CHICAGO -- Once a year, Court Theatre on the South Side offers a rotating repertory whose whole is hopefully greater than its parts. (Last year the plays were Tartuffe and The Philadelphia Story.)

This year's double bill (starting previews Mar. 4) combines equally unlikely partners--The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov and Oscar Wilde's rarely performed An Ideal Husband, a comedy of false expectations and Victorian pretensions. A bittersweet group portrait and a teasing scandal make strange bedfellows, but artistic director Charles Newell is counting on the contrast to set off each play's special strengths.

Other Chekhov plays include The Seagull and Ivanov; other Wilde works include The Importance of Being Earnest and Salome.

An Ideal Husband starts previews March 4 for an opening Mar. 15. Orchard also opens Mar. 15, and both shows run to May 3 at the Court Theatre, 5535 South Ellis Ave. For tickets call (773) 753-4472.

-- By Lawrence Bommer
Chicago Correspondent and David Lefkowitz