South Pacific, Drury Lane Oakbrook, through June 17. Superior musical values and a stellar cast lift this new production beyond “old warhorse” status. Regrettably, the messages of South Pacific about race and bullies remain as pertinent today as ever. JA
How I Learned to Drive, The Artistic Home, extended through May 20. He plays a grown man in love with his teenage niece, but John Mossman has been nominated for a Jeff and this is your chance to see why. MSB
Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies, Velvet Fox Productions at the Athenaeum, May 24-June 17. Fasten your seat belts! Jessica Sherr’s solo show is back, but just because it’s staying longer this time doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reserve your tickets now. MSB
The Doppelganger (an international farce), Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, through June 2. Matthew-Lee Erlbach’s rapid-fire farce has raucous lightning-fast laughs—or so it is until the final moments, when comedy takes a hairpin veer into something else entirely. CES
—By Abarbanel, Barnidge
and Sullivan