Displaying items by tag: plays Chicago

The Tony Award® winning Best Musical, THE OUTSIDERS, based on the seminal novel by S.E. Hinton and Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark motion picture, will return to Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre this summer, August 4 – 16, 2026, after a sold-out engagement earlier this year. Groups of 10+ are now available by calling 312-977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Single tickets will go on sale Monday, April 20. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

“We are thrilled to bring THE OUTSIDERS back to Chicago this summer,” said producer Matthew Rego of The Araca Group. “After an extraordinary sold-out run this past winter, Chicago audiences made it clear they were ready for a return and we are grateful for the opportunity to deliver another engagement.”

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade and their Greaser family of ‘outsiders’ battle with their affluent rivals, the Socs. THE OUTSIDERS navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the Greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accept them. With a dynamic original score, THE OUTSIDERS is a story of friendship, family, belonging…and the realization that there is still “lots of good in the world.”

The winner of four 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, THE OUTSIDERS features a book by Tony Award nominee Adam Rapp with Tony Award winner Justin Levine, music and lyrics by Tony Award nominees Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, music supervision, orchestration & arrangements by Justin Levine, choreography by Tony Award nominees Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman and is directed by Tony Award winner Danya Taymor. 

THE OUTSIDERS features Scenography by Tony Award nominees AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, Costume Design by Sarafina Bush, Lighting Design by Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt, Sound Design by Tony Award winner Cody Spencer, Projection Design by Tony Award winner Hana S. Kim, Special Effects Design by Jeremy Chernick & Lillis Meeh, Hair & Wig Design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, Makeup Design by Tishonna Ferguson, Sound Effects Specialist Taylor Bense, Creative Consultant Jack Viertel. Speech Text & Dialect Coach Gigi Buffington. Music Supervision & Additional Orchestrations by Tony Award nominee Matt Hinkley, Music Direction by Remy Kurs. Production Supervision by Beverly Jenkins, Production Stage Management by Edmond O’Neal. Casting is by The TRC Company/Xavier Rubiano, CSA

THE OUTSIDERS opened on Broadway on April 11, 2024, to rave reviews and continues to play to sold out houses at the Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45^th Street). The New York Post proclaims THE OUTSIDERS as “THE BEST NEW MUSICAL OF THE SEASON." “STUNNING THINGS ARE HAPPENING ON THE STAGE OF THE JACOBS THEATER. Electrifying. Astonishing. Endlessly effective. THE OUTSIDERS has been made with so much love and sincerity. It is fair to call it golden." says The New York Times. Entertainment Weekly says, “THE OUTSIDERS has a heart of gold and THE POWER TO INSPIRE AN ENTIRE GENERATION.” “AN EXHILARATING WORLD OF MOVEMENT WITH HIGH-OCTANE CHOREOGRAPHY,” states New York Magazine. Time Out New York calls it “RAW AND MORE PULSE-POUNDING than anything else on Broadway right now."

THE OUTSIDERS is produced on tour by The Araca Group, American Zoetrope, Olympus Theatricals, Sue Gilad & Larry Rogowsky, Angelina Jolie, Betsy Dollinger, Jonathan & Michelle Clay, Cristina Marie Vivenzio, The Shubert Organization, LaChanze & Marylee Fairbanks, Debra Martin Chase, Sony Music Masterworks, Jamestown Revival Theater, Jennifer & Jonathan Allan Soros, Tanninger Entertainment, Tamlyn Brooke Shusterman, Mistry Theatrical Ventures, Galt & Irvin Productions, Tulsa Clarks, Paul & Margaret Liljenquist, Bob & Claire Patterson, Voltron Global Media, James L. Nederlander, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, The John Gore Organization, Independent Presenters Network, Stephen Lindsay & Brett Sirota, Jeffrey Finn, Playhouse Square, ASR Productions, Indelible InK, Lionheart Productions, The Broadway Investor’s Club, Starhawk Productions, Distant Rumble, GTR Productions, Green Leaf Partnership, Michael & Elizabeth Venuti, Leslie Kavanaugh, Deborah & Dave Smith, Belle Productions, Chas & Jen Grossman, Rungnapa & Jim Teague, Michael & Molly Schroeder, Casey & Chelsea Baugh, Jim & Emily Flautt, Jon L. Morris, Becky Winkler, William Moran Hickey Jr. & William Moran Hickey III, Melissa Chamberlain & Michael McCartney, Wavelength Productions, Rob O’Neill & Shane Snow, Eric Stine, Rachel Weinstein, Cornice Productions and La Jolla Playhouse. 

The Grammy-nominated Original Broadway Cast Recording of THE OUTSIDERS from Sony Masterworks Broadway is now available at https://theoutsidersbroadway.lnk.to/castalbum.

The world premiere of THE OUTSIDERS was produced by La Jolla Playhouse, Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director and Debby Buchholz, Managing Director, in March 2023.
 

OutsidersMusical.com 
Follow THE OUTSIDERS on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 26 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at The Auditorium™.

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.
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Goodman Theatre’s production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom arrives with the weight of expectation - and under the dual direction of Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix, it does not merely meet that weight, it reshapes it. This is not a revival of August Wilson’s searing text; it is a precise, muscular excavation of its tensions, its music, and its truths.

From the outset, the production leans into what makes Ma Rainey distinct within Wilson’s canon: its compression. There is no sprawling Hill District, no generational sweep - only a room, a day, and a reckoning. Smith and Lennix understand this pressure-cooker structure and allows it to simmer deliberately. The pacing is patient but never indulgent, each pause and eruption calibrated to expose the fractures between the woman, the men and the system that contains them.

At the center stands E. Faye Butler’s Ma Rainey, and “center” is not metaphorical - it is gravitational. Butler embodies what makes Ma singular among Wilson’s women: she is not surviving the system, she is making the system bend to her will. Where characters like Rose in Fences or Bertha in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone endure with moral resilience, Ma operates with economic and performative authority. Butler’s Ma is unapologetically self-possessed, openly sensual in her relationship with Dussie Mae, and fiercely aware of her value. Every demand - a Coca-Cola, a delay, a correction - is less eccentricity than strategy. She dictates the terms, and the room adjusts.

Surrounding her is a cast that functions both as ensemble and as volatile elements in a dramatic equation. Al’Jaleel McGhee’s Levee is electric, restless, and dangerously unmoored. He captures the tragic duality of the character: brilliance tethered to illusion. His performance builds like a slow burn until it detonates, revealing the unresolved trauma and misplaced faith in a system that will never reward him. In contrast, David Alan Anderson’s Cutler is grounded, pragmatic, a man who has learned the cost of survival. Kelvin Roston, Jr.’s Toledo brings intellectual weight, his reflections on Black identity landing with quiet force, while Cedric Young’s Slow Drag occupies the margins with understated authenticity.

The white power structure—embodied by Matt DeCaro’s Sturdyvant and Marc Grapey’s Irvin - is rendered with chilling subtlety. There is no overt villainy here, only the smooth machinery of exploitation. Irvin’s politeness is the point; it is the veneer that makes the system function.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Goodman Theatre. (L-R) Jabari Khaliq, E. Faye Butler, Kelvin Roston Jr.

Visually, the production is nothing short of exquisite. Linda Buchanan’s set design transforms the stage into a 1920s Chicago recording studio that feels both expansive and suffocating. The inclusion of distinct spaces - the recording area, control room, rehearsal room, even a suggestion of the street - creates a dynamic environment while maintaining the play’s essential confinement. This is a world built for observation and control.

Jared Gooding’s lighting design elevates this world into something almost cinematic. The suggestion of the Chicago Loop’s overhead train is particularly striking, its presence looming like an industrial heartbeat. Gooding uses light not just for visibility but for composition - creating tableaus, isolating tensions, and guiding the audience’s eye with precision.

And then there are Evelyn M. Danner’s costumes, which operate as visual dramaturgy. The color palette tells its own story: Irvin and Sturdyvant in stark black and white, embodiments of rigid power; the band in various shades of brown, signaling labor, reliability, and earthbound existence; and Ma Rainey in a commanding money-green dress, a walking declaration of her worth. Dussie Mae’s yellow flapper dress, accented with green, subtly marks her proximity to that wealth and power. Even Sylvester’s patterned brown attire hints at his connection to Ma’s orbit. Every choice is intentional, every color a statement.

What ultimately distinguishes this production is its understanding of language - not just Wilson’s text, but the music within it. The scenes among the band members crackle with rhythm and lyricism, their banter and arguments forming a kind of blues composition. It is beautiful, but volatile - a powder keg of masculinity, frustration, and deferred dreams.

What Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix achieve is extraordinary. They do not merely stage Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; they orchestrate it, allowing every performance, every design element, every silence to resonate with intention. Nowhere is that more evident than in Levee’s arc, where Al’Jaleel McGhee delivers a performance that simmers with ambition and barely contained rage, his volatility carefully shaped into a slow, inevitable unraveling.

This is direction of the highest order - precise, unflinching, and deeply attuned to the rhythms of Wilson’s language and the weight of his themes. What emerges is not just unforgettable theatre, but necessary theatre: a production that insists we listen more closely, look more deeply, and reckon more honestly with the truths it lays before us.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

When: Through May 3

Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.

Tickets: $44-$84

Info: www.goodmantheatre.org

Box Office: 312-443-3800

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

Lookingglass Theatre Company, in keeping with its celebrated tradition of bringing to life Ensemble-created new work, presents the world premiere of Untitled Vampire Play, written by Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas and directed by Devon DeMayo. Concluding the company's 2025-2026 season, Untitled Vampire Play runs June 4 – July 12, 2026. Tickets for the production start at $33 and are available for purchase at lookingglasstheatre.org and 312.337.0665. 

Think you've got baggage? Try dating when you have centuries of relationship history and a literal body count. Sink your teeth into Lookingglass Theatre's sharply funny world premiere where the only thing more frightening than vampires (and a serial killer on the loose) is having to meet your new in-laws. This romantic-comedy-meets-horror-story explores love, commitment, codependency...and, of course, vampires.

"The genesis of Untitled Vampire Play came to me on my way to a funeral, oddly enough. I was pondering death and the big question, 'How do two people with different but unwavering convictions make a relationship work?'," notes playwright Kevin Douglas. "Using familiar vampire lore, I wanted to create a world where vampires deal with real human problems to both comedic and tragic effect." 

"I've long admired Kevin's work for its high theatricality, humor and heart. His work is delightfully sneaky; it has us laughing one minute and shocks and awes us the next," comments director Devon DeMayo. "Only Kevin can write a show about vampires that makes an audience feel so alive! By weaving romance, horror, and familial drama, Kevin's play grabs you by the throat and keeps you guessing."

Untitled Vampire Play features ensemble members Walter Briggs (Roderick) and Kareem Bandealy (Louie/Lance) alongside Courtney Rikki Green (Val), Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Dom), Jin Park (Rose/Alexa), and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Alicia/Douchey Dude).

The creative team includes Alyssa Mohn (Scenic Designer), Theresa Ham (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre Pluess (Sound Designer), Benjamin Barnes (Magic/Illusion Designer), Rachel Flesher (Fight/Intimacy Director), and Martine Kei Green-Rogers (Dramaturg).

Untitled Vampire Play                            

Written by:  Lookingglass Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas
Directed by: Devon DeMayo

Featuring:  Ensemble members Walter Briggs (Roderick) and Kareem Bandealy (Louie/Lance) alongside Courtney Rikki Green (Val), Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Dom), Jin Park (Rose/Alexa), and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Alicia/Douchey Dude).

Creatives:  Alyssa Mohn (Scenic Designer), Theresa Ham (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre Pluess (Sound Designer), Benjamin Barnes (Magic/Illusion Designer), Rachel Flesher (Fight/Intimacy Director), and Martine Kei Green-Rogers (Dramaturg).

Dates:                                      

Previews: June 4-12, 2026

Regular run: June 14-July 12, 2026

Community Nights: To Be Announced

Schedule:   

Tuesdays: 7:30 p.m. (only June 16 and July 30)                                                       

Wednesdays:               7:30 p.m.

Thursdays:                   2:00 p.m. (except June 4 and 11) and 7:30p.m.

 Fridays:                       7:30 p.m. (except June 19)

Saturdays:                    2:00 p.m. (except June 6, 13 and July 4) and 7:30 p.m. (except June 13 and July 4)

Sundays:                      2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (only July 5)

Box Office: Buy online at lookingglasstheatre.org or by phone at 312.337.0665

The Lookingglass box office is located at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E Pearson St at Michigan Ave

Accessibility at Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company is committed to making its performances accessible to all audiences. Each mainstage production offers open captioning, audio-described performances with Touch Tours, and mask-required performances. Discounted $35 tickets are available for each accessible performance using the codes below at lookingglasstheatre.org.

Open Captioning                                   Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m.             Use code CAPTION
Audio-Described/Touch Tour                 Thursday, July 9 at 2 p.m.                      Use code AUDIO
Mask-Required                                     Wednesday, June 24 at 7:30 p.m.          Use code MASK

An accessible entrance is located on Pearson Street, west of the main entrance at 163 E. Pearson Street. The Joan and Paul Theatre is fully accessible via elevator or ramp, with seating available on the ground floor and balcony for patrons using wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, or other mobility aids. Assistive Listening Devices, sensory bags, and large-print programs are available for all performances, and accessible group sales offer up to 25% off for parties of 10 or more.

For assistance with accessible seating, tickets, or accommodations, contact the Box Office at 312.337.0665 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Lookingglass Theatre Company

Founded in 1988 by graduates of Northwestern University, Lookingglass Theatre Company is a nationwide leader in the creation and presentation of new, cutting-edge theatrical works and in sharing its ensemble-based theatrical techniques with Chicago-area students and teachers through Education and Community Programs. Guided by an artistic vision centered on the core values of collaboration, transformation and invention, Lookingglass seeks to capture audiences' imaginations leaving them changed, charged and empowered. Recipient of the 2011 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Lookingglass has built a national reputation for artistic excellence and ensemble-based theatrical innovation. Notable world premieres include Mary Zimmerman's Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses and The Odyssey, J. Nicole Brooks' Her Honor Jane Byrne, David Schwimmer's adaptation of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Studs Terkel's Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession, Matthew C. Yee's Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon and David Catlin's circus tribute to Lewis Carroll, Lookingglass Alice, which was captured by HMS Media and reached 1.6 million PBS viewers. Looking Alice is now available to more than four million students worldwide through Digital Theatre+. Work created by Lookingglass artists has been produced in Australia, Europe and dozens of cities throughout the United States.

I’m going to start with a bit of backstory.  In high school we all read (more or less voluntarily) The Iliad, Homer’s poetic exploration of a war that occurred during the Bronze Age yet continues to resonate with twenty-first century significance. Homer focuses (naturally!) on the guys:  heroic Greek Achilles and his lover Patroclus; Hector, prince and hero of Troy; Greek King Menelaus vs. Paris, Prince of Troy. The women are pretty much either pawns or plunder. The Iliad begins with Hector’s baby bro Paris swiping Helen, wife of Menelaus. Menelaus and Paris duel, intending Helen to be the prize, but when Paris is defeated, Aphrodite delivers him to Helen’s bed before Menelaus has a chance to kill him – a good example of the ambivalent outcomes when the gods and goddesses mix it up with mortals. THE TROJAN WOMEN actually begins with an introduction by Poseidon (Brian Weddington), god of the sea, and Rachel Sledd as Athena, goddess of war.

THE TROJAN WOMEN analyzes the costs of war through the trauma and grief of the Trojan women after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed, and their remaining families taken away as slaves. It’s set in a present-day hospital maternity ward that’s serving as confinement for troublesome females. The Chorus (Morgan Lavenstein), that hallmark of ancient Greek drama who provides insight into events both on- and offstage, appears as a woman vastly pregnant and chained to the bed.  She’s not best pleased at any of this, and no more tickled about rooming with Hecuba (Ashway Lawver), queen of vanquished Troy and vehemently unreconciled to its overthrow.

Ben Page is Talthybius, a Greek herald who pops in and out with news bulletins, each more hideous than the last. His is the task to reveal to the women their destinies: Hecuba will be given to the Greek king Odysseus, the widowed princess Andromache (Jazmine Mazique) is to be the concubine of Achilles’ son, and Cassandra (Liliana Mastroianni) is destined to become the conquering king Agamemnon’s doxy. Cassandra is clairvoyant, which one might assume to be an asset, but her mother has always dismissed her revelations as hysterical attention-seeking, especially as in such grievous times the future may not be something you really want to hear about.  Andromache, Princess of Troy, has just borne a son to her ex-husband ex-Prince Hector, and Talthybius must also break the news that her baby must die, as the Greeks fear he will grow up to avenge his father Hector. And Helen (Morgan Burkey), whose beauty launched a thousand playwrights, ends up back with her husband Menelaus (Marcus Castillo). There’s lots of babies around – we’re in a maternity ward, remember? – and babies are a natural outcome of the unbridled rape that is ubiquitous in wartime; in fact, it appears that the primary position of women in conquered Troy is prone. Plus, ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

OK, are you more or less caught up on characters and setting? cos I need to tell you about Eos Theatre Company. Their stated mission is ‘to shine light into the darkness of the human condition and to amplify women’s voices and stories’, and they’ve chosen THE TROJAN WOMEN as their inaugural presentation because it does both brilliantly. The four co-founders of Eos united at the first table read of The Trojan Women in February 2025. That production was not only fabulous but propagative as well: the four decided to remount the show and simultaneously create a brand-new, all-woman company, named EOS in honor of the Greek Goddess of the dawn who flies her chariot across the sky, pulling back the curtain of night to usher in the light of the sun.

Rachel Sledd is a born-and-bred Chicagoan who lived and acted between New York and Los Angeles until 2006, when she returned to her hometown. Ashway Lawver grew up in Los Angeles. Her passion for the art and study of Acting led her to Chicago to attend The School at Steppenwolf and she found in Chicago her true theatrical home. Morgan Lavenstein began acting in Baltimore at the ripe old age of 8. She attended The School at Steppenwolf and Chicago became her forever home. Morgan Burkey is originally from Texas. In 2017 she was accepted into School at Steppenwolf, where she met fellow co-founders Morgan Lavenstein and Ashway Lawver. Amazing, innit, how extraordinary people from far-flung origins are drawn together? Call it destiny, fate, or kismet, in this case it’s providential.

The production team was as superb as the cast. Co-founder Rachel Sledd was Director and Michael Lesko Stage Manager. Shayna Patel’s Set Design portrayed the ambience before the actors took the stage.  The story was encompassed by Mason Absher’s Sound; his choices of music interlocked perfectly and toward the end the impassioned sound pulled the storyline together, as did Garrett Bell’s breathtaking lighting effects.

Seeing THE TROJAN WOMEN was thrilling not only for the splendid play itself, but for the chance to witness the emergence of Eos, a feminist company whose development is sure to beguile and invigorate Chicago for years to come.

Running through April 18^th at Bramble Arts Loft

RECOMMENDED

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

Chicago’s First Floor Theater today announced the cast and production team for the Chicago Premiere production of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY, written by reid tang and directed by Tina El Gamal, running May  7 – June 6, 2026 (previews May 7, 9, 10, and 13) on The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets ($10 – $40) available at www.firstfloortheater.com. 

Originally developed through Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks Festival, WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY is an experimental dark comedy that explores chaos, alienation, and the absurdities of modern capitalism. Framed as “a catalog of all the possible phone calls that exist,” the play, which is “not about Amazon, not about Jeff Bezos, and certainly not about Elon Musk,” unfolds through surreal encounters and fractured conversations, creating a genre-bending theatrical experience that blends humor, technology, and existential dread. 

“WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY sits right at the center of First Floor Theater’s mission,” said Andrew Cutler, Artistic Producer of First Floor Theater. “It’s hilarious, dark, and incisive, and it invites the kind of bold theatrical choices our artists love to make. Presenting the production at Raven Theatre also gives us the chance to introduce our work to a new neighborhood and new audiences in Chicago.”

“I’m always drawn to plays that are ‘out there’ - a little scary and untouchable, wacky and daring,” said Tina El Gamal, director of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY. “reid tang’s bird’s-eye view of humanity’s struggle to stay human is exactly that. It grapples with the costs of innovation and consumption as they threaten to outpace our humanity and asks, just how far are we willing to go to keep up with the next-day deliveries? It’s funny, unsettling, and unexpectedly moving–exactly the kind of work I want to make with this incredible team.”

The cast includes Sahar Dika, Jenn Geiger, and Alice Wu, with understudies Joelle Denhof, Kennedy Frazier, and Maliha Sayed.

The production team is led by director Tina El Gamal and includes Conchita Avitia* (Lighting Designer), Spencer Donovan* (Scenic Designer), Adelina Feldman-Schultz (Casting Director), Olivia Gregorich (Assistant Director & Dramaturg), Samantha Kaufman (Violence & Intimacy Director), Kendyl Meyer* (Stage Manager), Lo Ramos (Props Designer), Jae Robinson (Sound Designer), and Nathan Rohrer (Costume Designer)

* Denotes First Floor Theater Company Member

First Floor Theater’s Chicago premiere of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY runs May 7 – June 6, 2026, with previews May 7, 9, 10, and 13. Performances are held Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. at The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets range from $10 – $40. To purchase tickets, visit www.firstfloortheater.com. 

WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY

Written By: reid tang

Directed By: Tina El Gamal

Cast: Sahar Dika, Jenn Geiger, and Alice Wu, with understudies Joelle Denhof, Kennedy Frazier, and Maliha Sayed

Production Team: Conchita Avitia* (Lighting Designer), Spencer Donovan* (Scenic Designer), Adelina Feldman-Schultz (Casting Director), Olivia Gregorich (Assistant Director & Dramaturg), Samantha Kaufman (Violence & Intimacy Director), Kendyl Meyer* (Stage Manager), Lo Ramos (Props Designer), Jae Robinson (Sound Designer), and Nathan Rohrer (Costume Designer)

*Denotes First Floor Theater Company Member

Dates: May 7 – June 6, 2026 (Previews May 7, 9, 10, 13)

Schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.

Run Time: 90 minutes

Location: The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark St., Chicago)

Tickets: General Admission: $10 - $40

Limited number of $10 access tickets available for all public performances.

Box Office: https://www.firstfloortheater.com

Wild Door Theater presents the Midwest premiere of Maybe Tomorrow, a darkly funny and unsettling new play by Max Mondi and directed by Andrew Gallant, April 13 - May 24, in Studio B at The Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, 2936 N. Southport Ave. The performance schedule is Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. The running time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25–$39 and are available at WildDoorTheater.com. 

Inspired by a true story, the play plunges audiences into the increasingly fractured world of Gail and Ben, where a cough in the bathroom may signal something far more sinister and the boundaries between reality and imagination begin to dissolve. Reuniting Mondi and Gallant, who first collaborated while on faculty together at Dean College in Massachusetts, Maybe Tomorrow is a gripping, meta-theatrical puzzle that explores marriage, perception and the unnerving human need to be seen.

Blending psychological suspense with sharp, offbeat humor, Maybe Tomorrow invites audiences into an intimate theatrical experience where nothing is quite as it seems. As Gail searches for comfort amid a growing sense of unease, and Ben struggles to maintain control, the play spirals into a haunting exploration of doubt, intimacy and the stories we tell ourselves to feel safe. With its inventive structure and shifting realities, Mondi's script keeps audiences questioning what is real, what is imagined and what lies somewhere in between.

"I saw the New York production of Max's play last year," says Director Andrew Gallant, "and I immediately wanted to bring it to Chicago. With all of its improvisational elements and the intense communion with the audience it requires, this play is perfectly at home here."

"It's rare to encounter a script that feels this alive," Gallant continues. "Every performance is a little different, shaped by the actors and the audience in real time. That unpredictability mirrors the play's central tension, the feeling that something is just slightly off, just beyond our understanding. It's thrilling, unsettling and unexpectedly funny all at once."

The cast of Maybe Tomorrow includes Isabella Isherwood (she/her, ensemble); Lucky Star (he/they, ensemble) and Roxi Pope (they/them, understudy). 

The production team is Andrew Gallant (he/him, director); Lauren Secrest (she/her, assistant director/assistant stage manager); Joshua Bennett (he/him, stage manager); Jose Martinez (he/they, scenic designer); Saawan Tiwari (she/they, costume designer); Kate Schnetzer (she/her, sound designer); Josiah Croegaert (he/him, lighting designer) and Joe Mazza/brave lux (he/him, production photographer). 

ABOUT MAX MONDI, Playwright

Max Mondi is a writer and teacher based in Boston. His plays include Maybe Tomorrow, No One Asked For This, House Of Karen and Personhood. He has developed work with Abingdon Theatre Company, Orchard Project, HERE, The Tank (New York City), The PIT, SoHo Playhouse and Project Y Theatre. Mondi is a professor of playwriting and dramaturgy at Dean College. He holds an M.F.A. in playwriting from Columbia University and a B.A. in theatre history/criticism from the University of Vermont.

ABOUT ANDREW GALLANT, Director

Andrew Gallant holds an M.F.A in acting from DePaul University, a postgraduate diploma from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a BA in theatre from UW-Madison and is a proud member of Actor's Equity. For the last 15 years, Gallant has worked professionally in Chicago as an actor, playwright, director and artistic director. His plays I Wish to Apologize to the People of Illinois, At the Center and Out of Tune Confessional were staged at The Agency Theater and his play Mackerel Sky is currently being adapted into a short film with festival submissions pending.

ABOUT WILD DOOR THEATER

Wild Door Theater embraces bold theatrical storytelling to create transformative experiences for Chicago audiences. With roots in the city's storefront theater scene, they value truthful, ensemble-driven performances as they reimagine classics and develop new works that challenge, connect and inspire the community. On stage and beyond, they are committed to cultivating emerging talent, championing unexpected perspectives and recentering theater as vital to civic life.

Wild Door Theater presents the Midwest premiere of Maybe Tomorrow, a darkly funny and unsettling new play by Max Mondi and directed by Andrew Gallant, April 13 - May 24, in Studio B at The Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, 2936 N. Southport Ave. The performance schedule is Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. The running time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25–$39 and are available at WildDoorTheater.com. 

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: Le Bal

Devisor/Director: Stephen Buescher

Cast (in alphabetical order): Dan Cobbler, Genevieve Corkery, Cat Evans, Emily Nichelson, Gus Thomas, Jasz Ward and Carl Wisniewski.

Location: Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. Chicago, IL 60622

Dates: Regular Run: Thursday, May 14th –Saturday, June 20th, 2026

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sunday 6/7 and 6/14 at 3PM.

Tickets: $32 with 2-for-1 admission on Thursdays. Tickets are currently available at www.our.show/le-bal or by calling (773) 384-0494.

Group tickets: Special group rates are available. For information, call (773) 384-0494 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Plan your visit:

Free street parking is available.

Buses: #9 (Ashland), #50 (Damen), #72 (North), #73 (Armitage).

Metra: Clybourn metra stop.

The journey to the moon has begun! Name a better time to send a press invite to moonwatchers!  Written by Nigel Berkeley and Corey Farrell and directed by Nealie Tinlin running from April 30th, 2026 – May 17th, 2026 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. This is a Chicago premiere! moonwatchers was a "smash hit at the Minnesota Fringe Festival"! 

It is Rocko and Allen's job to watch the moon, and it is really quite boring. Night after night, they time the sequences exactly - the cow jumps, the comet soars, but NEVER the alien spaceship.  This is until the dastardly space criminal Johnny Rumble steals the moon, taking it to the far-off space desert of the Midnight Sun. This course of events sends the moonwatchers on an intergalactic space odyssey filled with music, love, new friendships, and epic showdowns to win back the one, the only, the Moon.

Full Cast & Creative Team Set For moonwatchers at Lazy Susan Theatre Co. 

Lazy Susan Theatre Co. presents the cast and creative team for moonwatchers. Written by Nigel Berkeley and Corey Farrell Directed by Lazy Susan Theatre Co.'s Co-Artistic Director, Nealie Tinlin. 

"...absolutely joyful, witty, and full of punny humor that kept a smile on my face all the way through!!" – Lettered in Theatre. Minnesota Fringe Festival, 2022, winner of Best in Venue and Underdog. Award

 It is Rocko and Allen's job to watch the moon, and it is really quite boring. Night after night, they time the sequences exactly - the cow jumps, the comet soars, but NEVER the alien spaceship.  This is until the dastardly space criminal Johnny Rumble steals the moon, taking it to the far-off space desert of the Midnight Sun. This course of events sends the moonwatchers on an intergalactic space odyssey filled with music, love, new friendships, and epic showdowns to win back the one, the only, the Moon.

Other creatives on the team include Nealie Tinlin (Director), Greta Geiser (Intimacy Director), Emma Berry (Lighting Design), Ephraim Page (Costume Design), Jon Yawn (Scenic Design), Pierce Julian Howard (Prop Design), Matthew Masino (Sound Design), Jacob Soulsey (Stage Manager), Maeve Carrol (Assistant Stage Manager). 

moonwatchers features Elijah J. Jones (Allen) and Renzo Vicente (Rocko).  Understudies include Nicholas Ford Kinney (Allen) and Jack Humphrey (Rocko).

"Here at Lazy Susan Theatre Co., the moon shows up in just about every production we do. So why not do a show about the dudes whose job it is to watch it!...It's cute, quirky, and out-of-this-world charming. And what perfect timing around NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon!!!" -Nealie Tinlin (Director) 

moonwatchers is the final show of Lazy Susan's third season!  It runs April 30th- May 17th, 2026, Thursday through Sunday at The Greenhouse Theatre Center, 2257 N Lincoln Ave., in Lincoln Park. Opening night will be Thursday, April 30th. Tickets range from $15 - $27. For tickets visit  www.lazysusantheatreco.com or snag your tickets at a discounted price on HotTix.org

American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, concludes its 40^th anniversary season with the hit jukebox musical Always...Patsy Cline created by Ted Swindley, with band and vocal orchestrations by August Eriksmoen and Tony Migliore. The production is directed by Harmony France, with music direction by Ensemble Member Michael Mahler. Always...Patsy Cline runs May 1 – June 7, 2026, at American Blues Theater at 5627 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago. 

This musical play, complete with down home country humor and big-hearted emotion, includes hits "Crazy", "I Fall to Pieces", "Sweet Dreams", "Walkin' After Midnight" and more! Starring Ensemble member and award winner Liz Chidester as Patsy Cline and featuring guest artist Molly Hernández as Louise.

Tickets, priced $34.50-$64.50, are on sale now the American Blues Theater box office, online at www.americanbluestheater.com, or by phone at (773) 654-3103.

Always...Patsy Cline

Created by: Ted Swindley

Band & Vocal Orchestrations by: August Eriksmoen & Tony Migliore

Directed by: Harmony France

Music Direction by: Ensemble Member Michael Mahler

Featuring: American Blues Theater Ensemble member Liz Chidester as Patsy Cline and Molly Hernández as Louise.

Dates: May 1 – June 7, 2026

Schedule:                   

Wednesdays: 2:00 PM (except May 6); 7:30 PM (May 6 only)
Thursdays: 7:30 PM
Fridays: 7:30 PM (except May 8 @ 7:00 PM)
Saturdays: 3:00 PM (May 16 & May 30 only); 7:30 PM (May 2, 9 & 23, June 6)

Sundays: 2:30 PM

Location: American Blues Theater, 5627 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Ticket prices: $34.50 - $64.50 (no hidden fees)

Box office: Buy online at www.americanbluestheater.com or by calling (773) 654-3103.

Special Access Events

Tickets: $34.50 – call theater for special rate

Touch Tour: Sunday, May 31 at 1:30 PM
Audio Described Performance: Sunday, May 31 at 2:30 PM
American Sign Language-Interpreted Performance: Friday, May 22 at 7:30 PM

American Blues Theater is excited to offer audiences even more ways to engage with artists, neighbors and the larger community through its two programs The Commons and @Home Accessibility Series.

The Commons features readings, live concerts, open mics, game nights, town halls and more at American Blues. The @Home Accessibility Series features readings, live concerts, and town halls from the comfort of home via Zoom. For the most up-to-date programming schedule or to purchase tickets, visit www.americanbluestheater.com. Additional programming will be announced throughout the season.

About American Blues Theater

Winner of the prestigious National Theatre Company Award from American Theatre Wing (Tony Awards). American Blues Theater is an Ensemble of artists committed to producing new and classic diverse stories that ask the question: "What does it mean to be American?"

The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Ensemble theater in Chicago. As of 2025, the theater and artists received 246 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and 44 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.