Cardinal sin

What: Sin: A Cardinal Deposed

Where: Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.

How to get there: Purple Line (Belmont)

When: Through May 12, Sundays at 2 p.m., Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 6 p.m.

How much: $22-$25

Plot: “Sin” examines the true story of Boston’s former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law, and his involvement in the 2002 sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church.

In the recent and powerful tradition of “docu-dramas” such as “The Laramie Project,” “Sin” is composed of actual public records and testimonies by and about Law.

Who: Directed by Bailiwick Founder and Artistic Director David Zak and written by Michael Murphy.

Notable: It will be very interesting to see what happens when this play, which has already made headlines all over the country, hits the stage in Boston at Wellesley College in May. Will the subject himself attend?

More info: 773-883-1090, http://www.bailiwick.org/index.shtml.

Proof comes home

Show: Proof

Where: The Goodman’s Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.

How to get there: Purple Line (Clark/Lake)

WHEN: Through May 2, Tuesdays — Thursdays 7:30 p.m., Fridays 8 p.m., Saturdays 2 p.m. & 8 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

How much: $15-$35

Plot: In Chicago’s Hyde Park a young woman takes care of her dying, mentally unstable father, a mathematician. She uncovers secrets in one of his workbooks, and questions her inheritance of both her father’s genius and his madness as she copes with his death.

Who: Directed by Chicago native and Goodman Resident Director Chuck Smith, who directed “A Raisin in the Sun” at the Goodman in 2000. Written by David Auburn, whose new play “The Journals of Mihail Sebastian” debuted in New York last month.

Paltrow pull: This Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play — that ran for more than two years on Broadway and has been performed in more than 30 languages all over the world — comes to the silver screen in December and stars Gwyneth Paltrow.

More info: http://www.goodman-theatre.org, 312-443-3800

Bearing family life

Show: Waking the Bear: Three Plays

Where: Shanley Pavilion

When: April 8-10, Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. & 11 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. & 11 p.m.

How much: $5

Plot: Three one-act plays, three different storylines. All about sibling relationships and all student written. These plays try to make sense of the ever-present complexities of past and family relationships — how the ghosts of our pasts ultimately haunt our present.

Who: A Vertigo productions show directed by Communication seniors Thomas Higgins, Joel Petrilla, and Zach Gilford and written by Higgins and Petrilla (each wrote one individually and joined forces on the third). The Daily’s own columnist Abby Wolbe, a Weinberg junior, is producing.

Southern charm: Why did roommates Higgins and Petrilla decide to collaborate on this project? According to Higgins, “We’re both southern boys with equal and opposite perversions.”

A true tree-hugger

Show: The Butterfly Effect

Where: Ryan Auditorium in Tech

When: Thursday April 8 at 7 p.m.

How much: Free

Plot: Environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill brings a collection of speakers and performance artists to Northwestern to educate and inspire audiences to take action in saving the planet.

Who: The Peace Project, Women’s Coalition and several other campus groups collaborated to bring “Butterfly” to campus for this special one-night event. “Butterfly” gives 250 presentations every year in collaboration with the environmental activist group Circle of Life, which she founded in 1999.

Luna lover: “Butterfly” made headlines in 1999 when she spent 738 days in the canopy of an old Redwood tree (that she dubbed “Luna”) to protest the destruction of ancient, historic forests. “Butterfly” and other environmentalists helping in her plight were successful in negotiating the permanent protection of 1,000-year-old Luna and her surrounding area.

More info: www.circleoflife.org 

CENTER stage is a collection of shows opening in the next week, each week. If you have an event that you would like to submit to CENTER stage, contact Rachel Wolff at PLAY, (847) 491-4909 or [email protected].