LAKEVIEW — Mercury Theater Chicago's production of "The Addams Family" was supposed to open in time for Halloween.
But after the theater company extended its production of "Avenue Q," the ghoulish musical ended up opening in time for a trifecta of events: Friday the 13th, Valentine's Day and Chicago Theatre Week.
"The show is of course spooky, but it's also tremendously romantic," said Mercury Theater executive director Walter Stearns. "And it is uproariously funny."
"The Addams Family" is among 17 Lakeview shows running during the second week of Chicago Theater Week. For the third year, the League of Chicago Theaters event is offering discounted tickets (typically $15 or $30) for shows by more than 250 theater companies.
"This is an opportunity for all the theaters in Chicago to band together with a communal message: Come out and see us," Stearns said. "We're a Chicago treasure, and this is kind of a celebration of one of the things that makes Chicago great."
The retooled Broadway musical is an original story of the infamous Addamses, whose macabre quirks must be tamed when daughter Wednesday Addams (Dara Cameron) brings home her normal boyfriend. After the Broadway run, the show was "significantly" rewritten, with four new songs replacing six in the original production, Stearns said.
"It's a very different show from the one that was here in Chicago" in 2009, Stearns said. "Audiences have really embraced this production in a really strong way. It's one of the few genuinely funny shows playing right now, and I think that's what we're tapping into."
Chicago Theatre Week is a chance for newcomers and aficionados to explore a spectrum of shows the "eclectic" theaters have to offer, said Michael Weber, artistic director for Porchlight Music Theatre.
A particular draw is the uniqueness of Chicago theater in general, which is "not the type of tourist-centric shows," Weber said. "It's very engaging. It's very visceral. It makes you want to think and respond."
Porchlight is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an entire season devoted to songwriter Stephen Sondheim, from "Sweeney Todd" this past fall to "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," which opens April 17.
Currently playing is the all-Sondheim-encompassing revue, "Sondheim on Sondheim." The show features video of Sondheim discussing his inspiration for a body of work that includes "Into the Woods" and "West Side Story."
The Porchlight production, playing at Stage 773, has enjoyed record-breaking sales, Weber said. Other shows on the Chicago Theatre Week lineup (Blue Man Group, "That Hopey Changey Thing" and "The Rose Tattoo") have sold out, although regularly priced tickets may still be available.
"It's a Chicago premiere, and there's been a lot of ramped-up curiosity to see what the show is about in general," Weber said of "Sondheim." "It just ended up being a perfect storm of a show that was incredibly well-received critically and by audiences."
Chicago Theatre Week continues through Feb. 22.
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