Is the next Hamilton lurking in Chicago? Stranger things have happened. Underscore Theatre’s ambitious 5th Annual Chicago Musical Theatre Festival includes nine concert readings of brand spanking new shows and two free workshop performances. Among the offerings are a disaster-movie parody, a Sherlock Holmes-inspired bromance, the adventures of a high school wind ensemble and the story of a young woman certain and cosmology. It runs through Feb. 24 at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway, and the Off Broadway, 1333 W. Catalpa Ave. See http://CMTF.org.