The best of what’s on stage now in the city and suburbs.
* New this week.
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE: Spell this witty, warm and hopelessly optimistic show about the traumas and victories of a spelling bee and our ever-anxious, ever-striving city “M-A-T-C-H.” Through Sept. 2 at Drury Lane Theatre at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St.; $25-$69.50, 312-902-1400.
500 CLOWN FRANKENSTEIN: Typically, 497 of the 500 clowns don’t show up, leaving the uber-talented trio of Adrian Danzig, Molly Brennan and Paul Kalina to get into trouble. Through Aug. 12 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.; $30, 312-335-1650.
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY: With this staggeringly ambitious — and, for my money, staggeringly successful — three-act opus for Steppenwolf, the Chicago playwright Tracy Letts has forged a not-to-be-missed new American work that eulogizes the perversely nurturing dysfunction of family life on the Plains as surely as it skewers its absurdities. Through Aug. 26 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.; $20-$65, 312-335-1650 and www.steppenwolf.org.
BETWEEN BARACK AND A HARD PLACE: Barack Obama as malleable slate for liberal hopes and dreams is the uber-text of “Between Barack and a Hard Place,” the funniest mainstage show on Wells Street in several years. Open run at The Second City, 1616 N. Wells St.; $19-24, 312-337-3992.
THE COLOR PURPLE: The Broadway musical version of Alice Walker’s great novel arrives in sweet home Chicago in the most confident of hues. An optimistic show about an impoverished black woman who learns the potency of believing in yourself. Through Sept. 30 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.; $28-$85 at 312-902-1400.
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: The show continues its run with a new, mostly Chicago-based cast, including Michael Mahler, McKinley Carter and Holly Stauder. Through Nov. 4 at the Royal George Cabaret, 1641 N. Halsted St.; $49.50, 312-988-9000 or 312-902-1500.
HOW CAN YOU RUN WITH A SHELL ON YOUR BACK? A return engagement for Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler’s derivative but pleasing little Broadway-style riff on Aesop’s Fables. Through Aug. 12 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, $16-$20, 312-595-5600.
JERRY SPRINGER — THE OPERA: To the delight of the audience, David Zak’s stellar staging surrounds the audience with a cynical musical attack on all that Springer represents. Through Aug. 19 at Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.; $25-$40 at 773-883-1090.
LOOKINGGLASS ALICE: The confident and widely acclaimed “Alice” is back in Chicago and as curious as ever. Through Aug. 26 by Lookingglass Theatre, 921 N. Michigan Ave.; $20-$58 at 312-337-0665.
MEMPHIS SOUL (THE STORY OF STAX RECORDS): Black Ensemble Theater knows how to throw a party. Even by the exuberant standards of this joyous theater, “Memphis Soul” is an uncommonly good time. Open run at Black Ensemble Theater, 4520 N. Beacon St., $40, 773-769-4451.
OVERNIGHT LOWS: Staged in the back of an interesting-if-grungy bar, “Overnight Lows” is the work of the writer-slash-music journalist Mark Guarino. His hour-long play shows us a couple in bed together — who wake up at 3:55 a.m. and find the night turns into a weird melange of their entire personal lives. Through Aug. 14 by Walkabout Theater Company at The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia; $10, 773-248-9278.
RAGTIME: This piece brims with such communal heart that all the right emotional keys are tinkled. “Goodbye My Love.” “New Music.” “Wheels of a Dream.” “Our Children.” Such satisfying songs. Such an iconic story. Such a pleasure. Through Aug. 26 at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.; $46.50, 773-935-6100.
WICKED: Blond girl. Green girl. Tragically beautiful sister. Love interests. Goat. Wizard. All are in fine Midwestern fettle. Open run at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.; $32-$90 at 312-902-1400.
HOTTEST TICKET
* HONUS AND ME: In many ways, Steven Dietz’s 80-minute baseball play is not so different from “Field of Dreams” or the myriad other summer romances in which other-worldly intervention helps baseball change a young man’s life. But that doesn’t diminish its potency or emotional oomph. Sean Graney’s sophisticated-but-accessible production for the Chicago Children’s Theatre makes for an exceptionally warm and appealing show aimed at anyone over seven. Joey, a boy struggling with both his parents and his swing, gets taken back to a time when a good-hearted ballplayer like Honus Wagner always had an hour or two to help a budding adolescent learn how to be a man. And designer Todd Rosenthal has built a great ball park inside the Owen Theatre.
Through Aug. 26 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.; $15-$38 at 312-443-3800.
