Photo: Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago
A scene from Oklahoma!
BARNUM
Through 6/16 Cy Coleman explores the infamous life of Phineas Taylor Barnum, founder of the circus that bears his name, in a musical filled with acrobats, trapeze artists, and jugglers. $25–$59. Mercury Theater, 3745 N Southport. mercurytheaterchicago.com.
THE BOOK OF MORMON
Through 9/8 Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s highly irreverent Tony-sweeping musical skewers Mormon missionaries. $45–$200. Bank of America Theatre, 18 W Monroe. broadwayinchicago.org.
HAIR [Not currently running; scheduled for spring 2014.]
Through 6/30 The director P.J. Papparelli teams up with the countercultural musical’s cocreator to restore original material that hasn’t been seen in Hair since its 1968 Broadway debut. $43–$85. American Theatre Company, 1909 W Byron. atcweb.org.
OKLAHOMA!
5/4–5/19 The Lyric ventures into Rodgers and Hammerstein territory with the musical about statehood, feuding cowboys and ranchers, frontier sweethearts, and a lost soul named Jud. $32–$163. Lyric Opera, 20 N Wacker. lyricopera.org.
OLIVER!
Through 6/2 The musical take on Dickens’s classic tale of a hungry orphan’s adventures among pickpockets and undertakers. $32–$50. Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, 100 Drury, Oakbrook Terrace. drurylaneoakbrook.com.
THE PAJAMA GAME
Through 5/12 The director Jess McLeod helms a show that features the iconic Broadway numbers “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.” $32–$40. Music Theatre Company, 1850 Green Bay. themusictheatrecompany.org.
PAL JOEY
Through 5/26 Susie McMonagle (Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia!) leads an impressive cast in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s Chicago-set story of a scheming nightclub performer who charms a society dame. $32–$40. Porchlight Music Theatre at Stage 773, 1225 W Belmont. porchlightmusictheatre.org.
PLOUGHED UNDER: AN AMERICAN SONGBOOK
Through 6/9 The composer Kevin O’Donnell weaves American folk stories in a tapestry of original music that evokes U.S. history through the sonic filter of African American and Native American music. See “These Three New Plays Put New Twists on Extremely Old Tales.” $25. House Theatre of Chicago, 1543 W Division. thehousetheatre.com.
SOUTH PACIFIC
Through 6/2 In Rodgers and Hammerstein’s World War II–set classic, Ensign Nellie Forbush falls in love and must confront her own racism and the conflict that rages in the South Seas. $35–$45. Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, 10 Marriott Pkwy, Lincolnshire. marriotttheater.com.
WHAT A GLORIOUS FEELING
Through 6/2 What went on behind the scenes of the all-American musical Singin’ in the Rain? Theatre at the Center investigates the backstage drama, delving into the offscreen love triangles and other shenanigans. $32–$42. Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge, Munster, Ind. theatreatthecenter.com.
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