf goes virtual

'Blonde' ambition

A revival of the musical "Legally Blonde" marks Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's resumption of indoor performances. The stage adaptation of the hit movie centers on Elle Woods, a perky California fashion major who's dumped by her Harvard Law School-bound boyfriend for a more "serious" girlfriend. Determined to win him back, she follows him to law school where she confronts stereotypes, sexism and scandal. Alaina Wis stars as Elle.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 7-8; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10, at 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. The show opens Oct. 15. $35, $40. COVID-19 precautions: proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test, masks mandatory inside the theater. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

'Rent' returns

"Rent" returns to Chicago for what is billed as the "25th anniversary farewell tour." But I suspect we'll experience another at some point, given audiences' enduring affection for Jonathan Larson's 1996 musical chronicling the lives and loves of young New York City artists and friends struggling to achieve their dreams without selling out.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, through Oct. 10 at the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. $21.50-$85.50. COVID-19 precautions: proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test, masks mandatory inside the theater. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

Family drama

Redtwist theatre stages "The Humans," Stephen Karam's Tony Award-winning portrait of a family confronting economic woes, broken hearts, chronic illness and professional setbacks. The action unfolds during a Thanksgiving dinner at a rundown New York City apartment where parents Erik and Deirdre Blake, their daughters Aimee and Daisy, Daisy's boyfriend Richard and Erik's mother reveal family secrets. Steve Scott directs.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 7-9, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. The show opens Oct. 10. $15 previews, $35-$40 regular run. COVID-19 precautions: proof of vaccination, masks mandatory. (773) 728-7529 or redtwisttheatre.org.

Three by Letts

Steppenwolf Theatre opens its season with three virtual performances of new plays by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Letts. In "Night Safari," a man (Rainn Wilson from NBC's "The Office") ruminates on monkeys, frogs and middle-aged homo sapiens. In the puppet play titled "The Old Country," two men (Mike Nussbaum and William L. Peterson) wax nostalgic while drinking coffee in a diner. In "The Stretch," Letts plays an announcer calling the 108th running of the El Dorado Stakes.

Streaming through Oct. 24 at steppenwolf.org/tracylettsvirtual. $20 for all three plays. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

In other news

• A new improv space, The Bit Theater opened last week at 4034 Fox Valley Center Drive, Aurora. The Bit performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The venue also offers classes. (331) 900 4248 or bitimprov.com.

• Theo Ubique's revival of "Songs for a New World," Jason Robert Brown's song cycle examining people who are facing personal crises and life-altering choices, opened this week at the Howard Street Theatre, 721 Howard St., Evanston. Fred Anzevino directs. Audience members must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. (773) 939-4101 or theo-u.com.

• "Holy Ghost Bingo: Gods, Goblins & Games" reopens Friday, Oct. 1, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Written by Vicki Quade, creator of "Late Nite Catechism," the interactive show centers on former nun Mrs. Mary Margaret O'Brien, who shares Halloween trivia while calling bingo. Nancy Greco, Quade, Kathleen Puls Andrade and Liz Cloud alternate in the role. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 31. COVID-19 vaccination and masks are mandatory. (773) 404-7336 or nuns4fun.com.

• The Venus Cabaret Theater at Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, opens its Dark Night Series at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2. The series consists of open mics, comedy, karaoke, variety and cabaret. Tickets are $15 plus a two-beverage minimum. Proof of vaccination and masks are required. See mercurytheaterchicago.com.

• The Chicago Magic Lounge announced Nick Diffatte will be its next artist-in-residence. His comedy/magic show "Nick Diffatte: Offbeat" runs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 5050 N. Clark St., Chicago. (312) 366-4500 or chicagomagiclounge.com.

• Rough House Theater presents an immersive puppet-theater horror show titled "House of the Exquisite Corpse" beginning Thursday, Oct. 7, at Chopin Theater, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. Each room is conceived as a different body part, all of which are tormented by supernatural ills. Recommended for ages 14 and older. Theatergoers must be vaccinated and wear masks. Additionally, they will receive a lightweight face shield to wear during performances, which are timed and ticketed at 15-minute intervals. See roughhousetheater.com.

• Cabinet of Curiosity presents the immersive, family-friendly ritual and celebration "Fields of Fire" from Thursday, Oct. 7, through Oct. 10 outdoors at Boler Park, 3601 W. Arthington St., Chicago. Participants experience a choreographed event and story. Admission is free for Lawndale residents, $25 for everyone else. Masks are required. See cocechicago.com.

• The Chicago Puppet Theater Festival invites people to tour its expanded, 2,000-plus-square-foot space including its puppet fabrication shop from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. See chicagopuppetfest.org.

• Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre has extended its run of "Twilight: Los Angeles 1992," Anna Deavere Smith's one-woman play crafted from more than 300 interviews with people who shared their thoughts about the Rodney King beating and the riots that followed. Performances run through Sunday, Oct. 3, at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. (847) 866-5914 or fjtheatre.com/.

• The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, debuted its adults-only Halloween programming. "Burlesque is Gore" runs at 8 p.m. Fridays and "Splatter Theater," a sendup of horror films, runs at 8 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 30. Proof of vaccination is required. (773) 697-9693 or theannoyance.com.

• The New American Folk Theatre's all audio season continues with "Hot Pink, or Ready to Blow" about three teenage girls living in New Pompei who come up with a plan to save themselves from being sacrificed to Mount Vesuvius. Tickets are $10 for the show, which is available at newamericanfolktheatre.org/store.

• BoHo Theatre artistic director Stephen Schellhardt announced he will step down at the end of the 2021 season after two years helming the Chicago company. "BoHo Theatre has been my artistic home for six years, and it has been a great privilege to work with so many talented and dedicated artists, staff, and board members," said Schellhardt in a prepared statement. "I strongly believe that a theatre company, whether equity or non-equity, benefits from fresh perspectives and voices behind its leadership table and that includes BoHo." The BoHo Theatre board of directors has begun a search to replace Schellhardt.

• Strawdog Theatre Company opens its 34th season, dubbed "Aftermath," on Saturday, Oct. 2, with the Halloween-themed, streaming comedy horror series "Monster" in which a man is reunited with the monster who lived under his bed when he was a child. The series streams on YouTube. That's followed by the remount of "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" (Nov. 20-Dec. 12 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago), about a young man who attempts to restore the spirit of the holiday to a town by outsmarting the goblins haunting its synagogue. The season concludes with the premiere of "On the Greenbelt" (April 22-May 28, 2022, at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago), a time-jumping dramedy about a woman haunted by something she saw the night her mom died. Tickets will go on sale at a later date at strawdog.org.

• TimeLine Theatre Company announced its 25th anniversary season will begin in January 2022 with productions postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season begins with the premiere of Tyla Abercrumbie's "Relentless" (Jan. 19-Feb. 26, 2022) about secrets people keep to protect the ones they love. It centers on two sisters - a married socialite and a single nurse - who return to settle their late mother's estate and are confronted by a woman they never really knew. That's followed on May 8, 2022, by the Chicago premiere of "The Chinese Lady," Lloyd Suh's dramedy about the first Chinese woman to arrive in the United States in 1834 at age 14 and the America she witnesses over the subsequent 55 years. Performances take place at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Two-play flex passes range from $45 to $114. (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or timelinetheatre.com.