Blue Stockings, Promethean Theatre Ensemble at the Den, through Oct. 13. Jessica Swale's inspirational historical drama recounts the struggle of women seeking an education in STEM sciences against stodgy male prejudice at an elite university in 1897. MSB
Something Rotten! Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, through Oct. 20—Musicals and Shakespeare blend in this unashamedly derivative, anachronistic and irreverent comedy, in which Shakespeare's rivals try gaming the system by acting on predictions from a relative of Nostradamus. SCM
The Great Leap, Steppenwolf, through Oct. 20—A 5'5" Chinese-American basketball star, Tiananmen Square, international politics and rival coaches shape Lauren Yee's imaginative, impossible creation myth about Tank Man. Gregg Obrero dazzles as the b'ball prodigy. JA
The Color Purple, Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace, through Nov. 3—Director Lili-Anne Brown allows this speedy musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning to properly breathe with great emotional performances and gorgeous singing. SCM
—By Mary Shen Barnidge, Scott C. Morgan and Jonathan Abarbanel
