The Gin Game, Apple Tree Theatre, through May 13. Actors Ann Whitney and Tony Mockus have 120 years of stage experience between them and a raft of Jeff nominations, making D.L. Coburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning tragicomedy a must-see show. CS
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, through May 6. Transfer of Collaboraction's serio-comedy about the Internet, AI and a trash-talking teen genius seeking her roots. Astonishing performance by Jennifer Shin. JA
A Lie of the Mind, Strawdog Theatre, through May 12. Mikhail Fiksel's Ennio Maricone-style incidental music lends a wry menace to the most tightly-wrapped ( and funny ) Sam Shepard weirdo-fest you're likely to see for many seasons to come. MSB
The Strangerer, Theater Oobleck at Links Hall, through May 12. George W. Bush meets Albert Camus' writing in a 2004 Presidential debate in Mickle Maher's political satire, and Watching PBS newsman Jim Lehrer repeatedly get bumped off is half the fun. SCM
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge, Morgan and Sullivan