Items filtered by date: November 2007

3Arts, the Chicago-based nonprofit grantmaking organization, awarded $860,000 to Chicago artists and announced the recipients of its 3Arts Next Level Awards—$50,000 unrestricted awards given to past 3Arts awardees—during a festive celebration held last night at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. The 2026 Next Level awardees: music artists Meagan McNeal and Wanees Zarour; teaching artists Sydney Chatman, Lional Freeman and Stephanie Manriquez; theater artists Sandra Delgado and Miranda Gonzalez; visual artists Cecilia Beaven, Brenda Torres-Figueroa and Farah Salem.

Across its various grantmaking initiatives, 3Arts celebrated a milestone $10 million in artist funding over its lifetime. For the first time since the Next Level Awards were established in 2020, 3Arts expanded this year's awards to include two Next Level Music Awards and two Next Level Theater Awards, in addition to the visual artists and teaching artists the Next Level initiative has supported in its history.

"Being an artist is inherently hard work, and financial pressure often forces creative vision to take a back seat to survival. We created the Next Level Awards to relieve that burden, offering significant, flexible support at moments when artists need the freedom to catch their breath, to take a risk, or reimagine what's possible," said 3Arts Executive Director Cat Tager. She added, "We are thrilled to expand this support into Music and Theater this year. When footing is uncertain, artists remain our most vital compass. They show us how to question, how to heal, and how to chart new paths. Fueling their fire moves all of us forward."

3Arts welcomed hundreds of guests to its 19th Annual 3Arts Awards Celebration, including leadership from the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, Paul Angell Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and The Reva & David Logan Foundation. The event also featured engagement by the 3Arts Board of Directors, and a Host Committee of civic and arts leaders whose longstanding support continues to strengthen 3Arts' mission. During the joyous event, 3Arts also recognized 11 previously announced 3Arts Awards recipients with $30,000 unrestricted grants and 15 artists who were selected by past 3Arts awardees to receive $2,000 unrestricted Make a Wave awards.

Guests were treated to powerful performances, including past 3Arts Awardees Keyierra Collins (2020 3Arts Awardee), Sandra Delgado (2018 3Arts Awardee), Sparklmami (featuring Ariella Granados, 2025 3Arts Awardee).

3Arts has distributed more than $10 million in grants to more than 3,050 artists since 2007. 3Arts awardees reflect 66% women artists, 74% artists of color, and 17% Deaf or disabled artists.

ABOUT THE NEXT LEVEL ARTISTS

[VISUAL ARTIST] Cecilia Beaven (she/her) is a Chicago-based visual artist from Mexico City. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from ENPEG La Esmeralda. Her multidisciplinary artwork has been showcased in solo exhibitions in Mexico City, Houston, and Chicago, and in group shows internationally. Beaven has painted murals in various cities such as Hiketa, Paris, Houston, Chicago, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Pachuca, Tepoztlan, and Tijuana, where she painted a segment of the border wall between Mexico and the U.S. Cecilia is a 2024 3Arts/Chandler Family Awardee and a 2024 Chicago Artists Coalition Resident. She has also received awards including the Radicle Studio Residency at Hyde Park Art Center, the Leroy Neiman Foundation Fellowship at Ox-Bow School of Art, and a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2022, she was named one of the "100 Most Creative Mexicans in the World" by Forbes Mexico, and in 2023, NewCity included her in the "Art 50 – Chicago's Artists' Artists" list. 

[TEACHING ARTIST] Sydney Chatman (she/her) is a Chicago-based director, educator, mentor, producer, and writer, and the founding director of Fly Black Girl Education & Theatre. As a teaching artist for more than two decades, Chatman uses theater to cultivate hope, justice, freedom, and joy, with a particular focus on social justice and empowerment for Black youth. Through her teaching and artistic practice, she advocates for new works that support, challenge, and create opportunities for Black children. In 2008, Chatman founded The Tofu Chitlin' Circuit, creating programs that connect South Side audiences with theater and the arts. Her community-centered work has included collaborations with the Adler Planetarium, Hyde Park Jazz Festival's Back Alley Jazz, Court Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.  

[THEATER] Sandra Delgado (she/her) is a Colombian-Chicagoan writer, performer, and producer who creates joyful spaces of connection for all. She writes plays inspired by underknown U.S. and Chicago histories centering Latine lives and creates theatrical, music-filled communal experiences. She is best known as the creator and star of La Havana Madrid, her smash hit play with music, originally produced by Teatro Vista with runs at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the Goodman Theatre, and theaters nationwide. Her latest play, Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars, has been hailed as a "story that every American needs to hear." (Chicago Tribune) and her performance as Clara, a mother facing deportation "a theatrical force of nature." (Chicago Theatre Review). Her NALAC award-winning spiritual cabaret meets dance party, The Sandra Delgado Experience, has played across Chicago and has enjoyed repeat appearances at Joe's Pub. She is currently developing LIVE.LOVE.NOW, an uplifting show about death and grief. Delgado is a United States Artists Fellow, received the inaugural Walder Foundation Platform Award in 2024, and was named a Chicago Theatre Hall of Fame Player by New City Chicago in 2025. She is the recipient of the Joyce Award, the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Literature, and the 2018 3Arts/Community Award. 

[TEACHING ARTIST] Lional "Brother El" Freeman (he/him) is a Chicago-based composer, Live PA electronic artist, audio engineer, educator, and multidisciplinary creative whose work moves between sound, media, youth authorship, public-space activation, and community healing. Rooted in hip-hop aesthetics, DIY culture, improvisation, and South Side cultural innovation, Freeman uses electronic instruments, field recordings, and visual media to create immersive experiences that connect sound, storytelling, and community. As founder of The Beat Bank and Executive Director of Sonic Explorations, Freeman creates performances, workshops, media programs, and public activations that help young people and communities build creative confidence, technical fluency, and ownership of their own narratives. His practice treats sound as both an artistic language and a tool for connection, reflection, and liberation. 

[THEATER] Miranda Gonzalez (she/her) is a Chicago-born writer, director, producer, facilitator, and organizational strategist whose work centers storytelling, ensemble practice, and cultural transformation. She is the Producing Artistic Director of UrbanTheater Company (UTC), where she has led interdisciplinary projects that bring together theater, music, dance, and oral history to explore Chicago's histories and communities. A founding member of Teatro Luna, Gonzalez has been creating, devising, and developing new work since 2000, with a particular commitment to stories that reflect the complexity of Latino and Black communities. Her plays include Back In The Day: An Immersive 80's House Music Dancesical, Mascogos, and Fina (fee-nah), a time-bending Afro-Peruvian musical currently in development. She is a recipient of a 2022 3Arts/Walder Foundation Award, the Diane Rodriguez Teatrista Award, and the Leaders for a New Chicago Award. 

[MUSIC] Stephanie Manriquez (she/her) is an award-winning writer, radio producer, journalist, and teaching artist with a passion for highlighting social justice issues affecting Latino communities. She sees storytelling as a radical act for the Latinx community and has committed herself to developing spaces for diverse voices to be heard with a larger goal of increasing representation on public and alternative radio. As a journalist, she consistently speaks on topics that most affect her communities. As an educator, she is passionate about mentoring the next generation of Latinx media makers, helping them to become civically minded and artistically innovative. She is Executive Director at Contratiempo magazine and Director of Lumpen Radio. She was a Social Justice News Nexus Fellow at Northwestern University and led the National Museum of Mexican Arts youth journalism program. Manriquez was recognized in 2020 by the Field Foundation and MacArthur Foundation as one of 11 "Leaders for a New Chicago" and in 2023 received the "Public Humanities Award" from Illinois Humanities. 

[MUSIC] Meagan McNeal (she/her) is a Chicago-born vocalist, recording artist, producer, curator, and creative entrepreneur whose work lives at the intersection of music, community, and possibilities. Known for a voice that is both commanding and deeply human, McNeal's practice is rooted in soul, storytelling, and connection. Her national appearances include NBC's The Voice as a member of Team Jennifer Hudson and The Kelly Clarkson Show. In 2026, she made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Safronia Booker in safronia, expanding her artistic practice into theater at age 40. McNeal is also the founder of Pink Elephant Creatives, a creative logistics company that connects artists and ideas with opportunity through curation, production, strategy, and consulting. A 2020 3Arts Award recipient, she is committed to creating sustainable pathways for artists and imagining new models for cultural work that center access, autonomy, and economic opportunity. 

[VISUAL ART] Farah Salem (she/her) is a Kuwaiti-Iraqi interdisciplinary artist and art therapist based in Chicago. Salem's studio practice is rooted in photography, expanding through video, performance, fiber-materials, and installation. Through relational merging and mapping of human and geological bodies, she envisions their liberation. By doing so, she examines themes of agency, making the invisible visible, and potential erosion of socio-cultural conditioning distorting our shared realities. Salem holds a Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her artwork has been featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, EXPO CHICAGO, Bolivia Biennial, Paris Contemporary Art Fair, Sharjah Art Foundation (UAE),Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait), and more. 

[VISUAL ART] Brenda Torres-Figueroa (she/her/ella) is a Puerto Rican-born interdisciplinary artist, educator, curator, and cultural practitioner based in Chicago. Her work bridges installation, performance, sound, photography, text, public art, and community-based practice, exploring memory, migration, embodiment, and the transmission of cultural knowledge across generations and diasporic communities. Drawing from Afro–Puerto Rican Bomba traditions, archival materials, oral histories, and material memory, she creates spaces for storytelling, connection, and collective transformation. Torres-Figueroa is the founder and director of El Schomburg, an interdisciplinary arts space in Chicago, and co-leads Colectivo Sayba, a Chicago-based Afro–Puerto Rican Bomba ensemble. She is an alumna of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and a 2021 3Arts Make a Wave awardee. Her work has been presented at institutions including the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. 

[MUSIC] Wanees Zarour (he/him) is an award-winning Palestinian-American composer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and community leader with a deeply rooted background in Middle Eastern Music and a pioneer in exploring its intersections with jazz and other traditions. He is the co-director of the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, director of the Middle East Music Ensemble (70-piece orchestra) at the University of Chicago, and leads "East Loop," a project that explores the intersection of jazz and Middle Eastern music, pushing the parameters of both traditions. Zarour's work focuses on bringing communities together through music, transcending borders, and creating a robust musical ecosystem that centers the global traditions represented in Chicago and the U.S. He has collaborated and performed with renowned artists across the globe, while directing multiple projects that have become fixtures in Chicago's music scene.  

The 2026 recipients of the unrestricted $30,000 awards are dance artists Silvita Diaz Brown and Kara Brody; musicians Marvin Tate and Tahirah Whittington; teaching artists Wisdom Baty and John Chapman; theater artists Tina Fakhrid-Deen and Ana Santos; and visual artists Luca Cruzat, Diana Solís and Sandie (Chunshan) Yi.

 
About 3Arts

Founded in 1912 with a history centered on women artists and reimagined as an arts service organization in 2007, 3Arts supports artists in the Chicago metropolitan and greater Carbondale areas working in the performing, teaching, and visual arts, including women-identified artists, artists of color, and Deaf and disabled artists. The 3Arts Awards were launched in 2007 to provide unrestricted awards, project funding, residencies, professional development opportunities, and promotion to help artists take creative risks, build sustainable careers, and contribute to the cultural vitality of Chicago and the broader region.

3Arts extends special thanks to the 2026 Award Partners: The HMS Fund, The SIF Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation, Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin, and MSU Federal Credit Union.

3Arts gratefully acknowledges the generous support of its 2026 event sponsors: Lead Sponsors, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Morningstar; and Corporate Friend, Center for Advanced Emotional Intelligence.

One 3Arts Award is the 2026 3Arts/MSUFCU Community Award celebrates the collective generosity of artists and supporters across Chicago, whose contributions made the award possible.

3Arts also recognizes support for the Next Level Awards from an anonymous donor at The Chicago Community Foundation, the Paul Angell Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

For more information about 3Arts, please visit www.3arts.org.

The nonprofit Guarneri Hall, a state-of-the-art, custom-built classical music venue in the heart of downtown Chicago at 11 E. Adams St., proudly announces Revolutions, a two-day music series exploring the intersections of political, social, technological, and musical change at two pivotal moments in world history. Two distinct programs take place on Wednesday, November 11 and Thursday November 12, 6:30 p.m., focusing on the French Revolution in 1796 and the Russian Revolution and post-World War I in 1918, respectively. Audiences will hear works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Ravel, Stravinsky and Janáček, paired with lectures that provide socio-political context of the eras. Adding to the intimacy, each musical evening includes a post-concert reception where audience members and performers can interact over quality libations and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets can be purchased at guarnerihall.org, with general admission priced at $50 and student discounts available.

Revolutions 1 explores the music and politics of 1796, in the midst of the First Industrial Revolution and the aftermath of the French Revolution. The program includes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor, K. 304; Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Piano Trio No. 35 in C major, Hoboken XV:21; Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Trio Op.1, No. 3. Performing artists are Chelsea Wang, piano; Nathan Meltzer, violin; and Alexander Hersh, cello. Violinist and violin expert Stefan Hersh will explain how changes in bow design led to changes in music that helped to usher in the heightened emotional range of the Romantic era that followed, and how post-revolutionary Paris was home to a revolution in the development of the bow.

Revolutions 2 zooms in on 1918, in the wake of World War I and the Russian Revolution. As monarchies dissolved and empires transformed, boundaries that had previously constrained composers gave way and new compositional freedoms burst forth, as evidenced in works by Ravel, Stravinsky and Janáček. Social scientist Andreas Glaeser will add perspective to what promises to be a three-way conversation between scholars, musicians and the Guarneri Hall audience. The program includes Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): Duo; Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): L’Histoire du Soldat; and Leoš Janáček (1854-1928): Quartet No. 1, “The Kreutzer Sonata”. Performing artists are Chelsea Wang, piano; Nathan Meltzer and Eric Gratz, violin; Brian Hong, viola; Alexander Hersh, cello; and Katherine Jimoh, clarinet.

The Revolutions festival follows Guarneri Hall’s previous series on the connections between key historical events and the transformative power of music, seen in programs such as Sounds of the Cold War in 2024, and 1945 in 2025.

About Guarneri Hall

Guarneri Hall NFP delivers extraordinary chamber music experiences to a broad and diverse audience through a curated mix of live performances and original music videos. Located in a custom-built, 60-seat venue in the heart of downtown Chicago, Guarneri Hall is renowned for its exceptional acoustics, designed by Threshold Acoustics, and its uniquely intimate concert setting. Founded in 2018 by violinist and violin dealer Stefan Hersh of Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins, Guarneri Hall is named after the famed Italian family of luthiers whose legacy rivals that of Stradivari. Learn more at guarnerihall.org.

The Front Theatre announces casting for the North American premiere of Rafaella Marcus's highly acclaimed play Sap, directed by Charles Riffenburg. Sap is a timely and poetic thriller, in which a woman's lie to her girlfriend threatens to grow out of control when a man from her past uses it against her. Sap will be presented February 25 - March 27, 2027, at The Den Theatre, 1331 N Milwaukee Ave, in Chicago. 

Daphne is in love with a woman she calls her "Wonder Woman," the kind of love that she can't remember having ever experienced before. But when a one-night stand from her past shows up, she'll do anything to keep her secret from her girlfriend. Inspired by the Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo, Sap is a poetic and timely new play about passion, power, bisexual erasure, domestic violence, and the danger of hiding who you are.
 
The cast of Sap features Rileigh Belle Wine, Lily Gaddis, and Jay Donley.

Charles Riffenburg (director)
Charles Riffenburg is an actor, director, and visual artist. He is the founder and artistic director of The Front Theatre. Previously, he served as an Artistic Associate and Marketing Director at BoHo Theatre and the Marketing Manager at About Face Theatre. He made his Chicago directing debut with Veronica's Room at BoHo Theatre, which was Jeff Award-nominated for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play (Sarah Wellington). His directing credits also include Sara Ruhl's Eurydice and Jeffrey Hatcher's Scotland Road with BoHo. Additionally, he has worked throughout the Chicago theatre community as an independent graphic designer, illustrator, and marketing consultant for over 16 years, partnering with clients such as Northlight, Remy Bumppo, Marriott Theatre, The House Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, Chicago Fringe Festival, League of Chicago Theatres, Lifeline Theatre, and many more.

Rafaella Marcus (playwright)
Rafaella Marcus is an award-winning playwright turned screenwriter. Her debut play Sap was a breakout hit of the Edinburgh Fringe, winning the Soho Playhouse Medal for Excellence in Theatre, the Summerhall Lustrum Award, and The Stage Edinburgh Award. After sell-out runs at Paines Plough's Roundabout and London's Soho Theatre, Sap toured nationally, off the back of which Rafaella won Most Promising New Playwright at the UK's 2024 Off West End Theatre Awards. This year, Rafaella was announced as recipient of the Donmar's 2026 Theatre Royal Haymarket Writers' Award. Rafaella was previously selected as one of 10 playwrights on the UK's inaugural Women in Theatre Lab. She has also worked prolifically in theatre as a director and dramaturg, focusing on new writing and promoting marginalised voices. Rafaella is now adapting Sap for television, alongside developing a host of other projects for TV, film, and theatre.

SAP
By Rafaella Marcus
Directed by Charles Riffenburg
February 25 - March 27, 2027
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm , Sundays at 3 pm
The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Tickets: $15-$35, available at The Den Theatre Box Office (1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago)
Online at thefronttheatre.com or thedentheatre.com

Kokandy Productions is pleased to conclude its 2026 Season with A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music, a live adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel that brings the cult-classic "horrorshow" to visceral, pulsing, terrifying life. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham, with music direction and original music by Sean Ellis and choreography by Breon Arzell , A Clockwork Orange will play November 5, 2026 – January 10, 2027 on The Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division St. in Chicago. Tickets are on sale now at kokandyproductions.com or bit.ly/ClockworkChicago.

A Clockwork Orange will be led by Reilly Oh as the charismatic yet sadistic Alex DeLarge. Hannah Antman (Pete), Jamille Calixte (Georgie) and Ben Harmon (Dim) will portray Alex's band of Droogs, with Robert Hunter Bry, Colin Callahan, Sydney Genco, Jaiden Lindsey, Tommy Thams and Lizzie Williams creating an "ultra-violent" world of doctors, officers, government officials, inmates, milk bar patrons and more. Stone TeSelle will understudy Alex Delarge, with swings including Jenni Babisch, Jeff Menezes and Skye Steury.

"Having both the beloved book and the cult classic Kubrick film as references gives us even more opportunity to surprise our audience and subvert expectations," says Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham. "Immersing the audience in the dystopian decadence of Alex and his droogs resonates differently in 2026, when choice and individual expression are both under attack. At this moment, should we be willing to sacrifice any part of what makes us uniquely ourselves? What first appears to be a story about curing evil in a rebellious teen may also double as a cautionary tale about using fear to create a more socially acceptable kind of monster."

About the Production

A Clockwork Orange lures audiences into a glass-edged, testosterone-filled underworld of a dystopian future. The explosive story of little Alex and his rebellious gang of Droogs is a groundbreaking and twisted tale teeming with sexuality and "a bit of the old ultra-violence." As hauntingly relevant today as when Burgess's book first published in 1962 and when Stanley Kubrick's cult classic film caused a stir in 1971, A Clockwork Orange is an unapologetic celebration of the human condition. And Beethoven.

The production team includes Eric Luchen (Scenic Design), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Design), G "Max" Maxin IV (Lighting Design), Matt Reich (Sound Design), Julian Weslander (Properties Design), Syd Genco (Makeup Design), Keith Ryan (Wig Design), Kirsten Baity (Intimacy Director), Lana Whittington (Fight Director), Carrie Hardin (Dialect Coach), Shane Roberie (Casting Director), Nicholas Reinhart (Production Manager), Amelia Osborn (Associate Production Manager), Corbin Paulino (Stage Manager), Michael Latiolais (Assistant Stage Manager), Scot Kokandy (Executive Producer) and Derek Van Barham (Producing Artistic Director).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music

Playwright: Anthony Burgess, adapted from his novel

Director: Derek Van Barham

Music Director and Original Music: Sean Ellis

Choreographer: Breon Arzell

Location: Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, November 5 – Friday, November 20, 2026

Regular run: Sunday, November 2, 2026 – Sunday, January 10, 2027

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm; Sundays at 5 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Thursday, November 25 (Thanksgiving); Thursday, December 24 (Christmas Eve), Friday, December 25 (Christmas Day), Thursday, December 31 (New Year's Eve) or Friday, January 1 (New Year's Day); there will be added performances on Wednesday, November 25 at 7 pm; Tuesday, December 22 at 7 pm, Wednesday, December 23 at 7 pm, Tuesday, December 29 at 7 pm and Wednesday, December 30 at 7 pm.

Tickets: Previews $28.52* general admission, $39.19* reserved seating. Regular run $55.20* general admission, $65.87* reserved seating. Students/seniors $44.52*. There will be a limited number of lower-priced tickets (with code ARTIST) available to artists for each performance. Tickets are on sale now at kokandyproductions.com or bit.ly/ClockworkChicago. *Ticket prices include processing fees

About the Artists

Derek Van Barham (Director) is the Producing Artistic Director of Kokandy Productions. Directing credits include Children of Eden in Concert (Broadway In Chicago), Jekyll & Hyde (BIC/Kokandy), Amélie, Into the Woods, Alice by Heart, Sweeney Todd, American Psycho, Head Over Heels (4 Jeff Awards and 3 Jeff nominations, Kokandy); Spring Awakening (Flint Rep); Rock of Ages (Metropolis); The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre); Miracle by Dan Savage, Poseidon (Hell in a Handbag), Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Carrie, Bat Boy, Merrily We Roll Along (CCPA/Roosevelt University). Choreography credits include Evil Dead (Jeff nomination), Coraline the Musical, Ghost Quartet and Shockheaded Peter (Black Button Eyes). He was previously named one of Windy City Times' 30 Under 30, and one of Newcity Magazine's 50 Players 2024 and 2026. MFA: CCPA/Roosevelt University. IG: @dvbarham

Sean Ellis (Music Director, Original Music) is a Chicago-based multimedia artist working with music, sound, dance, movement, burlesque and acrobatics, and is the second sibling in the Haus of Twirl. Their work aims to engage vulnerability, inspire introspection and generate collective action. Their work has brought them around the world, creating, performing and producing award-winning art. This includes artistic research residencies at Lund University, invitations to present work with the UN of Sweden and the Clinton Foundation Global Initiative Summit, as well as performances at Steppenwolf Theatre, The Hanna Theater, and more. Additionally, Sean's art has been recognized through numerous awards, including selected student composer at the Chicago Electro-Acoustic Music Festival, the Grammy-Award winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony's Emerging Composer Award, the 2017 OperaFEST featured composer and the 2018 Matthew Freeman Social Justice Award through the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation. Sean holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music composition from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music and Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performang Arts, respectively.

Breon Arzell (Choreographer) Kokandy: The Wiz, Head Over Heels, American Psycho. Chicago: A Strange Loop (Raven/AboutFace), How We Got On (Definition Theatre), The Color Purple (Goodman), Black Excellence Shows & Main Stage Revue (The Second City), Brothers Size, We ARE Proud... (Steppenwolf), KillMoveParadise (TimeLine Theatre) and more. Regional: Select: Signature Theatre, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, MUNY, The Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. International: Italy, A.C.L.E. Theatrino; Germany, White Horse Theatre; Denmark, World Theater Festival; Singapore, LaSalle SIA. Education: DePaul University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois-Chicago. Film/TV: The 4400, SouthSide, Whole + Six Feet Apart, Blacksite. Awards: 5 Jeff Awards (Joseph Jefferson, Chicago), 2 Black Theater Alliance Awards, Helen Hayes Award for Best Choreography.  www.breonarzell.com @breonarzell

About Kokandy Productions

Founded in 2010, Kokandy Productions seeks to leverage the heightened reality of musical theatre to tell complex and challenging stories, with a focus on contributing to the development of Chicago-based musical theatre artists, and raising the profile of Chicago's non-Equity musical theatre community.

The company's artistic staff is comprised of Derek Van Barham (Producing Artistic Director), Scot Kokandy (Executive Producer) and Adrian Abel Azevedo & Leda Hoffman (Artistic Associates). The Board of Directors includes Preston Cropp, Scot Kokandy, Danielle Sparklin and Katie Svaicer. 

For additional information, visit kokandyproductions.com. 

It’s back by popular demand! Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce that THE BOOK OF MORMON is now playing at Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.) for a limited engagement through November 1 only.

THE BOOK OF MORMON features book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. The Broadway production is directed by Parker and two-time Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw and choreographed by Nicholaw. The tour is directed and choreographed by Jennifer Werner based on the original Broadway direction and choreography. Set design is by three-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design is by Tony Award winner Ann Roth, lighting design is by six-time Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt, sound design is by two-time Tony Award winner Brian Ronan, and hair design is by Josh Marquette. Orchestrations are by Tony Award winner Larry Hochman and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus. Music supervision and vocal arrangements are by Stephen Oremus. Casting is by Carrie Gardner.

Since opening on March 24, 2011, THE BOOK OF MORMON  has become one of the most successful shows in Broadway history, breaking the Eugene O’Neill Theatre house record more than 50 times. In addition to nine Tony Awards including Best Musical and the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album, THE BOOK OF MORMON  won five Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, the NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama League Award for Best Musical and four Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Musical.

The West End production opened in March 2013, winning four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, and breaking the record for the highest single day of sales in West End history. The first-ever UK and European tour launched in Manchester in June 2019, winning ‘Best Theatre Show’ at the Manchester Evening News City Life Awards before touring throughout the UK and Europe.

THE BOOK OF MORMON has been performed on three continents and has won over 30 international awards. The musical has smashed long-standing box office records in New York, London, Melbourne, Sydney and in cities across the U.S. and the world.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording for THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, is available on Ghostlight Records.

NETWORKS PRESENTATIONS (Producer) is an industry-leading producer of touring theatrical productions, committed to delivering quality entertainment to audiences worldwide for more than 25 years. www.networkstours.com

For more information, visit thebookofmormontour.com

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, October 23 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 24 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 25 – 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 27 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 28 – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 29 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, October 30 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 31 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 1 – 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION (As of October 23, based on availability and subject to change)
Individual tickets for THE BOOK OF MORMON are on sale now and range from $49.00 to $169.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. The listed ticket prices apply to purchases made in person at the box office. Additional fees apply for online purchases. Patrons can also participate in a digital lottery for a chance to purchase $30.00 tickets for each performance, which is inclusive of all mandatory taxes, restoration, handling, and third-party fees. In addition to the lottery, a limited number of day-of-show, in-person Rush tickets will be available for $49.00 for all performances. Click here for more info on Digital Lottery and In-Person Rush. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 26 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, The Auditorium, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place .
 

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.
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The Artistic Home's 2026-27 season will include works by new writers, along with less performed works by two of the greatest playwrights of the past 140 years. After opening their season on November 5 with CUT TO THE CHASE at the Lookingglass Studio Theatre, the company will return to The Den Theatre for the remainder of the season. There, The Artistic Home  will present Arthur Miller's later career drama, THE PRICE, from January 21 to February 28 and conclude their season with Anton Chekhov's first produced play, IVANOV, which will play from May 1 to June 6.
 
A staple of Chicago theater for over two decades, CUT TO THE CHASE presents as one fun night of theater a number of new plays chosen from hundreds of submissions by writers from across the country. The plays are performed back-to-back, with the complete program running approximately 80 minutes. CUT TO THE CHASE is a perfect taste of dynamic theater in an intimate space. Ensemble member Annie Hogan will curate the festival, which will be directed and performed by ensemble members and other theatre artists. CUT TO THE CHASE will be performed for two weekends, from November 5 -15, at the Lookingglass Studio Theater, 163 E. Pearson at Michigan Avenue, on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Tickets are $25.00 plus fees and are available at https://www.theartistichome.org/cut-to-the-chase-2026-2027.
 
The lineup of plays for this edition of CUT TO THE CHASE includes "Bone Fire" by Nina Dellaria, directed by Eve Pahoresky and performed by Caitlin Jemison and Chris Clowers; "Devoted and Other Adjectives" by Brian S. Brijbag, directed by Devon Carson and performed by Mary Mikva and Michael Baylor; "Gouting" by Dan Caffrey, directed by Jacob Watson and performed by Delia Ford and Lee Kanne; "Posthumy!" by Siah Berlatsky, directed by Savaun Stokes and performed by Janice Rumschlag and Jared Goudsmit; "Rot" by S.A. Ellis, directed by Julian Hester and performed by Charlie Irving and Trevor Hendrix; and "Break" by Margaret Richard, directed by Christian Helem and performed by Taylor Talhame, Nick Buzzi, and Elizabeth Sacha.
 
CUT TO THE CHASE will be followed in January by THE PRICE, Arthur Miller's play first produced in 1968. Two estranged middle-aged brothers reunite in the attic of their family's Manhattan brownstone to sell off a lifetime of estate furniture. The cluttered attic filled with family furniture acts as a physical repository of the past, where characters project their unresolved grief, bitterness, and relational attachments onto physical things. THE PRICE was Miller's last major Broadway hit, and while less frequently performed than his DEATH OF A SALESMAN, ALL MY SONS, THE CRUCIBLE, or A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, THE NEW YORK TIMES called it "one of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has ever written." It will be performed and directed by a cast of The Artistic Home ensemble members, with Scott Westerman directing Kristin Collins, John Mossman, Frank Nall, and Todd Wojcik. THE PRICE will open to the press on Thursday, January 28, following previews on January 24, 25, and 27; and play through February 28, in the Bookspan space of The Den Theatre.
 
Closing the company's season will be Anton Chekhov's first produced full-length play, IVANOV. Like Chekhov's later plays – CHERRY ORCHARD, SEAGULL, and THREE SISTERS, it explores themes of loss amidst a changing society. The title character, once a highly successful member of the County Counsel, is deeply in debt, in danger of losing his estate, and most troubling, is severely depressed. Ensemble member Ted James will direct. IVANOV will open to the press on Thursday, May 6, following previews on May 1, 2, and 5; and will play in the Bookspan space at The Den through June 6.

The Artistic Home's 2026-27 is sponsored by the Michael and Mona Heath Fund.
 
Tickets for CUT TO THE CHASE are $25.00 plus fees and are available at https://www.theartistichome.org/cut-to-the-chase-2026-2027. Ticketing information for THE PRICE and IVANOV will be announced later.

Hyde Park School of Dance, now in its 33rd year of training, performance, and community, welcomes families and dance enthusiasts to its annual, one-of-a-kind presentation of The Nutcracker. Performances are December 11–13 at Mandel Hall on the University of Chicago campus, 1131 E. 57th Street, Chicago. 

Hip hop mice face off against breakdancing soldiers in HPSD's playful reimagining of The Nutcracker's classic battle scene, where creative self-expression turns conflict into connection. The battle is one of the signature moments in a production that brings classical ballet, hip hop, breakdancing, modern, AcroDance, West African, and Chinese dance together to tell the familiar holiday story. Narration throughout helps audiences of all ages follow the adventure.

Refreshed each year, the production features a cast of more than 200, from dancers as young as 7 to members of HPSD's pre-professional Studio Company Program and adult performers from the community. The result is a celebration of dance across styles and generations, with fresh discoveries for returning audiences and a welcoming introduction for those experiencing their first Nutcracker.

This production marks the first since the retirement announcement of Founding Artistic Director August Tye following 32 years of leadership. Under Interim Artistic Director Amber Echols, the production enters its next chapter, shaped by her wide-ranging dance background while building on Tye's decades-long legacy. Echols started as a student at the Hyde Park School of Dance more than 20 years ago, performing annually in The Nutcracker herself. 
 
"I am incredibly grateful to return for my second year as Interim Artistic Director and have the opportunity to continue leading this special production," said Echols. "The Nutcracker has always held a special place in my heart. I remember being a young dancer on this very stage, dreaming about the roles I hoped to dance one day, and now I have the privilege of helping create those same moments for our dancers. It is truly a full-circle experience to watch their excitement during auditions, hear them talk about their dream roles, and see them grow throughout the process. Helping to carry on this tradition while creating new memories for the next generation of dancers holds deep meaning for me."
 
This year, HPSD welcomes community partners for Neighborhood Night on Friday, December 11, with opportunities to connect around resources and opportunities available to local residents. Audience members are welcome to bring a donation for the Hyde Park-Kenwood Food Pantry and arrive early to explore ways to engage. Community partners may sign up to participate by using this form.
 
HPSD presents its youngest performers (ages 4–6) as part of the special Young Dancers Holiday Pre-Show prior to both performances on Saturday, December 12. 
 
The production also includes surprise cameos by local VIPs in the larger-than-life role of Mother Ginger—this year including a special appearance by HPSD Founding Artistic Director August Tye on Sunday, December 13. Tye also teaches a special pre-show class for alumni on Sunday.

The Nutcracker takes place Friday, December 11 at 7 p.m.; 
Saturday, December 12 at 1 and 6 p.m.;
and Sunday, December 13 at 2 p.m. 
at Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th Street, in Chicago.  

General admission is $38.10 for adults, $28.10 for seniors (65+), 
$18.10 for children ages 6–18 and college students with school ID, 
and $8.10 for children 5 and younger (lap children are free).
Special $48.10 preferred section tickets are available for all ages.
All prices include service fees.

Tickets are available October 27 at 31109.danceticketing.com/.

NOTE: All performances include ASL interpretation; guests requiring seats for the interpretation should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. prior to purchasing tickets.

Hyde Park School of Dance 

Founded in 1993 as the Hyde Park School of Ballet, Hyde Park School of Dance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing opportunities for students of all ages and abilities to study, perform, and create classical and contemporary dance at the highest levels of discipline and artistry within a community dedicated to the welcoming inclusion of dancers of all races, religions, body types, genders, sexual orientations, and family income backgrounds. Under the leadership of Interim Artistic Director Amber Echols, Hyde Park School of Dance is committed to offering everyone the chance to experience the empowering rewards of self-discipline, hard work, and collaboration in a diverse and supportive environment, cultivating a love of dance and a strength of body, mind, and character that will benefit students of all ages throughout their lives.

For information, visit hydeparkdance.org.

Need something better than old reruns of Hallmark Movies this holiday season? Want to see some real nut-crackers?

Then dash on through the snow to catch The Second City’s Nut-Cracking Holiday Revue, November 20-December 23 at Paramount’s Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora.

Classic holiday family gatherings, office parties, movies, and Mariah Carey on infinite repeat will be severely lampooned in this fast-paced, interactive comedy revue stuffed with seasonal songs, sketches, and, of course, a heaping slice of Second City’s world famous improv comedy. 

See the revue that will have you Ho Ho Ho’ing and Ha Ha Ha’ing all through this un-silent night. Performances are November 20-December 23: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. No show on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26. Added holiday week performances are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, December 21- 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $45*. For tickets, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or until show time on show days. For group discounts, contact Melissa Striedl, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (630) 723-2461. *Prices are for in-person purchases. Additional fees apply for phone and online orders.

Black Girls Dance^®, which centers Black and Brown girls in joyful community, presents its sixth annual production of Mary, A Holiday Dansical, choreographed, written, and directed by Founder Erin Barnett. This fundraiser returns for one night only Sunday, December 13 at 4 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.
 
Mary, A Holiday Dansical is a modern twist on the traditional Black Nativity told through ballet, hip hop, tap, and contemporary dance. The first act focuses on the struggles of a typical teenage girl searching for her purpose in life. She is visited by an angel (ballerina) and learns she will conceive and bring forth a child who will be the Savior. Mary turns to her mother and close circle of friends for support, similar to today's teenagers. The second half includes Christmas songs such as "Mary, Did You Know'" and holiday favorites like "Joy to the World."

The cast of 33 dancer-actors includes Abigail Baker, a junior at St. Ignatius College Prep, in the lead role of Mary. Joining the cast this year are Lori Wiggins as the Angel and Myles Harris as Joseph, both appearing courtesy of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater.

Mary continues to raise funds for BGD's capital campaign, supporting the creation of its new home, the Full Circle Performing Arts Center, 9350 S. South Chicago Ave. The center is on track to open in fall 2027. BGD was recently awarded a $150,000 predevelopment grant from the City of Chicago to support the project. "When audiences support Mary, they help create more opportunities for our girls onstage and bring us closer to a permanent home," said Barnett. "Full Circle will give us room to grow and welcome South Side families into a space where the arts and wellness are part of everyday life."

Mary, A Holiday Dansical takes place
Sunday, December 13 at 4 p.m.
at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts,
915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.
 
Tickets are $24 for reserved seating, $66 for VIP reserved seating,
available at ticketfalcon.com/e/mary2026/.

 
All programming is subject to change. For information, visit blackgirlsdance.org.
 
Black Girls Dance^®, founded by Erin Barnett in 2015, is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young dancers of color through high-quality dance education, artistic development, and performance opportunities. More than a dance studio, Black Girls Dance creates a community where young people experience a sense of belonging, build confidence, develop their artistry, and discover their potential both on and off the stage. Founded on the belief that dance is a powerful vehicle for empowerment, the organization became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2021.Barnett, a Chicago native, was the first African-American dancer to portray Clara in the Chicago Tribune Charities production of The Nutcracker at McCormick Place. Her professional career includes international tours with Garth Fagan Dance and Philadanco!, a three-year run as Sarafina in The Lion King in Las Vegas, and a performance with Beyoncé at the Billboard Awards. She is also the author of two children's books, Get Outta Here Stage Fright! and Do You Speak Ballet?, inspired by her passion for dance education and empowering young people.

There are funerals where grief brings a family together, and then there are funerals where grief opens the door to everything a family has spent years trying to keep buried. In Hayward, playwright Netta Walker turns a father’s funeral into a reckoning with family secrets, unresolved pain, and the ghosts that refuse to stay in the past.

Given a bold world-premiere production by The Gift Theatre, presented at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, Hayward, directed by AmBer Montgomery, reimagines elements of Hamlet and Electra through the eyes of Luna, the youngest daughter in a deeply complicated family. On the day of her father’s funeral, Luna announces that his ghost has come to visit her. What follows is part family drama, part dark comedy, and part haunting exploration of the emotional inheritance passed from one generation to the next.

The play opens with a funeral, and from the moment the family enters, it is clear that this will be no ordinary farewell.

Luna (Ireon Roach), her father’s favorite child, is overwhelmed by grief as she stands at the podium to deliver his eulogy. Her siblings seem considerably less interested in mourning. Eric (Victor Musoni), dressed in a white memorial T-shirt and sagging pants, and Leila (Sydney Charles), wearing a white dress that seems decidedly inappropriate for the occasion, give the impression they would rather be anywhere else. Their oldest brother, AJ (Gregory Fenner), a military man, stands rigidly at attention, as though guarding the proceedings at a state funeral.

Seated apart from the chaos is Maria (Shanesia Davis), the family matriarch, dressed in white, her face veiled and a white handkerchief close at hand. She carries herself with the solemnity of a woman accustomed to holding a family together, even when its members threaten to tear one another apart.

(from left) Alfred Wilson, Gregory Fenner, Shanesia Davis and Ireon Roach in The Gift Theatre's presentation of Hayward at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater. Photo by Joe Mazza / Brave Lux.

During the service, Luna sees her deceased father, Tony (Watson Swift). Her vision is quickly dismissed, but the encounter signals that something deeper is happening within this family. At the gravesite, the arrival of Uncle Johnson (Alfred Wilson), who is also a pastor, adds another layer of tension. There is little pastoral comfort in Johnson’s approach. He berates the family, directing particular hostility toward Luna because of who she is.

Religion, family expectations, and personal identity collide, and the resulting arguments reveal a household where love and resentment have become inseparable. The siblings fight, challenge one another, and expose old wounds, yet beneath their dysfunction is a recognizable bond. They may not know how to care for one another gracefully, but the connection remains.

At the center is Luna, whose grief is both the most visible and the most unsettling. Her father’s visits are not simply a supernatural manifestation of mourning; he has a request for her that reaches beyond the grave. As the family’s history unfolds, we learn that Tony served in the military during the Gulf War and returned carrying psychological wounds. The play suggests that the trauma he experienced did not end with him. His children, particularly Luna, may have inherited some of the emotional consequences without fully understanding their origins.

Walker’s most compelling achievement is her creation of characters who feel genuinely complicated. These are not tidy theatrical portraits of a dysfunctional family. They are people whose behavior can be outrageous, infuriating, and unexpectedly tender, sometimes within the same scene. The comedy emerges naturally from their interactions, offering relief without entirely diminishing the pain beneath the laughter.

Montgomery has assembled a strong ensemble and directs the actors with a clear sense of purpose. One of the production’s funniest moments comes when Maria sits center stage and her children gradually gather around her, one by one, as if seeking the comfort of the family’s center. When the last child arrives, Maria simply gets up and leaves them together. The gesture is hilarious, revealing, and familiar to anyone who has watched a family matriarch reach the limits of her patience. It is a moment best experienced rather than explained.

The scenic design is another notable achievement. The stage transforms from a church to a gravesite and eventually into the family’s living room. The final home setting is impressively detailed, providing a convincing domestic space in which the family’s conflicts can continue to unfold. My reservation is the time required to complete the transformation. Although the finished environment is effective, the process of getting there interrupts the production’s momentum.

Ultimately, Hayward is an entertaining and ambitious work that uses humor, supernatural elements, and family conflict to examine the lasting effects of trauma. Walker’s play is interested in the emotional territory families occupy: the memories they avoid, the wounds they pass along, and the love that survives even when they struggle to express it.

Still, the play would benefit from sharpening its central argument about mental health. Tony’s military service and the suggestion of inherited trauma offer fertile ground, but the relationship between psychological injury, family behavior, and Luna’s experiences could be developed with greater clarity. The subject deserves more than implication, particularly when the play so effectively demonstrates how one person’s unresolved pain can shape an entire household.

With its memorable characters, dark humor, and committed performances, Hayward offers a lively and often moving portrait of a family trying to find its way through grief. Like a Floridian-style shiva, the gathering is noisy, irreverent, and emotionally unpredictable. The dead may have been laid to rest, but in this family, the past is very much alive.

RECOMMENDED

When: Through Nov. 15

Where: Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre 1700 N. Halsted St. Chicago

Tickets: $45 - $50

Steppenwolf.org/hayward