Theater spotlight
See what happens when the fairy realm orchestrates a takeover of the House of Lords in Parliament in Gilbert and Sullivan's whimsical Iolanthe. Last staged by the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company and the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra in 2008, this 1882 comic operetta is a particular delight for die-hard Anglophiles. Iolanthe plays 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11, with a matinee 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the University of Chicago's Manel Hall, 1131 E. 57th St. Tickets are $25 and $5 for students.; call 773-702-2787 or visit Ticketsweb.UChicago.edu .
Caption: Angela Young Smucker in Iolanthe. Photo courtesy of Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company
Critics' Picks
Blizzard '67, 16th Street Theater, Berwyn, extended through March 11. An exceptionally well-done revival of Jon Steinhagen's play marks the 50th anniversary of the Big Blow which paralyzed Chicago. This extremely smart play isn't about the blizzard, but about how it changes the lives of four rat-race guys who carpool. JA
Straight White Men, Steppenwolf Theatre, through March 26. They are the models of our society and everybody tells them they have it madeso why are they the loneliest creatures on earth? MSB
Uncle Vanya, Goodman Theatre, through March 19. Chekhov's classic rueful "comedy" about wasted time and regret receives a strong staging by director Robert Falls in the Chicago premiere of a recent adaptation by playwright Annie Baker ( The Flick, Circle Mirror Transformation ). SCM
A Wonder in My Soul, Victory Gardens at the Biograph, through March 19. You can trace the progress of the African-American experience in the cheery confines of a Chicago hair salon, and Marcus Gardley makes it fun, too. MSB
By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Morgan