Up-and-running shows we think are hot, or about-to-open shows that should be:
DRACULA: THE PUPPET PLAY, Red Hen Productions, opens Oct. 31 and Runs through Dec. 31. Bats, rats and puppets to make you watch over your shoulder all the way home. Remember that Council Of Elders in The Dybbuk? ( Barnidge )
PAN AND BOONE, Running With Scissors, through Nov. 17. Playwright Jeff Carey showed all the signs of the Right Stuff when his plays were first performed in one of the Organic Theatre Studios during the early '90s. See how he's grown. ( Barnidge )
ROUNDING THIRD, Northlight Theatre, through Nov. 17. Marking Second City alumni George Wendt's return to the Chicago stage, this bittersweet tale of two Little League coaches is a surprisingly effective entertainment, a sort of "Odd Couple" on the playing field. ( Reed )
LATE NIGHT CATECHISM, Royal George Theater, open run. Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan's on-target take on Catholic parochial schools is still a winner, a deservedly long-running, international Chicago-born hit. ( Reed )