Buzzer

Through 3/9 Tracey Scott Wilson (The Good Negro) explores the intricacies of race and class via a successful, smartphone-obsessed African American lawyer, his white wife, and their pill-popping houseguest. Jessica Thebus directs a cast of three (Eric Lynch, Lee Stark, and Shane Kenyon) in this whip-smart exploration of color and class lines. $10–$30. Goodman Owen Theatre, 170 N Dearborn. goodmantheatre.org

Chapatti

3/7–4/13 A pair of magnificent actors—John Mahoney and Penny Slusher—team up for Christian O’Reilly’s Dublin-set romance between a man, a woman, 19 cats, and the titular beast: a dog. $15–$58. Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie, Skokie. northlight.org

Happy

Through 3/16 “I don’t know a single person who’s happy who isn’t high,” notes one of the characters in Robert Caisley’s caustic look at a quartet of friends who find their contentment crumbling during a long booze-fueled cocktail party. Elly Green directs. $30–$35. Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W Bryn Mawr. redtwist.org

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

3/14–5/3 Beware of faeries bearing love-in-idleness! The mischief-making herb can make you fall in love with an ass. So it goes in the enchanted woods of King Oberon and Queen Titania, where imps make fools of mortals as mismatched lovers frolic in folly. $10–$25. Piccolo Theatre at the Main Street Metra Station, 600 Main, Evanston. piccolotheatre.com

The Pitchfork Disney

Through 3/2 In this black comedy penned by Philip Ridley, two feral siblings and a wacky nightclub entertainer named Disney get into some trouble. $12–$20. Interrobang Theatre Project at the Athenaeum, 2936 N Southport. interrobangtheatreproject.org

The Reckoning of Kit and Little Boots

Through 3/2 Alas, poor Christopher Marlowe. As he dies from a stab wound to the eyeball, the Elizabethan playwright’s life flashes before his remaining ocular unit with the Roman emperor Caligula as his personal Mephistopheles. Think of it as a metaphysical buddy comedy. $12–$20. First Floor Theater at the Den Theatre, 1333 N Milwaukee. firstfloortheater.com

Rough Crossing

Through 3/2 A comedically deft cast, featuring Kevin McKillip and René Ruelas, takes to the high seas in Tom Stoppard’s linguistically dazzling romp about a couple of playwrights trying to keep their show from sinking while aboard the SS Italian Castle. $22–$37. First Folio Theatre at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W 31st, Oak Brook. firstfolio.org

The Taming of the Shrew

Through 3/30 Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Provision Theater moves Shakespeare’s battle of the sexes from Elizabethan Italy to Little Italy in Chicago. Susan Moniz takes on the role of an acid-tongued lass who captures the heart of a machismo control freak. $10–$32. Provision Theater, 1001 W Roosevelt. provisiontheater.org