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The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is proud to present its annual live production of "Ruth Page's The Nutcracker" featuring original choreography by the legendary Ruth Page and directed by the artistic team:Victor Alexander, Birute Barodicaite, Dori Rothschild, Chrissy Lacny, John Atterberry and Renardo Johnson.

Chicago's longest-running "Nutcracker" has delighted tens of thousands of fans and begins this season with a special one-hour version of the celebrated production, "Ruth Page's The Nutcracker Suite," at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 and 5 p.m.  The acclaimed full-length version comes to Governors State University's Center for Performing Arts, 1 University Pkwy., Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. The ballet returns to Northeastern Illinois University's Salme Harju Steinberg Fine Arts Center, 3701 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 and 5 p.m. The final weekend of performances is at the College of Lake County's James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, 19351 W. Washington St. in Grayslake, Saturday, Dec. 19 at 1 and 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. Tickets, ranging from $17 to $59 (depending on venue), are on sale beginning October 1 at RuthPage.org.

Originally presented at the Arie Crown Theatre from 1965 until 1997, this production is Chicago's longest-running Nutcracker tradition, recreating highlights from Ruth Page's beloved original full-length staging. It features exquisite dancing, world-renowned guest artists, stunning costumes and magical settings in the Land of Snow and Kingdom of Sweets. International and local guest artists are featured alongside the talented dancers of the Ruth Page Professional Dance Training Program and students from Ruth Page School of Dance.   

About Ruth Page Center for the Arts

Having already established herself as an internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer and arts patron, Ruth Page created a performing arts center where artistic expression could thrive. The Ruth Page Center, led by Executive Director Sara Schumann, is widely recognized as an integral part of the global dance community not only for its history through founder, Ruth Page, but also for the essential programs vital to the cultural landscape of Chicago. For more information about Ruth Page Center for the Arts and its programs visit RuthPage.org.

 About the Ruth Page Professional Dance Training Program

Established by Artistic Director Victor Alexander, the Ruth Page Professional Dance Training Program serves as a bridge between studio training and a professional dance career. Dancers train and rehearse daily throughout the school year focusing on refining ballet and contemporary techniques in an international environment of performers, educators and mentors. This program is designed for students between the ages of 17-25 who have completed high school and are preparing for a professional career. Dancers are guided and mentored by Alexander, alongside Associate Director Dolores Long and Artistic Associate Maray Gutierrez. They are joined in performances by notable guest artists and choreographers, expanding the sphere of their professional work.

Chicago's longest-running "Nutcracker" has delighted tens of thousands of fans and begins this season with a special one-hour version of the celebrated production, "Ruth Page's The Nutcracker Suite," at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 and 5 p.m.  The acclaimed full-length version comes to Governors State University's The Center for the Performing Arts, 1 University Pkwy., Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. The ballet returns to Northeastern Illinois University's (NEIU) Fine Arts Center Auditorium, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave. on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 and 5 p.m. The final weekend of performances is at the College of Lake County's (CLC) James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, 19351 W. Washington St. in Grayslake, Saturday, Dec. 19 at 1 and 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. Tickets, ranging from $5 to $59 (depending on venue), are on sale October 1 at RuthPage.org.

Remy Bumppo opens its 30th anniversary season with Mud Row, a play by Tony Award nominee and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Dominique Morisseau. Expertly directed by Malkia Stampley, this production is a sublime examination of family, inheritance, and the difficult choices that determine what we pass on to the next generation.

Set in Mud Row, a historically Black neighborhood in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the play moves between the early 1960s, during the Civil Rights era, and the contemporary period. The earlier scenes follow sisters Elsie (Alexis Janae) and Frances (Toccara Castleman) as they navigate young adulthood, unaware that the decisions they make will reverberate through generations. In the present-day scenes, granddaughters, Regine (Ayanna Bria Bakari) and Toshi (Tiffany Renee Johnson), must confront the family legacy they have inherited.

Stampley has created a living family album, particularly in the scenes set in the 1960s. We watch Elsie and Frances move through their lives with the innocence of people who cannot yet see the long shadow their choices will cast. They are carrying wounds of their own, shaped by the circumstances in which they grew up. Without necessarily recognizing it, they risk passing that trauma to Elsie's unborn child and, eventually, to their grandchildren.

Morisseau's central question is both intimate and universal: What do we do with the past? Do we escape it, hoping that distance will free us from its burdens, or do we reclaim it, confront its painful truths, and find a way to transform what it means?

The family home becomes the physical embodiment of that question. Scenic designer Sydney Lynne creates a house that seems to possess a life of its own. In the 1960s scenes, it feels inhabited, furnished with the details of a home where people live, argue, dream, and make plans to change the future. In the contemporary scenes, the same space can appear abandoned, almost as if the house itself is yearning for someone to return and breathe life into it.

Yet even when the house is occupied, it never feels entirely free of its ghosts. Stampley makes those unseen presences palpable through breathtaking scene changes. The transitions are more than technical accomplishments; they reinforce the sense that the past is never entirely gone. It lingers in the rooms, in the silences, and in the relationships of those who remain.

The uniformly excellent cast gives Morisseau's dialogue its necessary emotional grounding. Her writing can, in less assured hands, occasionally sound like a discussion panel, with characters articulating ideas about history, race, and family rather than simply living through their circumstances. That is not the case here. These actors make the emotional intensity feel organic. Their conflicts emerge from recognizable human needs: the desire to belong, the longing to escape, the fear of repeating a parent's mistakes, and the hope that life might offer another chance.

Jabari Khaliq as Tyriek and Jamaque Thomas as Davin contribute to the ensemble, while the performances of Janae, Castleman, Johnson, and Bakari give the family history its emotional continuity. The younger women are not simply repeating the lives of those who came before them; they are struggling to determine what their inheritance means and whether they must remain bound by it. The emotional weight of that struggle comes into sharp focus in a second-act scene between Toshi and Regine that brought me to tears.

Levi Wilkins' lighting design deepens the atmosphere, while Evelyn Danner's costumes establish the distinct periods without distracting from the characters. Christopher Kriz's original musical composition and sound design help sustain the production's sense of memory, place, and time.

Morisseau examines two generations separated by decades but connected by patterns of family behavior, unspoken pain, and the consequences of choices made long before the next generation was born. The earlier generation belongs to the Silent Generation; the contemporary characters reflect a different set of expectations and possibilities. The contrast underscores how the world changes while certain family wounds remain stubbornly familiar.

But Mud Row is not simply a lament about the persistence of trauma. Its deeper concern is whether that inheritance can be interrupted. History may explain the circumstances in which people find themselves, but it does not have to dictate every choice they make. Somewhere in the cycle, a child—or an adult who finally recognizes the pattern—must be willing to say that things can be different.

That possibility gives the play its emotional force. The past cannot be erased, and neither can the damage it leaves behind. But understanding where the pain began may be the first step toward refusing to pass it along.

With this production, Remy Bumppo offers more than a beautifully staged family drama. Mud Row becomes a house of memories, inhabited by the living and haunted by the choices of the dead. Stampley's sensitive direction and the cast's compelling performances make those ghosts feel immediate, reminding us that every family inherits a history—but no family is necessarily doomed to repeat it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

When: Through Nov. 15

Where: Theater Wit 1229 W. Belmont Avenue

Tickets: $38 - $54

https://www.remybumppo.org

This holiday season, Overshadowed Theatrical Productions is thrilled to present the timeless holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, live on stage. As Frank Capra’s legendary film celebrates its 80th anniversary, this stage adaptation offers the perfect way for families and the community to celebrate the Christmas season together.

Adapted by Jason LeBlanc from the film by Frank Capra—which was based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story The Greatest Gift—this stage version stands as the most faithful adaptation of the iconic movie. Audiences can expect the very same humor, warmth, and emotion that have made the story a beloved holiday tradition for generations.

"I'm so excited to put this story on stage in a time that you might need hope or you might like to give hope. It'll be a wonderful reminder of the Christmas season," said Reba Hervas, Director and Artistic Director of Overshadowed Theatrical Productions.

Performance Schedule:

• Opening Night: Friday, November 27
• Performance Days & Times:
  • Thursdays: 7:30 PM
  • Fridays: 7:30 PM
  • Saturdays: 2:00 PM (Matinee) and 7:30 PM
• Special Event: Friday evening performances will feature an exclusive post-show talk-back session with the cast and crew, giving audience members a behind-the-scenes look into the production.

Cast:

Angelo Campos ... George Bailey

Danielle Spence ... Mary Hatch Bailey

Mike Larsen ... Mr. Potter

Brad Holloman ... Clarence Oddbody

Jerry Wiel ... Uncle Billy

Mimi Sagadin ... Ma Bailey

Rob Valentine ... Ernie/Pa Bailey

Pete Aylward ... Bert

Jessica Means ... Violet Bick

Jacob Starr ... Harry Bailey

Emily Starr ... Ruth Dakin Bailey

Betsy Thompson ... Jo

Rex Nyquist ... Gabriel

Vincent Prisco ... Mr. Gower

Aiden Cox ... Sam Wainwright

Kelly Zea ... Jane Wainwright

Madelyn Jones ... Cousin Tilly

Ryan Marrano ... Cousin Eustace

Sharon Lindemann ... Annie/Mrs. Davis/Ensemble

Tina Wiethege ... Mrs. Hatch

Steven Dexheimer ... Mr. Martini

Anneri Burgos ... Mrs. Maria Martini/Ensemble

Wesley White ... Marty Hatch/Mr. Welch

Nick Koss ... Mr. Carter/Bouncer/Ed

Steven Mantel ... Tom Schult/Dr. Campbell/Nick

Steve Bond ... Board Director/Driver/Randall

Jim Falcone ... Grumpy Old Man/Board Director

Jordan Reed ... Mickey Dunwood/Board Member/Joe Hepner

James Thompson ... Freddie/Tollkeeper/Board Director/Bank Teller

Declan White ... Young George

Bella Lee ... Young Mary

Brooke Means ... Young Violet

Zeke White ... Young Harry

Annika Rosas ... Janie Bailey

Clementine Milburn ... Zuzu Bailey

Molly Versosky ... Zuzu Bailey

Spencer Schillinger ... Pete Bailey

Oliver Schillinger ... Tommy

Ethily Hancock ... Ensemble

Sarah Kwan ... Ensemble

Lauren Szymkowicz ... Ensemble

Christy White ... Ensemble

Hannah Voss ... Martini Child

Leah Voss ... Martini Child

Maeve Burns ... Martini Child

Josephine Milburn ... Martini Child

Willow Milburn ... Martini Child

About Overshadowed Theatrical Productions Overshadowed Theatrical Productions has provided quality, family-friendly drama that entertains, inspires, and promotes a biblical message for over 20 years. Along with providing a positive community experience, Overshadowed has also sought to train and encourage the next generation of theater performers and crew.

Mud Life, a world premiere drama by Chicago writing duo G. Riley Mills and Willie Round, drawn from Round’s life experiences as an emerging writer, rapper and producer, opens Collaboraction Theatre’s 2026-27 season, October 21 - November 15.

Round and Mills are the Emmy Award-winning writing team behind Collaboraction’s acclaimed immersive docudrama, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. Set in North Lawndale, Mud Life is a powerful new play exploring  the bonds that hold us together, the forces that keep us stuck, and what we’re willing to risk for the chance at a better life.

Mud Life follows Roc and his cousin Tae, two aspiring hip-hop artists from Chicago’s West Side, struggling to build a future while under the thumb of a manipulative strip-club owner named Littles. When a mysterious outsider offers Roc and Tae a rare opportunity to break free, loyalties fracture, ambitions collide, and they are forced to make choices that will alter the course of their lives forever. 

“For our 31st season, Collaboraction is eager to open our new House of Belonging to Chicagoans to cultivate new knowledge, empathy, dialogue, and action by writing partners and Collaboraction Company Members, G. Riley Mills and Willie Round,” said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. “Set in a worn down recording studio on Chicago’s West side and drawn from  Willie's actual life, audiences can expect a raw, revealing look at the hopes and dreams of escaping poverty and scarcity through music.” 

In addition to co-writing the play, Willie Round leads the cast as Anthony “Roc” Harris, and Round’s new hip-hop single “Bottom to the Top” is featured in Mud Life (listen to an excerpt on Tidal.) The cast also features DeMorris Burrows as Devontae “Tae” Shields, Simeon Henderson as Malcolm “Littles” Gardner and Carina Lastimosa as Casey Reyes. 

The full production team includes G. Riley Mills and Willie Round, playwrights; Anthony Moseley, director; Martine Kei-Green Rogers, Dean, The Theatre School at DePaul University, dramaturg; Isabella Bradley, assistant director; John Wilson, set design; Crystal Bryant, costume design; Destiny Garner, lighting design; Harper Justus, sound design; Liviu Pasare, projection design; Sam Lancaster, props design; Alivia Arizaga, associate producer and production manager; and, Sam Burkett, stage manager. 

Mud Life runs October 21-November 15 at Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging in the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave. in Humboldt Park. Previews are Wednesday through Saturday, October 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through November 15: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at
3 p.m. No show Saturday, October 31. Industry Night is Monday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-$50 and on sale at collaboraction.org. Each show includes a pre-show lounge, performances and an open mic. Mud Life is recommended for ages 13 and up.

Note: The Luminaries, featuring alums of Collaboraction’s The Light youth ensemble, invites young audiences to a special version of their Radiate open mic series every Friday during the run starting at 6 p.m. Participants will be given comp tickets to attend the show, if available. This special Friday night Radiate open mic series is led by Linda Sol, Earl Hester and Bigg Ceno.

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. 

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 in 2022 of the same name. Round and Riley continued developing the script, which received workshops earlier this year at both Bramble Theatre and Definition Theatre in Chicago.

Playwright biographies

G. Riley Mills is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer based in Chicago. His musical, The Hundred Dresses, (co- written with Grammy-nominee Ralph Covert), premiered Off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theatre Company, starring Academy Award-nominee Stephanie Hsu. He and his frequent writing partner, Willie Round, co-adapted Collaboraction’s award-winning hit docudrama Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. Their play, Lift Every Voice, also co-written with Round, was published by Dramatic Publishing and won the 2022 “Distinguished Play Award” from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. He has twice won the Jeff Citation for Best New Work (Sawdust and Spangles in 1997 and Streeterville in 2001). His plays have been produced at such theatres as TimeLine, Mixed Blood, The Children’s Theatre Company, Prop Thtr, Orlando Rep, Birmingham Children’s Theatre, Royal George Theatre, Apollo Theatre, and many more. His new book, “Synergy and Sparks” was published by John Wiley & Sons and won a 2026 International Impact Book Award. grileymills.com

Willie Round is a Chicago-born playwright, actor, filmmaker, songwriter, and community- centered storyteller from North Lawndale. A graduate of Central State University with a B.A. in Mass Communication, Round creates work rooted in the history, culture, resilience, and lived experiences of Chicago’s West Side. His works include Mud Life, a stage play inspired by his life and experiences growing up in North Lawndale; Lawndale King, which explores Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1966 campaign in Chicago; and the published work Lift Every Voice. Round is also a co-writer of Trial in the Delta, a three-time regional Emmy Award-winning production centered on the Emmett Till murder trial. His artistry extends across theater, film, music, acting, and videography. As hip-hop artist MudLife Roc, he has opened for artists including Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne. He is also the founder of Mud Life Entertainment LLC. Round’s mission is to authentically represent Chicago’s West Side, preserve its stories and history, and inspire the next generation through art. Round’s music is available on all platforms under MudLife Roc.

In December 2022, Round and Mills won an Emmy for co-creating and co-producing The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Trial in the Delta for Collaboraction and NBC5 Chicago. The subsequent immersive live stage adaptation, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, has since gone on to two critically acclaimed runs at The DuSable Museum, was the inaugural production at Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging in February, 2026, and will be remounted by Collaboraction February 3-March 14, 2027. Tickets are already on sale at collaboraction.org.

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.

Coincidentally (or not), Victory Gardens’ new play about a controversial campus speaker opens just days after the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Returning from a lengthy hiatus, Victory Gardens once again lights up the Biograph Theater with the world premiere of Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s new play “The Humanities”.

This thrilling play takes place on an American college campus where an opinionated voice is scheduled to speak. At the top level, an intellectual battle brews between professors and the college administration, while the students openly revolt.

Jonas (Ernest Bently) is a new professor on campus, hand selected by the department chair Martin (Steve Pickering) and his professor wife Margot (Naomi Evans). Jonas is young and ambitious, unwilling to get involved in the petty troubles of students and faculty. Martin and Naomi have other ideas. When Martin invites Luka (Daniil Krimer), an ultra-right-wing speaker on campus he kicks off a series of events that could lead the college, and Jonas, to ruin.

Carole (Sabine Wan) straddles the line between education and commerce as the dean while trying to appease the students and queer professor Milta (Isa Arciniegas). On the ground, students Hampton (Derrick Sanders III) and Xander (Piper Murphy) are taking action into their own hands.

Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s script is densely packed, structured in parts much like a college lecture. Each professor has their own somewhat incomprehensible monolog that speaks to how people can say so little with so many words. That’s not to say these passages are empty, and that’s the point. What college student could actually follow these verbal gymnastics though? Perhaps these speeches say more about how some educators are afraid to share their real opinion. Afterall, feelings aren’t facts.

“The Humanities” is a riveting exploration of the cost of free speech. Of course, our first amendment protects it, but it doesn’t account for good taste. Luka is played so smooth and charmingly by Daniil Krimer that you almost forget he’s a neo-Nazi, until he starts his speech. And that’s the unsettling part; under the law he’s just as entitled to hate speech as to tolerance messaging. And that those who criticize him in this play aren’t exactly perfect themselves.

Dohrn paints a rather cynical portrait of higher education, but in other ways he has a lot of faith in youth. Without the radical intentions of Xander and Hampton, there would be no point in rehashing the systematic problems of American academic institutions. In many ways it’s what makes this play so unique.

For those wondering if Victory Gardens has been restored to its former glory under new leadership, “The Humanities” proves they’ve still got it. Edward Torres directs a great cast. While originally billed as starring SNL alum Nora Dunn, British American actress Naomi Evans seems better fit for the role. She has a sleekness about her that makes some of the sexual plotlines a bit more palatable. Steve Pickering embodies that stodgy professor in this era almost as pitifully as Albee’s George was to the 1960s. There’s a certain tragedy in his performance.

While maybe a bit of trimming could help file this play down to a finer point, Victory Gardens choosing Dohrn’s script as their season opener is a brave choice. Almost an admission of self-awareness in an ever-dividing world in which institutions are no longer held on the same pedestals.

Through October 4 at Victory Gardens Theater. 2433 N Lincoln Ave. (773) 871-3000)