Theater & Shows in Oak Lawn

No disrespect to Charles Dickens, but we’ve seen A Christmas Carol more than enough times. This year alone, more than a dozen versions of Scrooge and Tiny Tim will grace stages throughout the Chicagoland area. In the spirit of the old Christmas song, here are 12 days’ worth of alternatives—some of which, we admit, owe a bit of their plot lines to the Dickens classic. "The Revenge of Radio Goggles" Presented by Oracle Productions  The scripts in the Radio Goggles series were once only heard by audiences. Oracle Productions expands the shows’ initial presentation by fully staging them with shadow puppetry, projections, and actors who lip sync along to the original recordings. The Christmas edition features three yuletide-themed playlets, including a wintertime Sherlock Holmes mystery and a caper where Mephisto and a dead Emperor Nero (voiced by Orson Welles) attempt to overthrow Santa Claus. (3809 N. Broadway. Now running through December 14. Tickets: free.) "The Nutcracker" Presented by The House Theatre of Chicago The Nutcracker is arguably as familiar as A Christmas Carol. Unless it’s being performed by The House. For one, there’s no Tchaikovsky. Instead, the music in this modernized adaptation comes courtesy of local composer wunderkind and frequent House collaborator Kevin O’Donnell. With lyrics by Jake Minton, the songs remain both ethereal and playful as Clara receives the play’s eponymous toy, which soon comes to life. Together, Clara and the Nutcracker explore a winter wonderland and square off against an army of rats brought to life by giant-headed puppets. (Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Street. Now running through December 29. Tickets: $30.) "The Santaland Diaries" Presented by Theater Wit Adapted from David Sedaris’s wickedly humorous essay, The Santaland Diaries recounts the writer’s time as a department-store elf named Crumpet. The 70-minute monologue deals with Crumpet’s holiday disenchantment and various misadventures, from sending kids to a “vomit corner” to dealing with racist parents. (1229 W. Belmont Avenue. Now running through December 29. Tickets: $30–$35.) "If Scrooge Was a Brother" Presented by eta Creative Arts Foundation  We know. We said we were tired of A Christmas Carol. But this script puts a fresh spin on its source material by updating the setting and recasting the titular miser as a black slumlord. The final result—although packed with funny moments—is more serious than its title suggests, getting the audience into the holiday spirit while asking them serious questions about race and poverty. (7558 S. Chicago Avenue. Now running through December 29. Tickets: $30.) "It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" Presented by American Blues Theater Performed by eight actors with live foley effects, music, and old-timey commercials, American Blues’ annual holiday production whisks audiences back to a 1940s radio broadcast of Frank Capra’s beloved film. After the show, everyone gets to join the cast for milk and cookies in the theater. (Greenhouse Theater Center, 1909 W. Byron Street.  Now running through December 29. Tickets: $19–$49.) "A Christmas Memory" and "The Thanksgiving Visitor" Presented by Provision Theater Company  Truman Capote wrote both of these largely autobiographical short stories, which center on a young boy named Buddy, and his bond with his much older and eccentric cousin. Over the holidays, they enjoy the countryside, and Buddy learns several lessons about loss, family, and friendship. (1001 W. Roosevelt Road. Now running through December 29. Tickets: $10–$32.) "Burning Bluebeard" Presented by The Ruffians On December 30, 1903, a fire raged inside Chicago’s Iroquois Theatre, killing 600 people. Burning Bluebeard—remounted by the same actors and directors of 2011’s smash Neo-Futurists production—servers as a eulogy to this Christmas tragedy while also putting a redemptive spin on it. As the audience settles into their seats, six clowns rise from the ashes in hopes of completing their holiday pantomime that was cut too short. (Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Avenue. Now running through January 5. Tickets: $25–$30.) "Hellcab" Presented by Profiles Theatre  The premise is simple: One car. 34 passengers. Hellcab centers on a cabbie’s long shift during a frigid Christmas Eve in Chicago. While the driver remains the same, a rogues’ gallery of drug addicts, lawyers, drunks, couples, and drunk couples cycle in and out of his vehicle, showing him both the joy and misery of urban life during the holidays. (The Profiles Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. Now running through January 12. Tickets:  $35–$40.) "We Three Lizas" Presented by About Face Theatre Many Christmas stories depict a down-and-out character receiving a visit from a spiritual guide. It’s A Wonderful Life has a guardian angel, A Christmas Carol has three ghosts. We Three Lizas, on the other hand, has a trio of Liza Minnellis. When a washed-up box maker needs a Christmas miracle to reclaim his family, friends, and artistry, three incarnations of the Broadway diva magically appear at his door, kicking off a queer musical extravaganza about love and redemption. (Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Avenue. November 27–January 5. Tickets: $10–$20 for preview performances; $20–$45 for regular performances.) "A Christmas Carol – a black and white silent play" Presented by Silent Theatre Company Although A Christmas Carol is praised for Dickens’s evocative dialogue, you won’t hear a single word of it at Silent Theatre Company’s latest production. Instead, the ensemble tells the story using the tools of silent cinema. A live musician provides the score, exaggerated movement conveys the story, and the costumes and makeup come in only two colors: black and white. (Prop Thtr, 3504 N. Elston Avenue. November 30–December 29. Tickets: $15.) "A Klingon Christmas Carol" Presented by Commedia Beauregard Like Silent Theatre Company, Commedia Beauregard’s take on A Christmas Carol also experiments with language, replacing Dickens’s colorful Victorian dialogue with guttural Klingon. Despite the vernacular shift and the play taking place in an entirely different galaxy, the themes of the original story remain the same, only with a lot more bat’leth duels. The production also has English supertitles for any non-Trekkies in the audience. (Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark Street. November 30–December 29. Tickets: $20–$30.) "Silent Night of the Living Dead" Presented by New Millennium Theatre Company It may be the zombie apocalypse, but Barbara Cooper vows not to let it ruin her holiday. In spite of the carnage outside and half of her family now craving brains instead of Christmas turkey, Barbara attempts to keep the yuletide spirit alive. What ensues is a schlocky winter spin on George A. Romero’s classic zombie film, splattered with plenty of guts, tinsel, and dark humor. (Studio BE, 3110 N. Sheffield Avenue. December 6–29. Tickets: $15.) Photo: Evan Hanover (Burning Bluebeard)

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the comedian, he’s probably just a few degrees removed from your favorite star. Hari Kondabolu should be more recognizable than he is. The comedian has performed on Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live and currently cohosts the increasingly popular Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast. But despite these successes, Kondabolu remains mostly under the radar. Given his prodigious talent for making people laugh, this is flummoxing. And it becomes even more so when you realize that his background links him to some very famous names beyond Conan and Kimmel. Here are nine facts about Hari that you might not be aware of. Even if you haven’t heard of him yet—don’t worry, you will—you’re bound to recognize some of the names he’s connected with. 1. The Queens-raised comedian graduated from Townsend Harris High School, as did Richard Rodgers and Ira Gershwin. The school mascot, Hari the Hawk, is named after him. 2. Hari went on to receive a master’s degree in human rights from the London School of Economics, whose alumni also include John F. Kennedy and Mick Jagger. This degree eventually helped him land a job—just not the one he expected. It was while Hari was working as an immigrants’-rights organizer at the 2006 HBO Comedy Festival in Seattle that he was discovered. 3. As an Indian American comic, Hari often bases his material on racial and cultural issues. This made him a natural as a writer for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, the now-defunct sociopolitical late-night show. 4. In October 2011, Hari joined the ranks of published Spin contributor Chuck Klosterman when he published his own cover story on Brooklyn rap group Das Racist. 5. Hari’s connection to Das Racist actually runs much deeper—hypeman Ashok “Dap” Kondabolu is his little brother. Together, they host the Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast. 6. Hari has become something of a fixture in the podcast/radio scene, with guest appearances on programs such as NPR’s All Things Considered and WTF with Marc Maron. 7. In December 2012, Hari was featured on a Flavorwire list of 2013 up-and-comers alongside Angel Haze and Girls star Alex Karpovsky. Flavorwire praised Hari’s work as “intelligent, political comedy that isn’t afraid to get a little bit radical.” 8. Earlier this month, Hari’s debut album, Waiting for 2042, was released on Kill Rock Stars. This makes The Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney, and the late Elliott Smith his labelmates. 9. On one of Waiting’s tracks, “Weezer Broke My Heart”, Hari laments the fact that, at 28, he had somehow become “the creepy old dude at a Weezer concert.” Hari Kondabolu performs at Lincoln Hall on Friday, April 4, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $14–$17 and can be purchased here. Photo courtesy of Hari Kondabolu

On the surface, the family of working-class Russian-American immigrants in Erika Sheffer’s Russian Transport couldn’t have less in common with the fading aristocrats who populate the plays of Anton Chekhov. For starters, the gang in The Cherry Orchard never had to deal with the Russian mafia. But on another level, Sheffer’s script—her first—presents a Chekhovian mix of comedy and tragedy involving characters who learn that their efforts to save themselves are too little, too late. Part sitcom and part thriller, the play—now onstage at Steppenwolf Theatre Company under the taut direction of Yasen Peyankov—introduces us to a Russian family of four living in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Matriarch Diana (Mariann Mayberry) rules her home with an iron fist, criticizing her husband’s (Alan Wilder) struggling car-dispatch business and demanding the money that her teenage son, Alex (Aaron Himelstein), brings home. She doesn’t know where the cash comes from, mind you, but it’s probably not from his job at a Verizon store. Diana also keeps a tight rein on her daughter, Mira (Melanie Neilan), who’s banned from school trips, kissing boys, and everything in-between. As played by Mayberry, Diana is a force to be reckoned with—every bit as ferocious and predatory as the big cats whose hides influence her wardrobe choices (costumes are by Ana Kuzmanic). But even Diana can’t control what happens when her brother, Boris (an uncharacteristically imposing Tim Hopper), arrives on the family’s doorstep, fresh from the old country. Boris soon takes over the house and, with Diana’s encouragement, draws the already law-breaking Alex into a horrifying illegal enterprise. By the time Alex discovers what his new job truly entails, there’s no easy way out. His dilemma is nicely captured by Himelstein, who contributes a twitchy vulnerability in contrast to Hopper’s threatening Boris. For Boris and Diana, achieving the American dream is all that matters, regardless of the soul-bankrupting cost. The younger characters, who haven’t faced the degree of hardship undergone by their elders, have a hard time understanding this. The generational divide is the heart and soul of Peyankov’s staging, which contrasts the kids’ Brooklyn dialects and American way of dressing with the first-generation manners of the adults. For all their disagreements, though, we never lose sight of the family’s love-hate bond, even when they’re saying things like, “I’ll crush your head like a nectarine!” The script only starts to sag in the second act, when arguments seem to drag on and character choices confound, implying that Sheffer couldn’t figure out how to wrap things up. At the last minute, though, the production saves face with a touching, if ambiguous, ending, where the younger generation tries to make a noble stand. We can only imagine what happens to them after the lights go dark, but at least we know they tried to do the right thing at least once. Russian Transport runs through May 11 at Steppenwolf’s upstairs theater (1650 N. Halsted St.). Tickets are $20–$78, and can be purchased here. Don’t agree with what we have to say? Check out Russian Transport’s other reviews at Theatre in Chicago.