At an elite prep school, Sherri Rosen-Mason is leading the charge for change—until her own son’s Ivy League dreams put her ideals to the test. This sharp, compelling drama digs into the lengths we’ll go to protect our children, and the complicated truths that surface when personal stakes get too close to home.
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Bernadette, The Musical is a powerful and deeply moving theatrical production that brings to life the extraordinary story of Bernadette Soubirous, the young girl whose Marian apparitions in Lourdes forever changed the spiritual landscape of the world.
John and his daughter Caitlyn are birders. As they scan the skies over their backyard in suburban Maryland looking for elusive birds, years go by. Relationships begin and end. Children grow up and parents age. The climate and the world change in small and vast ways. BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA takes a close look at the relationship of a father and daughter over the course of a decade as they struggle to understand the parts of one another that defy understanding.
The Black Excellence Revue brings the heat with a high-energy celebration of Black joy, featuring new songs, bold sketches, and The Second City’s iconic improv. With a hilarious, brilliant cast leading the charge, it’s a can’t-miss night of laughter – and a perfect break from the Chicago cold.
On a sweltering Texas night, Vernita Manifold summons her daughters back to the family bayou after the richest man in East Texas turns up dead—his severed head delivered to her back porch. As buried truths rise from the swamp and ancestors hover in the mist, the Manifold women must decide whether this moment is finally theirs. Wickedly funny and razor-sharp, Black Cypress Bayou is a haunting reckoning where justice, legacy, and survival collide.
Oscar knows that a nerdy Dominican college freshman isn't anyone's idea of a romantic hero. But with the encouragement of Yunior, his new roommate, he is determined to give love another chance. But as Oscar sets out from New Jersey to Santo Domingo to prove his undeniable hope, can he shake the dark "fuk?" that has haunted his family for generations? Junot D?az's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel comes to vivid life in this world-premiere stage adaptation, a celebration of risk and the power of perseverance against all odds.
In this fast-paced production we bring you the entire 144 episodes of the hit 90s TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as told through the eyes of the one person who knows it inside out... Spike. Funny, satirical and bursting with 90s pop-culture references, it’s the perfect parody for Buffy aficionados and those who never enrolled at Sunnydale High alike.
Candlelight Concerts in Chicago are intimate live performances where the music and the candlelit atmosphere do equal work—creating a night out that’s elegant, relaxed, and genuinely different. Presented by Fever, the series features local musicians (often a string ensemble) performing programs that range from classical to pop and themed tributes. Browse this guide for candlelight concerts Chicago audiences can attend now and in the coming months.
Music Theater Works kicks off its 46th season with CATS, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s electrifying, Tony Award-winning musical. In this immersive production set in a larger-than-life British flat, audiences may join the magical and all encompassing world of the Jellicle Cats as they gather for the annual Jellicle Ball, where one will be chosen for a new life. Through a series of dazzling musical numbers, each cat shares their story— from the mischievous Rum Tum Tugger, to the mysterious Macavity and the once-glamorous Grizabella. Featuring unforgettable songs, breathtaking choreography and a whimsical atmosphere, CATS is a celebration of life, community and the power of memory.
Based on actual events, CHANGING CHANNELS is set backstage at the DuMont Television Network in New York City in 1952. It is the peak of the "Red Scare" and 151 actors, authors, and journalists are put on the Red Channels list, with alleged ties to communism. As Cold War hysteria sweeps the nation, actress Maggie Carlin finds herself accused just as her hit comedy show is taking off.
Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek’s Charges (The Supplicants) is a cry for the displaced. Theatre Y transforms the act of seeking a home into a surrealist tightrope walk teetering between gallows humor and tragedy. Originally written to address the global refugee crisis, co-directors Melissa Lorraine and Héctor Álvarez mine Jelinek’s text for truths about a world of closed borders and violent deportations.
Based on the beloved novel by Roald Dahl, enjoy this delightfully scrumptious musical adaptation that brings to life all of your favourite characters, songs, and confections. A gobstoppingly good time for the whole family! Grab your golden ticket and join Charlie Bucket on this delectable adventure into Willy Wonka’s world famous chocolate factory!
Midwest town. Forced into marriage due to an unexpected pregnancy, former beauty queen Lola and recovering alcoholic Doc live a quiet life of heartbreak and regret until Marie, a young college student, becomes their boarder. Must see intimate and explosive immersive experience.
Sandra is an accomplished professor, comfortable in her position until a racist cartoon is nailed to her office door; Sara is a slave in the Deep South, fighting for her freedom and spying for the union as the nation is pulled into Civil War. Despite the century between them, both women raise their voice against the institutions of racism and misogyny that hold them back. Dominique Morriseau’s (author of Detroit ’67 and Skeleton Crew) Confederates leaps through time to trace the identities of these two Black American women and the truths that bond them.
In the high stone tower of an isolated naval fortress, Alice and Edgar approach their 25th wedding anniversary, haunted by shadows of resentment and bitterness. When Alice's cousin Kurt comes to visit, the delicate balance of their dreary cohabitation falls off its axis, cracks growing into canyons. In Conor McPherson's riff on August Strindberg's master class in marital warfare, a timeless love triangle waltzes to the surreal rhythm of madness, plunging us all into the deep.
"Dear Evan Hansen: Today is going to be a good day and here's why..." That's how Evan starts every day, writing himself a letter about why it's going to be a good day. It's a coping mechanism for this lonely, anxious high schooler looking to fit in. It's because of these letters that Evan finds himself telling a well-meaning, little white lie that snowballs into a blizzard of untruths. In the end, his unforgettable journey demonstrates there is a place for everyone to feel love, acceptance and to be seen-even when you make mistakes.
The Dress-Up Play is a new family-friendly production from Jackalope. New friends gather in a bedroom to play dress up. But who gets to wear what? Do our clothes have to match what we look like outside? And what if our outside doesn't match our inside? Filled with tutus, fake mustaches, scarves and fierce runway walks. The Dress-Up Play is an immersive fashion party for all ages that celebrates self-expression, open-mindedness and the wholeness of everyone.
Escape into the glitz and glamour of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’, the (fictitious) 1928 musical comedy brought to life in Theo’s intimate cabaret space. As a die-hard musical fan drops the needle on his favorite cast album, the show bursts into hilarious chaos—complete with showgirls, gangsters, mistaken identities, and one very tipsy chaperone.
The stage is set in a hidden library with over fifteen thousand books. Five classically trained actors meet as members of "The Drunk Shakespeare Society." One of them has at least 5 shots of whiskey and then they overconfidently attempt to perform a major role in a Shakespearean play. Hilarity and mayhem ensues while the four sober actors try and keep the script on track. Every show is different depending on who is drinking ... and what they're drinking!
Our families define us, from the love to the dysfunction to the endless memories to the heartache. A Family Affair tells the story of one family over the course of ten years from the heart of their home. How do the people we love (and hate) most affect our future? No two performances are ever the same, but every show is an instant drama created before your eyes.
Death is a fact of life: horses get turned into glue, cows get sucked into tornadoes reverse-alien-style, and even pop legend Michael Jackson can't live forever. It's a bummer, but we have the perfect solution: a brand new laugh-out-loud comedy show that invites you to escape your own mortality by celebrating life in all its weirdness.
HAMILTON is a revolutionary piece of theatre, with a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations from Alex Lacamoire, it tells the story of America's founding father Alexander Hamilton. It has received numerous awards and accolades, including Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as a special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors. Drawing from Ron Chernow's acclaimed biography, HAMILTON is now seen by audiences around the world as an essential representation of America then, told by America now.
"Aaaargh, its a musical for young audiences!" How I Became a Pirate is a musical adventure on the high seas that children will love, based on the beloved picture book. 10-year old Jennifer Jacob is digging in the sand at North Beach when she is recruited by the friendly Captain Braid Beard and his mates to help find the perfect digging spot for their treasure. The silly pirates share the ins and outs of a pirate's life at sea including how to "talk like a pirate" and proper pirate manners and etiquette (or the lack thereof). The pirate world has many surprises for Jenny! But she ultimately learns that true treasure can be found in the heart and home.
The Second City’s Improv Supernova blasts open e.t.c.’s 50th Revue with the art form that started it all. No two performances are ever the same – every night is different, delightfully chaotic, and always funny. Improv this good turns an ordinary night into an unforgettable one. Don’t miss out.
Theo, a young man navigating life in an unfamiliar city, balances the pressures of college and a dead-end data entry job. As the demands of home, work, and school intensify, he encounters a myriad of characters who challenge his notions of right and wrong, ultimately leading him on a tumultuous journey of atonement and self-discovery.
The Irish... and How They Got That Way is an irreverent musical history of Ireland through the tumultuous 20th and 21st centuries seen through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, Teacher Man) whose razor sharp wit, coupled with his trademark satirical irony and boundless love for the Irish People are all underscored by humor, heartache and a glorious score that spans 100+ years from "Danny Boy," "Galway Bay" and "The Rare Old Times" to "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra" and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For."
Originally premiering at Black Ensemble Theater in 2000, this outstanding production began a highly successful national tour in 2002, including a record-breaking run at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York. In 2012, The Jackie Wilson Story made history once again by opening the new Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center.
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.
Kubrickian is an existential dark comedy about three men trapped in a white space waiting to have their vocal cords ripped out. And all
The deviously delicious smash hit musical Little Shop of Horrors has devoured audience’s hearts for decades. The charming, quirky, tongue-in-cheek comedy from Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast) follows meek plant store attendant Seymour, his co-worker crush Audrey, her sadistic dentist of a boyfriend and the man-eating plant that threatens them and the world as we know it.
Award-winning, third-generation magician Dennis Watkins delivers an evening of sophisticated tom-foolery in one of the Windy City's most unique entertainment experiences presented by The House Theatre of Chicago. The Magic Parlour is an elegant night out in the heart of downtown. This intimate magic show is replete with mind-blowing magic and mind reading in a small suite at the historic Palmer House Hilton Hotel.
Medieval Times is an exciting, family-friendly dinner attraction inspired by an 11th century feast and tournament. Guests are served a four-course banquet and cheer for one of six knights as they compete in the joust and other tests of skill. Expect lots of jousting, swordsmanship, thrilling hand-to-hand combat, and displays of extraordinary horsemanship as part of an exciting story set in Medieval Spain.
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.
Raising a teenager is hard. And for Mia and Dailyn it's not going smoothly. As they get ready for older sister Alex to come home, an unsettling visitor steps out of the algorithm, their plans glitch into chaos.
Parallel worlds exist, with infinite possibilities. The Multiverse explores how energies and story transcend the boundaries between these worlds. The show weaves 3 individual one-act plays, unfolding simultaneously onstage, exploring the same themes, vibrations, and emotions. No two performances are ever the same, but every show is an instant drama created before your eyes.
Filled with the exhilarating music of the Miami Sound Machine, this celebration of Gloria Estefan's greatest hits will have you dancing in the aisles.
All Kara wants is a giant wedding reception and a solid three-year crop rotation plan for the farm. But when her wedding plans blow up in her face, Kara is prepared to upend the entire town of Milton, Nebraska to fight for the future that should have been hers. Save the date for this dark comedy about getting your way, making a scene, and father-daughter dances to the Chicks.
Part Monty Python, part Fawlty Towers, The Play That Goes Wrong is an Olivier Award-winning gut-busting global sensation that is guaranteed to leave you aching from laughter. In this farcical fiasco of a show, a bungling troupe of thespians attempts to stage a 1920s WHODUNIT murder mystery. Instead, these accident-prone actors trip over everything, including their lines, and things quickly go from bad to absolutely disastrous. From a fainting femme to a corpse that can't quite croak, The Play That Goes Wrong features everything you never wanted in a show. Will these avocational actors even make it to the final curtain? Come see this wildly entertaining, side-splitting show and find out!
Written by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Iris Sowlat, THE REVOLUTIONISTS is a hysterical and historical (or, more accurately, herstorical) play that invites audiences to experience the French Revolution from a female perspective. So don't pardon our French. Pardon our Frenchwomen and their tres merciless treatment during the Reign of Terror.
Chekhov’s classic story of love, ambition, family, and art gets a brand new adaption featuring a cast of Chicago’s sharpest storefront actors.
The charismatic leader of an insular religious community begins preaching that certain members of her congregation can achieve ecstatic transcendence as mortal angels. Ben, a twelve-year-old boy, believes he is one of the chosen few. His mother Meredith, believing her son has been swept up in a religious fervor, resorts to desperate measures to save her son.
The Queen is jealous of Snow White's Beauty! So she runs off into the woods to live with seven crazy Dwarfs. Will the Queen find her? Will Prince Charming save the day? You won't want to miss this classic Fairy Tale presented by CKC. There is nothing scary in our version, just fun and silliness! All CKC shows feature plenty of audience participation and run for one hour with no intermission. Snow White is targeted for children from 2 to 10 years old.
A one-hour musical adaptation! Meet Roxanne, Petunia, and Babe...three Sister Piggies who set out to build their own houses. Roxanne (The Rock'n Roll Pig) builds hers out of sticks, Petunia (The Pretty Pig) builds hers out of straw, and Babe (The Sensible, Smart Pig) builds hers out of bricks! Which house will the Big Bad Wolf "huff and puff and blow down?" Don't miss CKC's most popular show! All CKC productions feature professional actors, colorful scenery and costumes, sing-along songs, and plenty of audience participation. This show perfect for children ages 2 to 10!
Raven Theatre continues its commitment to timely plays in the theatrical canon, presenting Caryl Churchill's masterpiece on feminism, class, and politics, TOP GIRLS. From an Algonquin round table boasting some of history's most notable women, to the halls of the Top Girls Employment Agency, Marlene's exchanges with the women around her create a vivid and compelling exploration of their aspirations through time. Heralded as one of the best British plays of the 20th century, TOP GIRLS navigates the shifting dynamics of a patriarchal society.
Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, the company’s award-winning live docudrama, will return in its most fully realized form yet. Featuring a powerhouse ensemble of returning artists and new voices, this urgent, unforgettable theatrical event invites audiences to confront the truth, honor a legacy, and experience history as if it were happening today.
Trapped under house arrest, novelist Maria Celia and her sister Sofia can still hear the rumors of the Russians' departure from Cuba in 1991. While awaiting news from Maria's exiled husband and dreaming of their freedom, the two sisters find their small world unexpectedly shaken by the arrival of a romantic young piano tuner and a charismatic military officer infatuated with Maria's writing. Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics) weaves an authentic tale of oppression, human spirit, and intertwining fates in a world of shifting global politics.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is National Public Radio's Peabody Award-winning comedy news quiz show. Host Peter Sagal leads a rotating panel of comedians, writers, listener contestants, and celebrity guests through a rollicking review of the week's news. Contestants vie for the most coveted prize in all of public radio: a custom-recorded greeting by any of our cast members for their voicemail. Every week, Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me! records in front of a live audience, then carefully edits out all the raunchy, inappropriate, shocking, and hilarious stuff so we can broadcast something that doesn't get NPR in trouble... well, more trouble. The
White Rooster is a darkly funny tale of love, loss and the strange things we inherit. After a family tragedy, Min is pulled into a world of restless spirits, old curses and mysterious traditions. Her fiancé won’t stay dead, her sister won’t stay buried and a rooster won’t be ignored. Blending spooky folklore with offbeat humor, White Rooster is a haunting tale of grief, family and the messiness of moving on.
