Chicago News Desk - Page 8

It's time to act like adults again, and Victory Gardens Theater's Family Saturday series makes it easy.

Join Village Players as national storyteller Megan Wells treats audiences to a one-woman performance of the original Dracula! Called 'the Kate Hepburn of storytelling,' Megan gives audiences a dramatic and heart-pounding mix of myth and theater, adapted from Bram Stoker's famous novel.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 2008-2009 season, an exploration of the imagination, with a special engagement of Dublin Carol, by Conor McPherson, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton. The production, featuring Stephen Louis Grush, William Petersen and Nicole Wiesner, runs November 6 - December 21, 2008 in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The press performance is Sunday, November 16 at 3:00 p.m.

'Rosie! A Tribute…' is a loving musical adventure spanning the 40 year career of the great Girl Singer, Rosemary Clooney. Heather Moran has deftly created a musical tapestry from the colorful life of Clooney, spanning from her birth in Maysville, Kentucky, through her setbacks in the late 1960's, her mid 1970's comeback, all the way to her death in 2002. Heather has assembled some of Chicago's hottest jazz musicians and guest performers to round out engaging evening of stories and song. Please visit Heather Moran's website at www.heathermoran.com to learn more about her career and upcoming schedule.

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University will host an unforgettable gala on Sunday, Nov. 2 to celebrate the Chicago premiere of Margaret Garner, a new American opera based on one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America.

Just in time for the Halloween season Hell in a Handbag kicks off it's 2008-2009 season with a spine-tingling, horror comedy parody under the big top. HAYWIRE!

Steppenwolf Theatre Company launches its Steppenwolf for Young Adults 2008-2009 Season with The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov. A unique production of Tennessee Williams' classic 'memory play' featuring an all African-American cast

The exhilarating Broadway musical 'ALL SHOOK UP', featuring the songs of the legendary Elvis Presley, previews September 24th, opens October 1st, and runs through December 7th at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive. Led by Chicago's favorite Director and Choreographer Marc Robin, ALL SHOOK UP will have you dancing in your seats!

American Theater Company (ATC) continues its ambitious Season 24 with the Chicago Premiere of 'Celebrity Row' written by Itamar Moses and directed by David Cromer. The production will run October 16- November 9, 2008 at American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron St, Chicago.

Lifeline Theatre KidSeries presents the world premiere musical adaptation 'Duck for President,' showing both the heady and headachey sides of politics just in time for the election, based on the popular bestseller by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, adapted by ensemble member James E. Grote, music and lyrics by George Howe, and directed by ensemble member Shole Milos (the same team that brought the recent kids' hit Click, Clack, Moo).

The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) open their 2008-09 season with Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig, author of 'Lend Me A Tenor'. The production runs October 17-November 9 at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey Pkwy. in Chicago.

'MARTIAN INVASION! DECODING THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,' a special live edition of the cult sensation Radio Lab, will take place at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, on Sunday, October 26 and Monday, October 27 at 7:30 pm. This special event, ideal for getting into the Halloween spirit, is presented as part of Victory Gardens' new Fresh Squeezed series of late night shows, out-of-the-box performances and edgy social events showcasing fresh talent from Chicago and around the country, targeting younger, culturally adventurous audiences.

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare. This rollicking roll through the forest includes wild fairies and mixed-up lovers, all with the modern twist that made last season's 'Hamlet Remix'd' so popular. Directed by Jean Gottlieb.

This October, Oracle Productions submits their third installment of horrifying Halloween entertainment. Opening October 10th, the warped minds of Oracle's artistic collective are at it again with Disturbed III, a 15-minute theatre-of-horror series that is becoming a Halloween staple among Chicago thrill-seekers. Further expanding on the model of an inverted haunted house, Oracle's intimate space requires the audience to stay stationary, while the action pops out of every unexpected corner in a twisted, confined environment. This year, Oracle unabashedly closes the gap between imagination and realism in the gallery of a brainsick artist who has turned human anatomy into a medium of gruesome, surgical sculpture.

Lifeline Theatre KidSeries presents the world premiere musical adaptation 'Duck for President,' showing both the heady and headachey sides of politics just in time for the election, based on the popular bestseller by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, adapted by ensemble member James E. Grote, music and lyrics by George Howe, and directed by ensemble member Shole Milos (the same team that brought the recent kids' hit Click, Clack, Moo).

New Millennium Theatre Company (NMTC) presents The Flaming Dames, Chicago's premiere concept burlesque troupe, in their latest revue: 'Hell's Belles'.

Hell in a Handbag Productions is proud to announce the Chicago premiere of HAYWIRE!, a deliciously comic horror parody set under the grit and the glamour of the big top.

Fellowship for the Performing Arts presents the Chicago premiere of the acclaimed hit drama THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by C.S. Lewis at The Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Avenue. The production, which recently had sold-out runs in New York and Washington, D.C., begins performances on October 2 for a limited engagement. 'The Screwtape Letters' offers a funny and provocative look into C.S. Lewis' brilliant novel that explores the theme of spiritual warfare from a demon's point of view.

Jake Ehrenreich's autobiographical 'comedy musical', 'A Jew Grows in Brooklyn' comes to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie for a limited one-week engagement this November.

16th Street Theater is proud to announce its production of Tanya Saracho's 'Kita y Fernanda' directed by Artistic Director Ann Filmer. Kita y Fernanda will run September 25 - October 25, 2008 at the Berwyn Cultural Center.'Kita y Fernanda' is a look at class, immigration and women's friendships as it follows the lives of two girls growing up in the same household; one the privileged daughter of a rich Mexican family living in Texas, the other the child of an undocumented maid.