Theater Events
Kane County
“THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO”: through Oct. 17, Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. Steel Beam Children’s Theatre presentation. Story of the woodcarver Geppetto whose puppet Pinocchio has many adventures and turns into a real boy. Schedule: 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Oct. 10 & 17. Tickets: $12 adults, $10 children 16 and younger at 630-587-8521 or www.steelbeamtheatre.com.
“MARRIED ALIVE!”: through Oct. 31, Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. A love and marriage musical by Noble Fool Theatricals. The show is best suited for adults. Schedule: 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 5 & 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $28 Thursday & Friday, $39 Saturday & Sunday. Dinner show packages available. Tickets and information: 630-584-6342 or www.noblefool.org.
THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW: 4 p.m. Oct. 11, Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. Featuring Tom and Dick Smothers with special guest The Yo Yo Man. Tickets: $32.50-$59.50 at 630-896-6666 or www.paramountaurora.com.
TAP DOGS, 8 p.m. Oct. 16, Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. An international sensation of male dancers created by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry. Tickets: $45.50-$55.50 at 630-896-6666 or www.paramountaurora.com.
“WORKING”: through Oct. 18, Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. A musical celebration of the extraordinary lives of ordinary Americans based on the book by Chicago’s Studs Terkel. Schedule: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $25 adults, $23 seniors and students, $22 groups of 10 or more at 630-587-8521 or www.steelbeamtheatre.com.
McHenry County
“BREAKING LEGS”: through Oct. 24, Woodstock Opera House, 121 Van Buren St., Woodstock. Woodstock Musical Theatre Company comedy presentation. The story takes place in an Italian restaurant owned by a successful mobster and managed by his beautiful daughter. Her former college professor arrives to ask for money to produce his new play. Schedule: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $23 adults, $20 seniors and students at 815-338-5300 or www.woodstockoperahouse.com.
“INTO THE WOODS”: 7 p.m. Oct. 9-10 and 3 p.m. Oct. 11, Huntley High School Performing Arts Center, 13719 Harmony Road, Huntley. Huntley High School Theatre fall musical presentation. Play combines the well-known fairy tales with the story of the Baker and his Wife who have been cursed with childlessness by a witch. Tickets: $8 adults, $6 seniors and students with ID at 847-659-6515 or www.district158.org/pac.
“NOISES OFF”: Oct. 16-25, Cosman Theater, 12015 Mill St., Huntley. Schedule: 7 p.m. Oct. 16-17; 3 p.m. Oct. 18; 7 p.m. Oct. 23-24; 3 p.m. Oct. 25. GreenRoom Productions fall play about a troupe of actors preparing their show for the road. Some material not appropriate for children younger than 13. Tickets: $15 adults, $12 seniors and students at the door. Tickets and information: 847-931-4233 or www.greenroomtheater.com.
“THE ODD COUPLE” (The Female Version): Oct. 16-24, Woodstock High School’s Anthony F. Casalino Black Box Theater, 501 W. South St., Woodstock. By Neil Simon. Woodstock High School and District 200 presentation. Olive and Florence have been friends for years, but they learn the differences that made them friends drive them over the edge when they come to live with each other. Schedule: 7 p.m. Oct. 16; 2 & 7 p.m. Oct. 17; 3 p.m. Oct. 18 and 7 p.m. Oct. 24. Tickets: $10 adults, $5 seniors and students at 815-337-7469.
“THE WOMAN IN BLACK - A GHOST PLAY”: through Oct. 11, Memorial Hall Civic Theatre, 10308 Main St., Richmond. Stephen Mallatratt adaptation presented by the Riverview Theatre Company. Gothic horror story focuses on a middle-aged solicitor who is looking to exorcise his demons. Not intended for young children. Schedule: 8 p.m. Oct. 9-10; 7 p.m. Oct. 11. Tickets: $10 adults, $8 seniors and students. Group discount available. Tickets and information: 815-354-7796 or www.riverviewtheatre.org.
Regional
“BYE BYE, BUCCA”: 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 10, Vernon Hills Park District Sullivan Community Center, 635 N. Aspen Drive, Vernon Hills. Murder mystery dinner buffet featuring the professional comedic actors from Improv Playhouse. Enjoy the continuing saga of the Bucca family during the Roaring ’20s. Cost: $69 adults, $125 couple. Tickets and information: 847-996-6800 or www.vhparkdistrict.org.
“C’EST LA VIE”: through Nov. 15, Light Opera Works’ Second Stage, 1420 Maple St., Evanston. Light Opera Works presentation. In 1950s Paris, two fading chanteuses eke out a meager existence, forced to perform the songs of their archrival. Then one daring night, they take over the cabaret to give the show of their lives, with their own droll and lively songs. Schedule: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $24-$39, half-price for ages 21 and younger at 847-869-6300 or www.lightoperaworks.com.
“THEATRE OF SOULS”: Oct. 16-31, Village Players Performing Arts Center, 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. By Joe Kennedy and Michael Kopala. Village Players Theater presentation. An exploration of the strange, the macabre, and the terrifying about three souls who run afoul of the mysterious Randolph L. Howard and the fate that awaits them. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, and 7 & 10 p.m. Oct. 30-31. Tickets: $20 adults, $16 seniors and students with ID at 866-764-1010 or www.village-players.org.
Chicago
“ANIMAL CRACKERS”: through Nov. 1, Goodman Theatre in the Albert, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. When a celebrated sculpture goes missing from Mrs. Rittenhouse's fancy house party in honor of African explorer Captain Spaulding, her guests set out to find the thief in a series of madcap antics and exploits. Based on the original Marx Brothers Broadway hit and film classic. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $25-$76 at 312-443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org.
“CATS”: Oct. 13-18, Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. Tony Award-winning musical based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13; 2 & 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14; 7:3 p.m. Oct. 15; 8 p.m. Oct. 16; 2 & 8 p.m. Oct. 17; 2 p.m. Oct. 18. Tickets: $20-$80 at 312-902-1400; all Ticketmaster locations or www.ticketmaster.com.
“DOOBY DOOBY MOO”: Oct. 17 through Dec. 6, Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. Children’s musical based on the book by Doreen Cronin. Lifeline Theatre KidSeries presentation. The county fair is coming and the grand prize in the talent competition is a trampoline. Duck wants that prize, but with Farmer Brown watching around every corner, how will he hold singing and dancing rehearsals for Cow, Pig and Ewe? Previews: 1 p.m. Oct. 17; 11 a.m. Oct. 18; press opening Oct. 18. Performance schedule: 1 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $12 at 773-761-4477 or www.lifelinetheatre.com.
“THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET”: Oct. 13 through Nov. 1, Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. By Tanya Saracho and based on the novel by Sandra Cisneros. The play recounts a young girl’s colorful memories of growing up in one of Chicago’s culturally-diverse neighborhoods. Presented by Steppenwolf for Young Adults. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 3 & 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays (10 a.m. Tuesdays through Fridays for school groups only). Tickets: $20 adults, $15 students at 312-335-1650 or www.steppenwolf.org.
“JERSEY BOYS”: through Jan. 10, LaSalle Bank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, a group of blue-collar boys who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 & 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Featuring Stage Side Chats with cast members following the Oct. 13, 20 & 27 performances. Tickets: $30-$110 at 800-745-3000; all Ticketmaster outlets or www.ticketmaster.com.
“MOLL”: through Oct. 25, Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave., Chicago. Comedy by John B. Keane. Shapeshifters Theatre presentation. A look at life in a parochial house in 1960s rural Ireland. Story follows the fortunes of Moll, a dominant priest’s housekeeper who is a dedicated but somewhat intimidating woman. Schedule: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $15 general public, $10 members at 773-282-7035 or www.irishahc.org.
“RHYMES WITH EVIL”: through Nov. 8, Chicago DCA Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago. By Charles Traeger. Lathan Kane creates a beautiful yet bizarre world of puppets, costumed characters and fanciful stories for his young daughter, Jenny. But all is not what it seems in this suspense-filled tale of love, loss and danger. Appropriate for adult audiences in the Halloween season. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $25 adults, $15 seniors and students at 312-742-8497 or www.dcatheater.org.
“ST. CRISPIN’S DAY”: through Oct. 31, Strawdog Theatre Company, 3829 N. Broadway, Chicago. By Matt Pepper. In the trenches with Shakespeare’s lowest characters, one soldier urges his comrades to attack the real enemy: the king who leads them. Schedule: 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 & 8 p.m. Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $20 at 773-528-9696 or www.strawdog.org.
“TAKING STEPS”: through Oct. 11, UIC Department of Performing Arts, 1040 W. Harrison St., Chicago. By Alan Ayckbourn. UIC Theatre presentation. A comedy of errors in which an alcoholic man’s plans to buy a former brothel and turn it into a motel go awry when a suicidal guest, a suspected burglar, a ghost-fearing real estate lawyer and other show up. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9-10; 2:15 p.m. Oct. 11. Tickets: $11-$16 at 312-996-2939 or www.uic.edu/depts/adpa.
“TREASURE ISLAND”: through Nov. 1, Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. By Robert Louis Stevenson. A treasure map discovered in a dead pirate’s sea chest leads young Jim Hawkins on an expedition across the ocean to recover a fortune in plundered gold. Schedule: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 & 8 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $30 adults, $25 seniors, $15 students with ID at 773-761-4477 or www.lifelinetheatre.com.
