The Ugly Duckling, Martin McDonagh and Mark Twain will all be part of the 2001-02 season at Skokie, IL's Northlight Theatre.

Mark Twain's Adventures Out West kicks off the season for the 27-year-old theatre with a one-week run, Sept. 19-23. The one-man musical by Jim Post uses music to glimpse at the life of beloved American author.

Growing up Catholic in the '50s is the subject of Tom Dudzik's comedy Over the Tavern, which focuses on 12-year-old Rudy, who wants to grow up to be Ed Sullivan. Directed by William Pullinsi, the production runs Oct. 3-Nov. 11.

The Ugly Duckling tale gets a new spin in the musical Everything's Ducky, by Side Show creators Bill Russell (book and lyrics with Jeffrey Hatcher) and Henry Krieger (music). In this version, directed by Marc Robin, barnyard fowl Serena aspires to be on the cover of Madamgazelle. It runs Dec. 5-Jan. 6.

The second installment of young Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's Leenane trilogy, A Skull in Connemara looks at a gravedigger who must exhume the body of his wife, who died under mysterious circumstances. Directed by BJ Jones, it runs Jan. 30-March 10. Veteran Chicago actor Mike Nussbaum leads the cast of Hearts, Willie Holtzman's play about a World War II veteran looking back on his tour of duty. It holds a personal connection for Nussbaum, who fought under Eisenhower in Europe. BJ Jones directs the play, which runs March 20-April 28.

In Lanford Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winner Tally's Folly, a Southern spinster falls for a big-city Jewish accountant. The play closes the season with a May 15-June 23 run.

The theatre is at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts , 9501 Skokie Blvd. For more information, call (847) 673-6300 or visit www.northlight.org.

— By Diane Snyder