The African Company Rehearses Richard III, Congo Square Theatre, through Oct. 15. Fact-based social drama about an American Negro theater troupe performing Shakespeare in 1821, 32 years before the end of slavery. Count on top acting at Congo Square. JA
Another Part of the House, Teatro Vista at Chopin Theatre, Sept. 19-Oct. 22. Latina playwright Migdalia Cruz puts a new spin on whatever she touches, including this reinterpretation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s classic tale of sexual repression. MSB
Fat Pig, Profiles Theatre, through Oct. 29. This is Neil Labute’s latest play, about a good-looking guy who falls for a plus-sized woman and how the relationship is sabotaged by his brutish buddies. Labute often is accused of being a misogynist but probably isn’t. JA
Grey, EP Theater, through Sept. 29. You have to hunt to find the entrance to this Pilsen venue at 1820 S. Halsted, but adventurous theatergoers will be rewarded by articulate arguments (and brief nudity) in this world-premiere drama of gay priests in conflict. MSB
—By Abarbanel and Barnidge