After tackling Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults turns its attention to George Orwell's chillingly prescient novel 1984. Andrew White is the adaptor and Steppenwolf for Young Adults artistic and educational director Hallie Gordon stages a multimedia production about a man who starts to question his place working for a government that is at constant war and one that relentlessly keeps its citizens under electronic surveillance by "Big Brother." It plays now through Sunday, Nov. 15, in the Upstairs Theatre of Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Tickets are $20 and $15 for students with ID; call 312-335-1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org .
Pre-production art by Michelle Nolan
Critics' Picks
American Idiot, The Hypocrites through Oct. 25. A silly and thin story of angst-riddled young adults has been cobbled around the really fine songs of Green Day but, wow, do these kids ever put on a show! JA
Bad Jews, Theater Wit at Royal George Theatre, extended through Dec. 10. Take sides in an epic battle over a prized family heirloom in Joshua Harmon's scathingly funny and thoughtful comedy. This show has become Theater Wit's biggest hit, with seven extensions. SCM
The ( curious case of the ) Watson Intelligence, Theater Wit, through Nov. 14. Madeleine George, author of the smart and funny Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England, contemplates the complications when science is able to create the perfect mate ( who looks a lot like a teddy-cuddly Joe Foust ). MSB
The Price, Timeline Theatre at Baird Hall, through Nov. 22. Arthur Miller didn't write his play about estranged brothers as a vehicle for an 89-year-old estate assessor played by Mike Nussbaum, but the 91-year-old actor is why you can't afford to miss this classic. MSB
By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Morgan