Mary Beth Fisher plays writer Joan Didion in the Chicago premiere of The Year of Magical Thinking at Court Theatre. The one-woman play is based on Didion’s book of the same name. She wrote it after the death of John Gregory Dunne, her husband of almost 40 years. During and after Dunne’s death Didion was also caring for her daughter, who was in intensive care. That’s a heavy load to bear.

Eight Forty-Eight’s dueling critics Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel have this review.

On Stage:
The Year of Magical Thinking
Through Feb.14
Court Theatre

Jonathan’s Pick:
‘Master Harold’…and The Boys
Through Mar. 21
TimeLine Theatre

Jonathan’s notes on his pick:
This play is part of the “rolling” Athol Fugard Festival in which three of the great South African author’s plays are being staged at three Off-Loop theaters this winter and spring. ‘Master Harold’…and The Boys is the first, a richly compassionate look at a troubled 17-year-old white boy and the two older black “boys” who are his family’s servants—and his best friends. It’s set in a small cafe in South Africa in 1950, shortly after the legal birth of apartheid.

Kelly’s Pick:
The Wedding
Through Feb. 14
TUTA Theatre Chicago
Playing at Chopin Theatre