RECOMMENDED

The always-caustic Dave Attell brings his ubiquitous cigarette and smooth, soothing baritone to Lakeshore Theater, where his scathing wit and bizarrely contentious comments will take center stage. While many will remember Attell for his late-night Comedy Central series “Insomniac with Dave Attell,” which consisted of Attell roaming around the nightlife of a city, engaging in what most of us do during a night on the town (drinking incessantly while teasing those more intoxicated than ourselves), he appears to thrive best in a stand-up role. Hardly a drunken buffoon who blathers sex jokes all set long, Attell has developed a set rife with non sequiturs, curveball punchlines and just plain silliness. Like his take on global warming: “The ice caps are melting. But maybe there’s some pretty cool shit under those ice caps, like treasure, or even better, a talking dinosaur, who we can all have adventures with. Me first, I thought it up.” (Andy Seifert)

November 6 and 7 at Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, (773)472-3492. $34.50.

Newcity’s Dennis Polkow, who covers theater, opera and classical music for us, was just profiled here. He looks a bit different than the last time we saw him, though…

Photo: Jérôme Delatour

RECOMMENDED

One year after the Beatles shocked middle-American parents with shaggy hair and driving pop on the Ed Sullivan Show, Anna Halprin had dancers slowly stripping down to the buff, smearing themselves with paint and performing ritualistic movements with massive sheets of brown paper. Winnetka native Halprin was a seminal figure in the 1960s avant-garde and her work “parades & changes” was quickly banned from the U.S. after its 1965 New York premiere. French choreographer Anne Collod worked with Halprin to revive the piece, casting established dancers and choreographers to present a work that contains devices and images, shocking at their time, now familiar in contemporary dance: desexulized nudity, appropriation of inexpensive, fabricated objects, an unpredictable electronic score (re-mastered and performed live by Sebastian Roux). This is the first time “parades and changes” will be seen in Chicago—a rare opportunity to witness a hallmark in the history of performance art. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the MCA Stage, 220 E. Chicago, (312)397-4010, Nov 5, Nov 7 at 7:30pm, Nov 8 at 3pm. $25.

David Darlow, Mike Nussbaum and Roderick Peeples/Photo: Johnny Knight

RECOMMENDED

The antidote to overdone appeals to emotions, this understated and unexpectedly touching show stays with you like a rock in your shoe. The scope of Gerard Siblyeras’ play is deceptively slight: examining the subtly changing relationships between three WWI veterans, divided by class and all suffering physical or emotional damage from the war, who sit on the terrace of a nursing home in late 1950′s France. At heart it’s simply a character study showcasing the talents of its elegant trio of actors. David Darlow is particularly effective as cynical, wounded Gustav. Tom Stoppard translated the play, and it shows, as the friends’ dialogue transitions smoothly and naturally between bawdiness and poignancy. The best exchanges are pure poetry, without any melodrama or rhetorical flourishes; but it’s the humane comedy in between, created by each man’s neuroses and ability to push the others’ buttons, that fuels the honesty of the production and reflection after. (Monica Westin)

At the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln, (773)404-7336. Through November 29.