Common Hatred, Ruckus Theatre at the Side Project, through July 22. Family problems don’t change much from one culture to the next, but the Ruckus ensemble’s smart medley of Chekhovian themes updated to 21st-century America captures all the despair of genteel-class torpor with a glimmer of good old Yankee hope, too. MSB
The Gacy Play, Sideshow Theatre at Theater Wit, through July 29. Calamity West’s stage drama (based upon the notorious 1970s mass murderer John Wayne Gacy, Jr.) is by no means perfect, but director Jonathan L. Green creates a compelling staging that is appropriately ominous. SCM
Hero, Marriott Theatre (Lincolnshire), through Aug. 19. A new musical has a crackerjack cast, sharp jokes and clever lyrics to elevate a commonplace love story and comic second story into a fast and funny show with lots of potential. It’s a plus if you’re a superhero or graphic-novel fan. JA
My First Time, Broken Nose Theatre at Greenhouse Theater Center, through July 28. This is a hilarious and sometimes harrowing look at a variety of people’s first sexual experiences. It’s also astutely localized with Chicago-area storytellers as warm-up acts and survey responses from each individual audience worked into the flow of the show. SCM
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge
and Morgan