Get some laughs with “The Odd Couple,” presented by Thin Ice Ensemble Theater, a youth theater based in Evanston. It’s also last weekend to catch Mudlark’s “Through the Looking Glass” and the winter circus by Actors Gymnasium. These are among the many performances on stage in and around Evanston this weekend.
The Odd Couple
After their thoroughly fed up wives throw them out, slovely sportswriter Oscar Madison (Paavo Mueller, Chicago) and uptight neat freak Felix Ungar (Eric Edstrom, Chicago) decide to move in together, thinking they’ll save on expenses and have a few laughs. It turns out the laughs are on them.
By Thin Ice Ensemble Theater, 4400 Greenwood St., Skokie, March 22-24, tickets $12-14
Through the Looking Glass
Alice is back in this sparkling adaptation of the sequel to “Alice in Wonderland.” In “Through the Looking Glass,” Alice reunites with some familiar faces, while encountering a whole chessboard of absurd new players including Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, and the formidable Red Queen. Join Mudlark as we journey into this madcap tale of self-discovery, absurdity, and pretend.
At Mudlark Theater, 927 Noyes St., runs through March 23, tickets $11-14
The Last Word
This unique quintet combines music, lyrics and poetry to take spoken word into a whole new realm. Featuring vocalist Al Day and poet Marc Kelly Smith, backed by pianist Bob Long, bassist Doug Lofstrom and saxophonist Brian Gephart.
At Studio5, 1934-38 Dempster St., Friday, March 22, tickets $20-25
A Number
Powerful, unpredictable and devastating, Caryl Churchill’s suspenseful ‘A Number’ sees a father meeting his “estranged” son over several visits. As they reconnect, multiplying lies are uncovered, revealing a surprising truth about their shared past that leads directly to the provocative questions: how much do we pass on to our children and is it really possible to atone for our mistakes?
At Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, runs March 20 through June 9, tickets $50-60
Landladies
Marti and Christine are both working their way to a better life – one a self-made building owner clawing her way to the top, the other a single mom juggling the care of her daughter with a part-time job and a complicated ex-boyfriend. They have a lot in common, but as landlady and tenant their friendship walks a delicate balance. Faced with dilemmas of fairness versus kindness and honesty versus eviction, both women are determined to build a home, and both know the threat of losing one.
At Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, runs through April 20, tickets $30-52
The Bridges of Madison County
Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy, looks forward to a rare four days alone on her Iowa farm when her family heads to the 1965 State Fair then. Then, ruggedly handsome National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid pulls into her driveway seeking directions…
At Theo Ubique, Howard Street Theatre, 721 Howard St., runs through April 21, tickets $39-69
All the Time in the World
The 10th annual Winter Circus is a circus about time. Trudy is a young girl who lives a hectic life with her very busy family, and who also has an imaginary friend. When Trudy’s imaginary friend is suddenly too busy to play with her and leaves to join the circus, she and her parents enter the circus paracosm to find more time and reunite Trudy and her imaginary friend.
At Actors Gymnasium, Noyes Cultural Center, 927 Noyes St., runs through March 24, tickets $30-60
May The Road Rise Up
Shannon O’Neill’s newest play shows the consequences of a community that fails to communicate, and how refusing to grieve can lead to tragedies of its own.
At The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St., Chicago, runs through March 30, tickets $25
Seussical
In this fantastical, magical musical, some of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters are lovingly brought to life with the Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and all of the Whos of Whoville. These classic, colorful tales are brought together by Jojo, a young “thinker of strange and wonderful thinks.”
At Marriott Lincolnshire, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, runs through March 31, tickets $18