An aptly named a musical revue called “PUTTING IT TOGETHER” is billed as a foray into the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, Broadway’s bittersweet music master. Devised by Sondheim and Julia McKenzie, the artful anthology opens Monday at Court Theatre in a staging by Gary Griffin — another music master — and showcases more than 30 songs from such Tony-winning classics as “Company,” “Follies” and “A Little Night Music.” The musical’s setting is an all-night, black-tie party where warring spouses, flirting with infidelity and divorce, chronicle their crises through Sondheim’s acerbic and dramatic ballads. Led by the husband-and-wife team of Paula Scrofano and John Reeger, five actors (including Kevin Gudahl, Kurt Johns and Kathy Voytko) portray pieces of the puzzle called love. Numbers like “Sooner or Later,” “Pretty Woman” and “Being Alive” put old truths in a new context.
“Putting It Together” runs through Dec. 7 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.; 773-753-4472.
Other theater openings to spark November:
“The Voice of the Prairie,” Dolphinback Theatre Company at Live Bait Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St.; 312-322-9150: First produced by the late Wisdom Bridge Theatre in the early 1980s, Dolphinback’s revival of John Olive’s period play celebrates the golden age of radio. Set in the 1920s and brimming with the passion to pioneer, “Voice” tells how a New York huckster with airwave ambitions links up with a Nebraska farmer who spins wonderful tales about the blind young girl he knew in his childhood. Their experiences intertwine as the popularity of the “Voice of the Prairie” radio show mandates a reunion. Gregory Werstler, who directed the theater’s “The Eight: Reindeer Monologues,” stages this blast from the past.
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle,” Mary-Arrchie Theatre at Angel Island, 731 W. Sheridan Rd.; 773-871-0442: Set in a Chinese commune, Bertolt Brecht’s sturdy, postwar parable (a companion piece to “The Good Woman of Setzuan”) assesses the cost of finding justice in a cruel world. Grusha, a poor servant girl, rescues the neglected child of spoiled nobles and becomes, in effect, the boy’s true mother. It takes a rascally judge named Azdak, a very unlikely second Solomon, to determine who the child’s rightful guardian is. Opening Friday, Richard Cotovsky’s topical revival will emphasize the play’s raunchy humor without undercutting Brecht’s uncompromising look at the sinister interplay between power and money. Laura Scott Wade plays Grusha and Rick Almada is the wily Azdak, the real inventor of the first “people’s court.”
“Muzeeka,” Clown Nose Productions and Aardvark Productions at Voltaire, 3231 N. Clark St.; 773-784-2261: Written in 1968, John Guare’s one-act explores the country’s continuing lack of connections between generations, social groups, races and religions. Opening Saturday, Jon Collins’ staging provides an irreverent but nostalgic look at the 1960s. As the title character, subtly named Argue, attempts to escape the tedium and obligations of his predictable bourgeois life, the resemblance to “The Graduate” will be hard to ignore. Except that the film never featured such pungent lines as, “You can tell a lot about a person by the secret things they flush away.”
“A Christmas Carol,” Goodman Theatre, 200 S. Columbus Drive; 312-443-3800: It’s time for the Great Humbugger to get his comeuppance from three friendly ghosts. Enjoying its 20th anniversary when it reopens on Sunday, Goodman Theatre’s annual Dickens will soon reach a milestone 1,000th performance. Tom Creamer’s sturdy and ever-changing adaptation features a miracle-working cast of 27 actors, singers and dancers, with Tom Mula continuing his perfectly tuned portrayal of irascible Ebenezer Scrooge, Henry Godinez, co-founder and for mer artistic director of Teatro Vista, returns for a second year to direct an all-star cast in this evergreen production. Continuing a tradition established in 1985 that honors the spirit of the show, Goodman Theatre participates in the City of Chicago’s “Sharing It” program. Audience members are encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to this citywide drive to feed needy people. The reformed Scrooge would heartily approve.
“. . . And Still We Sing,” Black Ensemble Theater, 4520 N. Beacon St.; 773-769-4451: The Ensemble premieres the fourth play in its yearlong tribute to African-American men. Jackie Taylor directs and Jimmy Tillman provides the music for this affirmative, 90-minute musical journey. The buoyant evening offers “an inspirational message of faith, hope and the importance of believing in your own strengths and capabilities and knowing that the only limitations in our lives are the ones that we place upon ourselves.” The production stars Kenny Davis (the Ensemble’s scorching Sammy Davis Jr. in “Sammy”) and Mark Townsend (last seen as Marvin Gaye in the company’s “All I Need to Get By”). There will be only five performances between the Friday opening and Nov. 23.
