“Meet Me in St. Louis” previews Thursday and opens Oct. 25 at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Through Dec. 16. Tickets are $25-$50 at 630-530-0111 or 312-599-1212.
Halloween hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s never too soon to have yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Vincente Minelli’s beloved film musical introduced that holiday chestnut, as well as the giddy “Trolley Song,” “The Boy Next Door” and of course, the title number. The stage version, written by Hugh Wheeler, Ralph Blane, and Hugh Martin, made its Broadway debut in 1989 and has popped up as a seasonal offering at many theaters since. Set during the 1904 World’s Fair (the one without a serial killer), the lighthearted show follows the Smith family as they wrestle with the possibility of leaving St. Louis for the grayer pastures of New York City. Jim Corti directs Jessie Mueller as Esther (the role originated by Judy Garland) along with Michael Gerhart, Cory Goodrich, and Kamilah Lay as the adorable baby sis, Tootie.
PREVIEWING WEDNESDAY
“Twilight of the Golds” at Apple Tree Theatre, Karger Center, 1850 Green Bay Rd., Highland Park. Opens Oct. 20. Through Nov. 11. Tickets are $38 previews, $38-$48 during the run at 847-432-4335.
Genetic screening and homophobia combine in an unholy alliance in Jonathan Tolins’ 1993 drama about a family of upscale liberals who find one of them is pregnant with a child that carries “the gay gene.” Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” serves as the metaphor for the Gold clan’s struggles with its ingrained prejudices and fears for the child’s future. For this contemporary morality play, Apple Tree has chosen an apt director: Timothy Gregory of Chicago’s Provision Theater Company, a troupe “devoted to works of hope, reconciliation, and redemption.”
CONTINUING
“High School Musical” through Nov. 10 at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. Tickets are $22-$42 at 847-577-2121
Jocks and nerds, together at last! The unstoppable Disney phenomenon keeps on rocking the ‘tween set in the northwest suburbs.
“Parallel Lives” through Oct. 20 at the Comedy Shrine, 22 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. Tickets are $15-$20 at 630-739-3326.
Long before Kathy Najimy became Peggy, Hank’s better half on “King of the Hill,” she teamed up with fellow writer and actor Mo Gaffney to create a series of comic sketches about the lives of contemporary earthling females, as seen through the eyes of two supreme goddesses. Grounded Theatre brings this saucy, feminist cult classic to downtown Naperville.
