The Band’s Visit, Cadillac Palace, Sept. 3-15—Critics’ Picks rarely promotes shows not yet open, but this disarming, tender, compassionate and entertaining musical must be seen despite its short run. Splurge on the close-up seats for this intimate show. JA
Pomona, Steep theatre, extended through Sept. 14. Alistair McDowall’s RPG fantasy gamers and biotechnical crime—will they escape, and is this really make-believe? MSB
You Can’t Fake the Funk, Black Ensemble through Sept. 22—Two dozen ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s songs exceptionally well sung and played in this Funk music tribute, complete with towering platform shoes, billowing Afros and multitudinous spangles! JA
The Recommendation, Windy City Playhouse, through Sept. 22—Three socially-dissimilar young men pursue their ambitions in ten rooms of promenade staging, while we, literally, follow in their footsteps. MSB
—By Mary Shen Barnidge and Jonathan Abarbanel