Back for its fifth year, this year's Festival of Unfinished Work will feature six scenes from original full-length plays currently in process, all written by Chicago-based playwrights. This year, we're zeroing in on dialogue, with each scene featuring just two characters in conversation (and/or conflict). As always, audience members will have the opportunity to vote on which pieces they are most interested in seeing developed further. Plays and playwrights will be announced this spring.

Direct from Broadway, comes the acclaimed Tony Award-winning musical Suffs about the brilliant, passionate, and funny American women who fought tirelessly for the right to vote. Created by Shaina Taub, the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, this "thrilling, inspiring and dazzlingly entertaining" (Variety) new musical boldly explores the triumphs and failures of a struggle for equality that's far from over. Winner of the Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best New Musical.

John Mulaney is a three-time Emmy Award, Critics Choice award and WGA award-winning writer, comedian and actor. Most recently, Mulaney can be seen as the host, writer and executive producer of his Netflix talk show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. The show serves as the continuation of the series Everybody's in LA. The series features monologues, guests, pre-taped sketches, musical segments and more. Everybody's in LA was a six-night live comedy series that explored Los Angeles during the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in 2024. In December 2024, Mulaney starred in the Broadway play All In: Comedy About Love, alongside a cast including Fred Armisen, Richard Kind and Renee Elise Goldsberry. Mulaney is currently on the first leg of his newest stand-up tour, JOHN MULANEY: MISTER WHATEVER, performing across North America.

Michael Carbonaro, star of truTV's The Carbonaro Effect, blends quick-witted comedy with mind-blowing illusions in a live show filled with audience participation. After two hit national tours, he returns with his newest adventure, Michael Carbonaro: WONDERBOY--where audiences discover him as the Hero of Mischief. Bringing wonder, laughter, and magic to the stage -- reality doesn't stand a chance.

Created by the Emmy-winning writer from "Schitt's Creek," this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn't end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love-her way. Juliet's new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, including "Since U Been Gone‚" "Roar," "Baby One More Time," "Larger Than Life‚" "That's The Way It Is," and "Can't Stop the Feeling!"-all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there's life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it.

yo ho. charts the journey of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two pirates aboard a campy, sexually charged ship facing immediate threat from the crown. Equal parts historical fantasy and introspective sexual and gender exploration, this play is a deeply emotional reimaging and reminder of queer history.

IN THE CONTINUUM puts a human face on the devastating impact of AIDS in Africa and America through the lives of two unforgettably courageous women. Living worlds apart, one in South Central LA and the other in Zimbabwe, each experiences a kaleidoscopic weekend of life-changing revelations in this story of parallel denials and self-discoveries.

Based on the best-selling novel that inspired the iconic film, THE NOTEBOOK tells the story of Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, who share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. "Full of butterfly-inducing highs and beautiful songs" (Entertainment Weekly), THE NOTEBOOK is a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.

A timeless tale of love and rivalry, West Side Story brings Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the streets of 1950s New York. Caught between the tensions of two warring gangs—the Jets and the Sharks—Tony and Maria find themselves drawn to each other despite the violence that surrounds them. Featuring iconic songs like “Tonight,” “America” and "Somewhere,” West Side Story remains one of the most powerful and enduring musicals of all time.

Modern dating is a mess. Sometimes to find Mr. Right you need to find Mr. Wrong even if that means seeing someone stuck on their ex, awkward encounters of the intimate kind and lots of horrible coffee dates. Opposites attract in this feel-good musical that will transport audiences into the heart of your favorite guilty pleasure rom-com. Created by acclaimed musical team Ryan Cunningham and Joshua Salzman and inspired by Jane Austen's gold-standard romance novel "Pride and Prejudice," this delightful musical will make you fall head over heels.

The true story of the controversial 1923 Broadway production of GOD OF VENGEANCE, a Yiddish play that featured a romantic relationship between two women, for which the producer and cast were arrested and convicted on the grounds of obscenity. The play traces the journey of the original work from its creation in Europe to its American debut, examining issues of censorship, artistic freedom, and cultural identity. Through a blend of historical narrative and theatrical innovation, INDECENT celebrates the resilience of artists and the enduring power of love and expression in the face of adversity.

Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story chronicles the life and music of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly from his early start in Texas to his meteoric rise to fame and untimely death at the age of 22. Experience the original sound that changed rock and roll music as we know it.

In this World Premiere Adaptation of the classic western, Shane, a mysterious stranger, shows up at the Starrett homestead in the Wyoming Territory in 1889. Though he seems to be hiding a dangerous past, he's offered a job as a farm hand and settles in with the Starretts: Joe, his wife Marian, and his son Bob, our narrator. When Joe refuses to sell his land to open range rancher Fletcher, it sets up a deadly showdown that alters the fates of everyone involved.

Based on the iconic Tina Fey film, Mean Girls is a hilarious musical with heart, telling the story of Cady Heron, a sweet and smart new girl who's just moved from Africa to suburban Illinois. When she enters the wild world of North Shore High, she quickly finds herself tangled up with The Plastics, the school's most popular - and most ruthless - clique led by queen bee Regina George. As Cady tries to fit in, she learns that popularity comes with a price - and revenge can get ugly fast.

Hop aboard the Mothership and take a groovy ride back to the era when Afros were high, bell-bottoms were tight, and the music was truly out of sight! You Can't Fake the Funk: A Journey Through Funk Music is a high-energy, feel-good celebration of the sound that defined a generation.

An evocative tale of two men – one, a doctor, passionate and romantic; the other, a terrifying madman – and two women – one, beautiful and trusting; the other, beautiful and trusting only herself – both women in love with the same man and both unaware of his dark secret. A devoted man of science, Dr. Henry Jekyll is driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve some of mankind's most challenging medical dilemmas. Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experimental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man that the world would come to know as Mr. Hyde.

Brothers Lincoln and Booth, named in jest, are two Black men living in America just trying to get by. Lincoln dresses like his namesake, reenacting his assassination for money and laughs. Booth stays stuck in their apartment, working tirelessly on his three-card hustle. Sibling rivalry and a lifetime of resentment come to a head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride from Suzan-Lori Parks. The deck is stacked with a Tony Award-winning director, a Pulitzer Prize-winning script and a tour-de-force showdown for ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood. "Take thuh cards and show me whatcha got!"