A Red Orchid Theatre's riveting production of "The Aliens" -- Annie Baker's haunting play about two lost but brilliant twentysomething guys in a Vermont town, and the naive but solid high school boy who comes under their spell (if not their influence) -- is extending its runs for two weeks through March 16.

The Chicago premiere of this strange, powerful drama, directed by Shade Murray and featuring three superb actors -- Steve Haggard, Brad Akin and Northwestern student Michael Finley -- has been doing exceptionally well at the box office.

A Red Orchid Theatre is located at 1531 N. Wells. For tickets ($25-30) call (312) 943-8722 or visit www.aredorchidtheatre.org.

Incidentally, Baker is the subject of a New Yorker magazine profile (it's in the Feb. 25 issue), and her latest play, "The Flick," about movie-house workers in a small Massachusetts town, will have its world premiere March 12 at New York's Playwright's Horizons.