CLASSICS UNBOUND

"Cyrano"  

The poet/soldier with the prodigious proboscis swashes and buckles in this new take on Edmond Rostand's classic, adapted and directed for House Theatre by Matt Hawkins.  Chopin Theatre Upstairs; through Oct. 16

"Alice's Adventures Under Ground"

Christopher Hampton's version of Lewis Carroll's topsy-turvy trip features songs by Richard Peaslee and uses Carroll's own correspondence with the real Alice to flesh out the fantasy.  City Lit Theater; Sept. 2-Oct. 9

"The Count of Monte Cristo"

Alexandre Dumas' tale of honor and vengeance gets a makeover from adapter Christopher M. Walsh. Paul S. Holmquist directs.  Lifeline Theatre; Sept. 9-Oct. 30

"Waiting for Lefty"

The times are ripe for Clifford Odets' clenched-fist ode to the rights of the working class, and American Blues Theater fills the bill with his one-act agitprop classic about a taxi strike. Kimberly Senior directs.   Victory Gardens Biograph Richard Christiansen Theater; Sept. 2-Oct. 2

"Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses"

Sean Graney's adaptation of seven surviving Sophoclean texts takes place over four hours. But never fear — a catered meal midway through will provide sustenance for the Hypocrites' epic event.  Chopin Theatre Downstairs; Sept. 6-Oct. 16

"Mourning Becomes Electra"

Another epic-length production inspired by Greek tragedy: Timothy Douglas opens his first season as artistic director of Remy Bumppo with Eugene O'Neill's post-Civil War version of "The Oresteia," starring Remy Bumppo stalwarts Annabel Armour, David Darlow and Nick Sandys.  Greenhouse Theater Center; Sept. 21-Oct. 30 

"An Iliad"

And still more Greek reimaginings, courtesy of Lisa Peterson and onetime Chicago actor Denis O'Hare. ("True Blood" fans know him as Russell Edginton.) O'Hare and Peterson's one-man version of the Trojan War stars Timothy Edward Kane under Charles Newell's direction.  Court Theatre; Nov. 10-Dec. 11

"A Touch of the Poet"

And still more O'Neill – this time courtesy of the Artistic Home. Kathy Scambiatterra directs the family drama about a self-aggrandizing Irish-American patriarch at loggerheads with his headstrong daughter and his own diminished dreams. The production marks the company's new partnership with Stage 773.  Stage 773; Oct. 2-Nov. 6

"The Shadow of a Gunman"

Scambiatterra's spouse and Artistic Home co-founder John Mossman directs Sean O'Casey's 1923 drama about a Dublin poet mistaken for an IRA assassin for Seanachai Theatre Company.  Irish American Heritage Center; Sept. 15-Oct. 23

"Summer and Smoke"