| Accidental Rapture |
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16th Street Theater at
Berwyn Cultural Center |
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| A lot has happened in the ten years since Amy, Paul and Richard were in grad school together. Amy and Paul got married and became academics; Richard also found a wife, a new job selling Christian merchandise, and a new life serving God. So Amy's not really looking forward to spending an awkward weekend at Richard's house. Will Richard's born-again wife object to Amy's feminism? Will Amy and Paul's daughter get brainwashed by their God-fearing hosts? And can Amy keep herself from cursing for forty-eight hours? |
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| Aida |
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Lyric Opera |
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| Here it is — the granddaddy of grand-opera spectacle — complete with pyramids and potentates, priestesses and dancing girls, plus armies of soldiers and slaves! At its heart, a treacherous love triangle and a relationship that was never meant to be. Aida, the enslaved Ethiopian princess, and Radames, leader of the Egyptian army that conquered her homeland, long to be together forever. But someone else wants Radames, too — it’s Amneris, the jealous daughter of the Pharaoh himself!
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| Ameriville |
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Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph |
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| Performed by the celebrated performance ensemble Universes, this thrilling exploration of the American experience prowls the dark corners of our contemporary landscape and asks, "If Hurricane Katrina happened again, would we be ready?" An electrifying evening infused with hip-hop, song, poetry and dance, Ameriville is a passionate and hopeful vision of a community's responsibility to another amidst a nation in turmoil. |
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| Androcles and the Lion |
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ShawChicago at
Ruth Page Center For Arts |
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| Androcles, a humble but devout Christian, befriends a lion in the forest by removing a thorn from its paw. Both lion and man are captured by the Romans to serve as entertainment in Caesar’s Circus. Shaw’s play gives us a fascinating examination of the diversity of Christian motives and thought. There is, in addition to Androcles, the Patrician lady, Lavinia, whose body recoils from sacrificing to the Roman gods. The warrior, Ferrovius, refuses to fight in the arena because his religion commands that he turn the other cheek. And there is the coward, Spintho, who runs away from Christianity. All their fates depend on what happens in the arena. |
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| Assisted Living |
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Profiles Theatre at
Second Stage Theatre |
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| Anne Kelly needs help. She's pushing 40 and still lives with her mother. Her deadbeat brother won't even return her calls and the ancient family home seems to be falling down around her. When Levi, a sweet but dim-witted younger man, comes into her life, Anne begins to see the upside of not always being the grown up. |
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Watch a video preview of Assisted Living
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| Bachelorette |
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Profiles Theatre |
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| Ten years out of high school, three unhappy friends show up “not-quite-invited” to their classmate’s hotel room for the perfect bachelorette celebration. Half a bathtub of booze later, the former prom queen is melting down, the nice-girl cokehead is on a mission to mend the mauled wedding dress, and the lacerating maid of honor finds her picture-perfect life less stable than it seemed. A smash hit Off Broadway, Leslye Headland’s shrewd and biting play is an aria to the anxiety and self-loathing of a generation.
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| Black Pearl Sings |
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Northlight Theatre |
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| Featuring beautiful, a cappella renditions of rare American folk songs, this play with music tells the Depression-era story of two extraordinary women dependant on one another to gain acceptance in a divided society. When Susannah, a WPA song collector for the Library of Congress, overhears Pearl singing in a Texas prison, she will pull every string possible to introduce the woman with the silky voice and steely spirit to the world. |
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Watch a video preview of Black Pearl Sings
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| Blizzard '67 |
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Chicago Dramatists |
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| Jon Stienhagen’s Blizzard ’67 takes us to the fast-paced, high-pressured, glamorous Loop of the late 1960s when ambitious, arrogant businessmen fought ruthlessly for power and respect. Lanfield, Henkin, Emery, and Bell spend their work days competing mercilessly with each other but when they find themselves trapped in the most fearsome blizzard Chicago has ever known, it is their survival, rather than promotion, on the line. If they don’t work together and overcome their corporate rivalries, they’ll be left out in the cold. For the 45th anniversary of the infamous blizzard that shut down Chicago for days, an ensemble of four actors will recreate that chilling Chicago memory and the surrounding frenzy. |
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Watch a video preview of Blizzard '67
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| Blue Man Group |
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Briar Street Theatre |
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| Blue Man Group is best known for its award-winning theatrical productions which critics have described as "ground-breaking," "hilarious," "visually stunning" and "musically powerful." These performances feature three enigmatic bald and blue characters who take the audience through a multi-sensory experience that combines theatre, percussive music, art, science and vaudeville into a form of entertainment that is like nothing else. |
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Watch a video preview of Blue Man Group
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| The Caretaker |
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Writers' Theatre |
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| Aston brings Davies, a fast talking tramp, to his cramped home full of odds and ends—best characterized as junk—offering him a bed and a much needed place to get on his feet. Davies quickly realizes that Aston and his brother Mick have a different take on the world around them. From Aston’s constant puttering and half finished fix-it jobs to Mick’s grand plans for the future, the three become an unlikely trio desperately trying to connect to one another but always missing the mark. |
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Watch a video preview of The Caretaker
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| Chester and the Unbearable Burden |
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Six Hours Short Productions at
Athenaeum Theatre |
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| Dirkwood Wizarding Academy’s Spooksday Ball is fast approaching, and Chester would like to take a girl other than his best friend Lillian. Chester wants to ask the Dirkwood Chronicle’s lovely editor Charlie Fleckman, but first feels a need to prove he’s not just another wizard orphaned by the Dark Lord Molvak. When strange visitors Sean and Hamfast arrive at Dirkwood with a mysterious ring, Chester sees his chance to write a newspaper story that will sweep Charlie off her feet. But with the ring comes Thebook, a transcendent elf who bears ominous news of Molvak’s return. Can Chester conquer death with the help of Lillian and Headmaster Dilfor? Will Chester be thwarted by escaped convict Gene or the sinister Professor Tansy? Will Charlie say yes? See for yourself in this two-part fantasy comedy filled with death, love, protagonism, and teen angst. |
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| A Chorus Line |
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Paramount Theatre |
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| EXHILARATING! No other word aptly describes A Chorus Line, where 17 dancers yearn for a coveted spot on the line. Celebrate their individual stories of hope, sacrifice, soul-searching and dreams as their tales unfold on stage during a single New York audition. This smash hit features music written by famed composer Marvin Hamlisch and offers up big dance numbers, emotionally-charged vocals, laughter and pathos. No wonder A Chorus Line is the longest running American musical ever produced, boasting nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. What I Did For Love and the blockbuster Broadway finale One are here! Never look at the stage the same way again. |
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| Clutter: The True Story of the Collyer Brothers Who Never Threw Anything Out |
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MadKap Productions at
The Greenhouse Theater Center |
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| Clutter is based on the compelling true story of the wealthy, reclusive Collyer brothers who became hoarders in their Fifth Avenue mansion in 1920s Harlem. After years of compulsive collecting, the brothers have become notorious shut-ins in their aristocratic New York neighborhood. Langley Collyer is missing and Homer Collyer is found dead amongst floor-to-ceiling piles of newspapers, books, and junk. The police investigating the case, two brothers with a strained relationship mirroring that of the Collyers, are simultaneously making discoveries about themselves. Narrated by the brothers and the police investigating the bizarre case, this darkly fascinating tale is a poignant and profound exploration of human behavior. |
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Watch a video preview of Clutter
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| Come On! We're All Adults! |
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Annoyance Theatre |
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| Come On! We’re All Adults! is a collection of solo pieces by Patrick Raynor, who was recently featured at the TBS Just For Laughs Festival in Alone: Chicago’s Best Solo Acts. Every hilarious scene is grounded, earnest, and rich in detail. Raynor shows off his acting chops by patiently investing in the reality of each character’s world. Whether its a hermit emerging from the wilderness to re-enter society, a love-struck South Dakotan imploring his girlfriend not to leave on that plane to New York, or an arsonist/amateur ornithologist enthusiastically leading the bird-watching club at his maximum security prison, Raynor treats every absurdity with respect. With direction by Joe Avella (Teenager of the Year), Come On! We’re All Adults! is subtly deranged solo performance not to be missed! |
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| The Complete History of America (Abridged) |
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Metropolis Performing Arts Centre |
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| During this amusingly inaccurate play, the audience is taken on a gut-busting roller coaster ride filled with important historic figures and events that have been warped and twisted for the sole purpose of comedy. In just about two hours, The Complete History of America (Abridged) covers 500 years of American history—from the birth of Bob Dole before Christ to the assassination of JFK by Lucy Ricardo. You’ll laugh your star-spangled head off and cry red, white and blue tears as everything you know about American history is distorted through hilarious sketches, songs and parodies. |
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| Dark Play or Stories for Boys |
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Collaboraction at
Flat Iron Arts Building |
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| "Dark Play or Stories for Boys" follows a teenage boy's foray into the virtual world. His fictional internet identity begins as a harmless game, but the game takes on a frightening reality when real emotion overtakes his online relationship. When Nick's virtual world collides with the real world, his fantasies of love, intimacy, obsession and betrayal spiral into consequences that lead him to the brink of death. |
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| Death and Harry Houdini |
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The House Theatre of Chicago at
Chopin Theatre |
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| Artistic Director Nathan Allen returns to his very first script having spent the last decade developing The House’s voice. The House’s original production featured magic, music, dance, and film. Now Allen, along with The House’s incredibly diverse ensemble of artists, bring their experience in creating ensemble theater and devising story to the life of history’s greatest magician, while reaching deep into its bag of tricks to create an altogether new theatrical event. |
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| Devils Don't Forget |
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The Chicago Mammals at
Zoo Studio |
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| An amnesiac tries desperately to not remember
his past, convinced that he was an accessory to some unspeakable evil.
But his amnesia provides no refuge when devils he had hoped to forget
return to collect their due. Inspired by 50’s hardboiled noir as well
as classic Grand Guignol, DEVILS DON'T FORGET is an atmospheric
descent into a metropolis populated with Femme Fatales, Punch Drunk
Gangsters, and Shadowy Figures seemingly supernatural. It is the story
of a man who tries to escape a demonic global conspiracy using self
induced amnesia. |
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| Disgraced |
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American Theatre Company |
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| New York. Today. A Muslim-American lawyer is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while he distances himself from his cultural roots. At the moment of achieving his life-long ambitions, he falls victim to professional and personal betrayals that manifest in one of the most explosive and controversial scenes ever written for the theater. American Theater Company teams up with the Broadway producers of Urinetown and last season’s A View From the Bridge to premiere Ayad Akhtar's examination of a modern Muslim-American struggling to define his identity. |
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| The Disorientation of Butterflies |
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Uncovered Theatre Company at
Irish American Heritage Center |
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| Kelly Levander directs this musical that boldly lifts the veil on depression, probes the mystery of death, and discovers the value of life. |
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| The Doyle & Debbie Show |
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Royal George Theatre |
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| Doyle Mayfield, an old-guard country star with a handful of hits back in the 70s and 80s, is reviving his career thirty years, four wives, and three Debbies later. The new Debbie, a single mother with three children, sees this lovable lothario as her last chance to make it big in Nashville – but she also questions hitching her star to this loose cannon. |
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Watch a video preview of The Doyle & Debbie Show
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| The Drawer Boy |
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Filament Theatre Ensemble and The Den Ensemble at
The Den |
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| The Drawer Boy is a story about the healing power of art and the true bonds of friendship. The Drawer Boy examines the relationship between two WWII veterans whose lives are turned upside down when a young actor visits their farm to gather research for a play. What starts off quite innocently unfolds into a powerful journey as the two older men rebuild the story of their lives, the truth of which had long been left unspoken. |
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| Enron |
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TimeLine Theatre Company |
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| One of the most infamous scandals in financial history becomes a dynamic
new theatrical event that was a sold-out sensation in London. Crafted as
sprawling tragedy mixed with savage comedy, Enron follows a group of
ambitious men and women through the breathtaking rush of greed and fraud that led to a legendary financial collapse. Along the way we gain disturbing insight into the backroom secrets of big business and confront a world where appearance has little relation to reality. |
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Watch a video preview of Enron
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| The Feast: an intimate Tempest |
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| A bold collision of text with extraordinary objects and imagery ignites this muscular, innovative adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest—carved out by three actors, a menagerie of handcrafted puppets, and original music and animations. |
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| The Foreigner |
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Provision Theater Company |
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| Larry Shue's hilarious farce, Charlie Baker - a proof reader by day and a boring husband by night - adopts the persona of a foreigner who doesn’t understand English. When others begin to speak freely around him, he not only becomes privy to secrets both dangerous and frivolous, he also discovers an adventurous extrovert within himself. |
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| The Ghost is Here |
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Vitalist Theatre & DCA Theater at
Storefront Theater |
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| With flair and panache, con-artist Oba – played by returning Vitalist actor Jamie Vann – develops an increasingly absurd scheme whereby war-weary and financially stressed villagers sell him pictures of their dead, only to be charged exorbitant prices when they seek to retrieve them. The wrinkle in the racket is the “agent” who represents the ghosts. Eventually, the prospect of sellers’ remorse prompts a stampede on the market, thereby seeming to assure Oba’s fortune in the best wheeler-dealer, robber-baron tradition. |
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Watch a video preview of The Ghost Is Here
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| The Gingerbread House |
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Red Tape Theatre - St. Peter's Episcopal Church |
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| What would you give to live the life of your dreams? What if there was no one to stop you? How far could you go and still be able to sleep at night? Brian is on the fast track to a successful career but one thing is weighing him down: his children. Together with his wife Stacey and a mysterious broker named Marco, the couple hatch a plan to trade their kids for another chance at happiness and a rekindled sex life. But when doubts about the kids’ fate start to haunt Stacey, how long can their newly found happiness last? Red Tape Artistic Director James D. Palmer teams up with an all ensemble cast to mount this dark, comic parable from the author of A Brief History of Helen of Troy. |
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| The Girl in the Yellow Dress |
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Next Theatre Company |
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| South African dramatist Craig Higginsonʼs tour de force new play pairs dark, sexually charged psychological drama with uncompromising wit. Set in contemporary Paris, this gripping new play explores the tense relationships of class, race and language between Celia, a beautiful young white English teacher and Pierre, her French-Congolese pupil. |
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| The Gog/Magog Project |
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Steep Theatre |
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| This bold and daring project is based on the mysterious demise of performance artist Alexander Gog, an event still shrouded in rumor and supposition, and which, due to ongoing legal considerations, must be presented in this fictionalized manner. |
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| Gypsy |
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Drury Lane- Oakbrook |
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| A triumphant story of the complex bond between a mother and daughter, GYPSY is based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee and has a soaring score including Let Me Entertain You, Some People, and Everything’s Coming Up Roses. |
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| He Who |
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Theatre Zarko at
Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| How do four brave and exhausted women share the burden of one grotesquely enormous baby? They struggle to nurture and restrain the giant darling. But the baby has an existential crisis, which sparks a fight for control. His tyrannical attempts to pit the women against each other ultimately test the limits of love. Darkly poetic and arresting, He Who brings together live performers, puppets and original music for an intimate audience experience. Master puppeteer Michael Montenegro conceives and directs this world premiere. |
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| Hesperia |
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Writers' Theatre |
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| When Claudia left Ian and her old life in adult entertainment to return to her small-town roots, she found more than just a new start—she met her soon-to-be husband Trevor, the local youth minister and a man of god. But when Ian shows up on her doorstep just weeks before her wedding, their past together comes roaring back to life bringing doubts to Claudia’s now moral and well-ordered existence. In this honest exploration, playwright Randall Colburn brings an original voice to the complicated topics of love, sexuality and religion. |
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| Hit the Wall |
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The Inconvenience at
Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| It’s the summer of ’69 and the death of music icon Judy Garland has emboldened her gay followers. A routine police raid on an underground Greenwich Village hotspot erupts in to a full-scale riot, the impetus of the modern gay rights movement. That’s the well-known, oft-rehearsed myth of Stonewall, anyhow. Smash that myth against the vivid theatrical imagination of playwright Ike Holter, add a howling live rock ‘n roll band, and you get the world premiere play, Hit the Wall. Remixing this historic confrontation reveals ten unlikely revolutionaries, caught in the turmoil and fighting to claim “I was there.” |
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| The Houdini Box |
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Chicago Children's Theatre at
Mercury Theatre |
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| As famed escape artist Harry Houdini circles the globe performing one incredible stunt after another, Victor, a young devotee goes through his own rigorous magician’s training – locking himself in closets, holding his breath under water and walking into walls. After a chance encounter with his hero, Victor receives a special box that just might contain the secrets of Houdini’s great success. |
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| How to Survive a Fairy Tale |
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Lifeline Theatre |
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| Even though his dad is a frog and his mom claims to be a princess, Jack grew up in a house without fairy tales. So when he is thrust into a mysterious forest, threatened by bears and witches and trolls, he must find a way to survive on his own without any knowledge of the “rules” of traditional folktales. Travel with Jack on a madcap quest to rescue a trio of pigs, escape from some extremely gruff billy goats, and help his parents find their Happily Ever After, in a world premiere fractured fairy tale. Based on popular fairy tales and nursery rhymes, from the Brothers Grimm and beyond. |
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Watch a video preview of How to Survive a Fairy Tale
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| The Hunchback Variations |
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Theater Oobleck at
Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph |
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| The Hunchback Variations takes the form of a panel discussion between Quasimodo, hunchback of Notre Dame, and Ludwig van Beethoven, composer, on their attempt to create a mysterious sound effect called for in Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. Playing out over 11 scenes, or “variations,” the story details the duo's collaboration -- one doomed by their mutual deafness, their unpleasant working conditions, and the fact that Beethoven has not yet finished reading the The Cherry Orchard. |
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| Hunger |
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Lifeline Theatre |
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| During the 900-day Nazi siege of Leningrad, Russian botanist Ilya is charged with protecting a cache of valuable seeds for future generations. As the weeks turn to months and food grows scarce, Ilya and his co-workers are torn between their lives’ work, the dictates of a brutal regime, and the harsh realities of survival in a time of war. Consumed by innumerable hungers and haunted by memories of happier days, Ilya must choose whether to preserve his life or protect his ideals. A powerful drama of deprivation and loss, in a world premiere adaptation. Based on the 2003 debut novel by American author and journalist Elise Blackwell (The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish, An Unfinished Score). |
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| I Am Saying This Right Now |
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The Plagiarists at
Berger Park Coach House |
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| Conceived by Plagiarist Kaitlin Byrd, and written by a group of local artists, I Am Saying This Right Now is part memoir, part fiction, part borrowed, and part original - a mix tape of memories, scenes, and sound art that explores the causes and the consequences of the human compulsion to document our lives and our world. |
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| Invisible Man |
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Court Theatre |
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| “I am an invisible man.” In this world premiere stage production, the first authorized by The Ralph and Fanny Ellison Charitable Trust, a landmark American novel comes to life. Ralph Ellison’s classic story of a young African American’s search for his identity blazes with luminous theatricality and truth. Adapted by Oscar-nominated writer Oren Jacoby, Invisible Man marks the first Chicago appearance by award-winning New York City director Christopher McElroen, a founding artistic director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem. |
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Watch a video preview of Invisible Man
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| Ironmistress |
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Oracle Theatre |
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| Written by UK playwright April De Angelis, IRONMISTRESS is a play in verse that follows Martha Darby, a widow who inherits her husband’s iron foundry in bleak Victorian England, a world where women had no power. On the eve of her young daughter Little Cog’s wedding, Darby engages in a night of games and storytelling that dredges up ugly memories and forces both women to confront their desires for dominance. Yates’s vision is both richly comic and darkly unsettling, and highlights the everyday barbarism towards women during the Industrial Revolution. Inside a mechanized cage, the audience will watch mother and daughter either breaking free of the male mantle of power or being destroyed by it. |
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| Jack's Precious Moment |
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Will Act For Food at
Chemically Imbalanced Theater |
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| After Bib’s twin brother Jack is brutally killed by Muslim fundamentalists in Iraq, he begins (along with his father and Jack’s widow) trying to pick up the pieces; but his own fundamentalist Christian beliefs get in the way of making sense of senseless tragedy. The loss of a life leads to a loss of faith, and ultimately to a loss of identity. Maybe finding peace is as simple as a journey to the Precious Moments Inspiration Park, peppered along the way with odd haikus and a philosophical carny. Probably not, though. |
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| The Jackie Wilson Story |
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Black Ensemble Theater |
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| The Jackie Wilson Story having been a huge success first opening in 2000 and with a national tour in 2002 which culminated at the famous Apollo Theater in New York, is the perfect production to open this legendary season. Written & Directed by Jackie Taylor, this promises to be a bigger and better production with a few star studded surprises.
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| Jersey Shore: The Musical |
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4 Days Late at
Studio BE |
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| Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t stop watching. The world premiere of the unofficial Jersey Shore: The Musical, by Chicago-favorite sketch comedy group 4 Days Late, re-imagines the pop culture phenomenon with all original songs and a wicked hilarious tone. Drunk and desperate for fame, the roommates beat the beat at the club while dodging grenades, until an unexpected turn destroys their fame. See how Ronnie, Sammi, Jwoww, Vinny, Pauly D, Snooki and The Situation survive without their G.T.L lifestyle. |
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| Late Nite Catechism |
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Royal George Theatre |
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| Join the class in this interactive comedy, now in its 13th year, as Sister teaches her own brand of religious logic. |
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| Legally Blonde |
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Marriott Theatre In Lincolnshire |
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| The hit musical LEGALLY BLONDE, written by Heather Hach with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, jumpstarts the Marriott Theatre’s 2012 Season. The hilarious MGM film is now a smash hit musical! When college sweetheart and sorority queen, Elle Woods, gets dumped by her boyfriend she is determined to get him back. So she grabs her Chihuahua, puts down her credit cards, hits the books and sets out to go where no other Delta Nu has gone before – to join him at Harvard Law School. The verdict is that this much fun should not be legal! From sunny California to the Harvard Halls of Justice this all-singing, all-dancing feel good musical will be the highlight of your year. In addition to the seven Tony Award nominations LEGALLY BLONDE received during its first year on Broadway, the show also was honored with ten 2007 Drama Desk Award Nominations and a 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award. LEGALLY BLONDE will be Directed and Choreographed by Marc Robin. Come witness the power of pink. |
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| A Lesson Before Dying |
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Lincoln Square Theater |
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| Bayonne, Louisiana, 1948 – Jefferson is a young black man sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit. Grant Wiggins is a local black teacher indebted to those who sent him to college. When Wiggins is enlisted to teach Jefferson to face his death with dignity, both men must re-examine what it means to be a human being. By Romulus Linney; based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines. |
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| Little Triggers |
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The Ruckus Theater at
Side Project |
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| Once upon a dark and blustery Christmas Eve, a young man named Martin sits waiting. In the corner of the office, a printer spits, smokes and hisses in a way that would seem malevolent if Martin didn’t know better. He waits for the repairman, and watches the clock tick, and wonders what it is that he’s doing with his life. Little does he know that before the evening’s out, a series of mysterious strangers will force him to confront his ideas about success, happiness, and failure--and they’re starting with what’s hidden in the back of his drawer. In Little Triggers, Martin has to find the through-line for his story, and he had better do it fast, because the snow won’t stop falling, and the printer’s out for blood. |
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Watch a video preview of Little Triggers
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| Love and Money |
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Steep Theatre |
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| Love and Money is a darkly funny morality tale about monster debt and fractured desires, the high price of living and the stuff we buy to fill up the void. Personal happiness is not just love, but Pottery Barn furnishings as well. It premiered in 2006 at the Royal Exchange in Manchester before moving to the Young Vic in London later that year. |
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| The Magic Parlour |
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The House Theatre of Chicago at
Chopin Theatre |
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| The performance contains some of his favorite pieces of magic, alongside some brand new routines in an hour-long show packed with mind-reading, levitations, escapes, and a ridiculous new adaptation of the classic “Card Stab” during which Watkins climbs inside of a fully inflated 7 foot balloon! |
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| Megacosm |
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A Red Orchid Theatre |
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| With existential terror, Megacosm presents us with a world full of revolt and chaos both inside and out. An industrialist in the near future utilizes every means possible to get an inventor to sign over his revolutionary creation that will inevitably change the world. Corporate greed never met creative angst with such dramatic and hilarious results. |
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Watch a video preview of Megacosm
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| Million Dollar Quartet |
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Dee Gee Theatricals & John Cossette Productions at
Apollo Theater |
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| On December 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. The place was Sun Records’ storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was the “Father of Rock-n-Roll,” Sam Phillips, who discovered them all. The four legends-to-be united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording session that embodied the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time. |
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Watch a video preview of Million Dollar Quartet
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| Moon Over Buffalo |
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Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at
McAninch Arts Center |
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| The rag-tag theatrical Hay family find themselves in a run-down tour of classical theater. Thrown into increasing backstage hysteria with a pregnant ingénue, a lawyer who tries to convince the couple to split and a visit from their daughter and her fiancé, the situation is further complicated as Frank Capra is attending the matinee to scout for his latest film.
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Watch a video preview of Moon Over Buffalo
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| Moonlight and Magnolias |
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Fox Valley Repertory |
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| The year was 1939 in Hollywood, and the movie "Gone With the Wind" was in production. But just three weeks later, legendary producer David O. Selznick closed the set and fired Director George Cukor. With just five days to get back on track, Selznick hired screenwriter Ben Hecht to write a new script from Margaret Mitchell's bestselling 1037 page novel. One problem though - Hecht had never read the novel! This left Selznick no choice but to pull Director Victor Fleming from "Wizard of Oz" and lock him in a room with Hecht and himself until the script was complete. |
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Watch a video preview of Moonlight and Magnolias
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| Motion |
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Signal Ensemble Theatre |
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| How hard can it be for two organizations to split a nine-billion dollar pie? Impossible, apparently. Drew is a hotshot agent hell bent on making his blue-chip but troubled client the number one pick in the pro football draft, until the team that owns the pick hires his ex-wife to rebuild the long-suffering franchise. Obstacles surmount as Drew angles to get the best possible deal for his client, but does any of it matter when labor discord threatens the very existence of the game? From the writer of Signal’s hit jukebox musical “Aftermath.” |
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| Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting |
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Lookingglass Theatre |
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| April 9, 1947- Baseball’s Opening Day is one week away, and Branch Rickey, General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, will call up Jackie Robinson to break the color-barrier and play as the Major League’s first black ballplayer. If he does, Robinson will face loud and heated opposition from virtually every owner, manager, and player in baseball – and it won’t be a cakewalk with the fans, either. Who will be his allies if he makes the most daring and important play of his life? |
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| A Number |
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Back Stage Theatre Company at
The Building Stage |
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| A man questions his father about the possible existence of another estranged son, and the questions opens up a series of events that neither men could ever have expected. Penned by one of the world’s most uncompromising playwrights, Caryl Churchill’s A Number is a beguiling hour-long psychological thriller that blends topical scientific speculation with a stunning portrait of the relationship between fathers and their sons. |
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| Octavarius: So Nefarious |
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Comedy Sportz |
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| Octavarius: So Nefarious is a high octane, no holds barred, improv comedy invasion. The Nefarious, Octavarius's original show, combines classic improv games with the artful tradition of Chicago improvisation. It's like Whose Line Is It Anyway, Jackson Pollock, and ConAir had a baby and you can come see it perform. |
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| Oohrah! |
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LiveWire Chicago at
Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| Surprised by her husband’s early return from a tour in Iraq, Sara is unprepared for the complications of his re-entry into civilian life. Tension simmers around their gun-obsessed teenage daughter, Sara’s oddball live-in sister Abby, and Abby’s newest infatuation – a sexy, young Marine who’s keeping a secret. Oohrah! turns a comic eye to a homecoming gone awry. |
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| The Original Improv Gladiators - Season Fifteen |
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Cornservatory |
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| The Original Improv Gladiators - Season Fifteen takes over the Cornservatory stage for another six week run. Teams from all over Chicago-land to compete against each other and the revered home team, “The Improv Gladiators” to win the coveted prize of a 4 week run at Cornservatory. Eight teams, six weeks, three judges, and only one winner…the stakes are high, and the jokes are low brow. But—no matter how you slice it—this cross between American Gladiators, American Idol, and Who’s Line is it Anyway is an exciting and entertaining night of competition, chaos, and comedy. |
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| Penelope |
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Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| On a sun-scorched island off the coast of Greece, beautiful Penelope awaits the return of her husband from war. Beneath her window, four Speedo-clad men camp in an empty swimming pool, a cock-eyed internment where both provisions and time are running low. Locked in a do-or-die competition to win Penelope’s love, they preen and posture and connive in a last ditch effort to cheat a grisly fate. Penelope, the newest play by powerhouse Irish playwright Enda Walsh, is an eloquent, wildly funny riff on life, love and the war at home. |
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| Peter Pan's Shadow Part One: Neverland |
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Dream Theatre |
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| Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and Peter's younger sister set out on a harrowing adventure that will result in the birth of Neverland, the accidental creation of Peter's shadow, and the appearance of a fearsome new enemy on the horizon: Captain James Hook. |
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| Pinkalicious |
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Broadway Playhouse |
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| When Pinkalicious Pinkerton eats one too many pink cupcakes, she catches a serious case of “Pinkititis” and turns pink from head to toe! Will her broccoli-eating brother be able to help cure her before it’s too late? Find out in the colorful musical adventure, remounted from Emerald City Theatre’s sold out production at their Chicago home at The Apollo Theater. This heartwarming musical’s Gateway Theme of healthy eating is sure to strike a chord among parents and picky eaters alike. Emerald City’s Gateway Themes are a topic of conversation adults can have with their early-learner. Education and Artistic staff create materials in the playbill to provide support for adults. All performances will include an age appropriate pre-show activity in the lobby and an autograph session with the cast after the performance. |
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Watch a video preview of Pinkalicious
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| Punk Rock |
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Griffin Theatre Company at
Theater Wit |
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| Punk Rock is Simon Stephens most successful play to date and was a major hit for the Lyric Hammersmith in London. Based on the playwright's experience as a teacher, this play explores the underlying tensions and potential violence in a group of affluent, articulate seventeen year old students. Contemporary and unnerving the story explores the pressures of teenage life as as group of educated, intelligent young people begin to plan for college and the rest of their lives with the step-by-step, dislocated, latent violence simmering under the surface of success revealed. |
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| Quake |
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Buzz22 Chicago at
Royal George Theatre |
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| Quake, directed by company member Sara Sawicki, follows the adventurous, quirky and touching cross-country journey of Lucy, a young woman looking for the big love of her life. |
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| Race |
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Goodman Theatre |
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| This latest work by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet ruthlessly examines guilt and oppression via a compelling crime mystery. Two high-profile lawyers—Henry (Geoffrey Owens) who is black, and Jack (Marc Grapey) who is white—are called to defend a wealthy white client Charles (Patrick Clear) who is charged with the rape of an African-American woman. Along with
their new hire, Susan (Tamberla Perry), they soon find themselves embroiled in a complex case where blatant prejudice is as disturbing as the evidence at hand. With characteristic bluntness, Mamet leaves nothing unsaid in this no-holds-barred suspense story. |
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Watch a video preview of Race
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| Rapunzel |
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Winnetka Community House |
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| Directed and choreographed by Stacey Flaster, Rapunzel tells the tale of a possessive mother who happens to be a witch, a tentative young man who happens to be a prince and a strong-‐ willed young girl who happens to live in a tower. With a book and lyrics written by two of the creators of the hit TV show Friends, this fairy tale promises some new twists on a favorite children’s story. |
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| Residue |
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Buzz22 Chicago at
Royal George Theatre |
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| In this dark comedy, Jeremy, an aspiring writer, finds himself with a useless degree and an inability to score all but the most humiliating of day jobs, so he takes his financial future into his own hands by dealing cocaine. But even as he delves deeper into that dark world, the most dangerous commodity in his possession may very well be his own book. |
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| Sirens |
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Citadel Theatre Company |
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| The romantic comedy tells about a husband and wife, and the hit love song he wrote for her whose proceeds they lived off for the next 25 years. But when Sam’s creative stagnation and memories of passionate youth drive him to Facebook to seek a new muse, Rose decides it’s time for the togetherness of an anniversary cruise in the Greek Islands. Will the sublime music that Sam hears coming from Siren’s Island cause him to jump overboard on his marriage, or will it rekindle the flame? |
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| Six Characters in Search of an Author |
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The Hypocrites at
Chopin Theatre |
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| Six Characters in Search of an Author first premiered in 1921 to mixed, vivid reactions. Pirandello was one of the masters of the early twentieth century counter-movement to theatrical realism. |
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| Snow White |
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Emerald City Theatre Company at
Apollo Theater |
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| Emerald City revisits its original version of the classic fairy tale of Snow White. After a difficult and lengthy journey from far away lands, TJ Barker’s Troupe of Theatricals have arrived in Chicago a little worse for the wear. But the show must go on! The Troupe tells the story as Snow White finds safety from her wicked Stepmother with the seven dwarfs and some magical talking animals. With her Stepmother scheming and a Prince searching, how long can she live quietly in the enchanted forest?
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| Supernatural Chicago |
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Excalibur Nightclub |
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| "Is it real? Or isn't it?," marvels the Chicago Tribune. So will you, when you experience this funny and slightly creepy one-man show by Neil Tobin, Necromancer that explores the true stories of Chicago's paranormal past, and brings them to life for the audience through interactive demonstrations of psychic magic. It all takes place in the landmark (and reputedly haunted) Excalibur nightclub. Now in its fourth year of weekly performances. |
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Watch a video preview of Supernatural Chicago
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| Tartuffe |
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BoHo Theatre at
Theater Wit |
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| In the midst of societal upheaval, when the lines between church and state are being drawn between those for whom religion is the bedrock of society and a younger generation eager to accept change, comes the charlatan Tartuffe. Masquerading as a man of God, Tartuffe worms his way into the life of pious family patriarch Orgon and is soon trying to make off with the man’s wealth, his daughter, and even his wife! Though the rest of the family goes to hilarious lengths to show Orgon the error of his ways and expel Tartuffe from their home, the con man always seems to be one step ahead of them. |
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Watch a video preview of Tartuffe
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| The Tempest |
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| Prospero's illusory island sets the stage for CST's first collaboration on a Shakespeare adaptation with Redmoon—carved out by three actors, a menagerie of handcrafted puppets, original music and hypnotic animations. Possibilities abound in this original Chicago Shakespeare commission based on The Tempest, in which Ariel and Caliban sit down at their captor's dinner table to assert their independence and petition for freedom. |
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| Time Stands Still |
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Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| For photojournalist Sarah Goodwin, happiness is rushing from hotspot to hotspot capturing images of global conflict. When she barely survives a bomb blast in Iraq, she’s forced to return home into the care of her long-time lover, James. She’s caught off-guard by James’s desire for family and by the simple domestic life pursued by Richard, her editor, and his much younger girlfriend, Mandy. Pressed to consider settling into a “normal” life, Sarah must confront her addiction to the drama and chaos of war. From Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, Time Stands Still is a witty, intelligent look at what happens when ordinary life is refracted through the lens of war. |
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| Tiny Fascists - A Boy Scout Musical |
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Annoyance Theatre |
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| Going to Philmont Scout Ranch is every Boy Scout's dream. Dying, however, is not. Two troops embark on what's supposed to be a fun camping trip only to end up in the middle of a disastrous plane crash, facing danger at every turn. Created by a cast of eleven actual Eagle Scouts, “Tiny Fascists’” characters speak from real-life experience. |
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| Unnecessary Farce |
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First Folio Theatre |
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| When Billie and Eric, a pair of inept police officers, set up a sting operation to trap the crooked mayor, nothing can go wrong---unless everything goes wrong! Set in a pair of matching hotel rooms, UNNECESSARY FARCE is filled with doors slamming, clothes flying, and bagpipes bleating, all of which adds up to an over-the-top tale of mix-ups and mayhem that’s laugh out loud funny from start to finish. |
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| A Woman's Path |
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Annoyance Theatre |
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| A Woman's Path is more than a retreat for middle-aged women in clownishly tacky blazers; it's the last chance at happiness for five disturbed, lost souls. With arts and crafts, nature walks, horrific bear attacks, gentle lesbianism, fist fights and gallons upon gallons of white zin, this retreat weekend will be a healing journey that is seared into these ladies' memories whether they want it to be or not. |
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| Zastrozzi |
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The Division Theater Company at
The Viaduct |
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| With the aid of his murderous henchman Bernardo and the irresistible seductress Matilda – master criminal Zastrozzi is on the verge of realizing a three-year quest to avenge his mother's murder by the former performance artist and now self-proclaimed Messiah of Caterpillars, Verezzi. But with his own grasp on reality slipping, and forced into confrontation with Verezzi’s sworn protector the fallen priest Victor, Zastrozzi’s path takes unexpected turns, spiraling into a surprising climax that challenges the definitions of right and wrong. |
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