Theater: But wait, there’s more

Our Town
David Cromer’s sizzling, sold-out revival of Thornton Wilder’s chronicle of a small town had to turn away scores of hopeful theatergoers in the spring. It’s making a brief encore appearance with most of the original cast intact, including Cromer; get your tickets now. The Hypocrites at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W Division St (773-472-7352). Sept 20–Oct 26. $20–$25.

The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer
October marks the Chicago Shakes’ debut of a pair of rapscallions: Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe and storefront conceptualist Sean Graney. Marlowe’s history of the king’s overthrow will be staged in the ambulatory “promenade” style that Graney has recently used to clever effect. Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E Grand Ave at Navy Pier (312-595-5600). Oct 1–Nov 9. $20–$56.

Oobleck Election Play 2008: The Trojan Candidate
The anarchic Oobleck’s quadrennial election plays are a tradition dating back to 1992’s Embrace the Serpent by Marilyn Quayle and her Sister and Theater Oobleck. This year, host Dick Cheney guides us through the treacherous questions (and fragile candidate psyches) dotting the ’08 landscape. Theater Oobleck at Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N Ashland Ave (773-347-1041). Oct 3–Nov 3, $12 suggested donation.

The Thugs and Men of Tortuga
This LaBute-loving company devotes its fall season to two plays from new writers about office paranoia in the extreme. Jason Wells’s Tortuga follows a shadowy cabal of men in business suits plotting a perceived enemy’s assassination; in The Thugs, the Midwest debut of Off Broadway It Dude playwright Adam Bock, law-firm temps do their duties amid rumors of a murder in the building. The two run in repertory. Profiles Theatre, 4147 N Broadway (773-549-1815). Oct 3–Dec 14, $25–$30.

Read more in our 2008 Fall Preview.

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