The Brothers Grim

Two similar-sounding plays from two very different playwrights unite in an experiment at American Theater Company (1909 W. Byron St.; atcweb.org). Sam Shepard’s True West, about a screenwriter and his thief of a brother, is traditionally cast white, while Topdog/Underdog, Suzan-Lori Parks’s Pulitzer-winner about an entertainer and his thief of a brother, is traditionally cast black. Beginning Thursday, February 5th, actors...

Hot off the press: We can put the speculation to bed. Heath Ledger did indeed score a posthumous Oscar nom for his much-buzzed-about turn in The Dark Knight, as announced Thursday by the Academy. If you missed the flick—costarring Chicago—during its first run...

Inauguration tickets are impossible to snag, and D.C. hotels are booked. Console yourself with the thought that those lucky enough to attend President-elect Obama’s swearing in on Tuesday the 20th will be toughing it outside in the cold; then swallow your sour grapes with a free glass of bubbly at FitzGerald’s (6615 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn; fitzgeraldsnightclub.com). Five bucks...

The Super Bowl is still a good three weeks away, but those hankering for a taste of hard-fought competition fraught with blood, sweat, tears—and, bonus: laughs—can get their fill this weekend at Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, a 131-show collection of the best of short-form comedy running through January 18th at Theatre Building Chicago (1225 W. Belmont Ave.; chicagosketchfest.com). Highlights include Unintentionally Hilarious, written and performed by junior-high students (because what’s more painfully funny than those awkward tween years?), 1 p.m. Saturday the 10th, or, for the truly bloodthirsty, Fordham University Comedy Troupe (whose acronym we’ll avoid spelling out here), a group that pulls no punches—seriously: check out their skit Nun Ruler—8 p.m. Friday the 9th and Saturday...

Tough Talk

In the wake of all of the warm fuzzies and holiday cheer, what better way to return to the cynicism of the real world than a night with Neil LaBute? To cap off its season dedicated to the darkly comedic playwright, Profiles Theatre (4147 N. Broadway; profilestheatre.org) hosts an evening with LaBute on Saturday, January 3rd. A preshow reception begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by readings and an audience Q&A. Admission is $50 and includes a ticket to the theatre’s next...

Here’s one you won’t see in back-to-back rotation on the ABC Family channel: The Third Annual Hideout Christmas Dinosaur Panto—a play modeled on the traditional British style of pantomime, which calls for lots of audience participation in the form of hissing and booing—follows Charles Darwin in his quest to discover the origins of Christmas, and stars such local luminaries as rocker Jon Langford (as a woman) and Hideout co-owner Tim Tuten (as the father of evolutionary theory). If that’s not trippy enough, Old Style cans are a mere $2. The show runs 7 and 10 p.m. Friday...

Caroling is so anaerobic. You haven’t experienced “Winter Wonderland” until it’s been sweated out by a pack of hardcore hoofers. Case in point: Chicago Tap Theatre’s Tidings of Tap!, featuring choreography set to seasonal tunes from the Grinch theme to Hanukkah songs. Performances run 8 p.m. Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th, 3 p.m. Sunday the 14th at U.I.C. Theater (1044 W. Harrison St.; chicagotaptheatre.com). Tickets are $18 to $30. Across town, Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin leads his annual production The Nut Tapper (get those snickers out of the way now), a loose interpretation of, yes, The Nutcracker...