Glamorous young widow Hannah Glawari has all the money to save the bankrupt country of Pontevedro, but all she wants is a reunion with her childhood sweetheart, Count Danilo. After many complications, Franz Lehar's evergreen, ravishing 1905 operetta, The Merry Widow, concludes with a party at Paris's Café de Maxim's. The original 1907 New York and Chicago productions starred Lina Abarbanell, distant cousin of WCT's theater editor. In this new production at the McAninch Arts Center ( The Mac ) in Glen Ellyn, the lusty widow is played by soprano Alisa Suzanne Jordheim with baritone Jesse Donner as Count Danilo, heading an ensemble of 35, accompanied by the New Philharmonic under Maestro Kirk Muspratt. The production is staged by Michael La Tour and is sung in English. Performances of The Merry Widow are Jan. 24, 25 and 26. Tickets: 630-942-4000; AtTheMAC.org; $59.