Haunted Places
Dream Reapers Haunted House A high-tech haunted house with 22 rooms and more than 40 actors. Through 10/31: Wed-Thu 7-10 PM, Fri-Sat 7-11 PM, Sun 7-10 PM, 1945 Cornell, Melrose Park, dreamreapers.com, $16, $30 VIP.
The END? Evil Never Dies A haunted house hosted by the Lombard Jaycees. A free matinee for kids with games, prizes, and candy is Sat 10/30 from noon to 4 PM. Through 10/31: Wed-Thu 7:30-10:30 PM, Fri-Sat 7:30-11:30 PM, Sun 7:30-10:30 PM, 10/31 7:30-11:30 PM, 141 S. Main St., Lombard, 708-572-0619, haunted-house.com, $12, $6 for children under 11.
Trails of Terror Half a mile of haunted woods. Recommended for ages eight and up. Through 10/31: Fri-Sat 6:30-9:30 PM, Sun 10/31, 6:30-9:30 PM, Peterson Park, 5801 N. Pulaski, 312-742-7584, chicagoparkdistrict.com, $10.
Clean Halloween Family-friendly improv comedy provided by the ComedySportz house teams. Thu 10/28, 8 PM, Fri 10/29, 8 and 10 PM, Sat 10/30, 6, 8, and 10 PM, ComedySportz Theatre, 929 W. Belmont, 773-549-8080 or 312-559-1212, comedysportzchicago.com, $22, $5 off with costume.
Dracula: A Tragedy This swirling, hallucinogenic overhaul of Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel is full of potent ideas. Playwright Mark Mason connects vampirism with the suppression of female sexuality—depicting both Jack and Ripper and a Victorian abortionist as human vampires—and also with colonial exploitation. Incensed that the British revile his blood-sucking, yet drain colonized people of the resources they need to survive, Dracula aims to bring the empire down. But Mason hasn’t found a coherent way to express his insights as theater. His 85-minute swoon lurches through fragmentary scenes that are usually more confusing than evocative. Stephen James Anderson’s long-suffering cast can’t make sense of it—I’m not sure anyone could. —Justin Hayford Through 10/31: Mon-Wed 7:30 PM, Fri-Sat 11:30 PM, Sun 7:30 PM, additional show 10/31 at 7:30 PM, Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, 773-728-7529, redtwist.org, $15.
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Ghostbox A young widow receives messages from her late husband through a transistor radio and eventually pays a visit to the tiny, bare-bulbed room in which he’s spending eternity. Through long speeches and tense exchanges we learn that they’re devout evangelical Christians whose faith was shattered by the loss of a child. The father, mad with grief and believing himself to be God’s outcast, drowned himself in the bath. Rising playwright Randall Colburn specializes in sympathetic portrayals of born-agains in crisis, but this time he’s heavy-handed and portentous—and the overheated performances in Mitch Golob’s Infusion Theatre Company staging only make matters worse. All the emoting pulls focus from the show’s best and eeriest effect: Kevin Viol’s flickering video projections. —Zac Thompson Through 10/31: Thu-Sat 8:30 PM, Sun 10/31, 8:30 PM, Apollo Theater, studio, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, apollochicago.com, $20.
