The Crucible, Steppenwolf, through Nov. 11. Arthur Miller used the Salem Witch Trials as a stand-in for America’s anti-communist 1950s ‘witch hunt.’ His work is as powerful and necessary today as then, regrettably, as Bushites smear opponents as unpatriotic. JA
Cymbeline, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, through Nov. 11. For the third time, director Barbara Gaines has made Shakespeare’s wildly improbable and rarely performed problem play into a thoroughly entertaining (and campy) melodrama. SCM
War, Seanachai Theatre at the Storefront, through Oct. 7. Don’t be fooled by the title—Roddy Doyle’s affectionate take on working-class Dubliners at Pub Quiz (a.k.a. Trivial Pursuit) echoes proletariat comedies from The Honeymooners to The King of Queens. MSBº
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Morgan