Art and life can sometimes merge with a vengeance. “SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION,” which opens Thursday in a local premiere by the European Repertory Company, is British playwright Howard Barker’s remembrance of painter Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the nearly forgotten geniuses of Renaissance art. Gentileschi’s fierce “Death of Holofernes by Judith’s Hand” reflects her own past: She was raped as a teenager by her father’s friend, the painter Agostino Tassi, but Tassi and his friends contended she was a prostitute. Though tortured to change her story, she held firm. The horrific ordeal accounts in part for the savagery of her art. Dale Goulding, who staged European Repertory Company’s superb hit “Agamemnon,” directs a cast of 11 in this examination of the moral responsibilities of the artist. Carolyn Hoerdemann plays the much-abused and vengeful Galatia (Artemisia).
“Scenes from an Execution” runs through Dec. 6 at Baird Hall Theater, 615 W. Wellington Ave.; 773-248-0577.
Other theater openings to watch for:
“The Woman in Black,” Blood Curdling Productions at Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-327-5252: Opening Tuesday, Stephen Maliatratt’s 1989 London smash hit is a spine-tingling, goose-pimpling ghost story set in a Victorian theater where a terrifying ghost reveals a harrowing 60-year-old mystery. Co-producer Todd Schmidt directs Greg Vinkler and Timothy James Gregory in the popular hair-raiser.
“Buddy . . . The Buddy Holly Story,” Jam Productions at Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.; 312-902-
1500: Buddy Holly “returns” with his band, The Crickets, to re-create his final performance — the Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake, Iowa — before the 1959 plane crash that claimed him, as well as Ritchie Valens (Fernando Flores Vega) and The Big Bopper (Paul James Kruse). John Mueller plays the 22-year-old rock ‘n’ roll pioneer in this third coming of the nostalgic musical. (It played the Shubert Theatre and Pegasus Players in 1992.) It opens Tuesday.
“Sing for Your Supper,” Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield Ave.; 773-883-8830: Opening its 15th season on Thursday, Stage Left premieres Lawrence Arancio’s revue about the rise and fall of the Federal Theatre Project, featuring new music and arrangements by Ralph Affoumado. Chronicling the visionary government program (part of the all-encompassing Works Progress Administration and a precursor of the National Endowment for the Arts) and its fight for funding during the Depression, “Sing for Your Supper” interweaves songs and scenes from Federal Theatre shows with letters, memoirs and testimony to depict America’s first foray into federally subsidized theater. Drew Martin directs an 11-member ensemble in this topical show.
“Guys and Dolls,” Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire; 847-634-0200: Dominic Missimi directs Frank Loesser’s beloved 1950 “musical fable of Broadway.” Opening Nov. 5, it’s based on the colorful characters of Damon Runyon.
“Satan’s School for Girls,” Circle Theatre, 7300 W. Madison St., Forest Park; 708-771-0700: The devil made them do it. A Chicago premiere when it opens on Friday, this rock ‘n’ roll musical depicts a group of high school girls who enlist the help of Satan and his backup singers to reinstate their prom, long banned after a school scandal. Complications arise when the school nerd sells her soul, a macho cop arrives and a kindly nun mysteriously loses her cat. Greg Kolack (“A Piece of My Heart”) directs a cast of eight.
“The Talent Pool,” Beatnik Theatre at Chopin Theatre, 1541 W. Division St.; 312-409-3354: Opening Friday, writer and director Patrick Ney’s play satirizes a Chicago talent agency where a crush of hopefuls tries to make it big or small.
“Four Queens — No Trump,” Onyx Theatre Ensemble, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.; 773-561-5672: Written and directed by Ted Lange (of “Love Boat” fame), this contemporary comedy, which opens on Friday, explores the lives of four women, close friends who meet once a week to play Bid Whist.
“Holy Days,” Rivendell Theatre Ensemble at Footsteps Theatre, 5230 N. Clark St.; 773-472-1169: Sunday night sees the Midwest premiere of Chicago native Sally Nemeth’s play, a portrait of a family’s struggles to survive the Dust Bowl of 1936. Sandy Shinner directs their saga.
“Judging Valentino,” TCB Productions at Donny’s Skybox Studio Theater, 1608 N. Wells St.; 312-337-3992: Opening Saturday as a world premiere, this comedy depicts a trash-talking New Yorker who escapes his gossip-mill job to journey to Dixon, Ill., Ronald Reagan’s hometown, to cover the Centennial Petunia Festival. He discovers that small-town America is ripe material for any tabloid.
