Displaying items by tag: Nilo Cruz

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego), on stage March 21 – April 4, 2026. This new opera poses an impossible question: How would you spend a single day reunited with lost love? On the Day of the Dead, three years after her death, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo crosses over from the underworld for 24 fleeting hours with husband and artist Diego Rivera. What unfolds is a dreamlike journey through memory, passion, and everything they created together — both on canvas and in life.

Following its critically praised 2022 world premiere in San Diego, this opera, steeped in magical realism, arrives as the second full-length Spanish-language opera presented by Lyric, following Daniel Catán and Marcela Fuentes-Berain’s Florencia en el Amazonas in the 2021/22 Season. With vivid colors, music inspired by Mexican folk traditions, and staging that transforms the Lyric Opera House into a portal between worlds, this production brings Frida Kahlo’s artistic vision to theatrical life. Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack stars as Frida in her return to Lyric, joined by baritone Alfredo Daza in his Lyric debut as Diego, soprano Ana María Martínez as Catrina, and countertenor Key’mon W. Murrah in his Lyric debut as Leonardo. Director Lorena Maza and conductor Roberto Kalb, both in their Lyric debuts, lead a creative team that honors the Mexican culture and artistry at the opera’s heart.

A love story that transcends death. El último sueño de Frida y Diego unfolds in 1957, three years after Frida Kahlo’s death. Diego Rivera, aging and consumed by grief, longs for one final moment with Frida. In Mictlán, the Aztec underworld, Frida has found peace, free from the physical pain and heartbreak that defined her earthly life. But Catrina, Keeper of the Dead, insists she must accompany Diego as he nears the end of his life, while Leonardo, the spirit of a young actor, urges her to return — not just for Diego, but for herself and her art.

Frida agrees to return for 24 hours with one unbreakable rule: she cannot touch the living. Her reunion with Diego unfolds in magical realism as the two artists wander through Alameda Park and Casa Azul, rediscovering joy and trying to heal old wounds, both physical and emotional. When Frida breaks the rule and touches Diego, the memories of pain and trauma come flooding back. Yet even in suffering, she finds clarity: Art is the only way to outlive death.

Authors who capture the soul of the story. The creative partnership between composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz brings extraordinary credentials and deep cultural understanding to El último sueño de Frida y Diego. Their opera functions as both an intimate character study and a vibrant celebration of Mexican artistic heritage while speaking to universal themes of love, loss, and artistic legacy.

Grammy Award-winning composer Gabriela Lena Frank, recently named Musical America’s 2026 Composer of the Year, is one of America’s most celebrated living composers, known for music that explores her multicultural heritage — Peruvian, Chinese, Lithuanian, and Jewish — with particular focus on Latin American musical traditions. Born with high-moderate/near-profound hearing loss, Frank has become a powerful voice for disability representation in classical music, demonstrating that composers can create extraordinary work through different ways of experiencing sound. Frank has received numerous honors including the Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition; the 2020 Heinz Award recognizing her for breaking gender, disability, and cultural barriers in classical music; a Guggenheim Fellowship; and commissions from major orchestras and opera companies worldwide. Her music weaves together orchestral colors with rhythms and melodies inspired by Mexican folk music, capturing the surrealist beauty of Frida’s visual art while honoring the emotional depth of her lived experience.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz created the libretto, bringing his gift for poetic, emotionally resonant language to Frida and Diego’s story. His Spanish text moves fluidly between the real and the imagined, the painful and the joyful, giving voice to Frida’s fierce independence, her artistic vision, and her complex relationship with Diego — a love marked by both deep devotion and profound betrayal. In 2003, Cruz became the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Anna in the Tropics. His work is known for its lyrical beauty, its exploration of Latin American and Cuban-American experience, and its ability to find magic in everyday moments. Cruz previously collaborated with Lyric and composer Jimmy López in the 2015/16 Season for the world premiere of Bel Canto, based on the Ann Patchett novel.

A singing actress who embodies Frida’s fire and fragility. Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack returns to Lyric to star as Frida Kahlo, bringing to the role her acclaimed artistry and commanding stage presence. Mack recently appeared at Lyric as Angela in Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s The Listeners in the 2024/25 Season, earning praise for her dramatic intensity and vocal beauty. Her international career includes performances at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and major European houses. Known for her ability to inhabit complex, unconventional characters, Mack possesses both the rich, warm timbre ideal for Frank’s melodic writing and the dramatic fire needed to capture Frida’s indomitable spirit. Stephanie Sanchez sings the role of Frida on Wednesday, April 1.

A cast that brings passion and artistry to every role. Colombian baritone Alfredo Daza makes his Lyric debut as Diego Rivera, the legendary muralist whose tumultuous marriage to Frida forms the opera’s emotional core. Daza has performed at major opera houses throughout Latin America, Europe, and the United States, earning particular acclaim for his portrayals of complex, larger-than-life characters. His rich baritone and powerful stage presence make him ideal for Diego, whose outsized personality and artistic genius were matched only by his capacity for passionate and perilous living.

Puerto Rican soprano Ana María Martínez, on stage at Lyric this winter as Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, sings the role of Catrina, the skeletal Keeper of the Dead who bridges the worlds of the living and the departed. Martínez last appeared at Lyric in the title role of Florencia en el Amazonas in the 2021/22 Season. Her luminous soprano and elegant stage presence have made her one of the leading interpreters of Latin American opera, with performances at the Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, and internationally. As Catrina, Martínez brings both authority and compassion to this figure drawn from Mexican Day of the Dead traditions.

Rising-star countertenor Key’mon W. Murrah makes his Lyric debut as Leonardo, the spirit who encourages Frida to return to the living world. Winner of Washington National Opera’s Marian Anderson Award in 2024, Murrah’s burgeoning career includes performances at major American opera companies, where his distinctive countertenor voice and natural charisma have earned critical praise. His portrayal of Leonardo provides a crucial voice urging Frida toward life and art, even as she resists.

The production also features Ensemble members from Lyric’s acclaimed artist-development program, The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, including tenor Finn Sagal as 1st Villager, tenor Daniel Luis Espinal as 2nd Villager & A Young Man, bass-baritone Benjamin R. Sokol as 3rd Villager, soprano Adia Evans as 1st Frida Image, mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart as 2nd Frida Image, and mezzo-soprano Camille Robles as 3rd Frida Image. Mezzo-soprano Corinne Wallace-Crane sings the role of Guadalupe Ponti.

A conductor who honors the music’s cultural roots. Mexican-born conductor Roberto Kalb makes his Lyric debut leading El último sueño de Frida y Diego, bringing a deep understanding of both Latin American musical traditions and contemporary opera. He conducted the opera's world premiere at San Diego Opera and subsequent performances at San Francisco Opera. Music Director of Detroit Opera since 2022, Kalb has built an international career conducting orchestras and opera companies throughout the Americas and Europe. He has particular expertise in contemporary repertoire and works that incorporate folk music traditions into classical forms. His leadership ensures that Frank’s score receives performances that honor both its Mexican folk inspirations and its sophisticated orchestral writing. Under Kalb’s baton, the Lyric Opera Orchestra becomes an essential character in the storytelling, painting Frida’s emotional journey through sound. Chorus Director Michael Black leads the 44 members of the Lyric Opera Chorus.

A director who brings Frida’s visual world to life. Director Lorena Maza makes her Lyric debut with El último sueño de Frida y Diego, bringing her distinctive theatrical vision to this production. A native of Mexico, Maza brings cultural authenticity and deep understanding of the artistic traditions that shaped both Frida and Diego’s work. Her direction emphasizes the opera’s magical realism, creating a production where the boundaries between life and death, memory and reality, past and present, all dissolve into dreamlike theatrical poetry. Maza’s staging honors the surrealist touches that made Frida’s paintings so distinctive while ensuring the emotional truth of the story remains central.

A production that dazzles the eye. The creative team includes set designer Jorge Ballina in his Lyric debut, whose designs evoke both the vivid colors of Frida’s paintings and the liminal space between worlds; costume designer Eloise Kazan in her Lyric debut, whose creations honor Mexican traditional dress and incorporate surrealist elements; lighting designer Victor Zapatero in his Lyric debut; and choreographer August Tye, a longtime Lyric collaborator who has participated in more than three dozen productions. Together, they create a visual experience as rapturous as Frida’s own canvases — a production where endlessly blooming marigolds, skeletal Catrinas, and the jewel-toned walls of Casa Azul transport audiences into Frida’s artistic vision.

When art becomes the bridge between worlds. Beyond its story of love and loss, El último sueño de Frida y Diego is a celebration of Mexican culture and the Day of the Dead traditions that honor the continuing connection between the living and those who have passed. Like the candlelit ofrendas offered on Día de Muertos, this opera doesn’t simply portray two artists’ fantastical reunion but honors the rituals of remembrance that keep memory and love alive. Frank’s sweeping music and Cruz’s poetic libretto create an operatic experience as emotionally rich as the lives that inspired it — a work that affirms art’s power to transcend death and keep our most important connections alive forever.

Performance Dates: Six chances to see El último sueño de Frida y Diego:

• Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 7 p.m.
• Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 2 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 2 p.m.
• Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Language: Sung in Spanish, with easy-to-follow projected English titles above the stage.

Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.

Pre-performance talks: Ticketholders are invited to a free pre-opera talk on El último sueño de Frida y Diego's composition history and cultural context; the talks begin one hour before each performance in the theater’s Steiner Parquet (the main floor).

Accessibility: Audio description, a guided touch tour of the set, and SoundShirts are available at the Sunday, March 29 matinee performance. Braille and large-print programs, high-powered opera glasses, assistive listening devices, and booster seats are available from the theater’s Steiner Parquet coat checks at all performances. For more information on these and other accessibility assets, visit lyricopera.org/accessibility.

Production history: A co-production of San Diego Opera (world premiere, 2022) and San Francisco Opera.

Location: Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois.

For more information and tickets, visit lyricopera.org/frida or call 312.827.5600.

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham, continues its 2025/26 Season with Two Sisters and a Piano, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Celebrated Chicago director Lisa Portes joins Writers for the first time to direct. Two Sisters and a Piano will run February 26 – March 29, 2026, in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 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 Celia'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 Celia'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.    

Tickets are on sale at Writers Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org.   

"The particular convergence of firsts in this production is exciting to me," said Artistic Director Braden Abraham. "A major contemporary American writer, Nilo Cruz, and a celebrated long-time Chicago director, Lisa Portes, both making their Writers Theatre debuts. Nilo's plays delight on the page, but they are really sensory experiences meant to be experienced on stage. Two Sisters and a Piano combines the palpable heat of an unlikely romance with the high stakes of a political thriller. Nilo has little interest in debate; instead he's interested in the shape of desire, the cost of repression, and the contradictory forces that shape his characters."   

The cast includes Arash Fakhrabadi (Victor Manuel/Understudy Lieutenant Portuondo), Neysha Mendoza Castro (Sofia), Adam Poss (Lieutenant Portuondo), Andrea San Miguel (Maria Celia), Veronica Garrubbo (Understudy Sofia), Richard Gomez (Understudy Militia Guard/Victor Manuel) and Carisa Gonzalez (Understudy Maria Celia).    

The creative team includes: Lisa Portes (Director), Brian Sidney Bembridge (Scenic Designer), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre Pluess (Sound Designer), Jonny Martinez  (Choreographer), Greg Geffrard (Violence & Intimacy Director), and Michelle Lopez-Rios (Dialect Coach), and Francesca Patrón (Assistant Director). The stage manager is Katie Klemme and the assistant stage manager is Olivia Leslie.  

Fact Sheet / Two Sisters and a Piano 

Two Sisters and a Piano   

Written by Nilo Cruz 

Directed by Lisa Portes 

 
Arash Fakhrabadi (Victor Manuel/Understudy Lieutenant Portuondo), Neysha Mendoza Castro (Sofia), Adam Poss (Lieutenant Portuondo), Andrea San Miguel (Maria Celia), Veronica Garrubbo (Understudy Sofia), Richard Gomez (Understudy Militia Guard/Victor Manuel) and Carisa Gonzalez (Understudy Maria Celia).   

Creative Team: Lisa Portes (Director), Brian Sidney Bembridge (Scenic Designer), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre Pluess (Sound Designer), Jonny Martinez (Choreographer), Greg Geffrard (Violence & Intimacy Director), and Michelle Lopez-Rios (Dialect Coach), and Francesca Patrón (Assistant Director). The stage manager is Katie Klemme and the assistant stage manager is Olivia Leslie.   

Dates: First performance: February 26, 2026 

Closing performance: March 29, 2026   

Performance Schedule: 

Wednesdays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm 

Thursdays: 7:30pm  

Fridays: 7:30pm  

Saturdays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm  

Sundays: 2:00pm and 7:00pm   

Open Captioned Performance: Thursday, March 19 at 7:30pm 

ASL-Interpreted Performance: Saturday, March 21 at 2:00pm 

Pay What You Can Performances: Thursday, February 26 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 22 at 7:00pm   

Location: Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe   

Prices:   $35-$95 

Discounts are available for students, educators, theater industry professionals, active military personnel, veterans, police officers, firefighters, and their immediate families. Information is available at: https://www.writerstheatre.org/plan-your-visit/box-office-and-theatre-center/pricing--special-offers   

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org   

NOTES OF INTEREST 

• Playwright Nilo Cruz won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his playAnna in the Tropics, making him the first Latino to receive that honor. His opera El último sueño de Frida y Diego will be produced at the Lyric Opera this spring. He is the most produced Cuban-American playwright in the United States.

• Celebrated Chicago director LisaPortes joins Writers for the first time to direct.

• The production features a new prologue to the second act.

• The play is set in Cuba in 1991. It explores themes of oppression, resilience, love, and the power of art through the story of two sisters under house arrest. Two Sisters and a Pianois a poetic drama about resilience, the soul's yearning for liberty, and how art and love struggle to survive within the confines of political oppression.   

• Two Sisters and a Pianowas inspired by the imprisonment of Cuban poet and activist Maria Elena Cruz Varela. 

EVENTS:   

The Green Room: Lisa Portes 

Wednesday, February 4 at 7pm 

Interview with director Lisa Portes about Two Sisters and a Piano 

Lisa Portes is a former Chicagoan who is very excited to make her WT debut with this rarely seen play she has wanted to direct for years. At this event, Lisa will discuss growing up in a Cuban-American family, her love of Nilo Cruz's plays, what was going on in Havana in the early 1990s when the play is set, and what discoveries are happening in the rehearsal room.   

Family Matinee Series 

Saturday, March 14 at 2pm 

Going to the theatre just got a little bit easier for parents and caregivers. Enjoy a Saturday matinee while your young ones engage in active, creative play with WT Education's professional teaching artists at an onsite class. 

The Final Word Audience Discussion 

Sunday, March 29 at 12pm 

Join fellow audience members and WT Artistic staff for a lively, in-person discussion delving into the characters and themes at the heart of Two Sisters and a Piano. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS 

Nilo Cruz (Playwright) is a Cuban-American playwright who gained national prominence in 2003 when he won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play Anna in the Tropics, for which he also received a Tony Award nomination. The immigrant experience is a common theme in many of Cruz's plays and he has become known for his ability to successfully weave strains of magic realism and other literary traditions into his works. In addition to the Pulitzer, he has received numerous awards, including those from the Kennedy Center Fund, American Theatre Critics and the Humana Festival for New American Plays, as well as grants from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others. His plays include Dancing on Her Knees; A Park in Our House; Two Sisters and a Piano; A Bicycle Country; Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams; Lorca in a Green Dress; Beauty of the Father; Hurricane and A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, as well as translations of Doña Rosita the Spinster; The House of Bernarda Alba; Life Is a Dream and ¡Ay, Carmela! His work has been seen at numerous theaters around the country, including, among others, South Coast Rep, the Mark Taper Forum, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Washington D.C.'s Studio Theatre and New York's Public Theater; and around the world in Canada, England, France, Australia, Germany, Belarus, Costa Rica, Colombia, Japan and Spain. Cruz, who received an M.F.A. from Brown University and an honorary doctorate degree from Whittier College, has twice previously served as a playwright-in-residence: in 2000 for the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J., and in 2001 for the New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, which commissioned Anna in the Tropics. Cruz has also taught drama at Yale, Brown and the University of Iowa. During the 2019/20 academic year, he was the Hearst Theater Lab Initiative Distinguished Visiting Playwright-in-Residence at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He is a member of the New Dramatists.  

Lisa Portes (Director) is an award-winning director, leader, educator and advocate. She is a co-founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons and serves on the board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and on the Directors Council of the Drama League. Her work has been seen regionally at Cal Shakes, Cincinnati Playhouse, Denver Cetner, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, Olney Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre and Victory Gardens Theater. In New York she has developed and/or directed new work for Soho Rep, Playwrights Horizons, The Public, and New York Theatre Workshop. In 2016 she was honored with the SDC Zelda Fichandler Award for Directors and was the first freelance director to be so honored. Recent projects include the world premieres of Laughs in Spanish by Alexis Scheer (Denver Center) and Clean/Espejos by Christine Quintana (South Coast Rep), as well as numerous productions of Quixote Nuevo by Octavio Solis (Denver Center, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Portland Center Stage, and Round House Theatre). She serves as Chair of the UCSD Department of Theatre & Dance. 

Arash Fakhrabadi (Victor Manuel/Understudy Lieutenant Portuondo) is thrilled to be performing in his first show with Writers Theatre. Chicago credits include: A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre ); RUST (Goodman Theatre New Stages),The Thanksgiving Play u/s (Steppenwolf Theatre Company:); Layalina (Goodman Theatre New Stages); Anna in the Tropics (Remy Bumppo Theatre); A Lie of the Mind (Raven Theatre); The Leopard Play or sad songs for lost boys (Steep Theatre). Regional: Laughs in Spanish (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre). Television: Chicago Fire (NBC). 

Neysha Mendoza Castro (Sofia) is a Puerto Rican SAG-E actress and theatre artist born and raised in Puerto Rico. She holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism from University of Puerto Rico and an MFA in Acting from DePaul University in Chicago, where she received extensive training in classical and contemporary theatre. Trilingual in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, Neysha brings emotional depth and cultural range to her performances. Recent theatre credits include Fefu and Her Friends, portraying Fefu. On screen, she has appeared as a Guest Star on Chicago P.D. and recently led a Spanish feature film. 

Adam Poss (Lieutenant Portuondo) returns to Writers Theatre after previously appearing in A Doll's House. Broadway credits include Peter Morgan's Patriots (Ethel Barrymore Theatre). Select regional credits include The History Boys (Studio Theatre), Lady Macbeth in Robert O'Hara's all-male Macbeth (Denver Center), Oedipus in Oedipus el Rey and the world premiere of Maduri Shekar's Queen (Victory Gardens), Angelo in Measure for Measure (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), the world premieres of Christopher Shinn's Teddy Ferrara and 2666 (Goodman Theatre), Birthday Candles and Dracula in the world premiere of Dracula (Cincinnati Playhouse), the world premiere of Rajiv Joseph's The North Pool (Theatreworks Silicon Valley) and his The Lake Effect (Silk Road Rising). Select credits include Chicago Med/Fire/PD, Empire, Shameless, Paper Girls and The Big Leap.  

Andrea San Miguel (Maria Celia) previously appeared at Writers Theatre in As You Like It and Twelfth Night. Other Chicago area credits include: Circus Quixote (Lookingglass), The Penelopiad, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (Goodman), The Thanksgiving Play (Steppenwolf), Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), How to Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens Theater), Georgiana & Kitty (Northlight). Select Regional Work: Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Guthrie Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Syracuse Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse.  

Veronica Garrubbo (Understudy Sofia) is honored to make her Writers Theatre debut. She recently earned her BA in Theatre from Northwestern University and has additionally trained at the British American Drama Academy in London. 

Richard Gomez (Understudy Militia Guard/Victor Manuel)   

Carisa Gonzalez (Understudy Maria Celia) is Chicago-based multidisciplinary performer of Puerto Rican decent, and is honored to be back at Writers after taking over the role of Princess Mary in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Last seen in TUTS Houston's production of In The Heights as Daniela, other favorite regional productions include: Little Women at Geva Theater in NY (Beth/Laurie), The Sound of Music at Paramount Theatre (Maria), and Where Did We Sit on the Bus by Brian Quijada at the Kravis Center and the Arsht Center in Florida (Bee Quijada). 

UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS AT WRITERS THEATRE 

Two Sisters and a Piano is followed by the off-Broadway/Broadway hit Job by Max Wolf Friedlich, directed by David Esbjornson. The subscription season caps off with the Midwest and Chicago Premiere of Tom Stoppard's epic, Tony Award-winning play Leopoldstadt, directed by Carey Perloff.  

Writers Theatre is offering a variety of subscriptions with an option for every theatregoer, Flex subscriptions, with options for either four tickets ($280) or five tickets ($350), are still available. 

Season package subscribers receive the new Writers Theatre concierge service for ticket exchanges and questions. Exclusive subscriber benefits include: complimentary ticket exchanges (upgrade fees may apply), special "subscriber-rate" prices on additional tickets, advance access to special events and programs, easy, free parking, exclusive discounts in bar items and merchandise, discounts on rental of Writers Theatre event spaces on Writers Theatre merchandise, event rentals, and more. For a complete list of benefits visit writerstheatre.org. 

Single tickets will go on sale for each show approximately two months prior to first preview. Flex subscriptions and tickets are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, and at the Box Office by calling 847-242-6000. 

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES 

Writers Theatre offers Open Captioning and ASL-interpretation on select dates for each production. Please visit writerstheatre.org/accessibility for more information. 

Throughout the season, Writers Theatre offers a variety of audience enrichment and special programming. This includes regularly occurring offerings like the Family Matinee Series, The Green Room artist interview series and podcast and The Final Word Audience Discussion Series. Please visit writerstheatre.org for a full listing of upcoming offerings. 

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE   

Writers Theatre is proud to continue its 34th season. Having captivated audiences for years with its dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible, the theatre is a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called "America's finest regional theater company" by The Wall Street Journal. Under the leadership of Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, the company is charting a path forward for the next 30 years. 

Since its founding in 1992, Writers Theatre has stayed true to its core values: Creating intimate connections through astonishing performances and innovative programs; by activating relationships between artists and community; and by inviting people to gather in our spaces for transformative experiences. The company has produced over 140 productions—everything from inventive interpretations of classics to groundbreaking new work. In 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility designed by the internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects.  

Writers Theatre now welcomes more than 60,000 patrons each season and has helped establish the North Shore of Chicago as a premier cultural destination. Through its Literary Development Initiative, which has been responsible for the nurturing and premiering of over 30 world premieres, the theatre has established itself as a major originator of new theatrical works. Serving as an extension of the Writers Theatre mission, WT Education programs engage an average of 10,000 students each year with active learning opportunities centered around the written word.