EverGreen Theatre to present Jones' 'A Voice of My Own'

EverGreen Theatre Ensemble presents Elinor Jones' “A Voice of My Own,” which celebrates the triumphs and defeats women writers experienced through the centuries. Authors such as Sappho, George Sand, the Bronte sisters, Lillian Hellman and others comprise the drama chronicling what Jones described as women's emergence from the shadows to “speak with their own voices.”

Opens Friday, Dec. 3, at 1665 Quincy Ave., Naperville; runs Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 10-11 and 17-18 at the Naperville Women's Club, 14 S. Washington St., Naperville. See evergreentheatreensemble.org.

New spin

Vex Theatre upends Charles Dickens' classic tale as part of its “Twist-a-Carol” holiday revue. Among the short plays featured is “A Turn of the Scrooge,” “A Christmas Carol” in reverse in which three spirits convince a cheery Scrooge that the holidays are humbug.

Runs Friday to Sunday, Dec. 3-5, at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin. See vextheatre.org.

‘Blonde' in Rosemont

“Legally Blonde The Musical” about a chirpy, sorority girl dumped by her boyfriend, who follows him to Harvard Law School in an attempt to win him back returns to the Rosemont Theatre this weekend.

Runs Friday to Sunday, Dec. 3-5, at 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont. (800) 745-3000 or rosemonttheatre.com.

What's new

• The life of Johnny Cash inspired XIII Pocket's season-opening “Cash,” written by Stephen Louis Grush, who recently co-starred in Goodman Theatre's “The Seagull.” The play runs through Sunday, Dec. 19, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. See XIIIpocket.com.

• Congo Square Theatre remounts its well-loved production of “The Nativity,” McKinley Johnson's adaptation of Langston Hughes' chronicle of the birth of Christ, beginning Friday, Dec. 3, at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Aaron Todd Douglas directs and Kevin Iega Jeff choreographs the play with music. (312) 443-3800 or congosquaretheatre.org.

• The Gift Theatre celebrates the season with a late-night comedy and improv show “Get Behind Me Santa,” opening Friday, Dec. 3, at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The Gift teams up with nearby Gale Street Inn for a dinner-show package that includes a free ticket and free parking. (773) 283-7071 or thegifttheatre.org.

• A cranky, frustrated Mrs. Cratchit puts her foot down when husband Bob comes home with his 21st orphan in Christopher Durang's “Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge.” A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Company's Chicago area premiere of the adult show opens Friday, Dec. 3, at the Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 418-4475 or arftco.com.

• “Tour Guides,” an insider's look at Chicago, marks the inaugural production from the Guild Complex's Poetry Performance Incubator series. Chicago area poets penned the script which delivers a metaphorical tour of the city. Coya Paz directs. The show opens Friday, Dec. 3, at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St., Chicago. (877) 394-5061 or guildcomplex.org.

• Theater artists Tif Bullard, Michael Alaniz Macias and Marissa McKown team up for an original satire titled “Feedback” consisting of several vignettes all related to “the noise of opinion.” The show runs Friday through Sunday, Dec. 3-5, at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. See linkshall.org.

• Chicago's Rivendell Theatre Ensemble takes its acclaimed production of “These Shining Lives” to the Illinois city that inspired the drama about young women exposed to deadly radium at Ottawa's Radium Dial and Luminous Processes watch and clock factories during the 1920s and 1930s. Performances run Friday to Sunday, Dec. 3-5, at the Ottawa High School auditorium, 203 E. Main St., Ottawa. (815) 434-2737.

• Six Chicago area poets have 48 hours to come up with a theatrical program as part of a collaboration between publishers Kenning Editions, theater company Oracle Productions and The Poetry Foundation taking place this weekend at Oracle Theatre, 3809 N. Broadway, Chicago. Participating poets meet and create a poetry performance piece on Saturday, Dec. 4, and perform it at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. A talkback and book launch party for “The Kenning Anthology of Poets Theater: 1945-1985” follows. www.oracletheatre.org.

• The Nebraska Theatre Caravan brings its touring production of “A Christmas Carol,” adapted by Charles Jones, to Aurora's Paramount Theatre at 8 E. Galena Blvd. Performances are at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5, and at 9 a.m. and noon on Monday, Dec. 7. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com.

• Black Ensemble Theater's 6th annual Black Playwrights Festival runs Monday, Dec. 6-13, at the theater, 4520 N. Beacon St., Chicago. The festival showcases works by members of the company's Black Playwrights Initiative. It begins with an opening reception and salute to television writer and Chicago native Eric Monte who wrote and produced the film “Cooley High” and the TV shows “Good Times” and “What's Happening” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6. Featured plays include: “The Rare Pearl (The Story of Pearl Bailey)” by Wendell Etherly; “Urban Legend (The History of Tupac Shakur)” by Lyle Miller; “The Punk Ain't No Punk No More,” founder and artistic director Jackie Taylor's look at drugs and violence in the inner city; “The Psychology of A Genius: Dony Hathaway” by Kelvin Roston; “Sounds So Sweet” by Rueben Echoles; “More Than Words (A Tribute to Langston Hughes and Paul Lawrence Dunbar)” by Runako Jahi; along with four short plays by women writers Jasmine E. Coles, M.H. Pope, Loy Alexandria Webb and Marylene S. Whitehead. (773) 769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org.

• Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 W. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, presents “They Tell Me You Are,” a docu-theater piece by Ensemble Free Theater Norway. Members of the Oslo-based company interviewed various Chicago area professionals including a magician, waitress, dancer and others to create a piece that showcases their lives. (773) 598-4549 or gorillatango.com.

• Sean Graney directs The Hypocrites' production of “The Pirates of Penzance,” the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operetta about a young orphan apprenticed to a band of pirates who falls in love with a general's daughter, but finds he cannot extricate himself from his apprenticeship. The scaled-down production, featuring new arrangements by Kevin O'Donnell, opens Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. (773) 989-7352 or the-hypocrites.com.

• A 30-year-old virgin poet trying to find her artistic voice makes a decision that has lifetime consequences in Daniel Beaty's “Tearing Down the Walls,” a play with music that deals with AIDS in the African-American community. Eta Creative Arts Foundation presents the play's world premiere opening Thursday, Dec. 9, at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. All tickets are $10 from Dec. 9-19. No performances Dec. 23-31. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

• GayCo Productions' adult sketch comedy revue “Scream If You Love Christmas” opens Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago. See theannoyance.com for tickets.

• Wishbone Theatre Collective opens its 2010-2011 season with a one-night-only performance of “Awkward Turtling: A Night of Sketch Comedy!” at 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, at Fizz Bar and Grill, 3220 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. See wishbonetheatre.org. for tickets.

• Noble Fool, which will be re-christened Fox Valley Repertory in January, seeks new play submissions for its inaugural Summer Arts Festival, which takes place July 14-21 at the Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. Dubbed “Collider 2011,” the project will pair three playwrights with local scientists to pen world-premiere plays. Playwrights can also submit 10-minute plays for consideration in the theater's Big Bang 10-Minute Play Fest, which takes place during next summer's festival. See foxvalleyartsfestival.org for submission guidelines.

• Court Theatre has extended its production of Samm-Art Williams “Home,” a play set against the social and political upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s. Performances continue through Sunday, Dec. 19, at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago. (773) 753-4472 or courttheatre.org.

• Theater fans can participate in a day-of-performance drawing to snag a pair of $25 “Wicked” tickets in the first two rows when the musical opens its return Chicago engagement on Friday, Dec. 3, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. Entry forms are available the day of the performance at the box office. Ten names will be drawn two hours before curtain for a total of 20 tickets. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, offers a 2010-2011 flex pass with 10 admission to any production at the venue (including Theater Wit productions and those from resident and guest companies) for a reduced price of $200. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.

• In honor of its 32nd anniversary, Chicago Dramatists is sponsoring a competition to redesign its lobby and entry. The theater will partner with the Harrington College of Design Alumni Association for the contest, which is open to teams of students enrolled in the school's interior design program. The winning design will be unveiled at the opening of Chicago Dramatists' “Hickory Dickory” in March.