Direct from Broadway, the smash-hit musical AMERICAN IDIOT tells the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Based on Green Day’s GRAMMY Award-winning multiplatinum album and featuring the hits “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the blockbuster title track, AMERICAN IDIOT boldly takes the American musical where it’s never gone before. With direction by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), choreography by Steven Hoggett (Black Watch) and orchestrations and arrangements Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), the result is an experience Charles Isherwood of The New York Times declares “thrilling, emotionally charged, and as moving as any Broadway musical I’ve seen this year!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL is the explosive new musical comedy that raises the stakes on over-the-top high school rivalries. Set against the world of competitive cheerleading, this powerhouse new show hilariously proves that winning isn’t everything when it means losing something - or someone - you really care about.
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.
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.
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.
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.
FELA!, the joyous dance, theater, music spectacle, has thrilled audiences in three continents. The Tony Award® winner, directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones explores the extravagant world of Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti. FELA! comes to Chicago’s Oriental Theater following its sold-out run at London’s prestigious National Theatre where The Guardian’s Michael Billington exclaimed, “It breaks down conventional barriers between stage and auditorium and joins passion and politics.
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.
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.
“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.
JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SOUTH PACIFIC is based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. “Simply Wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!” hails the New York Post for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC. This breathtaking new production of SOUTH PACIFIC is based on the 2008 Tony Award® winning Lincoln Center Theater production, directed by Bartlett Sher. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices.
"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.
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.
