Blithe Spirit, Oak Park Festival Theatre at Pleasant Home; through April 27. There may be some weak links in the casting, but the pleasure of watching Noel Coward’s classic comedy in a historic home is what makes this Blithe Spirit fun to see. SCM
In a Dark, Dark House, Profiles Theatre, through May 11. Once more, director Joe Jahraus and off-Loop leading man Darrell W. Cox team up for a dark Neil LaBute tale, this one about brothers on a psych ward dealing with traumas of the past. Delicious. CS
Lust, Lies and Marriage, Piccolo Theatre (Evanston), through May 10. A better-than-usual effort to teach contemporary actors—and audiences, too—an appreciation of the centuries-old commedia dell’arte traditions of masked, slapstick comedy. JA
A Man of No Importance, Bailiwick Repertory, through April 20. The love-that-dares-not goes by many names in this cozy fish-and-chips musical set in 1960s Dublin (based on the 1994 film), but friendship triumphs over silence in the end. MSB
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge, Morgan
and Sullivan