Don’t assume theater groups will be around forever.
Many fine ensembles and companies have folded over the years, for one reason or another. And now, the future of Evanston’s Next Theatre is uncertain. All the more reason to turn out for Next’s current season. Don’t take your favorite local theaters for granted. They need your patronage.
Luce
Through Nov. 9
The recent news about Next Theatre is worrisome: The group is way behind on its rent to the city of Evanston and may need to find a new home next year. For now, the group is soldiering on, opening its season with this Midwest premiere. The title character of JC Lee’s drama is a teenage boy from war-torn Africa who has been adopted by an American couple. He turns into an all-star high school student, but then troubling questions arise about his past. Next Theatre, 927 Noyes St., Evanston, 847-475-1875
Cole Porter’s Greatest Hits
Oct. 3–12
Few groups lavish as much care and love on classic musical theater shows as Light Opera Works does. And few composers ever wrote as many perfect songs as Cole Porter did. This concert will be filled with witty, elegant and tuneful gems by Porter, like “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris” and “Let’s Do It.” It should be a delight. Let’s do it. Light Opera Works, at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston, 847-920-5360
Both Your Houses
Through Nov. 9
Maxwell Anderson’s 1933 political satire won the Pulitzer Prize, but it fell into obscurity in the decades after that. That’s a shame, because it’s still relevant. Dysfunction in Washington, D.C.? Yep, we’ve still got plenty of that. The script’s rapid-fire banter has the cadences of screwball comedies like “His Girl Friday,” but the subject matter is pork-barrel spending at the House Appropriations Committee. With the popularity of the political TV shows “House of Cards,” “Veep” and “Scandal,” the time is ripe for this revival of a forgotten classic. Remy Bumppo Theatre (at Greenhouse), 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 773-244-8119
The King and I
Oct. 22–Jan. 4
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s legendary East-meets-West romance—which starred Yul Brynner on Broadway and on the screen in the 1950s—returns with a new in-the-round staging at the Marriott. Rodgers’ biographer Meryle Secrest once wrote that this show “is really a celebration of love in all its guises.” Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, 847-634-0200
Theater Guide
AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY
Let Me Down Easy
Through Oct. 10
Mercy Strain
Through Oct. 18
773-409-4125
ASTONREP (AT THE RAVEN THEATRE)
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Oct. 23–Nov. 22
773-828-9129
BANK OF AMERICA THEATRE
Amazing Grace
Oct. 9–Nov. 2
312-977-1700
BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER
At Last: A Tribute to Etta James
Oct. 26–Dec. 28
773-769-4451
CHICAGO CHILDREN’S THEATRE
Frederick
Oct. 15–Nov. 16
872-222-9555
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
Ionesco Suite
Oct. 15–19
312-595-5600
GIFT THEATRE
Bethany
Through Nov. 23
773-283-7071
GRIFFIN THEATRE (AT THEATER WIT)
Titanic
Oct. 18–Dec. 7
773-975-8150
LIFELINE THEATRE
The Velveteen Rabbit
Oct. 18–Nov. 23
773-761-4477
THE NEO-FUTURISTS
Pseudo-Chum
Oct. 16–Nov. 22
773-878-4557
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (ETHEL M. BARBER THEATER)
The Laramie Project
Oct 24–Nov 2
847-491-7282
PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE (AT STAGE 773)
Sweeney Todd
Oct. 3–Nov. 9
773-327-5252
PROFILES THEATRE
The Cryptogram
Through Nov. 16
773-549-1815
A RED ORCHID THEATRE
Strandline
Oct. 23–Dec. 7
312-943-8722
SILK ROAD RISING
The Hundred Flowers Project
Oct. 16–Nov. 23
312-857-1234
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE
Animal Farm (for young adults)
Oct. 15–Nov. 9
312-335-1650
Photo: “Luce,” starring Amy J. Carle as Amy and Jerry MacKinnon as Luce. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
