Theatre News Wire

Lifeline Theatre announced their 2025-26 season of Big Stories, Up Close. This 43rd year for the Rogers Park not-for-profit theater begins in September 2025 and includes three MainStage productions, three KidSeries productions, and three Concert Readings, as well as the 4th annual BIPOC Showcase.

The season will open with the world premiere production of Rabbits in Their Pockets by 2024 BIPOC Showcase playwright Kimberly Dixon-Mays, directed by Christopher Wayland (September 5 - October 5, 2025); followed by a revival of Lifeline's KidSeries musical Click, Clack, BOO! A Tricky Treat from the popular Click, Clack, Moo series, adapted by ensemble member James E. Grote, with music and lyrics by George Howe, directed by ensemble member Amanda Link (October 4 - November 2, 2025); then, ensemble member Phil Timberlake revives last year's star turn in Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol by Tom Mula (November 28 - December 21, 2025); then, KidSeries in partnership with Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) company Kerfuffle presents The Conductors, co-created by Kerfuffle with The Connecting Routes Project, directed by Ashley Laverty (December 6 - 21, 2025); then, KidSeries world premiere Kitty and the Beanstalk by ensemble member Jess Wright Buha in collaboration with Miles and Molly Buha, with music by John Szymanski, directed by ensemble member Calvin Adams (February 14 - March 22, 2026); and concluding the season is the world premiere rock musical LOKI-The End of the World Tour, music and lyrics by George Howe, book by ensemble member Christina Calvit, developed with and directed by ensemble member Heather Currie (April 24 - June 14, 2026).

Additionally, Lifeline's season will feature four special events: the three-play 2025-26 Concert Reading Series of favorite plays from the Lifeline canon, starting with the hit duo of original plays by ensemble member Christopher Walsh, Miss Holmes (October 25, 2025) and Miss Holmes Returns (January 25, 2026), followed by the Jeff Award-winning Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Frances Limoncelli (March 21, 2026); and the 4th annual BIPOC Showcase featuring playwrights of color and their world premiere works developed with the support of the Lifeline Artistic Ensemble (July 17-19, 2026).

"This season's lineup truly reflects the breadth and depth of the talent in our Artistic Ensemble," said Managing Producer Heather Currie. "From Phil Timberlake's masterclass in acting in Marley, to our first play to come out of our BIPOC Showcase, to a new rock musical that will shake the walls, Lifeline is showing its range!"

Lifeline Theatre's 2025/2026 Season

MAINSTAGE
Rabbits in Their Pockets
September 5 - October 5, 2025
A world premiere play
By Kimberly Dixon-Mays
Directed by Christopher Wayland

In the pursuit of joy, does method matter? The only thing sisters Ash and Harley have in common is a desire to get beyond their grief about their family's losses. But when they start a project together to do so, their pursuit of joy stops being just a philosophical question. It could literally change their worlds, if they can stay together long enough to let it. A world premiere original play that began in Lifeline's 2024 BIPOC Developmental Workshop by Chicago playwright Kimberly Dixon-Mays.

"Lifeline's process is both writer- and ensemble-centric. Ensemble members have given input with care and attention, and I've been able to take risks, gather feedback, and decide what's next," said Dixon-Mays, who holds degrees from Yale, UCLA, and Northwestern. Among recent honors, Dixon-Mays was selected for Goodman Theatre's 2022 Future Lab series, and was a 2023 and 2025 finalist for American Blues Theater's Blue Ink Award, and a 2024 finalist for Definition Theatre's Amplify Series. In 2023 she also developed work with Shattered Globe Theater's Global Playwright Series and Stage Left's Playwright Residency Program and received an Illinois Arts Council fellowship.

KIDSERIES
Click, Clack, BOO! A Tricky Treat
October 4 - November 2, 2025
Based on the book by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Adapted by ensemble member James E. Grote
Music and lyrics by George Howe
Directed by ensemble member Amanda Link

It's Halloween! Duck, Pig, Cow, and Hen can't wait to throw a party. But when mean ol' Farmer Brown refuses to allow the festivities, it's going to take some clever trickery to enjoy the tasty treats. Join the beloved barnyard crew as they teach Farmer Brown that sometimes a little scare can be big fun, in this musical adaptation from the beloved Click, Clack, Moo series. Recommended for kids 5 and up and their families.

Click Clack BOO! is the fifth musical adaptation in Lifeline's popular Click Clack Moo series. The family-friendly musicals are based on the popular picture books and have appeared often on Lifeline's stage and on stages around the country. "Families continue to be delighted by Farmer Brown and his mischievous barnyard animals," said ensemble member and adaptor James E. Grote. "This fifth show in our series premiered in 2013, and it's time for a new generation of kids to sing the songs on the way home from the theatre."

MAINSTAGE
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol
November 28 - December 21, 2025
By Tom Mula
Performed by ensemble member Phil Timberlake

1 actor. 19 characters. 90 minutes of rousing good cheer! In Dickens' Christmas Carol, Scrooge gets a chance to amend his ways, but what happened to his partner Jacob Marley? Find out in Lifeline Theatre's production of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, a one-man show written by Goodman Theatre's own Scrooge, Tom Mula, featuring a Jeff-nominated performance by longtime Chicago actor and Lifeline ensemble member, Phil Timberlake.

"19 characters in 90 minutes requires a mastery of the craft that very few actors have," said ensemble member Elise Kauzlaric. "Phil is creating real theatre magic in its most essential form, and audiences can't get enough of it."

KIDSERIES
The Conductors
December 6 - 21, 2025
Produced in partnership with Kerfuffle
Co-created by Kerfuffle with The Connecting Routes Project
Directed by Ashley Laverty

All aboard the magic train! Where should we go? Who shall we visit? The conductors are on a search for treasure in this play specifically designed for very young children. Join the conductors as they explore community and connection along the railroad lines! Featuring live music and playful audience participation, The Conductors is a silly, joyful, and engaging first theatre experience for children ages 2-6 and their families.

"Co-producing with Kerfuffle has been a joyous endeavor," said Managing Producer Heather Currie. "Kerfuffle's aesthetics and values are a perfect match with Lifeline's." Kerfuffle Founding Artistic Director Ashley Laverty agrees. "Lifeline contributes their decades of experience producing theatre for children, and Kerfuffle brings our expertise in Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) programming. It's a perfect partnership," said Laverty.

KIDSERIES
Kitty And The Beanstalk
February 14 - March 22, 2026
A world premiere adaptation based on Jack and the Beanstalk
By ensemble member Jess Wright Buha in collaboration with Miles and Molly Buha
With music by John Szymanski
Directed by ensemble member Calvin Adams

In the alleys of a sunless Big City, sibling stray cats Kitty and Tom use the garbage around them to make their world a more magical place. But when Kitty trades one of Tom's precious creations for some magic beans, Tom angrily throws them away-only to have them sprout into a magnificent beanstalk. When they climb it, they discover why the sun has vanished from the city below (hint: a giant is involved). A world premiere with music for kids ages 4-10 and their families.

Ensemble member and adaptor Jess Wright Buha, who recently wrote a critically-acclaimed audio drama for Marvel's newest running app, Marvel Move, conceived of the play in collaboration with her two children, Miles and Molly. "We ideated the plot points together and they gave me feedback on my writing," said Buha. "It was both a fun game and serious work for us to do together. I think the kids in the audience will respond to this kid's-eye-view into the classic tale."

MAINSTAGE
LOKI-The End of the World Tour
April 24 - June 13, 2026
A world premiere rock musical based on Norse mythology
Music and Lyrics by George Howe
Book by ensemble member Christina Calvit
Developed with and directed by ensemble member Heather Currie

Welcome to the greatest rock 'n' roll show not on Earth! LOKI arrives at Asgard, bringing chaos, comedy, and three monstrous (maybe) children. LOKI tangles with Odin, Thor, and the mysterious Freya; each with their own agenda; their own secrets-but all paths lead to one eternal question: In an us vs. them world, can we envision a new mythology? Ensemble member Heather Currie directs this epic musical world premiere from the Jeff award-winning team of Howe and Calvit.

LOKI was conceived and developed at Lifeline in preparation for a 2020 premiere which was cancelled due to the pandemic. The new rock musical was further workshopped with Roosevelt University students in April 2023, and will now enjoy its first full production at Lifeline. "After so many years of work, and even more years of hoping, getting to premiere LOKI at Lifeline is truly a homecoming," said Calvit, a winner of multiple Jeff Awards.

"The story is hundreds of years old, but it reads like a warning for modern times," said Howe, who, with Calvit, received a Joseph Jefferson award for New Work for their musical Queen Lucia in 2005, as well as for his 2017 Lifeline musical Northanger Abbey. "For us, it's a riotous exploration of the corrupting nature of power."