IN THE SPOTLIGHT
“Campaign Supernova!, or How Many Democrats Does It Take to Lose an Election?”
When: Opens May 8, open run
Where: The Second City e.t.c., 1608 N. Wells St. 312-337-3992
Tickets: $19-$25, secondcity.com
Regardless of your politics, you have to admit that the conundrum posed by The Second City e.t.c. is only slightly ridiculous. Driving the revue is the question, “What happens when you take two political parties and divide them by three candidates?” It’s a good one — and hopefully the answers will be funnier on stage than they have the potential to be in real life. Matt Hovde (“Between Barack and a Hard Place”) directs. [ REBECCA PALMORE, METROMIX EVENTS PRODUCER. ] RKPALMORE@TRIBUNE.COM
ALSO SHOWING …
PREVIEWS
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
A cast of 20 and a six-piece band tell Dennis DeYoung’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s epic tale of unrequited love between the gypsy Esmeralda, the priest Frollo, and the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo. David Zak directs. Previews Thursday-May 18. Opens May 19. Through July 6. $20-$45. Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. 773-883-1090. www.bailiwick.org
Smoke on the Mountain
Traditional gospel songs, bluegrass and stories highlight this interactive musical comedy set in a small 1930s town. Previews Thursday and Friday. Opens Saturday. Through June 8. $20-$25. Provision Theater Company at The Viaduct, 3111 N. Western Ave. 773-506-4429. provision theater.org
OPENINGS
Mollywood
This new musical by local actor-writers Scott Bradley
and Jonny Stax
(“Carpenters’
Halloween”) satirizes
the John Hughes-Molly Ringwald films of the ’80s. Opens
Friday. Through
May 24. $15. The
Spot, 4437 N. Broadway. 773-728-8934. Reservations:
scootyjojo.com
Doubt
In this drama by John Patrick Shanley (“Moonstruck”), a strong-minded nun in a ’60s Catholic school struggles with a male colleague’s ethics. Opens Friday. Through June 8. $22-$30. redtwist theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. 773-728-7528. redtwist.org
Lipstick Traces
Three stories by author and music critic Griel Marcus trace punk sensibilities from their roots in the 16th Century through 1920s Dadaism to the Sex Pistols reign in the ’70s. Opens Friday. Through June 1. $15. Pavement Group at the AV-aerie, 2000 W. Fulton St. Suite 310. 773-278-9083.
Man with Bags
Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist drama fuses notions of time, space and memory into a dreamscape where the title character revisits his childhood. Friday and Saturday only. $22-$29. Organic Theater Company at La Costa Theatre, 3931 N. Elston Ave. 800-595-4849. tix.com
Moon Over Buffalo
Mayhem ensues when an acting couple on tour in Buffalo gets a shot at starring roles in a Frank Capra film. Friday through Sunday only. $20. Beverly Theatre Guild at the Beverly Arts Center of Chicago, 2407 W. 111th St. 773-445-3838. beverlyart center.org
