Has there ever been a season with as much music in the air as this autumn? It seems like every theater with room for a piano or a boom box has assembled a squad of warblers on the principle that audiences want to go home whistling a happy tune. ( Ironically, Theo Ubique kicks off its season Sept. 19 with the lyrical, but non-musical, Lady's Not For Burning. And please note that Louis Slotin Sonata, playing at A Red Orchid through Oct. 24, is not a musical. )
Currently running:
—True Twilight: A Glee Club Musical, Gorilla Tango, through Sept. 22 ( 773-598-4549 ) . "Don't stop buh-leeding"—you saw this one coming, didn't you?
—Big River, BoHo Theatre at Theater Wit ( fka Bailiwick Arts Center ) , through Oct. 10 ( 773-975-8150 ) . The late Roger Miller wrote the music for this adaptation of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
—Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Theatre at the Center in Munster, through Oct. 10 ( 209-836-3255 ) . Two con artists looking to score make with the song and dance.
—Sunday in the Park With George, Porchlight Theatre at Stage 773 ( fka Theatre Building Chicago ) , through Oct. 31 ( 773-327-5252 ) . That's "Georges," as in Seurat, but Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine are the real headliners.
—A Chorus Line, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, through Oct. 31 ( 847-634-0200 ) . All they need are the music and the mirror—you know the rest.
—Billy Elliot, Broadway in Chicago at the Ford Oriental, through Jan. 15 ( 800-775-2000 ) . Little boys can defy gravity, too.
Opening:
—The Wedding Singer, Circle Theatre in Oak Park, opening Sept. 22, through Oct. 31 ( 708-771-0700 ) . Based on the film that made Adam Sandler a star, this show is in new closer-to-the-El quarters.
—Rock of Ages, Broadway In Chicago at the Bank of America Shubert Theatre, opening Sept. 22, through Oct. 3 ( 800-775-2000 ) . Goofier than Xanadu and a whole lot louder—cum on, feel the noize.
—The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights, opening Sept. 23, through Nov. 6 ( 847-577-2121 ) . Orthographic angst in the suburbs.
—She Loves Me, Writers' Theatre in Glencoe, opening Sept. 24, through Nov. 21 ( 847-242-6000 ) . Sweethearts who don't know each other exists are the stuff of romance.
—Company, Griffin Theater at Stage 773, opening Sept. 25, through Nov. 14. ( 773-327-5252 ) . Here's more Stephen Sondheim.
—Daddy Long Legs, Northlight Theatre in Skokie, opening Sept. 25, through Oct. 24 ( 847-673-6300 ) . It's a beauty-and-the-beast tale of an orphan girl and her mysterious benefactor.
—Candide, Goodman Theatre, opening Sept. 27, through Oct. 24 ( 312-443-3800 ) . Long before Sir Andrew or Sir Elton, the team of Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilber and Hugh Wheeler fused classical and pop, but look for Mary Zimmerman to further scramble the genres.
—The Lion King, Broadway in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace, opening Sept. 29, through Nov. 27 ( 800-775-2000 ) . It's Animal House, Julie Taymor style.
—Macbeth, Lyric Opera of Chicago, opening Oct. 1, through Oct. 30 ( 312-332-2244 x5600 ) . It's Verdi, not Shakespeare—but with Barbara Gaines directing and Robin McFarquhar staging the swordplay, it's an easy mistake.
—I Do! I Do!, Light Opera Works at the McGaw YMCA in Evanston, opening Oct. 3, through Nov. 14 ( 847-869-6300 ) . Fantastiks Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's two-character chronicle of a marriage.
—Musical of the Living Dead, Cowardly Scarecrow Theatre Company at the Charnel House, opening Oct. 7, through Oct. 31 ( 773-871-9046 ) . Zombies are at it again, enhanced by Greg Poljacik's Frankenstein-In-Love blood F/X.
—Carmen, Lyric Opera, opening Oct. 13, through Oct. 29 ( 312-332-2244 x5600 ) . Beware of those gypsy girls, especially when they have Chuck Coyl teaching them knife-fighting.
—Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Drury Lane Theatre in Oak Brook, opening Oct. 20, through Dec. 19 ( 630-530-0111 ) . A pack of lust-drunk men abduct their neighbors' daughters—but after enough music, everything ends happily.
—The Other Cinderella, Black Ensemble, opening Oct. 24, through Jan. 9 ( 773-769-4451 ) . This annual holiday fable is a showcase for budding Chicago talent.
—A Midsummer's Night Dream, Lyric Opera of Chicago, opening Nov. 5, through Nov. 23 ( 312-332-2244 x5600 ) . The Chicago premiere of Benjamin Britten's take on Shakespeare's famous fairy tale.
Not musicals, but plays with music:
—Aftermath, Signal Ensemble, opening Nov. 6, through Nov. 21 ( 773-347-1350 ) . A second chance for Rolling Stones fans who missed this smash hit docudrama when it premiered last May.
—Doo Lister's Blues, National Pastime Theater, opening Oct. 1, through Nov. 21 ( 773-327-7077 ) . "It's the blues! It's not supposed to be easy!"—not in Terry Abrahamson's drama of civil rights in Chicago.
Moving into the holidays:
—It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Theater at the Center in Munster, opening Nov. 11, through Dec. 12 ( 219-836-3255 ) . Another adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street, this one by the late Music Man himself, Meredith Wilson.
—A Civil War Christmas, Northlight Theatre in Skokie, opening Nov. 20, through Dec. 31 ( 847-673-6300 ) . Felicia Fields, Paula Scrofano and an all-star cast sing post-bellum ballads.
—Liberace, Milwaukee Rep at the Stackner Cabaret in Milwaukee, opening Nov. 19, through Jan. 16 ( 414-224-9490 ) . This Beer City homeboy was the Lady Gaga of the 1950s, and this revue recreates his glory days.
—Wicked, Broadway in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace, opening Dec. 3, through Jan. 23 ( 800-775-2000 ) . The witches of Oz return.
—The Mikado, Lyric opera, opening Dec. 6, through Jan. 21 ( 312-332-2244, ext. 5600 ) . Gary Griffin directs the Gilbert & Sullivan classic.
—The Pirates of Penzance, The Hypocrites at the Chopin, opening Dec. 14, through Jan. 30 ( 773-989-7352 ) . Sean Graney deconstructs the Gilbert & Sullivan classic.
