The Emperor’s New Clothes/Demons, Naked July Festival at National Pastime Theater, through Aug. 14. The double ticket of Kelly Haddad-Null’s satirical comedy and the Living Canvas’ dance-and-light show has extended two weeks to offer playgoers some comfortably un-dressy summer entertainment.
Fucking Men, Bailiwick Chicago at Stage 773, through Aug. 29. Director Tom Mullen extracts strong, nuanced performances from his all-male cast in this contemporary daisy-chain mating dance based upon Arthur Schnitzler’s sexually frank 1897 hetero original. JA
The Philadelphia Story, Circle Theatre in Forest Park, through Sept. 5. The gender inequities may be cringeworthy, but this handsome production of Phillip Barry’s classic screwball comedy exploring class differences in old Philadelphia. SCM
Sweet & Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at No Exit Café, through Aug. 15. Late composer Harold Arlen may have never had the hit show he so longed for, but so many of his songs have become cabaret touchstones. Theo Ubique does Arlen right in this beautifully sung and wonderfully intimate revue. SCM
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge
and Morgan