Halloween is coming, and the question is, What will Chicago theaters wear to the party? Mostly zombie costumes, from the looks of it. Early critical returns have brain eaters outdistancing neck biters as the undead of choice in 2013—though there are also those who’ve decided to go with classics like Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the famously sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania. Here are short reviews of seven holiday shows. Check back for more over the next couple weeks. —Tony Adler
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Ladies’ Fright Night Till Halloween, the ladies of Improvised Jane Austen are seasoning their cauldron with a new ingredient: spookiness. Though vampires and zombies are scheduled to creep into the act—on 10/19 and 10/26, respectively—the theme was gentler on the night I attended. “Gothic novel” was perhaps easy pickings, the narrative borrowed from Austen’s gothic parody Northanger Abbey. Mary (in the role of Northanger protagonist Catherine Morland) visits her cousin’s manor, learns his mother died there, and suspects foul play. In an inspired move, the same actress played both the mother’s ghost and the mother’s murderer, a sinister gentleman obsessed with knives. Although the cast regrettably exchanged Austen’s Victorian diction for verbal hooey (rendering rabbits as “hippity-hoppities,” and worse), I admired their restraint in not having the mother stab Mary in the end. —Jena Cutie Through 10/26: Sat 10 PM, Bughouse Theater, 2054 W. Irving Park, improvisedjaneausten.com, $10.
The Rocky Horror Show Before it was a picture show—and required midnight feature programming, especially around this time of year—Rocky Horror was a stage musical. The cast of pH Comedy Theater’s new production have clearly seen the movie many times, and they don’t take many liberties with the now classic interpretations of the characters. But that doesn’t mean they fail to do justice to the singing, dancing, fishnets, and high camp. Jake Farrington as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Brett Mannes as Brad Majors (asshole!), and Tristan Tanner as Janet Weiss (slut!) are especially good. Audience participation is, of course, encouraged; if you’re a Rocky Horror virgin, follow Trixie the usherette, who stands just offstage leading the heckling. There’s also plenty of alcohol. As director Amy Couey notes, that always helps. —Aimee Levitt Through 11/16: Fri 9:30 PM, pH Comedy Theater, 1515 W. Berwyn, whatisph.com, $15-$20.
