Theater Spotlight
The Joffrey Ballet presents the U.S. premiere of choreographer John Neumeier's modern reinterpretation of the classic 1876 ballet Sylvia. Using Neumeier's same production from Germany's Hamburg Ballet, the Joffrey dancers play goddesses, nymphs, shepherds and more in this tale of feminine power and love. Sylvia plays now through Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. Tickets are $32-$155; call 800-982-2787, or visit www.joffrey.org or www.auditoriumtheatre.org .
Photo of Holger Badekow/Hamburg Ballet
Critics' Picks
Disgraced, Goodman Theatre, through Oct. 18. Wealthy New York attorney Amir Kapoor has changed his name to distance himself from his Moslem identity. A perfect stormnot all of his makingengulfs him when he's challenged as to who he is and what he believes in a production with lovely, centered performances. JA
Funnyman, Northlight Theatre, Skokie, extended through Oct. 25. Bruce Graham provides a great vehicle for actors George Wendt and Tim Kazurinsky to respectively play an aging comedian and his loyal agent as they face up to a changing entertainment landscape. SCM
Sucker Punch, Victory Gardens Theater, through Oct. 18. Roy Williams' searing portrait of South London slums during the Thatcher years focuses on a shabby boxing gym populated by passion-fueled pilgrims who fight in and out of the ring. MSB
The Tempest, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, through Nov. 8. Aaron Posner and Teller's adaptation of Shakespeare's lost-on-a-desert-island fantasy boasts so much kaleidoscopic dazzle that you'll want to see it twice, but you only have time to see it once, so don't wait. MSB
By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Morgan