WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Best show of the year in any category: Gary Griffin’s Follies at Chicago Shakespeare. This flawless version of an underappreciated early Sondheim should be remounted somewhere and run forever; there’s not a false note or step anywhere in it.

Take an old theater on the verge of demolition; add some former showgirls who, like the theater, have seen better days; roll out a score by Stephen Sondheim that pays homage to his favorite musical styles from the '30s, '40s and '50s; and it's a show!

1. Sizzle's final preview is this Friday at the West Stage of Raven Theatre. It's a production by New Suit Theatre and goes where Al Gore couldn't, in this "global warming comedy."

1. The Real Thing opens today at Writer's Theatre. "A married playwright blurs the line between reality and his dramas on the stage as his personal life unravels before his very eyes."