| The Aliens |
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Aegis Theatre Company at
Flat Iron Arts Building
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| The Aliens tells the story of two young men who frequent a coffee shop in Vermont and the young employee they decide to take under their wing. Jasper and KJ are disillusioned New England thirty-somethings who regularly meet behind the coffee shop to discuss poetry and music. When Evan, a new hire, shows up, they welcome him into their merry band of misfits. The Aliens is one of Annie Baker's Vermont Plays--all of which are set in the fictional town of Shirley, Vermont. |
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| Arms And The Man |
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City Lit Theater
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| Bluntschli, a Swiss soldier fonder of chocolates than of bullets, hides in the bedroom of Bulgarian heiress Raina while escaping from battle-a development that disturbs her fiance Sergius, a swaggering cavalry-officer from the other side. First produced in 1894, this comedy about the folly of war and the frailties of human nature was one of Shaw's first popular successes in a career that produced more than 60 plays. Shaw called it "an anti-romantic comedy." |
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| Avenue Q |
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Mercury Theater
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| A racy cross between South Park and Sesame Street, AVENUE Q is a modern musical focusing on a group of unique 20-somethings making their way in the big city, seeking their purpose in life. Director L. Walter Stearns explains that the real magic of the show is when the audience "forgets that the puppets are nothing more than fur and felt and start to believe they have a mind, heart and soul." It tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. He soon discovers that although the residents seem nice, it's clear that this is not your ordinary neighborhood. Together, Princeton and his new-found friends struggle to find jobs, dates and their ever-elusive purpose in life. Although AVENUE Q addresses humorous adult issues, it is similar to a beloved children's show: a place where puppets are friends, monsters are good and life lessons are learned. |
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| Bible Bingo |
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Royal George Theatre
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| From Vicki Quade, the creator of the popular comedy Late Nite Catechism, comes the new interactive comedy Bible Bingo. The Archdiocese's new bingo department needs to raise money for the parish. That's where you come in: Get ready to play bingo for a variety of wacky prizes. Along the way, you'll be drawn into conversation about everything from Adam and Eve to modern sins. Just be careful: You might laugh so hard you forget to yell "bingo." |
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| Big Giant Love |
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Madison Street Theatre
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| Oak Park's Madison Street Theatre inaugurates its solo series POWER OF ONE with writer/performer Maureen Muldoon's BIG GIANT LOVE, an hour-long exploration of the repercussions when a child changes gender. |
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| Bigmouth |
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater
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| Equipped with five microphones, his voice, and indefatigable energy, Valentijn Dhaenens pays tribute to the 2,500-year history of oration in this tour-de-force performance. The smash hit of Edinburgh Fringe Festival ingeniously weaves together fragments of seminal speeches ranging from Socrates and Muhammad Ali to General Patton and Osama bin Laden, revealing that the tricks of rhetoric have never changed. Dhaenens traverses across time, picking the right words to morph a weak argument and to win power and glory-or the hand of a beloved. |
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| Black Boy Joy |
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Annoyance Theatre
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| Black kids rarely get to have fun. They're too busy stumbling upon dead bodies in John Singleton films, or being the snarky mentee for single white leads in romantic comedies, or being the one diverse kid in a small town where aliens are going all kinds of crazy. Teen Cudi are two black boys who just want to be silly and maybe a little thought provoking, but mostly silly because neither of them are sociology professors at this time, and life is hard enough. |
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| Blue Man Group |
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Briar Street Theatre
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| 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. |
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| Borealis |
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The House Theatre of Chicago at
Chopin Theatre
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| When a redacted and ominous letter arrives from her brother on the oil fields, thirteen-year-old Cozbi sets off for Anwar, Alaska to find him. Armed with a book on corporate communication strategy and a sharp axe, Cozbi battles her way through an Arctic wilderness in pursuit of her missing brother, squaring off against a host of monstrous Ass-Hats on each rung of the corporate ladder. Part mythic journey, part workplace satire, the play is a darkly comic adventure about family obligation, career aspiration, and what we leave behind to make our way to the top. |
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| Bye Bye Liver |
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Stage 773
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| The Pub Theater Company performs a series of outrageous sketches centered on Chicago's favorite pastime: drinking. Bye Bye Liver is filled with interactive social games for the audience, pitting males versus females, actors versus audience and so on. Bar life and alcoholic adventures are held up for your amusement so you can laugh -- and drink -- your troubles away. With a spontaneous and interactive format, the outcome is always a fun and outrageous time for everyone, both audience and cast. |
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| Clued-In: An Improvised Murder Mystery |
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Annoyance Theatre
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| Clued In: An Improvised Murder Mystery is a one-act long form show that delivers the
intrigue of classic murder mysteries with the skills of some of Chicago's most notable
genre improvisers. |
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| Come 'n Go |
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The Aleatoric Theatre Company at
Factory Theater
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| Based on a true story, Come 'n Go is a romantic comedy about two sisters questioning their tumultuous love lives. Set in a dive bar just outside O'Hare airport, they meet a group of single men who share their insights on the world of dating. This inspires one of the sisters to write a book uncovering the secrets of the male heart and mind. On this love and laughter-filled journey, the women also uncover the truth about themselves, changing the course of their lives forever. The perfect date night, girls or guys night out! |
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| Communion: An Evening of Magic |
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The Den Theatre
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| Have you ever wished you could know what someone else is thinking? What if you could? COMMUNION: An Evening of Magic is a 70-minute performance that blurs the line between magician and spectator, and explores how illusion can create true human connection. Highly interactive and unconventional, COMMUNION blends world-class magic, sleight of hand, and psychological suggestion with live participation from the audience. No two performances are alike. |
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| Crime and Punishment |
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Shattered Globe Theatre at
Theater Wit
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| As Raskolnikov plays a dangerous cat and mouse game with a mercurial investigating magistrate, a psychological thriller unspools and probes how far humanity might go when driven by disillusionment and whether any crime can be justified by a higher purpose. |
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| Curve Of Departure |
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Northlight Theatre
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| In a cramped motel room in New Mexico, a "ragtag little group of humans" gathers in anticipation of the funeral of a man they loved but did not like. But the dearly departed is not their only concern, as they grapple with the demands of ordinary life and the decisions of an uncertain future. Northlight favorite Mike Nussbaum returns as the patriarch of an unconventional family in this delicate and gently comic drama. |
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| The Ding Dong |
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McAninch Arts Center
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| The Buffalo Theatre Ensemble kicks off their season with this fast-paced madcap farce. Described as "bubbly like a bottle of champagne," The Ding Dong or How the French Kiss, is sure to be a night out to remember! The New Yorker lauded this Mark Shanahan adaptation of Georges Feydeau's Le Dindon "a delightful update of this nineteenth-century classic!" See The Ding Dong in Glen Ellyn at McAnich Arts Center. |
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| Dream Freaks Fall From Space |
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Second City
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| Dream Freaks Fall from Space holds a funhouse mirror up to the already bizarre times in which we're living. The powerhouse cast delivers a show that's surreal, musical, maniacal, and utterly entertaining all at the same time. You'll fall for this other-worldly adventure that's unlike any other show on the planet! |
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