Three To See: This Week's Theater Recommendations

By Melody Udell in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 29, 2014 5:30PM

Cole Theatre's 'Ecstasy.'

Welcome a group of character-driven plays to the Chicago stage this week.

Ecstasy
Cole Theatre brings together six talented actors to portray the grit, struggle and interdependence of a group of despairing Londonite friends. The show runs through Sunday, Sept. 28.

Cole Theatre at Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells, 773-747-6821 or online.

Reasons to be Happy
Neil LaBute’s follow-up to his earlier relationship-based comedy, reasons to be pretty, depicts the same two couples from the first play. This time, it’s three years later, and the characters have moved on, or not, in this prickly relationship drama. The show runs through Sunday, Oct. 12.

Profiles Theatre, 4139 N. Broadway, 773-549-1815 or online.

The Coward
Nick Jones’ over-the-top, zany comedy mimics the unruly, slapdash British plays of the late 1700s by depicting a young nobleman who’d rather be left to his studious pursuits than adhere to his father’s ideas of manliness and social standing. The show runs through Sunday, Oct. 5.

Stage Left Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-975-8150 or online.