Theater events: 'Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider' opens at Second City e.t.c.

• "Saturday Night Live" alum Julia Sweeney brings "Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider," her solo show comprised of comic monologues, to The Second City's e.t.c. Theater for a six-week run. Previews begin Tuesday, April 24, at Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave., Chicago. The show, which Sweeney workshopped at Second City earlier this year, opens on May 2. (312) 337-3992 or secondcity.com.

• After a child goes missing, the mothers who care for her reflect on various aspects of motherhood in poet/playwright Angela Jackson's play "Comfort Stew." Cheryl Lynn Bruce directs eta Creative Arts Foundations' production, which opens Friday, April 20, at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago. (773) 752-3955 or etacreativearts.org.

• Comedian and WGN radio host Patti Vasquez performs her show "Lipstick Mom" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, as part of its comedy series. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com.

• Metropolis Performing Arts Centre veteran Andrew Pond stars in MadKap Productions' "Side Effects May Include ..." Marc Jaffe's solo show is about the effect Parkinson's disease has on a patient and his caregivers. Performances take place Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie. Tickets are $25, with 10 percent of the proceeds benefiting Shaking with Laughter and the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which assist people with Parkinson's. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.org.

• Previews begin Saturday, April 21, for Teatro Vista's premiere of "The Madres," Stephanie Alison Walker's drama about three generations of women trying to keep their family intact in the "face of state-sponsored intimidation, kidnappings and murder." Ivonne Coll, of The CW's "Jane the Virgin," pays the grandmother in director Ricardo Gutierrez's production, which opens April 27 at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or teatrovista.org.

• Erasing the Distance, an organization that uses performance to "disarm stigma, spark dialogue, educate and promote healing surrounding issues of mental health" hosts its annual benefit Ignite 2018 from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 22, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave., Chicago. The evening includes cocktails, an auction and performances. See erasingthedistance.org.

• In conjunction with its premiere of Matthew-Lee Erlbach's "The Doppelgänger (an international farce)," Steppenwolf Theatre hosts a panel discussion on how to make a farce from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 22, at the Garage Theatre, 1624 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Panelists include moderator Lavina Jadhwani, Writers Theatre director of new work Bobby Kennedy and actress/writer Tania Richard. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• Midsommer Flight, in a co-production with Unbound Theatre Company, presents a staged reading of William Shakespeare's "Richard III." The free production is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, and Monday, April 30, at Galway Arms Irish Bar and Restaurant, 2442 N. Clark St., Chicago. See midsommerflight.com or unboundtheatre.com.

• WildClaw Theatre Company, an ensemble that specializes in bringing horror to the stage, opens its 2018 season with "Future Echoes." Paul Foster's drama is about college friends reminiscing over old times, who discover time may be running out for them. Previews begin Tuesday, April 24, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The show opens April 27. See wildclawtheatre.com.

• Some of the Chicago area's most renowned theater artists, including E. Faye Butler, director Henry Godinez and music director Andra Velis Simon, have united for the premiere of the family-friendly musical "Last Stop on Market Street." It's adapted from Matt de la Pena's Newbery Award-winning book about a 7-year-old boy and his Nana, who teaches him to find beauty on a bus ride through the city. Cheryl L. West adapted the children's book. Motown legend Lamont Dozier (a member of the Motown hitmaking songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland) and his son Paris Ray Dozier composed the score. The show begins previews on Tuesday, April 24, at The Station, 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago. It opens April 28. (312) 374-8835 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Previews begin Wednesday, April 25, for Citadel Theatre's production of "The Explorers Club," Nell Benjamin's sendup of Victorian adventurers who exploited foreign lands and their indigenous people in the name of science. A woman who has discovered the legendary Lost City seeks admission to the club, but members balk at expanding their ranks to include females. Director Robert D. Estrin's production opens April 27 at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. (847) 735-8554 or citadeltheatre.org.

• "To Catch a Fish," Brett Neveu's latest play - an examination of trust, truth and justice inspired by real events and developed through TimeLine Theatre's Playwright Collective - begins previews Wednesday, April 25, at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Ensemble member Ron OJ Parson directs the play, which is set in a low-income Milwaukee neighborhood where a new discount warehouse employee finds himself acquiescing to the increasing demands of his bosses. The show opens May 2. (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or timelinetheatre.com.

• The Albany Park Theater Project, a multiethnic youth ensemble and MacArthur Award winner, premieres "Ofrenda," made up of real-life stories of young people creating a home in the wake of social, political and personal unrest. Performances begin Wednesday, April 25, at the Laura Wiley Theater, 5100 N. Ridgeway Ave., Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or aptpchicago.org.

• A mom learning to let go of her little boys and a man searching for his roots are among the stories featured during Short Story Theatre's next showcase at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at Miramar Bistro, 301 Waukegan Ave., Highwood. Dinner reservations are available. (847) 433-1078 or shortstorytheatre.com.

• Lucky Plush Productions brings its "Tab Show" to the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Named after the early 20th-century name for a short or "tabloid" version of a musical comedy, "The Tab Show" features two works, "Rink Life" inspired by roller rink culture, and "Curb Candy," which includes remixed works from the company's repertoire. The performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 26-27. (312) 334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org.

• Factory Overtime, the Factor Theater's late-night and off-night performance series, continues Thursday, April 26, with a standup comedy set hosted by Will Stagg. Showtime is 8:30 p.m. at 1623 W. Howard St., Chicago. (773) 305-5775 or thefactorytheater.com.

• Theater Wit has extended its production of Sheila Callaghan's "Women Laughing Alone With Salad," a feminist farce about friendship, bodies, men, diets, envy and pharmaceuticals inspired by the internet meme showing jolly women with salads. Performances run through May 12 at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or theaterwit.org.

• Performances continue through May 19 at 6420 16th St., Berwyn, for 16th Street Theater's production of "The Wolf at the End of the Block," Ike Holter's drama about the impact a specific crime has on a Chicago neighborhood. (708) 795-6704 or 16thstreettheater.org.

• City Lit Theater is soliciting submissions for new, 20-minute adaptations of nondramatic material (such as a short story, essay, novel excerpt, poem) for its 11th annual Art of Adaptation festival. Six finalists will receive $200 each, and the winning entry will receive an additional $300. Submissions are due May 8. The festival runs June 22-24 at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago. See citylit.org.

• Pride Films and Plays has expanded to a five-play season for 2018-2019. It begins Aug. 30 with the Chicago-area premiere of Jordan Seavey's 2016 play "Homos, or Everyone in America" about those moments that can bring a couple together or tear them apart. It's followed by "It's Only a Play" (Oct. 11-Nov. 11), Terrence McNally's sendup of show business, specifically a disastrous opening night party. PFP presents the U.S. premiere of Emma Donoghue's "I Know My Own Heart," inspired by the coded diaries from the early 19th century detailing the life of Anne Lister and her many lovers. It runs Jan. 10 to Feb. 10, 2019. The Chicago premiere of the musical "Southern Comfort" runs Feb. 28 to March 31, 2019. Based on Julianne Wick Davis' 2001 documentary - with music by Davis and book and lyrics by Dan Collins - it follows the last year in the life of a transgender man who shares monthly potluck dinners with his chosen family. The season concludes with the premiere of Ryan Oliveira's "Desire in a Tinier House" (May 30-June 29, 2019), about two men whose love is tested by a society determined to pull them apart. "Homos, or Everyone in America," "I Know My Own Heart" and "Desire in a Tinier House" take place at 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago. "It's Only a Play" and "Southern Comfort" take place at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. An annual subscription is $96. Patrons who purchase subscriptions by June 1 receive a free ticket to see "The Days are Shorter," PFP's final show of the 2017-2018 season. Flex passes, which provide for six admissions to any production or a combination of productions, are $168. (773) 857-0222 or pridefilmsandplays.com.

• Haven Theatre commences its 2018-2019 season with its fourth annual Director's Haven, which showcases three early-career directors helming three short plays. Charlotte Drover, Anna Sung-En Medill and Dani Wieder are the featured directors for this year's mini-fest, which runs Oct. 15-31. From Feb. 7 to March 10, 2019, Haven presents the Midwest premiere of "The Total Bent," a musical by Stew, with music and lyrics by Stew and Heidi Rodewald about a young African-American musical prodigy in Montgomery, Alabama, whose art puts him at odds with his gospel star father. Haven's season concludes with Guillermo Calderon's "Kiss" (July 18-Aug. 11, 2019), about two couples whose weekly soap opera viewing party is disrupted by the revelation of secrets and scandals. Performances take place at The Den Theater, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See haventheatrechicago.com.

• Brown Paper Box Co. kicks off its upcoming season with An Existential Cabaret in which performers muse about love, death, friendship and other weighty subjects on May 4 and 5 at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago. That's followed by the regional premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist "Everybody" (July 13-Aug. 12 at Pride Films and Plays, 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago). A modern take on the morality play, the tale follows Everybody (a cast member chosen by lottery before each performance) "as they travel down a road toward life's greatest mystery." The season concludes with "Little Women The Musical" (January 2019, dates and theater to be determined), adapted from Louisa May Alcott's tales of the March sisters. See brownpaperbox.org.