Theater Spotlight
About Face Theatre scored a critical and audience hit with Patricia Kane's Pulp in the past. So if you previously missed this post-World War II-set musical focusing on lesbians seeking love, then don't miss the special two performances this week to celebrate About Face Theatre's 20th Anniversary. Pulp plays 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 12 and 13, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets are $15 and almost sold out; call 773-327-5252 or visit www.aboutfacetheatre.com for more information.
Critics Picks
East of Eden, Steppenwolf Theatre, through Nov. 15. Frank Galati's adaptation retains all the epic grandeur of John Steinbeck's classic novel of intergenerational strife in the fertile regions of California's Salinas Valley during the dawn of the 20th century. MSB
Good for Otto, Gift Theatre, through Dec. 20. Both profound and invigorating, David Rabe's world premiere looks at two community mental-health workers and their patients struggling with parental abandonment. Rabe's skill makes it more exciting and entertaining than you'd think. JA
R&J: The Vineyard, Oracle + Red Theatre, through Nov. 21. Shakespeare's timeless tale of forbidden love is transported to the deaf community of Martha's Vineyard in the 1890s, where sign-language renders silent hands as eloquent as rhymed verse. MSB
Wozzeck, Lyric Opera of Chicago, through Nov. 21. Alban Berg's expressionistic opera about a German soldier descending into madness is smartly and touchingly updated to just after World War I in Sir David McVicar's shell-shocked new production. SCM
By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Morgan