Jonathan Shaboo and Rae Gray in “Uncle Vanya”/Photo: George Hudson

1
Uncle Vanya
(The New Theatre Project)
Chekhov comes to the shop floor: Spencer Huffman directs a cast that includes Larry Grimm, Rae Gray and Jonathan Weir, performing at a titanium rack factory “transformed into the fading Russian estate” of the playwright’s world.
Starts January 9

2
Glassheart
(City Lit)
Chicago playwright Reina Hardy’s reimagining of “Beauty and the Beast,” where “Beauty never showed up” and Beast tries to break his curse while living in an affordable apartment on the North Side of Chicago.
Starts January 10

3
Lobby Hero
(Shattered Globe Theatre)
Nate Santana directs this production of Kenneth Lonergan’s tale about a murder investigation in the entryway of a nondescript Manhattan apartment building in the middle of the night.
Starts January 24

4
Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley
(TimeLine Theatre)
“A site-specific, immersive Chicago premiere” staged sixty years after James Baldwin and William F. Buckley’s seminal debate on the country’s racial divides.
Starts January 29

5
Fool for Love
(Steppenwolf)
Jeremy Herrin directs Sam Shepard’s “twisted and tequila-soaked love letter” set in a motel room in the Southwest.
Starts January 30