For nearly four decades, the Young Playwrights Festival, the oldest such festival in the United States, has engaged and inspired high school students across Chicago by teaching them to craft one-act plays. More than 300 submissions are received annually with the winning teen playwrights’ productions being work-shopped, staged by industry professionals and receive a premiere under the auspices of Pegasus Theatre Chicago’s Young Playwrights Festival.

Vienna: a cacophony of music and intrigue. The emperor's composer, Antonio Salieri, holds court until the flamboyant entrance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: prodigy and wild child. The two artists begin a vicious and thrilling duet, a rivalry that will define their lives and legacies for years to come. Winner of 5 Tonys and 8 Academy Awards, Amadeus is the ultimate ode to ambition and musical genius, a brilliant requiem for a villain in history - but a hero in his own story. Vi saluto!

As a Christian kid, maybe you grew up with Veggie Tales, Psalty the Singing Songbook, or The Donut Man. But what wholesome content do the kids of today have? Why, Benny Bingo and the Evangelikids of course! Become an Evangelikid and meet us at the Flamingo Club House! We'll learn all about Jesus and the Gospel through songs, stories, prescriptive gender roles, and patriarchy! But when the cameras cut, it seems like some of the kids, and perhaps even Benny Bingo himself, are starting to have questions....maybe even doubts? Watch this heartwarming and hilarious original musical that explores themes of deconstruction, queerness, and individuality within the confines of an oppressive belief system ? all while unapologetically leaning into joy.

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.

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.

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!

At Berkeley, California's ultra-progressive Eureka Day School, every decision is made by consensus. But when a mumps outbreak hits, the school's carefully cultivated culture of inclusiveness spirals into chaos. As parents and board members clash over vaccines, personal freedoms, and viral misinformation, a community built on open-minded ideals implodes. TimeLine's Chicago premiere of Spector's Tony Award-winning play tackles one of the defining questions of our time: how do you build consensus when no one can agree on the truth?

Using elements of absurdity and black humor, Green Corridors is a poetic, harrowing journey through a world fractured by war. Ukrainian playwright Natalka Vorozhbyt's deeply human storytelling, brought to life by Kay Martinovich, invites us to bear witness to displacement, resistance, and the echoing pain of conflict and offers a poignant and urgent reflection on displacement, survival, and identity.

A completely new form of improv inspired by the classic Old Time Radio shows of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. The cast of Improvised Golden Age of Radio (IGAR) takes the themes, language, and technology of the era to create an immersive improvised audio soundscape for their live audience. Taking advantage of dozens of toys on their live foley table, the sound effects and performances paint a hilarious picture of a classic drama-gone-wrong.

Laugh Now, Therapy Later is a comedy show for anyone who knows that sometimes the only way through the chaos is to crack a joke first and deal with the feelings after. This isn't polite, tidy sketch comedy - it's raw, ridiculous, and a little too real. Our comics dive headfirst into the awkward, the painful, and the downright absurd parts of life, spinning them into punchlines that make you laugh so hard you forget you were supposed to be sad. It's comedy for the catastrophes, humor for the heartbreaks, and a reminder that even in the middle of a meltdown, there's always something worth laughing at. Come for the jokes. Stay for the catharsis. Just don't forget to book your therapist after the show.

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.

The New Stages Festival returns for its 21st year, transforming the Owen Theatre into a showcase for bold new work in development. This year’s lineup features script-in-hand readings of Calamity West’s FEAST!, a sharply funny holiday dinner gone off the rails that exposes privilege, money, and marriage under pressure; Hansol Jung’s Pennies, an epic, time-bending journey from a modern call center to the River Styx that wrestles with grief, guilt, and emotional burnout; Christina Anderson’s This Part of His Life Blooms, in which a newly retired man turns to his neglected garden and unburied memories to confront love, friendship, and fatherhood; and Ike Holter’s The Audience Unseen, a real-time supernatural thriller where a routine interrogation becomes a terrifying descent into the unknown. With free tickets by reservation and a focus on inventive, risk-taking storytelling, the festival offers Chicago audiences an early look at some of the country’s most exciting playwrights and plays in progress.

Experience the haunting romance of PHANTOM IN CONCERT, the stunning musical by Maury Yeston (NINE andTITANIC) and Arthur Kopit, inspired by Gaston Leroux's classic novel. This elegant concert presentation showcases the lush, melodic score and sweeping storytelling that set this version apart from all others. With its rich orchestrations and deeply human characters, PHANTOM offers a poignant and powerful take on the legendary tale of love, obsession, and music beneath the Paris Opera House. A must-see for musical theatre lovers and romantics alike.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is widely considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular productions in history, playing to over 160 million people in 47 territories and 195 cities in 21 languages. Andrew Lloyd Webber's romantic, haunting, and soaring score includes "The Music of the Night," "All I Ask of You," "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," "Masquerade," and the iconic title song. It tells the tale of a disfigured musical genius known only as 'The Phantom' who haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House. Mesmerized by the talents and beauty of a young soprano, Christine, The Phantom lures her as his protege and falls fiercely in love with her. Unaware of Christine's love for Raoul, The Phantom's obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events where jealousy, madness, and passions collide.

Twenty years ago, Admiral Prospera was betrayed and exiled to a dying planet. Now her enemies have crash-landed at her doorstep. Armed with forbidden wormhole technology and a storm born from vengeance, she'll reclaim everything-or lose what matters most.