Displaying items by tag: live theatre

Tin Drum Theatre Company is proud to announce the cast and creative team for Chicago premiere for A Dark Wood, October 15 - November 1, written by Eric Coble and directed by Steve Needham, at Studio 44 in the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. The preview performance for A Dark Wood is Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. with the opening night performance Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. The Understudy Performance is Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. There will be a post-show talk-back with playwright Eric Coble after a select performance date, to be announced. Tickets are $29 with $15 student tickets. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 1  at TinDrumTheatre.com or by calling the Greenhouse Theater Company box office at 773.404.7336. 

“The Fix” was supposed to correct everything that had gone wrong with the country. Now, three members of a shattered family, Earthworm, Hummingbird and Armadillo, occupy different corners of a society in free-fall, each surviving in their own way. Earthworm squats in no-man’s land beside his only friend, desperate to cross the river border and begin a new life. Hummingbird hides in a boarded-up apartment, secretly reading books with a fugitive teacher who will do anything to keep both her — and the resistance — alive. Armadillo stands alone in her police armor searching for justice, or perhaps forgiveness. Which of them will make it to Paradise and what will it cost? Does such a place even exist?

A Dark Wood ensemble cast includes Renzo Vicente (he/him, Earthworm), Delaney 

Vallese (she/her, Hummingbird), Marlee Feacher (she/her, Armadillo), Carlos Andrés Mai (he/they, Montrose), Shannon Leigh Webber (she/her, Miss Vivian) and Raúl Alonso (he/him, Dipper).

The creative team includes Eric Coble (he/him, playwright); Steve Needham (he/him, producer/director),  Jason Palmer (he/him, production manager),  Sil Rivera (they/them, stage manager); Will Hughes (he/him, technical director and scenic designer); Kasey Wolfgang (she/her, costume designer); Emma Berry (she/her, lighting designer and master electrician); Zach Stinnett (he/him, sound designer) and Erin Alys (she/her, director of intimacy and movement). 

ABOUT ERIC COBLE, playwright

Eric Coble is an award-winning American playwright whose work spans sharply drawn dramas, audacious comedies and incisive social satire. Born in Edinburgh and raised on the Navajo and Ute reservations of the American Southwest, Coble brings a distinctive blend of wit, empathy and theatrical boldness to the stage.

His plays have been produced across the United States and internationally, including on Broadway, Off-Broadway and at major regional theatres. His Broadway debut, The Velocity of Autumn, starring Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella, earned Parsons a Tony Award nomination. Other widely produced works include The Giver (stage adaptation), Bright Ideas, My Barking Dog, Fairfield, The Dead Guy, Natural Selection and Southern Rapture, among many others.

Coble’s scripts have received an ATCA Steinberg New Play Award citation, the Governor’s Award for the Arts (Ohio) and multiple Edgerton New Play Awards. His work has been developed or produced by The Kennedy Center, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Class Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Alliance Theatre, Arena Stage and Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Known for his sharp comic voice and ability to illuminate the tensions and absurdities of contemporary American life, Coble remains a vital presence in the new-play landscape. He is a member of the Playwrights’ Center and a graduate of Ohio University’s MFA program.

ABOUT STEVE NEEDHAM, director

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Steve Needham is a founding member of Convergence-Continuum, which is still producing provocative black box theatre for more than 25 years.

In Chicago, Needham has previously worked in various capacities at The Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, About Face Theatre and Pride Films & Plays. He holds a B.A. in theater from Kent State University, a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Cleveland State University.

At Tin Drum Theatre, he wrote the company’s inaugural play, Winter Garden about Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, and directed The Unseen by Craig Wright. 

Outside of his artistic pursuits, Needham is an attorney with a litigation firm located in the River North neighborhood.

ABOUT TIN DRUM THEATRE COMPANY

Tin Drum Theatre Company exists to disrupt complacency and reassert theatre’s civic purpose. Creating theatre that asks something of its audience, moving beyond comfort to provoke conversation and critical engagement. Tin Drum believes community begins where audiences and ideas collide, and where dramatic disturbances are created.

Curious Theatre Branch, with co-producers Chicago Danztheater Ensemble, Chicago Dramatists and Labyrinth Club, are pleased to announce the 37th annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival, September 20 - October 26 at four venues across Chicago. The month-long festival of shows will kick off with a special “afternoon tea” edition of the Full Moon Vaudeville, this concert launches the festival on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. at Facility Theatre, 1138 N. California Ave., headlined by art/folk/cabaret act The Crooked Mouth and other special guests. 

Throughout its nearly four decades, Rhinofest has endeavored to welcome as many participants as possible, both as artists and as audience members. To that end, artists pay no fee to apply or to produce their works at Rhinofest and all tickets are offered at pay-what-you-can pricing, with a $25 suggested price. Tickets and details for all upcoming shows will be available Sunday, Sept. 6 at Rhinofest.com.

Since its inception in 1989, as a single weekend of shows in the Wicker Park neighborhood, this unique and mutable fringe festival has expanded and contracted to fit the time and has become the longest running Fringe Festival in Chicago. Festival events will take place at four venues this year: Facility Theatre, 1138 N. California Ave. in Humboldt Park; Chicago Dramatists, 798 N. Aberdeen in River West, Labyrinth Arts Club, 3658 N. Pulaski Rd. in the Irving Park neighborhood and Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, 1650 W. Foster Ave. 

The 37th Rhinofest will feature mostly original work from Chicago artists and companies, including new work from The Fat Theater Project, the 10th anniversary of Ira Murfin’s An Interview, a new work by Jessica Wright Buha, new work from Drinking and Writing Theater, and, of course, an evening of short works by The Curious Theatre Branch, Rhinofest’s host. New to the Festival in 2026 are partnerships with Chicago Danztheater, a beautiful space in Andersonville, featuring movement-based work and a creativity workshop called Maps, Guides & Legends: a generative writing and interdisciplinary art-making workshop on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  

This year's festival will feature plays, music and performances from more than 35 companies and solo artists. Among the highlights are: 

The Full Moon Vaudeville

Facility Theater, 1138 N. California Ave.

Sunday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m.

The annual bacchanalia headlined by art/folk/cabaret act The Crooked Mouth 

includes a variety of acts to inaugurate the festival featuring cool things as yet unknown and a rare afternoon teatime show.

Make Out the Words 

by The Curious Theatre Branch

Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave.

Saturday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. 

Make Out the Words: two new short plays inspired by the unproduced writing of the late Matt Rieger, by Curious ensemble members Charlotte Lastra and Chris Bower. The show also features a performance of Rieger's own text by Beau O'Reilly. 

A strange encounter on a train leaves an aimless woman desperate for answers, and a flood with no explanation leaves a couple with a basement full of ruined Moby Dicks.

Drinking and Writing Theater: Miersten Wolf

Labyrinth Arts Club, 3658 N. Pulaski Rd.

Thursdays: Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 8, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

In this 70-minute musical, three stories are interwoven with 10 original songs. The stories include the truthful biographical information of the writer, the history of Chicago's problem/solution with its waste and, lastly, a fictional story of a crib keeper on Lake Michigan who dreams of a mysterious woman named Miersten Wolf.

Works in Progress

By Jeff Glassman, Mark Enslin and Susan Parenti

Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave.

Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.

Works in progress include Radish is My Teacher by Jeff Glassman, a collection of scripts for puppets by Susan Parenti and a libretto by Mark Enslin about a stranded international volunteer incarcerated firefighter. Both Susan Parenti & Jeff Glassman have had new works produced here in Chicago and around the country over the last decade.

The Metamorphosis aka The Adult Show/I'm a Bug!!! aka the Kids Show

By Jessica Wright Buha

Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave.

Sundays: Oct. 4, Oct. 11, Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 at 11 a.m.

This staged reading presents TWO works-in-progress that will happen at the same time (in two separate rooms). 

The Metamorphosis aka The Adult Show, is a five-actor immersive show based on Franz Kafka's “The Metamorphosis.” 

I'm a Bug!!!! aka the Kids Show, is a two-actor/teaching artist show for kids based on Franz Kafka's “The Metamorphosis.” This second piece will also serve as child care for audience members going to see The Metamorphosis.

Shaking the Beckett: 

The Magic of Lady M. and A Needless & Wasteful Requirement

By Fat Theater Company

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, 1650 W. Foster Ave.

Friday, Oct. 9 and Saturday, Oct. 10 at 9 p.m. 

These two one acts are both subjective and satirical interpretations of the works of two theatrical masters: William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett. The Magic of Lady M. by Laura Scruggs reimagines the tragedy of “Macbeth” as a feminist political satire in a style akin to John Waters or “Ru Paul's Drag Race.” A Needless & Wasteful Requirement by Robert MacCrae follows two actresses awaiting the performance rights to produce Waiting for Godot, which becomes an existential absurd comedy in the vein of Beckett himself. 

An Interview

By Ira Murfin

Sunday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. at Labyrinth Arts Club, 3658 N. Pulaski Rd.

Saturday, Oct. 24 at 9 p.m. at Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, 1650 W. Foster Ave.

An Interview is an ongoing series of encounters between rotating pairs of participants, who meet across a table in front of an audience to first revisit an interview conducted during the previous installment and now to conduct a new, unrehearsed conversation. Every performance is specific, unique and unrepeatable, while each encounter is connected to all the others by the format and sequence that carries through the project’s 10-year history. 

Special Event: Maps, Guides & Legends

Led by Sherry Antonini and Jenny Magnus

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, 1650 W. Foster Ave.

Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Maps, Guides & Legends is a generative writing and interdisciplinary art-making workshop. A writing and creativity day based on the idea that doing is learning, and experiments and games are an explosive way to try new things. Antonini and Magnus have been teaching together for 30 years, from the incredible Interdisciplinary Arts Department at Columbia College Chicago back in the day to writing classes at The School of the Art Institute and everything in between. This duo knows how to have fun and get ideas rolling. Anyone can get ready to begin, begin again or find a way through the middle of a project. Open to writers and interdisciplinary artists at all levels, this workshop will point to new project routes, productive detours and discoveries of what can be found along unpaved roads. 

About the Rhinoceros Theater Festival

The event that became the Rhinoceros Theater Festival began in 1988 as an offshoot of the Bucktown Arts Fest and in its first year featured just two days of performances, including work by Curious Theatre Branch co-founders Jenny Magnus and Beau O'Reilly. Curious went on to produce the Rhino across many neighborhoods and venues over the years, with events variously taking place in Wicker Park/Bucktown, Rogers Park, Andersonville and Avondale; at spaces including the Lunar Cabaret and Full Moon Café, the Neo-Futurarium, the Society for New Things, The Garage, The Firehouse, Remains Theatre and Prop Thtr. In the mid-2000s, Rhinofest settled at Prop Thtr in Avondale as its long-term base and Prop and Curious co-produced the festival among a shifting group of curators for many years. Following the closure of Prop's Elston Ave. space in 2020 and a year off during the height of the pandemic, Rhinofest now returns to its expanded form, producing shows by more than 50 artists at multiple venues.

Open Space Arts has announced it will stage the Chicago Premiere of THE SWALLOW - the internationally acclaimed drama by Spanish playwright Guillem Clua, author of the comedy SMILEY, which Open Space Arts produced from June 3 to July 19 this year. In this two-character 90-minute play, a voice lesson becomes a profound experience for the music teacher and her adult student. As they work together on a song, what initially seems like a simple musical exchange becomes something more personal, more complicated, and more revealing.
 
THE SWALLOW (originally titled LA GOLONDRINA) premiered in London in 2018. It was produced in Madrid the following year, with Carmen Maura, the star of seven films directed by the legendary Pedro Almodovar, as the music teacher. THE SWALLOW has also been staged in Athens, Rome, Washington, DC, and New York City. The Open Space Arts production will open on Friday, September 11, at 7:30 pm, and play Fridays through Sundays through September 27. All performances are in Open Space Arts' hyper-intimate 25-seat theatre at 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago.

Open Space Arts' production of THE SWALLOW will be directed by Laine Rogers, whose credits include work with a wide swath of Chicago theatre companies, including MadKap Productions, Piven Theatre, Raven Theatre, Concert Opera of Greater Chicago, Pride Arts, Actors Training Center, Muskegon Civic Theatre, and DePaul University. Her cast will include Chicago veteran actress Michelle McKenzie-Voight as the teacher, Emily, and Jim Nally, a recent transplant to Chicago from Cleveland, as Ray. The production team is Dorothy Sargent (Stage Manager), Rick Paul (Set Designer), Dominique Favre (Costume Designer), Sean Smyth (Lighting and Sound Designer), and Mark Forbis (Original Music). 

SMILEY author Guillem Clua is one of Spain's most widely produced contemporary playwrights. His work has been staged internationally and translated into multiple languages. His plays, including SMILEY and THE SWALLOW, are known for their emotional intelligence, wit, and insight into the complexities of human connection. While SMILEY has become a global audience favorite, it has had only limited exposure in the United States, with select Spanish-language productions in New York and Miami. Open Space Arts' production introduces this internationally celebrated work to Chicago audiences, offering a fresh opportunity to experience one of the most engaging contemporary queer love stories to emerge from the European stage. 

Tickets for THE SWALLOW are $30.00 ($25.00 for students and seniors) and are on sale now at www.openspacearts.org. 

THE SWALLOW
By Guillem Clua
English Translation by Tim Gutteridge
Directed by Laine Rogers
September 11–27, 2026
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM
Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago
Tickets $30.00 general admission, $25.00 students and seniors. On sale now at https://www.openspacearts.org

THE SWALLOW is set during a private singing lesson between a choral director and a new student. As they work together on a song, what initially seems like a simple musical exchange becomes something more personal, more complicated, and more revealing.
 
With humor, tension, and emotional precision, the play explores grief, memory, family, faith, identity, and the stories people tell in order to survive. Music becomes both a refuge and a doorway, allowing two strangers to move toward truths that have been difficult to face. THE SWALLOW is a powerful theatrical encounter about loss, compassion, and the possibility of connection when people are willing to listen.

Collaboraction Theatre Company announced today two major productions for its 2026-27 season: the world premiere of Chicago writer Willie Round’s Mud Life this fall, and the return of Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till in February.

“For our 31st season, at our House of Belonging, Collaboraction opens our chamber of change to Chicagoans to cultivate new knowledge, empathy, dialogue, and action with two plays by writing partners and Collaboraction Company Members, G. Riley Mills and Willie Round. One play is in the present. The other in the past. Both impact our future,” said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. “Mud Life, set in a worn down recording studio on Chicago’s West side and based on Willie's actual life, is a raw, revealing look at the hopes and dreams of escaping poverty and scarcity through music. The other is based on the heartbreak of Mamie Till-Mobley's life, an excavation of the once-erased courtroom proceeding where a mother and others risked their lives to confront and dismantle white hatred, changing us all, forever.”

Both productions will have multiweek runs at Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging, now anchoring the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave. in Chicago’s Humboldt Park community. Tickets to both productions are already on sale at collaboraction.org.

First is the debut of Mud Life, a raw, intimate drama by and based on Chicago writer, rapper, producer and Collaboraction Company Member Willie Round’s experiences growing up on Chicago’s west side making music.

The plot spins around Anthony and Devontae, two aspiring hip-hop artists from Chicago’s North Lawndale community who are struggling to climb beyond their circumstances while creating music under the control of a manipulative strip-club owner. When an enigmatic outsider offers them a rare shot at escape, their loyalty fractures, and their bond is tested in ways that alter the course of their lives. 

Mud Life first entered Collaboraction’s orbit in 2019 as the seven-minute short play Broke Down Drone in Collaboraction’s Peacebook Festival. That experience spawned an award-winning short film of the same name. More recently, Round returned to the script, which received workshops and readings earlier this summer at both Bramble Theatre and Definition Theatre. 

Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley will direct Collaboraction’s world premiere of Mud Life. Martine Kei-Green Rogers, Dean, The Theatre School at DePaul University, is dramaturg.

Previews are Wednesday through Saturday, October 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through November 15: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 3 p.m. Industry Night is Monday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. No show Saturday, October 31. Tickets are $15-$50. 

Collaboraction’s season continues with the return of its critically acclaimed smash hit Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, February 3-March 14, 2027. Back by popular demand, Trial in the Delta is an unforgettable theatrical event that invites audiences to confront the truth, honor a legacy, and experience one of the greatest injustices of all time as if it were happening today.

On September 20, 1955, the trial of the men who murdered 12-year-old Emmett Till began in Sumner, Mississippi, and the world would never be the same. In this immersive, 90-minute live docudrama, Collaboraction transforms the long-buried trial transcript into a gripping theatrical experience that places audiences face-to-face with the people whose testimony spurred the civil rights movement. Actors seated among the audience rise to take the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and defense—including Mamie Till-Bradley—bringing raw, unfiltered history to life. The Chicago Reader called last year’s staging, the first production in Collaboraction’s new home in Humboldt Park, “a sharp reminder of how close the events of 70 years ago are to our own time.” The Chicago Tribune gave it 3-½ stars, noting it “makes plain the injustice of that moment.”

Collaboraction’s fourth remount of the award-winning Trial in the Delta, co-adapted by Willie Round and G. Riley Mills, co-directed by Anthony Moseley and Dana Anderson, will feature a powerhouse cast of returning artists, including NK Gutiérrez as Mamie Till-Bradley, along with new faces. 

Previews are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 3-5 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is Saturday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through March 15: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Each show will be followed by a short Crucial Conversation. Tickets are $20-$60. Twelve premium seats inside the jury box are sold at every show. Groups of 10 or more receive a 10% discount. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (312) 226-9633 for more information.

Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till is presented in partnership with The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, as part of the Till Life Matters Initiative. Thanks to this relationship, Trial in the Delta was showcased at The Till Institute’s Emmett Till’s 85th Birthday Commemorative Dinner on July 31, the first public gala at the new Obama Presidential Center.

Also on stage this season at Collaboraction

Collaboration’s new You Belong Here series is keeping the company’s home in Humboldt Park activated year round. 

You Belong Here provides a new platform for independent artists and groups at any stage in their career, with an emphasis on those who live in proximity to the Kimball Arts Center in Humboldt Park. Curated by company member Sandra Delgado, the series is meant to take the barriers out of self-producing by providing free space and equipment, stage management, marketing and PR support and a generous door split model. 

To illustrate, You Belong Here shows this August at Collaboraction include:

Bilingual Improv School’s ¡El Showcase!, Wednesday, August 12 at 7 p.m.

A night of hard-core dance music with Silver October’s HEARTFELT HARDCORE, Friday, August 14 at 8 p.m.

Darshita Jain and Ghutarghoo Productions’ literary reading series Roomani, Tuesday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m.

The People’s Pot & Pantry, serving free, healthy meals to Chicago’s performing arts community, Monday, August 24 at 4 p.m.

The hilarious comedy variety show Max and Binkey: The Funktion, Wednesday, August 26 at 7 p.m.

Bilingual Improv School’s Cómo Se Dice?, Friday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m.

That’s not all. Collaboraction Executive Director Darlene Jackson, aka DJ Lady D, continues to present her new monthly gathering series, The Frequency. Collaboraction’s youth ensemble The Luminaries continues to take over the stage once a month with its open mic night, Radiate.

And Collaboraction looks forward to being a new host site for the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s Destinos Festival this fall.

For tickets and more information about any of these shows, visit collaboraction.org. To submit a You Belong Here performance proposal, visit collaboraction.org/you-belong-here.

Note: Free and nearby street parking is available near the Kimball Arts Center. For CTA riders, the 82 Kimball-Homan bus stops right in front of the building. The theater is also a short walk from the Kimball stop on the 72 North and 73 Armitage bus lines. For bikers and pedestrians, the Kimball trailhead on The 606 leads directly to the Kimball Arts Center. 

About Collaboraction

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, Collaboraction is an award-winning Chicago theater company that uses immersive, socially conscious performance to spark change and build equity. Across all platforms, Collaboraction uses its KEDA methodology - Knowledge, Empathy, Dialogue, and Action - to spark changes in behavior and attitudes that manifest social change.

Collaboraction’s past work includes NBC Chicago’s three-time Emmy Award-winning The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Trial in the Delta, the resulting live stage play film, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, live productions of Crime Scene, Moonset Sunrise, A Blue Island In the Red Sea, its annual Peacebook and Sketchbook festivals, and its youth ensembles, The Light and The Luminaries.

Collaboraction receives generous operating support and program funding from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation, Gary Grube, the Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts at the Chicago Community Trust, Naperville Rotary Club, Field Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Collaboraction is led by Darlene Jackson, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director; Anthony Moseley, Chief Programming Officer and Artistic Director; and a dedicated board, company members and staff.  For more information, visit collaboraction.org or follow Collaboraction on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok.

A Red Orchid Theatre is pleased open its 34^th Season, exploring the theme of "world on fire," with the Chicago premiere of Will Arbery's politically-charged drama Heroes of the Fourth Turning, directed by Ensemble member dado*, playing October 29 – December 6, 2026 at 1531 N. Wells St. in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. Casting to be announced shortly. Single go on sale Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at aredorchidtheatre.org or by calling (312) 943-8722. Season subscriptions are currently available. 

About the Production:

It's nearing midnight in Wyoming, where four recent graduates have gathered to celebrate their beloved mentor and professor Gina, newly inducted as president of their tiny Catholic liberal arts college. The reunion spirals into spiritual chaos, clashing generational politics and a vicious fight to be understood. Offering grace and disarming clarity, this haunting play speaks to the torn heart of a country at war with itself.

*Denotes A Red Orchid Theatre Ensemble Member

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: Heroes of the Fourth Turning

Playwright: Will Arbery
Director: Ensemble member dado*
Cast: to be announced shortly

Location: A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 29 at 7 pm, Friday, October 30 at 7 pm, Saturday, October 31 at 7 pm, Sunday, November 1 at 3 pm, Thursday, November 5 at 7 pm and Friday, November 6 at 7 pm

Opening: Sunday, November 8 at 6 pm

Regular run: Thursday, November 12 – Sunday, December 6, 2026
Curtain Times: Thursdays and Fridays at 7 pm; Saturdays 3 pm & 7 pm; and Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Thursday, November 26 (Thanksgiving); there will be an added Industry Night performance on Monday, November 23 at 7 pm.

Tickets: Previews: $33 – $44*. Regular run: $55*. Access, student, senior, and group discounts available. Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at aredorchidtheatre.org or by calling (312) 943-8722. Season subscriptions are currently available. *Ticket prices include a processing fee.

About the Artists:

Will Arbery (Playwright, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, he/him) is a playwright and screenwriter from Texas. His play Heroes of the Fourth Turning premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 2019 and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of an OBIE, Lucille Lortel and New York Drama Critics Circle Award, among other honors. It was named one of the "new canon" plays by American Theatre. Other plays include: You Hateful Things (upcoming London premiere), Spite House (upcoming New York premiere), Corsicana (Playwrights Horizons), Evanston Salt Costs Climbing (The New Group), Plano (Clubbed Thumb) and Wheelchair (3 Hole Press). He was the recipient of a Whiting Award in 2020. Will wrote on the fourth season of Succession, for which he won the WGA Award for Episodic Drama. He is the creator of two upcoming shows with FX: Seven Sisters (starring Elizabeth Olsen) and The Marriage Plot (starring Sadie Sink). Texas Monthly flagged him as one of the most influential cultural figures of the past 50 years out of Texas, and The New Yorker has called him the playwright of the moment.

dado (Director, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, she/her) last directed the world premiere of JoJo Jones' Veal at A Red Orchid, and before that Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin by Dianne Nora. In 2025 dado directed Lobster by Kallan Dana for the Wirtz Center at Northwestern and Dance Nation by Clare Barron for UIC, where she currently serves on the faculty. Other projects dado has directed are Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. by Alice Birch with The Feast Collective, Right Now by Catherine Anne Toupin (Facility Theatre), Anny Ouyang Moench's In Quietness at A Red Orchid and The Lover by Harold Pinter (with Yasen Peyankov at Facility Theatre). She has also directed The Ruse of Medusa by Erik Satie (Facility Theatre) and Killing Game by Eugene Ionesco (A Red Orchid). Next spring she will direct The Cherry Orchard for UIC's mainstage. 

Production sponsor: Terrance and Carol Coleman and Dawn and Jim Kink.

About A Red Orchid Theatre:

A Red Orchid Theatre has served as an artistic focal point in the heart of the Old Town community of Chicago since 1993 and was honored with a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Over the past 33 years, its Resident Ensemble has welcomed into its fold an impressive array of award-winning actors, playwrights and theatre artists with the firm belief that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit. A Red Orchid is well known and highly acclaimed for its fearless approach to performance and design in the service of unflinchingly intimate stories.

A Red Orchid Theatre is: Karen Aldridge, Lance Baker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Esteban Andres Cruz, Dado, Mike Durst, Sherman Edwards, Myron Elliott, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Steve Haggard, Levi Holloway, Mierka Girten, Larry Grimm, John Judd, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Travis A. Knight, Danny McCarthy, Shade Murray, Brett Neveu, Sadieh Rifai, Grant Sabin, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers and Natalie West.

Sponsor Information:

A Red Orchid Theatre remains grateful for the support of our board, donors and loyal audience who continue to champion our ambitious and powerful storytelling. These sponsors help to create a platform for our talented Ensemble to reach new audiences, and ensure that we remain a source for honest, compassionate, and aesthetically rigorous theatre-making.

A Red Orchid Theatre's 34^th Season is sponsored by The Bayless Family Foundation and Heidi Hoblit Graham. Heroes of the Fourth Turning is sponsored by Terrance and Carol Coleman and Dawn and Jim Kink.

Interested in sponsoring a production? By partnering with us as a sponsor, you will help to take our work to the next level of artistic excellence, while also receiving deeper access to our artists and the creative process. To learn more, please contact Development Director Stephanie Shum at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (312) 943-8722. 

Oil Lamp Theater, presenting I Love You Because, August 14 - September 13, is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its next production, Dial M for Murder, October 2 - November 1, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original play by Frederick Knott and directed by Daniel King, at Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road. The schedule includes two preview performances Friday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 3 at 3 p.m., with an opening performance Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with additional Wednesday performances Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; Wednesday Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. (Understudy Performance); Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Wednesday Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $30 for previews and $55 for the run at OilLampTheater.org.  

Alfred Hitchcock’s adored, chilling thriller gets a modern twist that no one sees coming. A murderous misstep begins a high-stakes hunt for the real criminal as time is quickly running out. This captivating, heart-racing play leaves audiences on the edge of their seats while the mystery of the year unravels before their eyes. Will the clues unlock the right person, or will an innocent victim pay the price? The suspenseful play is to die for…

The cast of Dial M for Murder includes John Chambers (he/him, Tony Wendice); Charlotte Foster (she/her, Maxine Hadley); Paige Klopfenstein (she/her, Margot Wendice); Robert Austin Love (he/him, Lesgate); James Sparling (he/him, Inspector Hubbard); Cooper Bohn (he/him, Tony Wendice U/S); Ava Pirie (she/her, Maxine Hadley U/S); Daria Koon (she/they, Margot Wendice U/S); Thomas  Ferro (he/him, Lesgate U/S) and Matt Hellyer (he/him Inspector Hubbard U/S).

The production team includes Daniel King (he/him, director); Spencer Donovan (he/him, scenic designer); Taylor Pfenning (she/her, costume designer); Jamie Macpherson (she/her, intimacy choreographer and fight director); Conner Nicoson (they/them, technical director);  Connor Windle (she/her, production manager); Brenden Delcorio (he/him, stage manager); Rick Reid (he/him, sound designer); Gigi Bjork-Nelson (she/her, assistant stage manager) and Rose Leisner (she/her, company manager).

ABOUT DANIEL KING, DIRECTOR

Daniel King is a Queer director who is a company member of Three Crows Theatre and serves on the artistic advisory board for Bump in the Night Theatre (BiTN). Additional upcoming projects include The Mystery Plays (BiTN) and Iolanthe (Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company). Selected credits include The Drowning Girls (Jeff Nomination) and The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me (Three Crows), A Picasso (Elsinore), Gross Indecency and Fun Home (IU). King has a MFA in directing from  IU-Bloomington; a BFA in acting from Chicago College of Performing Arts and is a proud associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

ABOUT OIL LAMP THEATER

Oil Lamp Theater is a professional nonprofit performing arts organization in Glenview, Illinois, welcoming over 10,000 patrons annually from more than 225 communities—41% from Glenview and others from across the North Shore and Chicago. Since establishing its intimate 60-seat home in downtown Glenview in 2012, Oil Lamp has grown into a cultural beacon, earning recognition as “Best Live Theatre in the North Shore” for four consecutive years.

With more than 70 productions to date, Oil Lamp is known for its dynamic Mainstage season, special events and its resilience during the pandemic, when it innovated with drive-in performances and outdoor productions. Today, the theatre continues to foster connection, broaden horizons and illuminate the human condition through professional theater and year-round programming.

In addition to its productions, Oil Lamp Theater operates Oil Lamp Academy, its education branch dedicated to “Training for Life Through the Performing Arts.” In 2025 alone, the program served more than 230 students ages three to 97 years old, offering classes that use theater as a pathway to build confidence, creativity and lifelong skills.

Oil Lamp launched Light The Way in 2025, a transformative fundraising campaign designed to expand arts education, strengthen essential staff and establish a larger performance venue with the goal of staying in downtown Glenview. And in July 2026, Oil Lamp announced its new future home will be at the former Ten Ninety Brewing Co. in Downtown Glenview, 1025 Waukegan Road, next to Oil Lamp Academy. Building on its roots as a scrappy storefront, Oil Lamp is evolving into a more robust organization—without losing the intimacy and warmth that define its theater experience. Oil Lamp Theater hopes this announcement inspires excitement throughout the community. Stay tuned as additional news is shared in the near future. For information or to support the campaign go to OilLampTheater.org/Light-the-Way or reach out to Oil Lamp at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Oil Lamp Theater, presenting I Love You Because, August 14 - September 13, is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its next production, Dial M for Murder, October 2 - November 1, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original play by Frederick Knott and directed by Daniel King, at Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road. The schedule includes two preview performances Friday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 3 at 3 p.m., with an opening performance Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with additional Wednesday performances Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; Wednesday Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. (Understudy Performance); Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Wednesday Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $30 for previews and $55 for the run at OilLampTheater.org.  

 
About Joffrey's The Nutcracker 

Wheeldon's modern masterpiece rings in the holidays. Follow young Marie and the Nutcracker Prince on a whirlwind journey through the 1893 World's Fair—a dazzling spectacle of sights, sounds and enchantment. This annual tradition celebrates the magic of the season and the rich cultural heritage of Chicago like no other. 

Single tickets start at $47 and are available for purchase at Lyric Opera Box Office located at 20 N. Upper Wacker Dr. and by telephone at 312.386.8905 or online at joffrey.org

The Sarah Siddons Society is honored to present its 2026 Leading Artist Award to James Moore, Music Director and Conductor of Lincoln Center Theatre's Tony Award-winning revival of Ragtime.

Moore will be honored by the Society on Sunday, September 13, 2026 at The CheckOut, 4116 N. Clark St. in Chicago. Following a 6 pm cocktail reception, attendees will enjoy a musical tribute celebrating Moore's career featuring performances by Alfreda Burke, Jim Corti (original Ragtime cast), Rodrick Dixon (original Ragtime cast), Tom Michael and Zoé Sotores, under the music direction of Beckie Menzie and directed by Joan Curto. Single tickets ($125) and sponsorships are currently available at sarahsiddonssociety.org/events-list/2026/leading-artist-award.

The Leading Artist Award (formerly the Leading Lady Award and Leading Man Award) is given by the Sarah Siddons Society to a theatre artist of accomplishment who has a Chicago connection. Moore grew up in the Chicago area. Past recipients include David Cromer, Michael Greif, Courtney Reed, Dominic Missimi, Jackie Taylor, E. Faye Butler, Heidi Kettenring, Jim Corti and Rondi Reed, among others.

Sarah Siddons Society President Martin Balogh comments "The Sarah Siddons Society is extremely pleased to present its Leading Artist Award to James Moore in recognition of his extraordinary contributions as a musical director and conductor to countless Broadway productions. His exceptional artistry, dedication and influence have enriched the American theater and inspired audiences and performers alike. We are honored to celebrate his remarkable achievements with this well-deserved award."

About James Moore:

James Moore's credits include Lincoln Center Theatre: Ragtime, South Pacific. Broadway: Miss Saigon, Gigi, On the Town, Follies, Ragtime, Steel Pier, Company. Off-Broadway: Ragtime (City Center Gala), Road Show (Encores! Off-Center), The Pirates of Penzance (Public Theatre Gala). Tours: Les Misérables (Music Supervisor), The Producers, Kiss Me, Kate, Crazy for You, And The World Goes 'Round. Regional: Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Gypsy (The Muny), Titanic (Signature Theatre), The Music Man, Mame, (The Kennedy Center) Hello, Dolly! (Ford's Theatre). Guest conductor with The Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's. Education: Master and Bachelor of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

About Sarah Siddons Society

Since its inception, the mission of the Society has been to fund scholarships to promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities including; The Theater Department, Columbia College; The Theatre School at DePaul University; Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Northwestern University School of Communications and the School of Theatre and Dance at Northern Illinois University. For additional information, visit sarahsiddonssociety.org.

House of the Exquisite Corpse, Chicago’s one and only puppet haunted house, returns for its sixth Halloween season with a new, singularly immersive horror experience that’s sure to keep you up at night. 

House of the Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES runs October 8-November 1 at The Merle at Steppenwolf Theatre. Six teams of Chicago artists will bring life to six unique puppet terror experiences, each tuning into the horrors embedded in LULLABIES as the unifying theme.

Enter House of the Exquisite Corpse, if you dare. Guests gather in a make-shift foyer, grabbing a drink for some liquid courage if needed (horrifying specialty cocktail TBA). Then, small groups are ushered inside via timed entries, where they encounter a dark and murky expanse. They proceed to visit six “rooms” -- rooms of true puppet theater horror ---- peering through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to witness the carnage and gallows humor inside.

Fans of immersive experiences, haunted houses, literature, puppetry and live theater are the ideal audience for Chicago’s most unique Halloween destination. As the Chicago Reader put it, “if you want to move beyond schlock and shock into an elevated horror experience this October, look no further than House of the Exquisite Corpse.”

Considering this year’s theme, “Who left that baby in a tree? What happens after that cradle falls?” asks director Corey Smith, veteran of House of the Exquisite Corpse and co-director of last year's triumphant BLOOD & PUPPETS. “The lullaby promises motherly comfort, but our explorations uncovered something darker underneath — a plea for control in an uncontrollable world. The truth is that our mothers cannot save us, no matter how deeply we wish they could. We live in a smoke-drenched, waking apocalypse. We have to give our kin a way to process this desperation, this existential terror. What better way than a song at the cusp of a dream?”

Don’t sleep on this opportunity to experience a wildly creative, collaborative installation that blurs the lines between horror, puppetry and theater. House of the Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES runs October 8-November 1: Thursdays through Saturdays, with timed entries starting at 6:50 p.m., continuing every 15 minutes until the last entry at 9:30 p.m. New this year! Sunday matinees, starting at 1:50 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now at roughhousetheater.com/tickets. Sliding scale, Pay What You Can suggested prices are $22 to $47. Note: This production is recommended for ages 13 and over. 

Also new this year is an All-Inclusive Package with ALL the perks: the show, a drink ticket, a giveaway at entry and the coveted backstage tour. These are available Thursdays and Sundays only, October 8-October 25, last entry time. Packages are $75 plus $3 booking fee.

Steppenwolf Theatre’s Merle Reskin Space is located at 1624 N. Halsted in Chicago’s Lincoln Park Neighborhood, just steps away from the CTA Red Line stop at North and Clybourn. 

Meet the Artists: House of the Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES

House of the Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES is directed by Corey Smith. The six artistic teams are:

Room 1: Creators Vim Hile and Tanima, performed by Camille Mitchell and Casey Doe

Room 2: Creators Charlie Malave and Caitlin McLeod, performed by Finn Bradley, Eddy Barber-Rozema, Rachel Hartmann and Emilie Wingate
Room 3: Creators madigan burke, Zhen Heinemann and Andy Slater, performed by Lindsey Ball and Candice Conner

Room 4: Creators Leah Lara and Dionne, performed by Samuel J. Lewis II and Tia Pinson

Room 5: Creators Saskia Bakker and Ruby Que, performed by Khalil Smith and Alexander Ferguson

Room 6: Creators J. Felix and Abby Palen, performed by Mallory Kimbrell and Shannon Twenter

The 2026 production team includes director Corey Smith, with lobby immersion by Jacqueline Wade and Sion Silva, environmental design by Melissa Schlesinger, Jackie Berland, Ken Buckingham and Nina D'Angier, and sound design by Mike Meegan. Associate sound designer is Joey Meland. Production stage manager is Kacey Lindeman. Stage managers are Emi Cruz and Tess Duncan.

More about Rough House Puppet Arts

Rough House Puppet Arts is on a mission to connect individuals and communities through puppetry-arts that celebrate the weird things that make us unique, and the weirder things that bring us together. Through programs designed to enrich the artist, the art form, and the community, Rough House works towards a vision of Chicago as an increasingly robust, diverse, and inclusive epicenter of contemporary puppet theater.

The company’s work collides puppetry with physical theater, music, visual arts, and an insatiable taste for experimentation. In addition to its own productions, Rough House’s work has performed at the National Puppetry Festival and The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and in punk houses, funeral parlors, a lotion factory, and the woods of Appalachia. 

Each October, Rough House creates an all-new immersive puppet horror production. Beginning with the Harrow House series (2018, 2019), the project is now in its sixth year under the title House of the Exquisite Corpse—a themed anthology of puppetry-performance installations, viewed by audiences through peep-holes in Chicago’s most artful, most haunted pop-up house. 

Chicago’s beloved Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret, named “Best late-night adult-content puppet cabaret” by the Chicago Reader in 2024, is also a Rough House Puppet Arts production. Funded in part by the Puppet Slam Network, this quarterly cabaret doubles as an evening of contemporary short-form puppet and object-based theater for adult audiences, and a low-risk environment for artists to perform new and experimental work and foster artistic exchange between puppet artists of different generations and mediums. Nasty, Brutish & Short is presented  at Constellation, 3111 W. Western Ave. in Chicago. The next Nasty, Brutish & Short  is Friday, August 14 at 8 p.m. For tickets and information, visit roughhousetheater.com/nbs.

This year, Rough House Puppet Arts also presents Out With It, a wordless performance of movement, performance, clown and puppetry created and performed by Rough House Executive Artistic Director Claire Saxe. Out With It will have one Chicago performance, Monday, August 24 at iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingery St. in Chicago, before heading out on a national tour. For tickets and information, visit roughhousetheater.com/show/outwithit.

In addition to performances, Rough House is active year round fostering and expanding the art of contemporary puppetry with workshops for puppeteers and anyone interested in the form. Up next is Telling Your Own Story through Puppetry led by Chicago puppet artists Samuel J. Lewis and Lindsay Ball, Saturday, August 22 at 2 p.m. at Agitator Artist Collective, 3851
W. Fullerton Ave. in Logan Square. Go to roughhousetheater.com/tickets.

Rough House Puppet Arts’ Board of Directors includes Kacie Smith (President), Jason Estremera (Treasurer), Savannah Rouse (Secretary), Antonio Luna, Karlyn Meyer, Mike Wydrzynski and Mike Oleon, Rough House’s co-founder and former co-artistic director.

The Rough House administrative team includes Claire Saxe, Executive Artistic Director; Marcey Abramovitz, Managing Director; Kimzyn Campbell, Marketing and Communications Director; Samuel J. Lewis II, Manager of Artist Advancement; Kevin Michael Wesson, Community Programs Manager; and Cailtin McLeod and Myra Su, Cabaret Curators.

For more information, visit RoughHousePuppets.org and follow the company on Instagram and Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to continue its 51st Season with the world premiere of Chicago playwright Stephanie Alison Walker's biting satire Adirondack Chair Circle, directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Downstate, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), playing October 22 — December 6, 2026 in Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. 

Adirondack Chair Circle will feature ensemble member Caroline Neff (Mr. Wolf, Fool for Love, POTUS, Another Marriage), with additional casting to be announced shortly.

About the Production:

A gaggle of suburban moms, armed with pickleball paddles and hard kombucha, are ready to take on the school board in the fight of their lives: attempting to ban the controversial books available to their kids in the school library. But is this trusted inner circle all on the same page? A piercing world premiere from a Chicago playwright, Stephanie Alison Walker's Adirondack Chair Circle exposes the hilarious hypocrisy of the causes we claim and the company we keep. And has a damn good time doing it.

The creative team includes Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design), Izumi Inaba (Costume Design), Barbara Samuels (Lighting Design), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), Nicholas Hussong (Projection Design), Kate DeVore (Vocal Coach), Bryar Barborka (Dramaturg), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Michelle Medvin (Production Stage Manager) and Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager). For full cast and creative team bios, click here.

Production Details:

Title: Adirondack Chair Circle
Playwright: Stephanie Alison Walker
Director: Pam MacKinnon
Cast: ensemble member Caroline Neff (Evelyn Grace). Additional casting to be announced.

Location: Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater, 1646 N. Halsted St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 22 – Saturday, October 31, 2026
Opening: Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 6 pm
Regular run: Tuesday, November 3 – Sunday, December 6, 2026
Curtain Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 3 pm & 7:30 pm; and Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be 7:30 pm performances on Tuesday, October 27, Thursday, November 5, Tuesday, November 10, Wednesday, November 18, Wednesday, November 25, Thursday, November 26 and Tuesday, December 1; there will be an added 2 pm matinees on Wednesday, November 25 and Wednesday, December 2.

Tickets: Classic Memberships starting as low as $165 are now on sale for Steppenwolf's 2026/27 season at steppenwolf.org/myseason. Single tickets for Adirondack Chair Circle ($20 – $149*) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. Steppenwolf Flex Memberships are currently on sale: Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production and RED Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30. *Pricing includes an $8.50 handling fee

Steppenwolf offers 20 tickets for $20 (no added fees) for each performance of every membership series production. Use promo code 20FOR20 to redeem this offer online, available in advance until they're sold out for every main series show. Limit 2 tickets per person. You can also purchase by phone at (312) 335-1650 on the day-of show at 12 pm for main series performances. Limit 2 tickets per person.

Accessible Performance Dates:

Audio-Described and Touch Tour: Sunday, November 22 at 3 pm (1:30 pm Touch Tour)
Open-Captioned: Saturday, November 7 at 3 pm, Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, November 28 at 3 pm
ASL-Interpreted: Friday, December 4 at 7:30 pm

Education and Engagement:

Throughout the 2026/27 season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to the next generation of theatre learners, makers and appreciators with robust education and engagement programming. Programming includes dedicated student matinee performances during four of the five Membership Series productions including Topdog/Underdog, Adirondack Chair Circle, The Comeuppance and Ellen B., in-school residencies in partnership with Chicago Public schools, workshops, panels and events specifically geared towards teens, as well as professional development trainings and resources for educators. For additional information about Steppenwolf's Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip visit steppenwolf.org/education-community/school-teacher-programs/field-trips.

Artist Biographies:

Stephanie Alison Walker (Playwright) is an internationally-produced, award-winning playwright whose work is known for the personalization of the political, humor in darkness and the dramatization of the resilience of women. She is a native Chicagoburbian who has lived all over including London, Buenos Aires, San Juan Island and fifteen years in Los Angeles. She received her Bachelors in English/Creative Writing and Spanish from the University of Colorado and her Master of Professional Writing from the University of California. She began writing plays while working for Fox Theatricals in Chicago. Her play about the housing crisis, American Home, was the inaugural winner of American Blues Theatre's Blue Ink Award. Her play about the mothers of the disappeared in Argentina, The Madres, received a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at Teatro Vista in Chicago, Skylight Theatre Company in L.A., Moxie Theatre in San Diego and Shrewd Theatre Company in Austin. It was the 2019 Winner of the Francesca Primus Prize, winner of the Ashland New Plays Festival, the Generations Prize and semi-finalist for the CTG/ Humanitas Prize for playwriting. Her follow-up play The Abuelas, premiered at Teatro Vista and was recently adapted into a short film titled The Birthday Gift. The Art of Disappearing was a finalist for the Primus Prize and enjoyed critical praise for the world premiere in Chicago by 16th Street Theater in 2015. Friends with Guns, her play about liberals and gun ownership was an O'Neill Finalist, winner of Best New Play at the 2019 Valley Theatre Awards, and had its Chicago premiere by A Short Leap Theatre Company in 2025. Sophia Hayden Deserves Better tells the story of the architect of the Woman's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and was recently a part of Gglassfest by Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago. The Ordeal of Water, inspired by the first women to work as Longshoremen at the Port of Los Angeles, was most recently a part of Bay Street Theater's New Works Festival. Adirondack Chair Circle, her play that tackles suburban book-banning moms, was developed at The Inkwell Theater Company and A Red Orchid's Studio at A Red Orchid. Her short plays have been anthologized by Smith & Kraus. Her full-lengths are published by Broadway Publishing, Inc. In addition to writing plays, she is currently adapting Friends with Guns and The Abuelas as features while raising two spirited boys and selling real estate in the suburbs of Chicago. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Honor Roll Playwrights, NNPN Affiliated Artist, and a proud alumni of the Playwrights Union. stephaniealisonwalker.com

Pam MacKinnon (Director) is a Tony, Drama Desk and multi-Obie Award winning director. She is the artistic director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She has directed more than eighty productions. Her Tony Award-winning production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? originated at Steppenwolf. Her production of Bruce Norris's Downstate (Steppenwolf, National Theatre and Playwrights Horizons) was celebrated with several Jeff Awards and won Pam her second Obie. She served as president of SDC, the national Union of choreographers and directors.

Caroline Neff (Evelyn Grace) is a Steppenwolf ensemble member. At Steppenwolf, she was last seen in Mr. Wolf, Fool for Love, POTUS, Another Marriage, Describe the Night, Seagull, Dance Nation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, You Got Older, Linda Vista (also Taper Forum and Broadway), The Fundamentals, The Flick, Airline Highway (also Broadway), The Way West, Three Sisters, Annie Bosh is Missing and Where We're Born. Select theatre credits include: Lettie (Jeff Award Best Actor; Victory Gardens Theater); Uncle Vanya (Goodman Theatre); A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Jeff Award for Best Actress), The Knowledge, Harper Regan, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (Steep Theatre); The Downpour (Route 66 Theatre); Port (Griffin Theatre); 4000 Miles (Northlight Theatre); Moonshiner (Jackalope Theatre). Regional credits include: Peerless (Yale Repertory Theatre). Film and television credits include: FBI, Three Women, Let the Right One In, The Red Line, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Open Tables and Older Children, and heard in multiple Audible Projects such as: Song of the Northwoods, Crowded Hours, Denali and Boar's Nest. She is a proud company member of Steep Theatre and holds her BA from Columbia College.

Accessibility:

As a commitment to make the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each STC production. Assistive listening devices (ALDs), large-print programs and Braille programs are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sponsor Information:

United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Julius Frankel Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Rich and Margery Feitler, FROST CHICAGO, Jessica and Dominic Green Family Fund, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Thoma Bravo, and Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.            

About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier Ensemble Theater with 51 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions have made this theatre legendary. From the early phenomenon of Balm in Gilead, to The Grapes of Wrath, August: Osage County, Downstate, The Brother/Sister Plays, and more recently, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Purpose, Steppenwolf Theatre has had a long-running and undeniable impact on American Theatre and Chicago's cultural landscape. Founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise, Steppenwolf started as a group of friends in their teens and early 20s performing in the basement of a school in Highland Park, Illinois. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards, two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the boundaries of live theater and pushes the limits of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf's Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham, concluded its 2025/26 season by shattering box office, attendance, and fundraising records, and cementing its position as a premier national hub for theatre excellence and community engagement. The critically acclaimed five-show season in the Studio Gang Architects-designed building at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe, earned a collective 17 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, recognizing every production, including Hershey Felder's Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, As You Like It, Two Sisters and a Piano, JOB, and Leopoldstadt.

The season was anchored by unprecedented audience demand, including a record-breaking extension for Max Wolf Friedlich's JOB, which became the highest-grossing show in the history of the Gillian Theatre, and the historic staging of Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt, the largest and highest-revenue production in the company's history.

"From the moment we started planning, we knew this was an ambitious season. And our success across so many fronts is a testament to the artists, staff, and board of Writers Theatre," said Artistic Director Braden Abraham. "We are fortunate to have one of the most passionate and savvy audiences anywhere, and we were thrilled to welcome so many new patrons through our doors for the first time. I could not be prouder of what we've accomplished together this year."

"At a time when arts organizations continue to navigate significant economic and funding challenges, this season has been a powerful reminder of what is possible when community responds with extraordinary confidence, enthusiasm and generosity," said Executive Director Kate Lipuma. "Record-breaking ticket sales, the most successful gala in our history, and an ambitious season of critically acclaimed productions demonstrate that audiences continue to invest in meaningful artistic experiences."

By the Numbers: A Year of Historic Growth
Writers Theatre saw year-over-year operational growth from the 2024/25 season to the 2025/26 season:

• Single Ticket Revenue: Surged from $1.5 million to $2.45 million, an increase of over 63%.
• Subscribers: Grew from 3,180 to 3,688 patrons.
• Total Attendance: Jumped from 46,600 to 55,917 attendees.
• Average Paid Capacity: Rose sharply from 68% to an outstanding 86%.

Commitment to Artistic Development and New Work

Writers Theatre continued to invest in the Chicago artist community by employing 75 Chicago-area artists on its stages during the 2025/26 season, the highest number in recent history, bringing the theatre's four-season total to 243 unique local actors.

With the belief that language is at the center of the theatrical experience, Writers Theatre continued its long-term commitment to developing new work and being a welcoming home for playwrights. During the 2025/26 season, Writers Theatre began work on two new commissions: Rammel Chan's Tomato Tattoo and Matthew C. Yee's Songs from the Underworld. Additionally, the theatre hosted several readings and workshops over the course of the season to further the development of a number of in-process projects:

• Frankenstein - Kyle Hatley and Dana Omar's ghostly indie rock version of the Mary Shelley classic
• Within Our Lifetime - a new play about psychic mediums in Victorian New England by Erik Hellman
• Aping Jane - a transformational one-woman show about Jane Goodall and her many animal companions by playwright Aurora Real de Asua 

Unprecedented Community Philanthropy
The record-breaking season was fueled by extraordinary donor support. A dedicated campaign united 40 visionary donors who invested over $1.3 million specifically to make the epic scale of Leopoldstadt possible. This generosity propelled total seasonal operating support to nearly $4 million.

Additional philanthropic milestones included welcoming Adam S. Garber (Levenfeld Pearlstein), Mollie Gawronski (BMO) and Katie E. Henderson (Northern Trust) to the Board of Trustees, and raising over $1 million at the 2026 WordPlay Gala, "A Little Night Music," which honored Rick and Deann Bayless.

Beyond the stage, donor support made possible The Stoppard Series, a community education series that invited patrons into meaningful conversations about the timely themes of Leopoldstadt, creating space for dialogue, reflection and connection. The series was highly collaborative, partnering with cultural institutions, including The Illinois Holocaust & Education Center, Sukkat Shalom, Resetting the Table and Jewish Studio Project with lecturers from University of Notre Dame, Loyola University, DePaul University and The School at the Art Institute.

Arts Engagement and Education Expanded Footprint
Mirroring the company's core mission, Arts Engagement and Education at Writers Theatre had a robust year of community integration and academic collaboration. Driven by a commitment to curiosity, excellence, language, conversation and the cultivation of artists of all ages, WT Education engaged nearly 5,000 patrons of all ages. Programming spanned across three areas: Onsite Programs, School-Based Programs, and Theatre for Young Audiences. Highlights include:

• Student Matinees: Welcomed 1,165 students and teachers to performances, marking an increase of 200 attendees.
• Onsite Youth Programs: Engaged 226 community members through pop-up day camps, spring break camps, and Wake Up Words.
• Theatre for the Very Young: Attracted 712 patrons to early-childhood offerings, including Kerfuffle's Bookworms, behold!, and Alliance Theatre's The Birthday of the World.
• The Novel Series, WT flagship program:
• Reached 848 students across 35 classrooms in 11 regional schools.
• Over 54% (6 out of 11) of participating schools are classified as low-income.
• Partnered with Communities in Schools – Chicago to add new institutions, including Johnnie Colemon Elementary and Mather High School.
• Translated 8 out of 14 curricula into Spanish, successfully executing a full residency and final presentation entirely in Spanish.
• Collaborated with 10 returning teachers to build upon multi-year academic programming.

Looking Ahead: The 35th Anniversary Season
Building on this remarkable momentum, Writers Theatre is launching its 35th Season with its first preview on August 13, continuing the company's dedication to world-class storytelling:

Sisters

Written by Matthew Libby
Directed by Jessica Thebus

August 13 – November 8, 2026

Matilda and Greta have always been there for one another, through joy and grief and homework and boyfriends. They're as close as sisters can be—even if Greta is artificial intelligence. As Matilda ages and Greta longs for independence, their relationship begins to be tested like never before. Told over the course of 90 years, Sisters is a riveting and thought-provoking new play about the future of family. 

The Royale

Written by Marco Ramirez
Directed by Tyrone Phillips

October 22 – November 29, 2026

Jay is a really good boxer, so good they call him "The Sport." He's won his last seventy-six fights and has his sights set on being crowned the next heavyweight champion. But it's 1905, and in the Jim Crow era, a Black man doesn't get to fight a reigning white champion. When a surprising chance at the title appears, Jay gears up for the fight of his life—where the stakes are staggeringly high inside the ring and out. Inspired by real-world boxer Jack Johnson, this adrenaline rush of a play by Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black, Buena Vista Social Club) is a kinetic and poetic portrayal of what it takes and what it costs to make history. 

Noël Coward's Brief Encounter

Adapted for the stage by Emma Rice

Adapted from the play Still Life and the screenplay Brief Encounter, both by Noël Coward
Directed by Shana Cooper

Choreographed by William Carlos Angulo

Music Supervision by Matt Deitchman

February 11 – March 28, 2027

An ordinary commute becomes a whirlwind instant of once-in-a-lifetime possibility. Laura, a suburban housewife, and Alec, a married doctor, meet by chance in a busy railway station. As their weekly encounters continue and they fall more passionately and wildly in love, the pair is forced to reconsider their settled lives and decide if this romance is undeniably hopeless or worth risking everything for. Based on the beloved Noël Coward film, this critically acclaimed stage adaptation features live performances of an indelible selection of Coward's best songs. You won't want to miss one of the greatest love stories of all time brought to dazzling life with music, movement and theatrical magic.

Creditors 

By August Strindberg 

Adapted by Jen Silverman 
Directed by Braden Abraham 

April 8 – July 3, 2027 

Adi, a struggling painter, is on holiday at the seaside with his glamorous wife, Tekla, who has recently published a wildly successful book. Left alone at the hotel while his wife is celebrated, Adi strikes up a conversation with a magnetic stranger, Gustav. As the two talk into the night, their budding friendship enters darker waters when Gustav becomes fixated on Tekla and Adi's relationship. This classic psychological thriller by August Strindberg, newly adapted with biting wit by Jen Silverman (Witch, The Roommate), is an electrifying portrayal of three souls trapped in an intricate web of deception, seduction and revelation. 

Hershey Felder: The Piano and Me

A new play with music

Book by Hershey Felder

With music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Bartok, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and Williams

May 5 – June 27, 2027
Press Opening: Friday, May 7 at 7:30pm

Hershey Felder, known for his hit portrayals of musical geniuses in his beloved composer series, now takes the stage as a different musical artist: himself. In this deeply moving new play, Felder pulls back the curtain on his own story. Growing up in Montreal as the child of Polish and Hungarian immigrants, a young Felder discovers the piano, its captivating music connecting him to his unsuspected heritage, while opening up a remarkable new world full of adventure, possibility, heartbreak, and connection.

Featuring performances of beloved compositions by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Bartók, and more, Hershey Felder: The Piano and Me recounts the inspiration behind Felder's illustrious career of more than 6,000 performances across the globe and offers a poignant and profoundly touching portrait of the power of music.

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE

Writers Theatre proudly celebrates its 35th Season.  

From its beginnings in the back room of a Glencoe bookstore, Writers Theatre established what would become its defining conviction: that vibrant language and exceptional performances in an intimate setting create a transformative theatrical experience. Today, the company is a major cultural destination in the Chicago region with a national reputation for artistic excellence, heralded by The Wall Street Journal as "America's finest regional theatre company."

Founded in 1992, Writers has produced over 160 productions—from inventive interpretations of classics to groundbreaking new work. In 2016, the company opened a state-of-the-art theatre center designed by the internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects. The new facility includes the 255-seat Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre and the flexible 100-seat Gillian Theatre, spaces designed to preserve the company's trademark intimacy and bring audiences up close to Chicago's finest actors. The building's striking glass atrium serves as a welcoming gathering space for artists, staff and the community, open daily for reading, working and conversation.  

Led by Executive Director Kate Lipuma and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham, Writers Theatre welcomes more than 60,000 patrons each year. The company has established itself as an important originator of new theatrical work, having produced over 30 world premieres in its history—including Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, Witch by Jen Silverman, Trevor the Musical by Dan Collins and Julianne Wick Davis, A Minister's Wife by Austin Pendleton, Jan Tranen and Josh Schmidt, The Savannah Disputation by Evan Smith and Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus's adaptation of Crime and Punishment. 

Education and community engagement remain central to Writers Theatre's mission. Each season, the organization reaches more than 5,000 students and adults through school matinees, in-school residencies and curriculum-based programs that introduce young people to professional theatre. Writers Theatre also offers a wide range of free programs for the broader community, including readings, lectures and partnerships with local organizations that make theatre accessible to audiences of all ages. 

Located just 20 miles north of downtown Chicago, Writers Theatre offers artists and audiences a setting that combines world-class theatre with the calm and accessibility of Chicago's North Shore. As Writers Theatre enters its 35th season, the company continues its commitment to artistic excellence, meaningful storytelling and the uniquely powerful connection that only intimate theatre can create.