1. The Whale
Samuel D. Hunter's small-town tale portrays a morbidly obese, infinitely depressed man (a breathtaking performance by Dale Calandra) who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter while he still can. Joanie D. Schultz's spare, heartfelt production closes May 5. Read my five-star review and get tickets while you can.

2. Maria/Stuart
Savage, hysterical and often repulsive, Jason Grote's play takes the suburban family drama to grotesque extremes. A family tries to throw a birthday party for their Grandma Ruthie (Susan Monts-Bologna) but must face the secrets they’ve kept buried. The familiar deep dark mysteries here take the form of a shape-shifting, soda-guzzling, German-speaking monster. Sideshow Theatre Company's production, featuring uniformly brilliant performances, closes May 5; read our full review.

3. Completeness
Itamar Moses’s academic romcom deftly blends relationships with research. Elliott (Matt Holzfeind) and Molly (Kristina Valada-Viars) are graduate students at the same college. When the two meet-cute in a campus computer lab, Elliott offers to build Molly an algorithm to help refine her data for a research project. Jeremy Wechsler’s smart, handsome staging, with a sleek set by Joe Schermoly and video design by Michael Stanfill, rides the line between sensual and cerebral. The charismatic Holzfeind and Valada-Viars parlay higher math and genome mapping into persuasive pillow talk, demonstrating proficiency in yet another scientific discipline: chemistry. Closes May 4; read my full review.

4. Othello: The Remix
In their latest hip-hop adaptation of Shakespeare’s work, the Q Brothers and their co-conspirators, Postell Pringle and Jackson Doran (all ably backed by DJ Clayton Stamper), translate the Moor’s tale to the modern music industry. Though compressed and refreshed, both story and wordplay find rich parallels with the original text. The choice to keep Desdemona heard but not seen yields chilling returns in a murder scene that silences the beats—including our hearts’. Read my full review.

5. Oklahoma!
…where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain! The Lyric tackles its first of five annual Rodgers and Hammerstein productions, starting with "the musical that changed musicals—the show that set the bar for all musicals that followed," as director Gary Griffin puts it. This is not exactly rescuing gems from obscurity, but a way to bridge audiences in the opera and theater worlds. More power to them. John Cudia stars as cowboy Curly McLain in his Lyric debut. Wait, does this mean we can wear flannel and denim to the opera house? Opens May 4.

1. #SHOW
Get your hashtags ready: Following long runs of its Jersey Shore: The Musical and It's a Wonderful Pro-Life, 4 Days Late Productions mounts an expanded version of the tech-obsessed sketch show it debuted at January's Sketchfest. Studio BE. Sat 10pm. $15.

2. The Tomkat Project
Seven actors dazzle in the role of more than 50 characters in Brandon Ogborn's exhilarating new comedy about celebrity culture where fact and fiction blur seamlessly together. It continues Wednesdays through May. Playground Theater. Wed 8pm. $15.

3. The Lincoln Lodge
The country's longest continuously operating home for alt comedy continues to be a fine place to see emerging stand-ups in a vintage banquet room with servers old enough to call you honey and get away with it. This week's lineup features Matt Riggs, Derek Smith, Candy Lawrence, Joe Kwaczala and TV Screams. The Lincoln Lodge. Fri 9pm. $10.

4. Let Them Eat Chaos
In the Second City's 101st Mainstage revue, an ensemble consisting of veteran performers Edgar Blackmon, Holly Laurent, Katie Rich and Steve Waltien and Mainstage newcomers Ross Bryant and Tawny Newsome leaves Chicago behind in favor of a space- and time-bending revue that loops in Vienna circa 1819, the opening of the Panama Canal, the distant future and more. Let Them Eat Chaos crackles with new ideas and spirited risks, if not necessarily the anarchy and disruption suggested by the title. The Second City. Tue–Thu 8pm; Fri, Sat 8, 11pm; Sun 7pm. $23–$28.

5. Bye Bye Liver: The Chicago Drinking Play
Drinking games and boozy high jinks rule at this night of interactive comedy, now in its new home. The Public House Theater. Fri, Sat 8, 10pm. $20.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, first seen here in 2010, received five Tony Award nominations this morning for its Broadway transfer. Three of the four cast members were nominated, including Amy Morton for lead actress in a play, Tracy Letts for lead actor, and Carrie Coon for featured actress. The show also received nominations for best revival of a play and for director Pam McKinnon. Steppenwolf ensemble member Laurie Metcalf was also nominated in the same category as Morton, for her work in The Other Place.

The new musical Kinky Boots, which had its out-of-town tryout here last fall (read my review), led the nominations with 13, including best musical, best book of a musical for Harvey Fierstein and best score for Cyndi Lauper. A Christmas Story, The Musical, which played the Chicago Theatre in the 2011 holiday season before going on to its Broadway opening last Christmas, picked up three nominations, including best musical and best score for Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

OPERA & CLASSICAL

Eighth Blackbird with Shara Worden, Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly Save that tax refund, because May is going to be lousy with brilliant live music. Bridging the April-May divide are local heroes Eighth Blackbird alongside My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, the National's Bryce Dessner and composition/piano paragon Nico Muhly. Other than Philip Glass's Two Pages (1968), the program is comprised entirely of music written in the past five years, including works by Tristan Perich, Steve Mackey, David Lang, Muhly, Dessner and Worden. We are especially curious to hear a world-premiere original by 8bb pianist Lisa Kaplan, scored for piano four hands. Museum of Contemporary Art. 7:30pm. $28, members $22.

ART & DESIGN

"The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India Since 1989" This exuberant exhibition chronicles Sahmat’s fight for freedom of expression in India and against the religious extremism that has caused numerous deaths there since 1989. Works by famous artists such as Vivan Sundaram and Zarina are outnumbered by pieces that reflect Sahmat’s commitment to recruiting non-artists, especially children, and its eagerness to take its projects to the streets. While it’s impossible to convey the vibrancy of most Sahmat actions in a museum setting, the collective’s courage and creativity still inspire. Through June 9. Smart Museum of Art. 10am–5pm.

"Spectator Sports" Fans' identification with athletes, the experience of watching games live, and the issues of nationality and gender are among the concerns shaping works by Jack Goldstein, Michelle Grabner and nine other artists. Museum of Contemporary Photography. 10am–5pm.

FILM

The Last Waltz Dir. Martin Scorsese. 1978. 117mins. Documentary. The first and probably still the best of Scorsese's music docs is a model for the modern concert film. Here, Marty captures the farewell performance of the Band, splicing in interview footage of the '70s rock giants and onetime Bob Dylan–backing band. Logan Theatre. 11:15pm.

MUSIC

Joel Paterson & The Modern Sounds Paterson kinda defines who the ideal session guy should be: selfless, musical (i.e., not a technique monger) and born with impeccably good taste. The Madison-born guitarist plays in a variety of settings around town, and each time his sympathetic hollowbody makes the rock, jazz, country, rockabilly or swing he's backing come alive. Andy's. 7:30pm. $5–$10.