The Damnation of Faust, Lyric Opera of Chicago, through March 17. Stephen Langridge’s modernized East German resetting of Berlioz’s genre-bending oratorio/opera is thoroughly entertaining and a visual feast to behold. SCM
Master Harold and the Boys, TimeLine Theatre, through March 27. South Africa, 1950. Will teenage Hallie become a white racist like his father? Or will he absorb the wisdom of his older Black servant? Athol Fugard’s exquisite play examines a nation’s soul. JA
The Rant, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company at Angel Island, through March 28. Director Sharon Evans creates a gritty moral murder mystery that reveals the shades of gray within a justice system we’d all prefer to believe dealt in black and white moral absolutes. As police procedurals go, this one’s both wholly compelling and disturbingly realistic. CS
Twelve Angry Men, Raven Theatre, through April 17. Reginald Rose’s 1957 reminder that American justice ultimately lies in the group mentality of twelve commoners sitting in a jury box still generates suspense in 2010, when prejudice doesn’t always wear the face you expect. MSB
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge,
Morgan and Sullivan