Within a modern office building in a war-torn landscape, a lowly tech-worker is tasked with creating a new tome meant to bring the world together, causing a higher-up middle-manager to second guess her government's motives, ideals and ever-growing militaristic control. A bold combination of new writing from award-winning A Red Orchid Theatre ensemble member Brett Neveu combined with adapted public domain material from the past millennia, In the Watch-Fires is inspired by the heightened theatricality of Bertolt Brecht, the absurdity of Samuel Beckett, and the voices, strengths and legacy of Paul Sills' Chicago Story Theatre.

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.

Welcome to House of the Exquisite Corpse: Blood & Puppets. Pulses quicken as guests gather in a make-shift foyer, with a bar selling beer, wine and a horrifying specialty cocktail. Then, small groups trickle into the House via timed entries. Once inside, pulses race as visitors brave a dark, murky expanse, stopping by six "rooms" of puppet theater horror, peering through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to witness the carnage, and sometimes, humor, happening inside.

Usher is a Black, queer playwright who spends his days working as an usher on Broadway. He spends his nights struggling to write an original musical about a Black, queer playwright who spends his days working as an usher on Broadway. Lines blur, thoughts intrude, and soon he finds himself wrestling to break free from a very strange creative loop.

A dark absurdist comedy with a twist of vaudeville, Any Rebellion of Will finds a depressed, anguished Will being kicked out of his authoritative parents' home on his 25th birthday. Will returns home with an odd, mystical street performer, Giselle who ignites a rebellious passion in Will and a demented, destructive mania in his parents.

Over the course of a single month, a grieving young man and his feisty 91-year-old grandmother by turns infuriate, bewilder and ultimately reach each other as they cohabitate in her West Village apartment.

In this Original TATL adaptation by Michael Dalberg (Cyrano, The Blood Countess, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde) Jakob Grimm is transported through the Moon in search of his Brother Wilhelm after fighting the Wolf off of Granny and Little Red. He ends up in a cabaret bar hosted by the Wolf, Little Red and several survivors of their stories. Celebrate the spoopy season with our 6th rendition of Grimm featuring all new TATL takes on the creepy classics of the Bros. Grimm in a cabaret setting. Appropriate for ages Gremlins and up.

Music Theater Works presents the first professional production of Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville in Chicago since its pre-Broadway run. Set sail for a tropical getaway with this feel-good musical packed with island vibes and beloved Buffett classics. This lighthearted romantic comedy follows Tully, a laid-back island singer, and Rachel, a career-focused tourist, as their worlds collide at a beachfront resort. With a story about adventure, self-discovery and living life to the fullest, Escape to Margaritaville is the ultimate musical vacation for Parrot Heads and newcomers alike.

Through music, videos, photos and live actors, Sanctuary Stories captures in words and images the lives and communities touched by the immigration crackdown in Chicago. This "living documentary" is a unique and unprecedented adventure in multimedia storytelling that brings journalism to life.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago 2026/27 Season kicks off with a thrilling fable of deceit and retribution. Under the baton of Music Director Enrique Mazzola, sharp humor, high drama, and an exquisite score intertwine in the story of a charismatic seducer whose unrepentant lustfulness brings about a most spectacular demise. Singing with a voice that can "shake the heavens" (Opera Today), bass-baritone and Lyric veteran Christian Van Horn stars as one of opera's most infamous anti-heroes, crowning a stellar cast. Director Robert Falls's instant-classic take on this morality tale for the ages offers an expansive and hard-hitting Don Giovanni sure to satisfy anyone with a wicked taste for drama.

Meet Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as “The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie” and “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie.” When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying encounter with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness.

Hayward reimagines Hamlet and Electra through the eyes of Luna, who reveals to her family - on the day of their father's funeral - that his ghost has come to see her. Beneath the haunting, this is a love story: a daughter's love for her father, and the complicated, unresolved feelings he left behind. The story follows a family shaped by the trauma passed down by a father who served in the Navy during the Gulf War. Across grief, they reach for each other, trying, imperfectly, to come back together.

'The Fix' was supposed to correct everything that had gone wrong with the country. Now, three members of a shattered family occupy different corners of a society in free-fall, even surviving in their own way. Which of them will make it to Paradise and what will it cost? Does such a place even exist?

Set in the historically Black neighborhood of Mud Row in West Chester, Pennsylvania, two generations of sisters protect and defy the legacy of their foremothers in this surprisingly funny, thrilling and ultimately hopeful play from Tony Nominee and MacArthur “Genius” Grant Recipient Dominique Morisseau. Mud Row deftly shifts between past and present exploring themes of identity, belonging and the complexities of heritage through the lives of several Black women and men, each with their own struggles and aspirations.

Brad Williams possesses something that everyone can agree is funny: a disability. Brad is a dwarf. He has appeared on numerous TV shows including Mind Of Mencia, Live at Gotham, the Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Pitboss. Brad has also performed for the troops all over the world because soldiers think dwarfs are funny too.

Revisiting characters established in August Wilson's SEVEN GUITARS, this play returns to Pittsburgh's Hill District in 1985. King Hedley, a man recently released from prison, attempts to rebuild his life by selling stolen refrigerators so he can buy a video store. Despite decades of generational trauma, can King break free from the crippling socio-economic struggles that have held him down? Amid the realities of rampant crime and drug use in the neighborhood community, he tries to carve out his own destiny.

Ben Schwartz is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer and he's bringing his Ben Schwartz and Friends Improv Show to Chicago! Schwartz will be accompanied by some talented improvisers straight from LA.