Displaying items by tag: thriller

The Goodman's Centennial 2025/2026 Season continues with the Chicago premiere of Covenant, Chicagoland native playwright York Walker's "striking Southern gothic work" (New York Times) hailed as "blackout-and-blood-curdling-scream deliciousness" (New York Magazine). BOLD Artistic Producer Malkia Stampley is set to direct a cast including Debo Balogun (graveyard shift), Ashli Rene Funches (A Red Orchid Theatre's IS GOD IS), Jaeda LaVonne (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's Twelfth Night), Felicia Oduh (The Nacirema Society) and Anji White (Fat Ham). Understudies will be announced at a later date. Covenant appears May 2 through May 31 (opening night is May 11) in the 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre. For tickets ($24 - $64; on sale Feb. 20), visit the Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), call 312.443.3800 or purchase online at GoodmanTheatre.org/Covenant. The Goodman is grateful for the support of BOLD Ventures (Production Sponsor), Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein (Corporate Supporter) and The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust (Lead Sponsor of IDEAA Programming).

"Covenant is about young love, the secrets we hold and the role faith plays when we are haunted by our choices," said director Malkia Stampley, who most recently directed a 2026 New Stages Festival reading and the critically acclaimed 48th annual A Christmas Carol. "While I personally connect with the religious themes in the story as a pastor's daughter, many will connect with the folklore nature of this story and the thrilling and chilling ride this story takes you on. The characters York built in Covenant will sweep away audiences and my goal is to tell this story honestly, organically, full of heart and grit."

Expect one devilish twist after another in Covenant, an "undeniably spooky (and) absolutely enjoyable" (TheaterMania) mythic and suspenseful new play. Johnny "Honeycomb" James (Debo Balogun) left his small Georgia town a struggling guitarist—and returned a blues star, to the surprise of sisters Violet (Felicia Oduh) and Avery (Jaeda LaVonne), their mother (Anji White) and their best friend Ruthie (Ashli Rene Funches). As rumors of a darker deal abound, it becomes clear that he's not the only one with a secret...or seeking salvation. This tense thriller explores the power of belief and the thin line between rumor and truth. Covenant premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company in 2023 to critical acclaim, earning a New York Times Critics Pick.

York Walker is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is the inaugural recipient of both the Vineyard Theatre's Colman Domingo Award and the John Singleton Screenwriting Award. His work includes Holcomb & Hart (Victory Garden's New Plays For A New Year Festival), The Séance (Winner of the John Singleton Screenwriting Competition, 48 Hours... in Harlem), Covenant (Colman Domingo Award, Roundabout Underground, South Coast Repertory's Pacific Playwrights Festival, Fire This Time Festival) and Soul Records (workshops with Manhattan Theatre Club, the Vineyard Theatre and Roundabout Theatre Company). York is currently developing new works with Roundabout Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory Theatre, The Geffen Playhouse and Goodman Theatre. His contributions extend to the realm of television, having served as Story Editor and Staff Writer for two seasons on Dick Wolf's hit series, FBI. York is a graduate of the MFA Acting program from the American Conservatory Theatre.

Malkia Stampley is a twice Jeff-nominated director from Milwaukee and The Goodman's BOLD Artistic Producer. Her Goodman Theatre directing credits include A Christmas Carol, Primary Trust, In My Granny's Garden and New Stages Festival's Cephianne's Reflection and This Part of His Life Blooms. Select directing credits: No Such Thing (Rivendell); Girls on Sand (Northern Sky); Nina Simone: Four Women (Milwaukee Rep); The October Storm (Raven); Boulevard of Bold Dreams (TimeLine); STEW (Shattered Globe); Black Nativity (Black Arts MKE); The Gift of the Magi (American Players); Five Guys Named Moe (Skylight Music); Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grille (Farmers Alley); Exit Strategy (Northwestern).

Company of Covenant (in alphabetical order)

By York Walker

Directed by Malkia Stampley

Debo Balogun...Johnny James 
Ashli Rene Funches...Ruthie 
Jaeda LaVonne...Avery 
Felicia Oduh...Violet 
Anji White...Mama

CREATIVE TEAM

Costume Designer...Evelyn Danner 
Set Designer...Ryan Emens 
Lighting Designer...Gina Patterson 
Sound Designer...Dee Etti-Williams 
Music Director and Composer...Mike Przygoda 
Voice and Dialect Coach...Shadana Patterson 
Associate Director and Movement Director...Tor Campbell 
Illusion Consultants...Benjamin Barnes and Trent James 
Intimacy...Jyreika Guest 
Line Producer...Lena Romano

Original Casting by Trent Stork. Additional Casting by Lauren Port, CSA. Tyra Bullock and Lena Romano are the Dramaturgs.

ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Access for more information about The Goodman's accessibility efforts.

ASL-Interpreted...May 22  at 7:30pm – An ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played. 
Audio-Described...May 23 at 2pm; Touch Tour; 12:30pm – Action audibly enhanced via headset. 
Spanish-Subtitled...May 23 at 7:30pm – Spanish-translated dialogue via LED sign.
Open-Captioned...May 24 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.

ABOUT THE GOODMAN

Since 1925, The Goodman has been more than a stage. A theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community, it's where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves.

Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection and change through new plays, reimagined classics and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson's "American Century Cycle." In addition, the theater frequently serves as a production partner—with national and international companies to Chicago's Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify theatrical voices.

But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time, and counts as its greatest legacy the community it's built. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime; from Theater for the Very Young (plays designed for ages 0-5) to the long-running annual A Christmas Carol, which has introduced new generations to theater over five decades, The Goodman is committed to being an asset for all of Chicago. Education and Engagement programs led by Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot and housed in the Alice Rapoport Center use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging. Each year, these programs reach thousands of people (85% from underserved communities) as well as educators, artists and lifelong learners across the city.

The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.

The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago's early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today. In 2000, through the commitment of Mr. Goodman's descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—The Goodman opened the doors to its current home in the heart of the Loop.

Marsha Cruzan is Chair of the Goodman Theatre Board of Trustees; Diane Landgren is Women's Board President; and Kelli Garcia is president of the Scenemakers Board for Young Professionals. 

What better props and scenery than that in one’s own imagination? And what better way to give each audience member their own unique experience than to let each follow their own journey guided only by storytelling without any visuals to distract, detract or force its own interpretation of what we are supposed to see?  Theatre in the Dark masterfully succeeds in bringing to life a story that is sure to be different for each end everyone in attendance. ‘Three Stories Up’ is the theatre production’s company latest undertaking – a noir mystery/thriller that takes places in complete darkness.

Taking place at The Church on Thorndale (1244 W. Thorndale), theatre goers are put into different groups consisting of just a handful of people each. We are then led through the main congregation area of the Church, through a hallway and into a small, but comfortable, sized room. At that point, all attendees are blindfolded and led in a single file line - holding onto the shoulder of the person in front of us for guidance - into another room where we are seated. Before taking off the blindfolds, we are given instructions and cautionary directions on what to do should claustrophobia take effect – so, worry not, every precaution is taken and by the time the play begins, we are at ease and ready to immerse ourselves into a suspense mystery. 

We are then directed to remove the blindfolds – and it is pitch black. After waiting for my eyes to adjust just ever so slightly to see the most minimal amount of light, I realize minutes later, nope, this is truly the absence of light in its greatest sense. A hand inches from one’s face may have well been twenty feet away. And though the actors move about, and are sometimes seemingly inches away from seated guests, they make a point to not touch anyone. 

 
Chicago playwright Mackenzie Gordon gives us a gripping 80-minute drama done in the style of radio mysteries done in the 1930s and 1940s. As the story progresses, we hear characters move from one location to another. Director Cory Bradberry does a wonderful job of delivering this engaging story that revolves a Canadian transit cop, Beatrice Dulaurier, who finds her husband dead upon coming home, as each scene is painted so beautifully that vivid images effortlessly appear in our heads throughout.

As a crime drama that has all the elements of a noir thriller, ‘Three Stories Up’ is filled with colorful personalities including the hardboiled detective, the ambitious (and suspicious) journalist and a host of quirky characters. Unsure of how many cast members were handling the voices of the story’s characters during the performance, I was surprised when it turned out to be just two actors handling all the roles – Bethany Arrington (Beatrice Dulaurier, others) and Mackenzie Gordon (Gunner Bjornsen, others). Both were nothing short of outstanding. And kudos to Corey Bradford who really enhanced the overall experience with strategic foley and sound design.

‘Three Stories Up’ is a thriller that keeps its audience guessing, but the originality behind the production – and its precise execution - makes it a must see as one of Chicago’s more creative theatre adventures.

‘Three Stories Up’ is being performed at The Church on Thorndale through November 9th.

For tickets and/or more show information, visit www.theareinthedark.com.   

 

Plays like Flying Elephant Productions’ ‘Defacing Michael Jackson’ are exactly what the Chicago theatre scene is for. This innovative new play by Aurin Squire won the Lincoln Center Theatre one act contest in 2014 and makes its area debut at Stage 773. Before putting on your sequined glove, keep in mind that this play about Michael Jackson isn’t a biography of his troubled life, but rather an allegory about the parallels between the King of Pop and gentrification. Something about this work feels raw and maybe even slightly unfinished, but the sharp and unpredictable dialogue put words to ideas or feelings most of us would rather ignore.

Alexis J Roston directs this sparse production. Much like the children in the play, Flying Elephant Productions seems to be operating on a shoe-string budget. That’s just fine, because you can’t buy enthusiasm and this cast has plenty of that. Roston has made her career about creating more African American visibility in the Chicago theatre community, tapping her for this project seems like a no-brainer.

‘Defacing Michael Jackson’ is about a group of black kids in a poor suburb of Miami in 1984 who worship Michael Jackson. For Jackson fans, you’ll know this is right around the time ‘Thriller’ became the album of the century, making Jackson the biggest celebrity in the world. This was of course before all the extreme face work, skin tinting and misconduct allegations. By all accounts, Jackson was the most successful black person in the world and his fans admired him for being ‘self-made.’ Fan club organizers Frenchy (Jory Pender) and Obadiah (Christopher Taylor) attempt to create a mural for their idol until a new, white kid moves to town and wants to join their club. New kid Jack (Sam Martin) is also a huge Michael Jackson fan and with his father’s money is able to sweep in and help get the mural painted, meanwhile taking all the credit. As tensions run high between the kids, their socioeconomic circumstances, and the sordid life of the world’s greatest pop star, Squire makes his point that we as a society let this happen and at times even relished in the breakdown. Jackson’s image and music are an incredibly smart metaphor for the cultural misappropriation and subjugation that has gone on for centuries.

The action of the play stays mostly around 1984, but you’d have to live under a rock to not be familiar with the slow-moving car crash that was Michael Jackson’s life through the 90's and 00's. You’d also have to be clueless to be unaware of how bad inner-city life was in America during the early 90's. As the kids discuss how the mural faded over the years while they grew up, it churns up many well-composed observations about how we dispose of celebrities after taking everything we can from them. Much the way that society has discarded entire demographics once they are no longer useful.

‘Defacing Michael Jackson’ isn’t exactly an apology for Michael Jackson, but it is written for anyone who was ever a fan. It’s a story of impoverished children coming to terms with the near impossibility of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Through August 12 at Stage 773. 1225 W Belmont Ave. 773-327-5252.

From the moment British television star Simon Slater appeared in the lighting to the side of the stage and began to describe in gritty detail the three most common ways to commit suicide, it became apparent this one-man murder mystery thriller was going to be one helluva ride. Gripping from the get go this high-charged play only became more and more engaging as the story progressed thanks to Slater’s airtight delivery and fantastic ability to convincingly take on a series of characters. 

As part of the Solo Celebration, a series of twelve one-person act shows at Greenhouse Theater Center spanning over eight months, “Bloodshot” makes its U.S. premiere after making its mark as a successful hit in London. Written by Douglas Post and directed by Patrick Sanford, Slater flawlessly weaves together a peculiar string of events, producing a smart, witty and spellbinding mystery that has traces of film noir and leaves one guessing all the way through. 

“Bloodshot” takes place in 1957 London when an ex-detective now freelance photographer finds himself smack dab in the middle of a murder mystery. Known for his capturing “blood shots” from grisly crime scenes, he takes on a different type of assignment when he is hired – and paid handsomely – by an unknown employer to secretly take photos of a beautiful young woman. He is soon thrust in the middle of a murder mystery that takes on many unexpected turns the deeper he investigates.

While taking the audience along on this thrilling tale of murder, Slater’s skill in becoming the handful of characters sprinkled into the story is nothing short of remarkable, and the dialogue exchanges just as impressive. As an American jazz club musician, Slater demonstrates his talent as a saxophonist and he adeptly plugs away at the ukulele while immersing into a slew of vaudeville-esque jokes as a comic. Slater also performs a jaw-dropping magic trick as a club owner who entertains his patrons as a magician, swallowing several razor blades in the process. 

Slater is a force to be reckoned with as he takes a well-written story and single-handedly creates an illusion of a large scale production and does so seamlessly. “Bloodshot” has everything a theatre goer desires from a fetching storyline abundant in intrigue, brilliant acting, humor and a display of musical talent. Simon Slater is someone you cannot help but enjoy watching perform.  

Highly recommended, “Bloodshot” is being performed at Greenhouse Theater Center through September 10th. For tickets and/or more show information, visit www.GreenhouseTheater.org.            

When it comes to an engaging mystery thriller, the need for finely-written, well-executed twists, turns and the unexpected are imperative. Afterall, a good suspense story on stage that has the ability to genuinely captivate its audience members can be one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences we can have. In Drury Lane’s current production Deathtrap, we get just that. Deathtrap, written by Ira Levin in 1978 and later becoming a film starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve, is a whodunnit that pulls you in keeps you guessing so that just when you think you’ve figured it out, another curveball is thrown.

Upon entering the theatre, we are met with the interior of a Victorian house with a rustic interior. Swords, poster tins of plays and antiques such as Houdini’s handcuffs and collectible pistols decorate the walls and shelves. When looking closely, it appears the way the rafters are cut suggest we could be looking into a massive trap. 

It all starts when a theatre professor, a former flourishing playwright, Sidney Bruhl, takes notice of a play written by one of his students, Cliff Anderson. It’s brilliant - a sure fire hit. It’s been a looooong time since Bruhl has had a successful play and there is no reason to think he is on the brink of anything else that could make waves in the theatre world. When Bruhl promptly invites Anderson - along with his single transcript - to his country home where he lives alone with his wife, Myra, the suspense begins and only thickens as we wonder if Sydney is capable of murdering for a hit show. The well-written dialogue keeps one on edge, moving back and forth from friendly banter to that of a suspicious nature. Adding to the intrigue are Myra’s suspicions and the interactions of Helga, the Bruhl’s neighbor who possesses psychic abilities. 

Daniel Cantor as Sydney Bruhl and Aaron Latterall as Cliff Anderson are brilliant together as they lock horns in their highly engaging cat and mouse exchanges, each performing magnificently while McKinley Carter as Myra offers strong support and is able to cement the growing tension to enhance the audience’s intrigue even further. Though plenty of witty dialogue between players to incite a good share of laughs, Cindy Gold as Helga den Dorp is absolutely hysterical as the psychic neighbor, causing quite a stir with her “visions” that often includes exaggerated body language and heavy moaning. 

We are constantly asked the question on what we would actually do to gain success, no matter what has shown up in our past nature or not, should the opportune moment take place. Should the temptation be great enough, should we know we would get away with, let’s say a crime of significance, we generally rely on the thing deep inside ourselves that would not allow us to go to such extreme measures - to take such action - most people anyway. But what happens when one’s morale compass fails us them - is absent? What is one’s breaking point?

Deathtrap is a nearly perfect psychological thriller. Add that to the fact that this particular production boasts exceptional acting performances, a detailed set that draws one in before the show even begins and a healthy diet of humor, and it would be impossible not to recommend this fantastic play.

Wonderfully directed by William Osetek Deathtrap is being performed at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook through August 14th. For tickets and/or show information, visit www.drurylanetheatre.com.