Blues for an Alabama Sky, Eclipse, Victory Gardens Greenhouse, through April 29. The main conflict doesn't arise until Act II, but you'll enjoy the characters and 1930s period setting in the waning days of the Harlem Renaissance in Pearl Cleage's acclaimed drama. SCM
Equus, Actors Workshop Theatre, through May 22. This intelligent, feeling and crisp reading of the popular Peter Shaffer tale of a boy and his horse is a tight squeeze in a 44-seat storefront, but the confrontation between the Dionysian and the rational plays big. JA
The Sparrow, House Theatre of Chicago, Steppenwolf Garage, through April 21. Transplanting this hit show to the steel-box Steppenwolf garage makes for less sprawl and sharper acoustics, intensifying the intimacy of this exquisite pop-fantasy myth. MSB
Thom Paine ( based on nothing ) , Theater Wit, The Viaduct, through April 29. Don't let the non-sequiturs fool you. Life in its entirety—messy, carnal, aching, joyous and tragic—lies within this 70-minute monologue, delivered with dizzying nuance by Lance Baker. CS
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge, Morgan and Sullivan