The Illusion, Court Theatre, through April 11. Playwright Pierre Corneille called his piece “une etrange monster.” Translated by Tony Kushner and directed by Charles Newell, The Illusion is also a wondrous tale wherein realism and surrealism merge, and the difference between them all is as slight and shimmering as a moonbeam. CS
Ragtime, Drury Lane Oak Brook, through May 23. This leading candidate for the mantle of “The Great American Musical” receives a grand and glorious staging filled with strong performances and great stagecraft courtesy of director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell. SCM
The True Story of the Johnstown Flood, Goodman Theatre, through April 18. The quasi-Waiting For Lefty exhortations didn’t rouse any rabble, but the “force of nature” cliché takes on new meaning with Walt Spangler and Richard Woodbury’s terrifying replication of nature at her most destructive. MSB
Trust, Lookingglass Theatre through May 9. Swiftly moving and strongly acted, this tale of a teen girl and an Internet predator goes far deeper than a TV movie. It’s focus isn’t the deed but the aftermath, especially the father-daughter relationship in a family crucible. JA
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge,
Morgan and Sullivan