Displaying items by tag: The Far Country

TimeLine Theatre Company is thrilled to announce its 2026–27 Inaugural Season in the company’s first permanent home at 5035 N. Broadway in Uptown. This long‑awaited milestone launches a bold new era for TimeLine, inviting audiences to experience the company’s work in a dynamic, state‑of‑the‑art facility designed to enhance artistic possibilities and deepen community engagement for years to come. 

Coinciding with the company’s 30th Anniversary, this inaugural season in Uptown showcases four extraordinary productions that span continents, generations, and pivotal historical moments. Together, they invite audiences not only to engage with TimeLine’s signature mission—presenting plays that explore today’s social and political issues through the lens of the past—but to be among the very first to experience that mission come to life in TimeLine’s new home and see it for yourself.

TimeLine’s 2026–27 Subscription Season includes:

• The world premiere of The Birth of the Pill by Jessica Huang, based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago author Jonathan Eig, directed by Sandra Marquez—a bold and eye‑opening story about the controversial creation that reshaped women’s lives.

• The Chicago premiere of the Olivier Award-winning Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade, directed by TimeLine Company Member Mechelle Moe—a sharp, dark comedy examining nostalgia, marriage, and the seductive fantasy of a “simpler” past.

• The Chicago premiere of The Far Country by Lloyd Suh, directed by TimeLine Company Member Helen Young—a sweeping immigration epic and 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist exploring identity, sacrifice, and generational resilience in the shadow of exclusionary U.S. policy.

• Merrily We Roll Along, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth, based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling—a Tony Award–winning musical unfolding in reverse, tracing the shifting relationships and ambitions of three friends over two decades.

“I am thrilled beyond words to announce the first full season in our new home in Uptown,” said Artistic Director PJ Powers. “The fulfillment of a long-held dream, this dynamic new venue will elevate the work on stage, while also offering audiences the opportunity to engage further in our exhibit galleries and bar/café, to foster conversation, and to dig deeper into the timely issues explored in each of these plays.”

Powers continued: “This collection of plays and a musical, selected by TimeLine’s Company Members, exemplifies the enhanced artistic possibilities that our new home provides, allowing us to bring to life the remarkable musical Merrily We Roll Along, alongside three incredible new plays that probe history while provoking discussion, laughter, compassion, and curiosity. Welcoming award-winning, renowned artists, this inaugural season will further what’s distinguished TimeLine for the past 30 years, while ushering in a new era of theatre-making, community engagement, and conversations about the connections between past, present and future. We can’t wait to share these productions and start making new history together in Uptown.”

See it for yourself … from the best seats in the house! Save up to 25% off regular ticket prices and enjoy ultimate flexibility, priority access, and preferred reserved seating with a TimeLine FlexPass. Four options, priced from $189 to $389, are now on sale. MyLine FlexPasses (exclusively for patrons age 18-35) are also available for $85 (after enrolling in our free MyLine program). For more information and to purchase, call (773) 281-8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com.

ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE’S  2026–27 SUBSCRIPTION SEASON:

World Premiere

THE BIRTH OF THE PILL

by Jessica Huang

based on the book by Jonathan Eig

directed by Sandra Marquez

September – October 2026

The origin story of the birth control pill and an eye-opening world premiere about science, power, and the women who paid the price for progress.

In the mid‑20th century, a radical dream begins to take shape: a simple pill that would give women full control over their reproductive futures. Championing this groundbreaking idea are feminist activist Margaret Sanger, scientist Gregory Pincus, gynecologist John Rock, and philanthropist Katharine McCormick—visionaries working under intense secrecy amid legal, scientific, and religious roadblocks. Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, clinical trials place the burden of experimentation on women like Ramona Delgado, whose lives and bodies become entangled in the quest for scientific advancement.

Commissioned and developed by TimeLine and based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Eig (King: A Life), this world premiere brings an untold chapter of global history to the stage, probing urgent questions about consent, sacrifice, and the complicated cost of social change.

The commission and development of The Birth of the Pill was supported in part by the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation.

Chicago Premiere

HOME, I’M DARLING

by Laura Wade

directed by Mechelle Moe

November – December 2026

A darkly funny exploration of marriage, nostalgia, and the allure—and delusion—of the “perfect” past.

Judy and Johnny are living their dream: the idealized 1950s suburban life. As Judy doubles down on her fully immersive retro domestic fantasy, the seams of their hyper-curated life begin to fray. What begins as a lifestyle choice becomes a revealing—and unsettling—interrogation of gender roles, identity, and what it costs to perform happiness.

A smash hit on the West End and winner of the 2019 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, Home, I’m Darling is a razor‑sharp satire that feels both timely and timeless.

Chicago Premiere

THE FAR COUNTRY

by Lloyd Suh

directed by Helen Young

February – March 2027

A sweeping, urgent, and deeply human epic about immigration, identity, and carving out a future in America.

In the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Moon Gyet leaves his village in Taishan, China and travels to America, hoping to build a better life for his family. At San Francisco’s Angel Island immigration station, he enters a labyrinth of interrogation—where every answer, every detail, and every story could mean the difference between entry and deportation.

A 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Far Country is a strikingly intimate and expansive examination of survival, displacement, and the fragile lineage of memory passed from one generation to the next.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

book by George Furth

based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart

directed by Nick Bowling

April – May 2027

A bittersweet, Tony Award–winning musical about friendship, ambition, and the choices that shape a life—told entirely in reverse.

Spanning 20 years and moving backward through time, Merrily We Roll Along traces the unraveling of a once inseparable trio of friends and creative collaborators: composer Franklin Shepard, writer Charley Kringas, and novelist Mary Flynn. Beginning at the height of Franklin’s fame—wealthy, celebrated, and isolated—this innovative musical journeys back to the hopeful early days of their artistic dreams.

Featuring some of Stephen Sondheim’s most iconic songs, this cult favorite serves as a resonant capstone to TimeLine’s 30th Anniversary, echoing the company’s own origins as a group of passionate young theatre-makers asking: How did we get to be here?

Merrily We Roll Along received the 2024 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. It first premiered on Broadway in 1981. Featuring orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, it was originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince and originally produced on Broadway by Lord Grade, Martin Starger, Robert Fryer, and Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell and Howard Haines.

For nearly 30 years, TimeLine Theatre Company has been a vital force in Chicago’s arts scene, producing socially and politically relevant work inspired by history that engages audiences across the region. Building on this legacy, TimeLine has reimagined a former warehouse, converting it into a vibrant cultural destination that honors Uptown’s rich theatrical heritage while meeting modern performance needs. 

TimeLine will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new home at 5035 N. Broadway with its inaugural production, An Enemy of the People, May 6 – June 7, 2026. The new TimeLine Theatre more than doubles the company’s previous seating capacity, fosters community engagement, and creates spaces for both performances and public enjoyment.

Project highlights include:

• Total facility spanning 33,600 square feet, combining new construction and adaptive reuse
• 21,000 square feet of new construction along North Broadway
• 12,600 square feet of adaptive reuse of a 1920s Reebie Bros. warehouse for production support and offices
• Flexible 250-seat black box theater with seven stage configurations and advanced acoustic and staging systems
• Street-level bar and café with patio, exhibit galleries, and education/community room
• Publicly visible fourth-floor rehearsal and event space
• Back-of-house spaces organized around a central Green Room intended as a living room for staff, artists, and collaborators
• Located steps away from the newly renovated Argyle CTA Red Line station
• Adjacent space available for future expansion

Since launching It’s Time: The Campaign for TimeLine’s New Home, TimeLine has successfully raised more than $42.9 million toward the approximately $46 million project cost, including $12.9 million in public support ($2.9 million from the State of Illinois, $10 million from the City of Chicago), and funds from more than 200 generous individual donors.

ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY

TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, was founded in 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect to today’s social and political issues. Now celebrating its 29th Anniversary Season, TimeLine has presented 97 productions, including 16 world premieres and 44 Chicago premieres, and launched the Living History Education Program, which brings the company's mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 62 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production 11 times.

TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers, Executive Director Mica Cole, and Board President Thaddeus J. Malik. TimeLine Company members are Will Allan, Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Behzad Dabu, Charles Andrew Gardner, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, Anish Jethmalani, Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes, Ron OJ Parson, PJ Powers, Maren Robinson, and Helen Young.

Major corporate, government and foundation donors providing season support via TimeLine’s Annual Fund include Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Bayless Family Foundation, Bulley & Andrews LLC, Crown Family Philanthropies, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation, Laughing Acres Family Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and Walder Foundation. TimeLine also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com, or Facebook or Instagram (@TimeLineTheatre on both platforms).