Photo: Joe Mazza – BraveLux

The cast of The Soverign Statement, in previews now and opening at the Neo-Futurists theatre October 21.

OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES
Through 11/24 Laugh until you plotz. $49–$99. Royal George Theater, 1641 N Halsted. oldjewstellingjokesonstage.com/chicago/home.

PORT AUTHORITY
10/29–2/16 Conor McPherson returns to monologue form in this play about three generations of men who recount stories of lost love, big dreams, and irrevocable choices. William Brown directs. $35–$70. Writers Theatre at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon, Glencoe.

PYGMALION
10/12–11/4 Expert Shavian director Robert Scogin helms this tale of an imperious Edwardian phonetics professor (Christian Gray) who turns a Cockney flower seller (Lydia Berger-Gray) into a well-spoken aristocrat. $30. $25 seniors, $15 students. Shaw Chicago at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N Dearborn. shawchicago.org.

SMOKEFALL
10/5–11/3 A pair of in utero twins contemplate their future as their pregnant mother deals with pending personal catastrophe. $10–$40. Goodman Owen Theatre, 170 N Dearborn. goodmantheatre.org.

THE SOVEREIGN STATEMENT
10/21–11/23 Neo-Futurists member Bilal Dardai turns the conventions of political thrillers and police procedurals inside out. Previews 10/17 through 10/19, $20. Regular run $20. Neo-Futurists at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N Ashland. neofuturists.org.

THE TABLE
10/16–27 The company that created many of the puppets used for the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games in London arrives at Navy Pier for a 70-minute show inspired by Samuel Beckett, the Bible, and the IKEA catalog. $35. Blind Summit at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E Grand. chicagoshakes.com, blindsummit.com.

TREVOR
10/11–11/24 Red Orchid Theatre ensemble members Mierka Girten and Larry Grimm portray caretakers of a mischievous chimpanzee. $25–$35. A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N Wells. aredorchidtheatre.org.

UNWILLING AND HOSTILE INSTRUMENTS: 100 YEARS OF CHICAGO WOMEN
10/1–27 Theatre Seven marks the centennial of the women’s suffrage movement in Chicago with eight short plays. $16–$20. Theatre Seven at the American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron. theatreseven.org.

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