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Performed at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Gift Theatre’s Hayward reimagines a father’s funeral as a Floridian‑style ...
10/21/2026

Performed at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Gift Theatre’s Hayward reimagines a father’s funeral as a Floridian‑style shiva—messy, loud, irreverent, and charged with unresolved pain. Netta Walker’s world‑premiere drama digs into the chaos of a family shaped by military trauma, generational wounds, and the ghosts that linger long after the body is gone. With humor cutting through the heaviness and grief sharpening every conflict, Hayward becomes a vivid portrait of a family discovering that the past is never truly buried.

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Photos by Joe Mazza / Brave Lux.

Music Theater Works’ Escape to Margaritaville drifts in with the ease of a tide‑soft breeze, inviting audiences at the N...
10/21/2026

Music Theater Works’ Escape to Margaritaville drifts in with the ease of a tide‑soft breeze, inviting audiences at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts to trade Chicago’s October chill for a couple of hours of sun‑washed escapism. With bright staging, a buoyant ensemble, and a soundtrack that feels like it’s floating in from just beyond the shoreline, the production leans fully into Jimmy Buffett’s island‑spirited charm—delivering a feel‑good getaway that’s as mellow as the wind the characters keep singing about.

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Chicago Shakespeare Theater opens its repertory experiment with a vibrant, fairy‑tale‑infused staging of The Winter’s Ta...
10/21/2026

Chicago Shakespeare Theater opens its repertory experiment with a vibrant, fairy‑tale‑infused staging of The Winter’s Tale, directed by Artistic Director Edward Hall. What begins with a child opening a picture book unfolds into a gripping blend of psychological drama and playful whimsy, powered by an ensemble working at the height of its craft. Hall’s production breathes fresh life into one of Shakespeare’s lesser‑known works, revealing both its emotional depth and its surprising humor.

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Remy Bumppo Theatre Company opens its 30th anniversary season at Theater Wit with Mud Row, Dominique Morisseau’s piercin...
10/21/2026

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company opens its 30th anniversary season at Theater Wit with Mud Row, Dominique Morisseau’s piercing intergenerational drama that asks how far the past can reach into the present. Moving between the Civil Rights era and today, the play becomes a living family album—one where old wounds, inherited choices, and the ghosts of a once‑vibrant home refuse to stay silent. Under Malkia Stampley’s exquisite direction, Mud Row becomes a deeply human reckoning with what we carry, what we pass on, and what we must finally choose to leave behind.

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Identity Performing Arts marked its fifth anniversary with a striking afternoon of contemporary dance at the Edlis Neeso...
10/19/2026

Identity Performing Arts marked its fifth anniversary with a striking afternoon of contemporary dance at the Edlis Neeson Theater inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago — a venue that underscored just how far the company has come. From the kinetic sweep of Enliven to the emotional quiet of Muted and the expansive premiere of Untitled Identity, the program revealed a company stepping confidently into its artistic maturity. Five years in, Identity Performing Arts isn’t just celebrating its journey — it’s defining the next chapter.

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Photos by Peter Hinsdale.

Dance Theatre of Harlem’s long‑awaited return to Chicago felt less like a ballet performance and more like a homecoming ...
10/19/2026

Dance Theatre of Harlem’s long‑awaited return to Chicago felt less like a ballet performance and more like a homecoming party. After a decade away, the company lit up the Auditorium Theatre with joy, history, virtuosity, and a crowd that couldn’t stop smiling. From toe‑shoe funk to Stravinsky fire, DTH reminded Chicago exactly why its legacy matters.

Review link in bio! Photos by Jose Calvo.

Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop arrives in Chicago with all the sharp humor, self‑interrogation, and musical audacit...
10/17/2026

Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop arrives in Chicago with all the sharp humor, self‑interrogation, and musical audacity that made it a Pulitzer winner. Raven Theatre and About Face Theatre deliver a production that captures the show’s spiraling, intrusive-thought energy, grounding Usher’s journey in raw vulnerability and biting comedy. With Jordan Harris at the center and a six‑person ensemble embodying every corner of his mind, this staging makes the musical’s emotional honesty and surreal wit feel immediate, intimate, and unmistakably alive.

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Photos by Joe Mazza / Brave Lux.

10/17/2026

Chicago’s stages are offering a genuinely varied mix this weekend, with three productions that show how differently a story can land when it’s told live.

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Don Giovanni brings Mozart’s dark comedy back with a production that highlights the tension, wit, and elegance that make the opera endure. Strong voices and clear storytelling make it a solid choice for anyone wanting a classic that still feels immediate.

At the Athenaeum Theatre, Medill School of Journalism’s Sanctuary Stories blends documentary reporting with performance to share real accounts from Chicago’s immigrant communities. It’s thoughtful, direct, and rooted in lived experience—an evening that invites audiences to listen with care.

BrightSide Theatre’s The Addams Family at Meiley‑Swallow Hall offers a lighter counterbalance, leaning into the musical’s playful humor and warm‑hearted oddity. With its spooky charm and familiar characters, it’s an especially fitting pick for the Halloween season.

Three shows, three distinct perspectives—this weekend is a reminder of how much Chicago’s arts community has to offer.

10/15/2026

Goodman Theatre has extended Dead Girl’s Quinceañera through November 8, giving Chicago audiences more time to catch one of the fall’s most vibrant new premieres. With its added performances, this is the moment to experience a world‑premiere that’s sparking conversation across the Chicago theatre community.

Sanctuary Stories blurs the line between journalism and theater, turning real interviews about Chicago’s immigration cra...
10/13/2026

Sanctuary Stories blurs the line between journalism and theater, turning real interviews about Chicago’s immigration crackdowns into vivid, verbatim monologues performed live. Craig Duff — a Medill professor and veteran video journalist — uses actors, music, and documentary footage to reveal the emotional truths behind the headlines, exploring what it means to hold other people’s trauma while trying to report it. The result is a deeply human, quietly powerful piece that reconnects audiences to stories too often flattened by conventional news.
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