On a soundstage at the infamous 1970 MGM Studios auction, dancer/singer/actress Ann Miller revisits the Golden Age of Hollywood and discovers her second act as a Broadway star while filmdom’s treasures — including the legendary “ruby slippers,” the “Cotton Blossom” show boat, Clark Gable’s “lucky trench coat” and more — are sold for pennies on the dollar. Featuring selections from the Great American Songbook, this love letter to entertainment is written by and stars Kayla Boye, who has appeared at Porchlight Music Theatre in Can-Can, Little Me, Billy Elliot and New Faces Sing Broadway 1969.

HAMILTON is a revolutionary piece of theatre, with a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations from Alex Lacamoire, it tells the story of America's founding father Alexander Hamilton. It has received numerous awards and accolades, including Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as a special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors. Drawing from Ron Chernow's acclaimed biography, HAMILTON is now seen by audiences around the world as an essential representation of America then, told by America now.

Four Legends. One Night. Music History Made. You may have loved Million Dollar Quartet in 2017 at Paramount Theatre - now imagine it set in Sun Studio itself. The new Stolp Island Theatre will be designed to immerse you in the experience so you can say "I was there!" On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins had a chance encounter at Sun Studio in Memphis. What transpired ?was one of the greatest impromptu jam sessions in music history.

Der Silbersee marked Kurt Weill's final theatrical work before he was forced to flee Germany as a Jewish composer, escaping the rising tide of fascism and eventually making his home in the United States. A groundbreaking, long-suppressed work by the composer of The Threepenny Opera and Street Scene, Der Silbersee blurs the boundaries between opera, operetta, and musical theater. An act of artistic defiance at the moment of its creation, the work helped pave the way for modern music drama and remains a strikingly relevant reflection on humanity's struggles and hopes. Der Silbersee tells the poignant story of Severin, a destitute man shot while stealing a pineapple, and Olim, the policeman who wounds him but later nurses him back to health as he seeks redemption. At its heart, this deeply human work asks a question that resonates with unsettling clarity today: How can we find reconciliation and hope in a fractured world? Weill's extraordinary score-blending late-Romantic lyricism, sharp modernist edges, and the propulsive energy of popular song-moves seamlessly between satire, poignancy, and surrealism, underscoring the work's emotional depth and political urgency.

Music Theater Works kicks off its 46th season with CATS, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s electrifying, Tony Award-winning musical. In this immersive production set in a larger-than-life British flat, audiences may join the magical and all encompassing world of the Jellicle Cats as they gather for the annual Jellicle Ball, where one will be chosen for a new life. Through a series of dazzling musical numbers, each cat shares their story— from the mischievous Rum Tum Tugger, to the mysterious Macavity and the once-glamorous Grizabella. Featuring unforgettable songs, breathtaking choreography and a whimsical atmosphere, CATS is a celebration of life, community and the power of memory.

White Rooster is a darkly funny tale of love, loss and the strange things we inherit. After a family tragedy, Min is pulled into a world of restless spirits, old curses and mysterious traditions. Her fiancé won’t stay dead, her sister won’t stay buried and a rooster won’t be ignored. Blending spooky folklore with offbeat humor, White Rooster is a haunting tale of grief, family and the messiness of moving on.

Candlelight: Featuring Mozart, Bach, and Timeless Composers is an immersive classical concert that pairs the warmth of candlelight with live chamber music, as a string quartet performs a curated journey through some of Western music’s most beloved works—from Baroque brilliance to Romantic drama and luminous Impressionist favorites. The program spotlights instantly recognizable passages like selections from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the achingly beautiful “Lacrimosa” from his Requiem, then builds to the iconic drive of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the sweeping emotion of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and the dreamy shimmer of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” rounded out with a vibrant movement from Ravel’s String Quartet—a timeless setlist designed to feel both elegant and deeply moving in an intimate, candlelit atmosphere.

Escape into the glitz and glamour of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’, the (fictitious) 1928 musical comedy brought to life in Theo’s intimate cabaret space. As a die-hard musical fan drops the needle on his favorite cast album, the show bursts into hilarious chaos—complete with showgirls, gangsters, mistaken identities, and one very tipsy chaperone.

Originally premiering at Black Ensemble Theater in 2000, this outstanding production began a highly successful national tour in 2002, including a record-breaking run at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York. In 2012, The Jackie Wilson Story made history once again by opening the new Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center.

Award-winning performer, charming socialite, and cocktail enthusiast Lucy Darling continues her vivacious vagabond voyages with You’re Welcome — a touring variety show featuring her razor-sharp wit, unquestionable advice, skillful magic, and delightful friends.

Candlelight: Tribute to TOOL brings the band’s dark, hypnotic catalog into an intimate, candlelit setting, where the music is reimagined in rich, cinematic arrangements for strings for a powerful, multi-sensory concert experience. Performed by the Metropolis String Quartet, the program highlights fan-favorite tracks like “Vicarious,” “Stinkfist,” “Forty Six & 2,” “Schism,” “Sober,” “Disposition,” “The Pot,” and “Pneuma,” letting TOOL’s shifting rhythms, tension-and-release builds, and haunting melodies unfold with fresh nuance—at once atmospheric, intense, and unexpectedly elegant.

Max Amini is a world-renowned comedian, producer, director, and podcaster who has redefined stand-up comedy in the digital age. As the founder and CEO of Abstraction Media, he has built a comedy empire from the ground up. With over 25.7 million followers and 5.8 billion views in 2025 alone, he is currently the most-watched comedian on Instagram globally. His YouTube channel ranks as the #1 fastest-growing comedy channel in the US, with audiences tuning in from every country in the world.

In this fast-paced production we bring you the entire 144 episodes of the hit 90s TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as told through the eyes of the one person who knows it inside out... Spike. Funny, satirical and bursting with 90s pop-culture references, it’s the perfect parody for Buffy aficionados and those who never enrolled at Sunnydale High alike.

In this original dark comedy, 36-year-old actress Nina Sallinen, portrays a 90 year-old Grande Dame (also named Nina Sallinen) of the Scandinavian Theater. The old actress has brazenly chosen Shakespeare’s King Lear as the material for her final artistic farewell performance. She has a special interest in the theme as she believes her own two daughters to be just as greedy and neglectful as King Lear’s. The performance, which she stages in her own apartment, unintentionally highlights the artist’s own life story, as she gradually becomes cognizant of the deeper parallels between her life and that of King Lear’s. Instead of shaking up her own daughters with her performance, the old diva shakes up herself. Her priorities and past choices come into question.

Fully Committed is a fast-paced, hilarious one-person comedy that takes audiences behind the scenes of New York's hottest restaurant. One actor brings to life nearly 40 characters-from desperate celebrities and ruthless socialites to frazzled staff and at the center of it all, one very overworked reservationist. It's a razor-sharp satire of status, ambition, and customer service madness. This is the first time FULLY COMMITTED has been seen in Chicago in more than 25 years.

In this Original TATL adaptation by Michael Dalberg (Grimm, The Blood Countess, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde) Cyrano cannot share her love to the multi-courted Roxanne. Thus, she speaks her truth through dim witted Christian, Roxanne's true desire. In a romantically comical retelling of the classic, body image, self-doubt and misogyny are central themes. With some food fights along the way you'll see that sometimes love is right in front of your nose!

In London. It's plague time again. When a wealthy gentleman flees to the country, his trusted servant opens his house to a pair of con artists and sets up a den of criminal capitalism. Claiming alchemical powers, the quick-witted trio swindle an array of greedy neighbors with their unique ability to improvise as things quickly spin out of control. A contemporary comedy about the past, this satire for our current situation will be the first production at the New Elgin Art Showcase.