With From the Heart, playwright Jessica Puller weaves together O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” and Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” to remind us that the perfect gift is one that comes from the heart. Since it was first published in 1905, O. Henry’s “Magi” has charmed readers with the bittersweet story of how a young couple with little money meets the challenge of buying each other Christmas presents. Capote’s 1956 short story is a poignant autobiographical vignette — a boy’s remembrance of cherished holiday rituals shared with a favorite elderly cousin. Puller combines these familiar stories about love and loss for this world premiere performance, directed by Molly Mattaini.  Enjoy comp tickets for preview performance at Citadel Theatre; tickets start at $10 for other dates.

Your whole family will enjoy this heartwarming story of the first Christmas Tree Ship and the people who risked their lives to fill Chicago with the holiday spirit. Based on the shipwrecked Rouse Simmons, The Christmas Schooner is a powerful, moving story with an exquisite score by Chicago favorites John Reeger (book) and Julie Shannon (music and lyrics). The musical has entertained audiences for hundreds of productions, including a 12-year run at Chicago’s Bailiwick Repertory Theatre. Set in the late 19th century, this holiday musical tells the song and dance-filled story of a close-knit group of German immigrants who receive a message from a Chicago-based cousin lamenting the lack of traditional Christmas trees. A shipping captain and his crew then undertake a risky late-season journey across the notoriously violent Lake Michigan to deliver the precious timber to the city, carrying with them a full cargo of holiday hope and joy.  Enjoy $30 tickets at Goldstar for five performances over the Thanksgiving Day extended weekend.

Hailed by The New York Times as “the best musical of this century” and the winner of nine Tony Awards, The Book of Mormon is the blockbuster Broadway smash from South Parkcreators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and the Oscar-winning composer of Disney’s Frozenand Avenue Q, Bobby Lopez. This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Now, with standing-room only productions in London, on Broadway and across North America, The Book of Mormon has truly become an international sensation. Discounted tickets start at $45 on Goldstar for performance dates in February, March and April.

PITA is gonna flip when she sees this post!

You want drama? How about babies switched at birth, kidnapping, poisoning, witches burned at the stake and civil strife? That’s just the tip of the iceberg in Il Trovatore, the action-packed opera featuring some of Verdi’s most famous music. Under the staging of David McVicar, the action is ramped up to 10, as bitter enemies Manrico and Count di Luna battle for the love of Leonora without the knowledge that they are brothers. An amazing choral feast, this production features powerful songs and dramatic music that will leave you on the edge of your seat.  Get tickets for five performances in November starting at $36.

Witness the classic antics of America’s favorite ditzy redhead and her Cuban crooner hubby as the beloved ’50s sitcom I Love Lucy is transformed into a live stage show with this Goldster offering. Step back in time onto the Desilu soundstage, where a charming host will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the latest hi-fi technology that makes this new thing called “television” possible. Then, the show starts, and Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel are up to their hilarious misadventures in the familiar cozy surroundings of their New York apartment building and the famed Tropicana Nightclub, where The Ricky Ricardo Orchestra delights with “Babalu” and other Cuban dance numbers. In between scenes, the Crystaltone Singers perform live advertising jingles from the show’s newest sponsors (Brylcreem, anyone?) in perfect ’50s-style harmony. This is your chance to be a member of the studio audience at the taping of two classic I Love Lucy episodes — “The Benefit” (Lucy agrees to get Ricky to perform in a benefit for her women’s club, as long as she’s the star of the show) and “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (drops from the eye doctor make Lucy’s vision blurry just as she’s about to have a jitterbug audition for a movie role).  Tickets to the December 7, 8 and 9 7:30 performances are $40 through Goldstar (plus $8.50 in service charges).  These are orchestra, front mezzanine and dress circle tickets!

The twisted Southern gothic tragicomedy Crimes of the Heart won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for its tale of the quirky MaGrath sisters and the sordid deeds they must reconcile. Holed up at their grandaddy’s house in Mississippi, the motherless trio have a knack for dysfunction, with the latest fiasco involving youngest sister Babe’s shooting of her abusive husband. Meanwhile, eldest sister Lenny is becoming more of an old maid all the time (plus her pet horse was just struck by lightning) and middle sister Meg has suffered a nervous breakdown after seeing her dreams of a singing career dashed. More than 30 years after Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek starred in an acclaimed film adaptation, Crimes of the Heart is as potent, touching and hilarious as ever.

Tickets to Crimes of the Heart previews are COMP, while the regular performances start at $7 for performance at the Skokie Theatre through November.