Chicago’s oldest LGBT sketch comedy troupe is GayCo, but only now it’s unveiling its second-ever holiday revue Scream if You Love Christmas. GayCo promises to show what it’s like to be Dickensian on the down low and to expose the secrets behind the white-elephant circle of re-gifting. GayCo’s Scream if You Love Christmas plays 8 p.m. Thursdays through Thursday, Dec. 30, at the Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway. Tickets are $15. Call 773-561-4665 or visit www.gayco.com. Photo courtesy of the company.
Critics’ Pics
Float, About Face Theatre at Theater Wit, through Dec. 18. Patricia Kane’s comic drama about secrets that get revealed in a small fictional Illinois town features a great acting ensemble who construct (and deconstruct) a Christmas parade float right before your eyes. SCM
The Importance of Being Earnest, Remy Bumppo, through Jan. 9. Non-campy and low key, this is an self-assured production of Wilde’s witty play, which both honors and sends up 19th-century society and the 19th-century well-made play. Great costumes, too. JA
The Music Man, Marriott Theatre, through Jan. 9. Director Gary Griffin whips up a hyper-professional production that celebrates Meredith Willson’s classic 1957 musical about a flimflam man who unwittingly uses the arts to enrich an entire community. SCM
The Other Cinderella, Black Ensemble Theater, extended through Jan. 23. A Caribbean-accented fairy god-mama makes the wishes come true in this anniversary production of the musical that launched the company moving into its own brand-new playhouse next year. MSB
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge
and Morgan