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The Tony Award® winning Best Musical, THE OUTSIDERS, based on the seminal novel by S.E. Hinton and Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark motion picture, will return to Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre this summer, August 4 – 16, 2026, after a sold-out engagement earlier this year. Groups of 10+ are now available by calling 312-977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Single tickets will go on sale Monday, April 20. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

“We are thrilled to bring THE OUTSIDERS back to Chicago this summer,” said producer Matthew Rego of The Araca Group. “After an extraordinary sold-out run this past winter, Chicago audiences made it clear they were ready for a return and we are grateful for the opportunity to deliver another engagement.”

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade and their Greaser family of ‘outsiders’ battle with their affluent rivals, the Socs. THE OUTSIDERS navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the Greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accept them. With a dynamic original score, THE OUTSIDERS is a story of friendship, family, belonging…and the realization that there is still “lots of good in the world.”

The winner of four 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, THE OUTSIDERS features a book by Tony Award nominee Adam Rapp with Tony Award winner Justin Levine, music and lyrics by Tony Award nominees Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, music supervision, orchestration & arrangements by Justin Levine, choreography by Tony Award nominees Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman and is directed by Tony Award winner Danya Taymor. 

THE OUTSIDERS features Scenography by Tony Award nominees AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, Costume Design by Sarafina Bush, Lighting Design by Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt, Sound Design by Tony Award winner Cody Spencer, Projection Design by Tony Award winner Hana S. Kim, Special Effects Design by Jeremy Chernick & Lillis Meeh, Hair & Wig Design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, Makeup Design by Tishonna Ferguson, Sound Effects Specialist Taylor Bense, Creative Consultant Jack Viertel. Speech Text & Dialect Coach Gigi Buffington. Music Supervision & Additional Orchestrations by Tony Award nominee Matt Hinkley, Music Direction by Remy Kurs. Production Supervision by Beverly Jenkins, Production Stage Management by Edmond O’Neal. Casting is by The TRC Company/Xavier Rubiano, CSA

THE OUTSIDERS opened on Broadway on April 11, 2024, to rave reviews and continues to play to sold out houses at the Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45^th Street). The New York Post proclaims THE OUTSIDERS as “THE BEST NEW MUSICAL OF THE SEASON." “STUNNING THINGS ARE HAPPENING ON THE STAGE OF THE JACOBS THEATER. Electrifying. Astonishing. Endlessly effective. THE OUTSIDERS has been made with so much love and sincerity. It is fair to call it golden." says The New York Times. Entertainment Weekly says, “THE OUTSIDERS has a heart of gold and THE POWER TO INSPIRE AN ENTIRE GENERATION.” “AN EXHILARATING WORLD OF MOVEMENT WITH HIGH-OCTANE CHOREOGRAPHY,” states New York Magazine. Time Out New York calls it “RAW AND MORE PULSE-POUNDING than anything else on Broadway right now."

THE OUTSIDERS is produced on tour by The Araca Group, American Zoetrope, Olympus Theatricals, Sue Gilad & Larry Rogowsky, Angelina Jolie, Betsy Dollinger, Jonathan & Michelle Clay, Cristina Marie Vivenzio, The Shubert Organization, LaChanze & Marylee Fairbanks, Debra Martin Chase, Sony Music Masterworks, Jamestown Revival Theater, Jennifer & Jonathan Allan Soros, Tanninger Entertainment, Tamlyn Brooke Shusterman, Mistry Theatrical Ventures, Galt & Irvin Productions, Tulsa Clarks, Paul & Margaret Liljenquist, Bob & Claire Patterson, Voltron Global Media, James L. Nederlander, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, The John Gore Organization, Independent Presenters Network, Stephen Lindsay & Brett Sirota, Jeffrey Finn, Playhouse Square, ASR Productions, Indelible InK, Lionheart Productions, The Broadway Investor’s Club, Starhawk Productions, Distant Rumble, GTR Productions, Green Leaf Partnership, Michael & Elizabeth Venuti, Leslie Kavanaugh, Deborah & Dave Smith, Belle Productions, Chas & Jen Grossman, Rungnapa & Jim Teague, Michael & Molly Schroeder, Casey & Chelsea Baugh, Jim & Emily Flautt, Jon L. Morris, Becky Winkler, William Moran Hickey Jr. & William Moran Hickey III, Melissa Chamberlain & Michael McCartney, Wavelength Productions, Rob O’Neill & Shane Snow, Eric Stine, Rachel Weinstein, Cornice Productions and La Jolla Playhouse. 

The Grammy-nominated Original Broadway Cast Recording of THE OUTSIDERS from Sony Masterworks Broadway is now available at https://theoutsidersbroadway.lnk.to/castalbum.

The world premiere of THE OUTSIDERS was produced by La Jolla Playhouse, Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director and Debby Buchholz, Managing Director, in March 2023.
 

OutsidersMusical.com 
Follow THE OUTSIDERS on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at The Auditorium™.

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.
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Goodman Theatre’s production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom arrives with the weight of expectation - and under the dual direction of Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix, it does not merely meet that weight, it reshapes it. This is not a revival of August Wilson’s searing text; it is a precise, muscular excavation of its tensions, its music, and its truths.

From the outset, the production leans into what makes Ma Rainey distinct within Wilson’s canon: its compression. There is no sprawling Hill District, no generational sweep - only a room, a day, and a reckoning. Smith and Lennix understand this pressure-cooker structure and allows it to simmer deliberately. The pacing is patient but never indulgent, each pause and eruption calibrated to expose the fractures between the woman, the men and the system that contains them.

At the center stands E. Faye Butler’s Ma Rainey, and “center” is not metaphorical - it is gravitational. Butler embodies what makes Ma singular among Wilson’s women: she is not surviving the system, she is making the system bend to her will. Where characters like Rose in Fences or Bertha in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone endure with moral resilience, Ma operates with economic and performative authority. Butler’s Ma is unapologetically self-possessed, openly sensual in her relationship with Dussie Mae, and fiercely aware of her value. Every demand - a Coca-Cola, a delay, a correction - is less eccentricity than strategy. She dictates the terms, and the room adjusts.

Surrounding her is a cast that functions both as ensemble and as volatile elements in a dramatic equation. Al’Jaleel McGhee’s Levee is electric, restless, and dangerously unmoored. He captures the tragic duality of the character: brilliance tethered to illusion. His performance builds like a slow burn until it detonates, revealing the unresolved trauma and misplaced faith in a system that will never reward him. In contrast, David Alan Anderson’s Cutler is grounded, pragmatic, a man who has learned the cost of survival. Kelvin Roston, Jr.’s Toledo brings intellectual weight, his reflections on Black identity landing with quiet force, while Cedric Young’s Slow Drag occupies the margins with understated authenticity.

The white power structure—embodied by Matt DeCaro’s Sturdyvant and Marc Grapey’s Irvin - is rendered with chilling subtlety. There is no overt villainy here, only the smooth machinery of exploitation. Irvin’s politeness is the point; it is the veneer that makes the system function.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Goodman Theatre. (L-R) Jabari Khaliq, E. Faye Butler, Kelvin Roston Jr.

Visually, the production is nothing short of exquisite. Linda Buchanan’s set design transforms the stage into a 1920s Chicago recording studio that feels both expansive and suffocating. The inclusion of distinct spaces - the recording area, control room, rehearsal room, even a suggestion of the street - creates a dynamic environment while maintaining the play’s essential confinement. This is a world built for observation and control.

Jared Gooding’s lighting design elevates this world into something almost cinematic. The suggestion of the Chicago Loop’s overhead train is particularly striking, its presence looming like an industrial heartbeat. Gooding uses light not just for visibility but for composition - creating tableaus, isolating tensions, and guiding the audience’s eye with precision.

And then there are Evelyn M. Danner’s costumes, which operate as visual dramaturgy. The color palette tells its own story: Irvin and Sturdyvant in stark black and white, embodiments of rigid power; the band in various shades of brown, signaling labor, reliability, and earthbound existence; and Ma Rainey in a commanding money-green dress, a walking declaration of her worth. Dussie Mae’s yellow flapper dress, accented with green, subtly marks her proximity to that wealth and power. Even Sylvester’s patterned brown attire hints at his connection to Ma’s orbit. Every choice is intentional, every color a statement.

What ultimately distinguishes this production is its understanding of language - not just Wilson’s text, but the music within it. The scenes among the band members crackle with rhythm and lyricism, their banter and arguments forming a kind of blues composition. It is beautiful, but volatile - a powder keg of masculinity, frustration, and deferred dreams.

What Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix achieve is extraordinary. They do not merely stage Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; they orchestrate it, allowing every performance, every design element, every silence to resonate with intention. Nowhere is that more evident than in Levee’s arc, where Al’Jaleel McGhee delivers a performance that simmers with ambition and barely contained rage, his volatility carefully shaped into a slow, inevitable unraveling.

This is direction of the highest order - precise, unflinching, and deeply attuned to the rhythms of Wilson’s language and the weight of his themes. What emerges is not just unforgettable theatre, but necessary theatre: a production that insists we listen more closely, look more deeply, and reckon more honestly with the truths it lays before us.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

When: Through May 3

Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.

Tickets: $44-$84

Info: www.goodmantheatre.org

Box Office: 312-443-3800

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

A Red Orchid Theatre is pleased to conclude its 33^rd Season with the world premiere of Hanna Kime's The Targeted, a tragicomedy about community directed by Grace Dolezal-Ng, playing May 7 – June 14, 2026 at The Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division St. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Single tickets are available at aredorchidtheatre.org or by calling (312) 943-8722. Season subscriptions are currently available. 

The Targeted will feature Ensemble Members Kirsten Fitzgerald*, Lawrence Grimm*, Sadieh Rifai* and Natalie West* with Glenn Obrero and Stephanie Shum. Understudies include Gabriela Diaz, Amy Yesom Kim, Cynthia Marker, Tatiana Pavela, Thomas B. Tran and Scott Westerman.

About the Production:

Welcome to the Solidarity and Truth Summit. A gathering of the most persecuted, tortured, and misunderstood people in the entire world. They call themselves Targeted Individuals, and they are victims of a vast and covert program of systematic torture, surveillance and harassment by global intergovernmental powers. Over the course of this weekend in the woods they will discuss strategies to take down the deep state, bring awareness to their plight, and despite their suffering, stay human.

The production team includes Lauren Nichols (Scenic Designer), Stephanie Cluggish (Costume Designer), Josiah Croegaert (Lighting Designer), Angela Joy Baldasare (Sound Designer), Spencer Diaz Tootle (Props Designer), Eme Ospina-López (Projections Designer), Chels Morgan (Violence and Intimacy Director), Jojo Brown (Assistant Director), Jennifer Aparicio (Production Manager), Tom Daniel (Technical Director), Dan Washelesky (Dramaturg), Anna Vu (Stage Manager) and Carli Shapiro and Maggie Perisho (Assistant Stage Managers).

*Denotes A Red Orchid Theatre Ensemble Member

The Targeted

Playwright: Hanna Kime
Director: Grace Dolezal-Ng
Cast (in alphabetical order): Kirsten Fitzgerald* (Rhonda), Lawrence Grimm* (Jeff), Glenn Obrero (Eric), Sadieh Rifai* (Sherry) Stephanie Shum (Mia) and Natalie West* (Didi).

Understudies: Gabriela Diaz (Sherry), Amy Yesom Kim (Mia), Cynthia Marker (Didi), Tatiana Pavela (Rhonda), Thomas B. Tran (Eric) and Scott Westerman (Jeff).

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

Dates: Previews: Thursday, May 7 at 7 pm, Friday, May 8 at 7 pm, Saturday, May 9 at 7 pm, Sunday, May 10 at 3 pm, Thursday, May 14 at 7 pm, Friday, May 15 at 7 pm and Saturday, May 16 at 3 pm & 7 pm

Opening: Sunday, May 17 at 6 pm

Regular run: Thursday,  May 21 – Sunday, June 14, 2026
Curtain Times: Thursdays and Fridays at 7 pm; Saturdays 3 pm & 7 pm; and Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will be an added Industry Night performance on Monday, June 1 at 7 pm.

Tickets: Previews: $33 – $44*. Regular run: $55*. Access, student, senior, and group discounts available. Single tickets are available at aredorchidtheatre.org or by calling (312) 943-8722. *Ticket prices include a processing fee.

About the Artists:

Hanna Kime (Playwright, she/her) is a Jeff-Nominated Chicago-based playwright and screenwriter originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Her full-length work has been presented or developed with companies such as Benson Drive Productions (George Strus), the Goodman, Berkeley Rep, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, A Red Orchid, Steep, [producingbody], The Understudy: Coffee and Books, Bramble, Sideshow, where she was an ensemble member, First Floor, where she previously served as Literary Manager, among others. Most recently, her play Dogs had its world premiere at Red Theater. This spring, her play The Best Damn Thing will receive its Seattle Premiere at Dacha Theatre. Kime is a two-time O'Neill Finalist, was the winner of OKC Rep's New Voices Contest and has been named a semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ashland New Play Festival and Premiere Stages Play Festival. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago in English and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is represented by UTA and managed by Curate.

Grace Dolezal-Ng (Director, she/her) is a Chicago-based director passionate about building empathy and generating empowerment through visceral storytelling. Director: Baked! (Theo), The Best Damn Thing (The Understudy), Radial Gradient (Shattered Globe), Despierta! (Lime Arts), Death for Sydney Black (Independent) and developmental work with Bramble Theatre, The Plaigarists, APIDA Arts and more. Assistant Director: It Came From Outer Space (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Athena (Writers Theater), Roe (Goodman Theatre), The Great Leap (Asolo Repertory Theatre). By day, Grace is Casting Coordinator at Goodman Theatre.

Kirsten Fitzgerald (Rhonda, she/her) is a proud member of the Ensemble at A Red Orchid Theatre and has served as the Artistic Director since 2008. She was most recently onstage here last season in The Cave. Select AROT credits include In Quietness, Grey House, Traitor, Evening at the Talk House, The Room, Pilgrim's Progress, Mud Blue Sky, Butcher of Baraboo, The New Electric Ballroom, Abigail's Party, Pumpgirl, Weapon of Mass Impact and The Sea Horse (for which she was honored to receive a Jeff Award). She is currently directing Birds of North America and previously directed The Moors at AROT, which earned her a Jeff Award for Best Director of a Play (Midsize). Other onstage credits include Swing State (Off-Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre, Goodman), I Hate It Here, ROE, Sweat (Goodman); Mary Page Marlowe, The Qualms, Clybourne Park (Steppenwolf); Appropriate, Lettie (Victory Gardens), Motherhouse (Rivendell); and work with Chicago Shakes, Utah Shakes, Shattered Globe, Remy Bumppo, Plasticene, Prop, Defiant and more. TV: Shining Girls, Somebody Somewhere, The Exorcist, Sirens, Chicago Med/Fire/Justice, Underemployed, ER. Film: Rain Reign, Widows, Working Man. Representation: Grossman & Jack Talent.

Lawrence Grimm (Jeff, he/him) is a founding ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre where some of his credits include: Turret, Traitor, Do You Feel Anger?, Small Mouth Sounds, 3C, Trevor, In a Garden, Pumpgirl and Abigail's Party, among many others. Area credits: Gaslight and Prayer for the French Republic (Northlight), Hannah and Martin (Jeff Nomination – Actor) and The Heavens Are Hung in Black (Shattered Globe), King Charles III, The Tempest (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), 2666 (Goodman Theatre), The Upstairs Concierge (Goodman – New Stages), My Name is Asher Lev (Timeline Theatre), In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play (Victory Gardens), Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter (Next Theatre), Orlando (Court Theatre), Two by Pinter (Piven Theater Workshop), The Glass Menagerie (Raven Theatre, Jeff Award – Actor), The Brothers Karamazov, 1984 (Lookingglass), I Never Sang for My Father, Wolf Lullaby (Steppenwolf). Film credits: Eric LaRue, Night's End, Slice, Captive State, Welcome to Me, A Perfect Manhattan, Cicero in Winter. Television: Somebody, Somewhere (HBO), The Red Line (CBS), Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire (NBC), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC). More at www.grimmactor.com.

Glenn Obrero (Eric, he/him) is excited to make his A Red Orchid Theatre debut! He was last seen in Pivot (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble). Select Chicago theatre credits: Tale of Two Cities (Shattered Globe Theatre), The Great Leap (Steppenwolf Theatre), 20K Leagues under the Seas (Lookingglass Theatre), Ironbound (Raven Theatre), Wipeout (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble) and The Chinese Lady (TimeLine Theatre). Regional Theatre credits: Barefoot in the Park and Misery (Peninsula Players Theatre), Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (Kitchen Theatre), The Great Leap (Asolo Repertory Theatre). Film credits: When Cats Fly. TV credits: Chicago Fire (NBC) and nExt (FOX). Glenn is a member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and represented by Gray Talent Group.

Sadieh Rifai (Sherry, she/her) is an ensemble member at A Red Orchid Theatre. As a playwright, she recently had the world premiere of her play The Cave as part of the 32rd season. She's also performed in Do You Feel Anger, An Evening at The Talk House and the world premiere of Grey House. Sadieh was also recently on stage at Steppenwolf in the production of You Will Get Sick directed by Audrey Francis. Film credits include The Wise Kids, Nate and Margaret, Olympia and All Happy Families. Television credits include Chicago Med, Netflix's Easy, CBS The Red Line, Amazon's Patriot, Apple TV's Shining Girls ,TJ and Dave's pilot Bettendorf Talks and season three of HBO's Somebody Somewhere. Sadieh is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and received the Princess Grace Award.

Stephanie Shum (Mia, she/her) previously appeared in Revolution and The Moors and serves as the Marketing & Development Director at A Red Orchid Theatre. Other credits include The Crucible, You Will Get Sick, Bald Sisters, The Great Leap (Steppenwolf); Hummingbird (Goodman); Gorgeous (Raven/Rivendell); One Party Consent (First Floor); Dogs (Red, Jeff Nomination – Performer in a Supporting Role); Mothers (Gift); Men on Boats (American Theater Company); A Story Told in 7 Fights (Neo-Futurists); Love in the Time of Jonestown, Small World, Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up (The New Coordinates, selected); Christmas Carol, Tiger Style! (TheatreSquared); among others. Stephanie is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Gray Talent Group. stephanieshum.com

Natalie West (Didi, she/her) has been an ensemble member of A Red Orchid since 2010. She has appeared in many productions including The Cave, Revolution, Fulfillment Center, Traitor and Evening at the Talkhouse. She has performed in shows at the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare and Northlight. She is a former member of Remains Theatre. Natalie portrayed the character Crystal on the television show Roseanne and The Conners. She received Jeff awards for her work in Abigail's Party and Butcher of Baraboo at A Red Orchid and Life and Limb at Wisdom Bridge.

Sponsors: Barbara & Randy Thomas (Production Sponsors) and Andrea Mitchel (Developmental Sponsor).

About A Red Orchid Theatre:

A Red Orchid Theatre has served as an artistic focal point in the heart of the Old Town community of Chicago since 1993 and was honored with a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Over the past 32 years, its Resident Ensemble has welcomed into its fold an impressive array of award-winning actors, playwrights and theatre artists with the firm belief that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit. A Red Orchid is well known and highly acclaimed for its fearless approach to performance and design in the service of unflinchingly intimate stories.  

A Red Orchid Theatre is: Karen Aldridge, Lance Baker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Esteban Andres Cruz, Dado, Mike Durst, Sherman Edwards, Myron Elliott, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Steve Haggard, Levi Holloway, Mierka Girten, Larry Grimm, John Judd, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Travis A. Knight, Danny McCarthy, Shade Murray, Brett Neveu, Sadieh Rifai, Grant Sabin, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers and Natalie West.  

Sponsor Information: 

A Red Orchid Theatre remains grateful for the support of our board, donors and loyal audience who continue to champion our ambitious and powerful storytelling. These sponsors help to create a platform for our talented Ensemble to reach new audiences, and ensure that we remain a source for honest, compassionate, and aesthetically rigorous theatre-making. 

A Red Orchid Theatre's 33rd Season is sponsored by The Bayless Family Foundation and Heidi Hoblit Graham. The Targeted is sponsored by Barbara & Randy Thomas (Production Sponsors) and Andrea Mitchel (Developmental Sponsor).

Interested in sponsoring a production? By partnering with us as a sponsor, you will help to take our work to the next level of artistic excellence, while also receiving deeper access to our artists and the creative process. To learn more, please contact Development Director Stephanie Shum at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (312) 943-8722. 

 Chicago Repertory Ballet (CRB) is proud to present an exhilarating Spring Series that celebrates reinvention and bold new voices with two World Premieres and the revival of Founding Artistic Director Wade Schaaf's The Rite of Spring, set to Igor Stravinsky's watershed score. Since its establishment in 2011, CRB has championed blending classical ballet with contemporary dance, adding its singular voice to Chicago's rich dance landscape through original, genre-bending works. Following boundary-breaking choreographic works including adaptations of The Four Seasons, Bolero, Macbeth, and most recently, the critically acclaimed Romeo and Juliet spinoff, The Capulets, the Spring Series continues CRB's exploration of contemporary classical form. CRB 2026 Spring Series takes place one weekend only, May 29 to 31, 2026, at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 North Dearborn Street. Tickets are available at www.crbdance.com or by calling 872-588-0430.

Schaaf said, "We are excited to build on Chicago Repertory Ballet's recent success with The Capulets with a spring program that sits squarely at the intersection of ballet's past and our vision of what ballet can be. Our refreshed adaptation of The Rite of Spring – a Ballet Russe era ballet that was so revolutionary in its time that it caused riots – will be modernized again for today's audiences. The two World Premiere works Beyond the Blue Line and Pulse: ILTJ1101 boldly capture the innovations of ballet today – including inspirations from technology and outer space – making the Spring Series 2026 a thrilling exploration of what our company does best."

The evening opens with Pikieris's striking World Premiere contemporary ballet, Beyond the Blue Line. Evoking vastness, possibility, and quiet mystery, Beyond the Blue Line draws its inspiration from the horizon line where sea meets sky. Beyond the Blue Line invites audiences on a journey into openness, curiosity, and discovery, guiding us past the visible horizon and into the imaginative space that lies beyond. Known for his sweeping physicality and intricate musicality, Pikieris crafts movement both architecturally precise and emotionally expansive, demanding virtuosity while revealing the humanity of each dancer.

The program continues with the World Premiere of Schaaf's Pulse: ILTJ1101, a high-voltage fusion of neo-classical ballet and relentless techno soundscapes, propelled forward by futuristic lighting that turns the stage into a living circuit of energy. Inspired by the phenomenon of stellar radio pulses – where a collapsed star draws matter from a companion and releases it as powerful bursts of radiation – this work translates cosmic physics into visceral human motion. Dancers drive through virtuosic technical vocabulary with precision and force, their movement charged by an undercurrent of rhythmic intensity. Partnering becomes a study in exchange: weight, momentum, and energy pass from body to body as if transmitted along an invisible current. As light and sound converge with movement, Pulse: ILTJ1101 invites audiences into a futuristic landscape where classical form meets raw kinetic power; an electrifying exploration of how energy fuels motion, connection, and creation.

The evening concludes with Schaaf's crowd-pleasing The Rite of Spring, a visceral reimagining of one of the most iconic works in dance history in which a tribe selects one individual each year to perform a sacrificial rite, and must dance until death. Schaaf's production originally premiered in 2013 at The Vittum Theater and was later reworked for an outdoor performance on Crickett Hill in 2021, where the natural environment intensified its primal themes and communal tension. Now, Schaaf revisits and reshapes the 2021 version as a site-specific staging for The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, allowing the space to heighten the audience's immersion in the ritual. Driven by pounding rhythms and the relentless momentum of Stravinsky's score, the ballet highlights how group dynamics can make for fatal outcomes - an idea which remains as salient today as it was at the ballet's premiere over one hundred years ago.

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHERS

Yanis Eric Pikieris is a native of Miami, Florida and began his dance training with his parents, Marielena Mencia and Yanis Pikieris, at Miami Youth Ballet. He also trained at Miami City Ballet School and with Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride at Charlotte Ballet Academy. As an apprentice with Charlotte Ballet, Pikieris performed in several company productions, including Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux's The Nutcracker and Peter Pan, Alonzo King's Chants, and George Balanchine's Tarantella. Pikieris joined Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami in 2016 as an inaugural member of the company where he has since been featured in works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Vicente Nebrada, Septime Webre, and Ivonice Satie, among others. As a choreographer, he has created several original works for Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami's main stage series at The Moss Center; as well as two commissions for their sister company, Ballet Vero Beach; and a world premiere collaboration with Miami-based Illuminarts and Philadelphia-based Variant 6. In 2022, Pikieris choreographed a work for National Water Dance, encouraging ongoing engagement between dance and the environment. Pikieris is now one of Dimensions Dance Theatre's Artists in Residence and is a two-time recipient of the (DMC) Dance Miami Choreographers' Program award.

Wade Schaaf (They/Them) is a Chicago native and graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts, with an emphasis in dance performance. Throughout their professional career, Schaaf danced with several distinguished companies including Ohio Ballet, State Street Ballet Santa Barbara, The Omaha Theater Ballet, Thodos Dance Chicago, and River North Chicago Dance Company. During their time on stage, Schaaf had the opportunity to work with an array of renowned choreographers such as Septime Webre, Stephen Mills, Frank Chaves, Laurie Stallings, and Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking. Notable roles in Schaaf's performance career include Tybalt in Robin Welch's Romeo and Juliet, the Snow King in Welch's The Nutcracker, and Jonathan in Kennet Oberly's Dracula. Schaaf also originated the role of Mayor Carter Harrison in The White City, a collaboration between Thodos Dance Chicago and Ann Reinking. After retiring from performing, Mx. Schaaf founded Chicago Repertory Ballet in November 2011. The company debuted to critical acclaim, receiving the headline review "A Bright Debut for Chicago Repertory Ballet" (Sid Smith, The Chicago Tribune). Since then, Wade has choreographed numerous acclaimed works including The Rite of Spring, The Four Seasons, Bolero, and full-length ballet adaptations of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet (The Capulets). Under Schaaf's leadership, CRB continues to pursue a bold vision: challenging conventional definitions of ballet in both form and structure to create dance that defies labels. Beyond the studio, Mx. Schaaf is passionate about visual art, health, and wellness. 

ABOUT CHICAGO REPERTORY BALLET

Founded in 2011, Chicago Repertory Ballet is dedicated to presenting artistically daring and visually striking works that engage, inspire, and challenge audiences. The company has established itself as a vital part of Chicago's arts community, earning praise for its commitment to innovation and excellence in dance. For more information about The Capulets and Chicago Repertory Ballet, visit www.crbdance.com.

Get ready to kick up your heels again in Chicago with the long-anticipated return of the heartwarming hit musical, KINKY BOOTS! Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce that single tickets for KINKY BOOTS will go on sale on Friday, April 10. Praised by critics as "A BIG-HEARTED, HIGH-KICKING HIT!” (Chicago Tribune ) and "DAZZLING & JOYFUL!” (Daily News), KINKY BOOTS will play Broadway In Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.) for a limited two-week engagement, June 9 – 21.

Following its world premiere in Chicago in 2012, KINKY BOOTS went on to win the Tony®, Grammy®, and London’s Olivier Awards for Best Musical, captivating and entertaining audiences around the world with a Tony-winning score by Cyndi Lauper, book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein, and original direction and Tony-winning choreography by Jerry Mitchell.

Based on true events, KINKY BOOTS follows the journey of two people with nothing in common… or so they think. Charlie Price reluctantly inherits his father's shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father's legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. As Charlie and Lola work together to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they realized and discover that you change the world when you change your mind.

Leading the tour will be Omari Collins “Scarlett D. Von'Du” as Lola, Noah Silverman as Charlie Price, Sophia Gunter as Lauren, Jason Daniel Chacon as Don, Emma Dean as Nicola, and John Anker Bow as George. Dargan Cole, Felipe Cristancho-Rodríguez, Jonathan Blake Flemings, Peyton Gaida, and Blaise Rossmann will play the Angels. The KINKY BOOTS tour will also feature Carlyn Barenholtz, Connor Buonaccorsi, Blake Du Bois, Brianna Clark, Jayna Glynn, Billy Goldstein, Brandin Jay, Robert Miller, Val Moranto, Dominic Pagliaro, Thomas Ed Purvis, TJ Staten, Kyle Williamson, and Natalie Lilavois Yusty.

The North American Tour of KINKY BOOTS is produced by Crossroads Live North America. The tour’s creative team includes DB Bonds (Associate Director), Rusty Mowery (Associate Choreographer), Will Van Dyke (Music Supervisor), and Murnane Casting (Casting).

The KINKY BOOTS creative team includes Tony and Grammy Award-winner Stephen Oremus (Arrangements and Orchestrations), Tony Award-winner David Rockwell (Scenic Design), Tony Award-winner Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Tony Award-winner Gareth Owen (Sound Design), and Josh Marquette (Hair Design). 

The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording of KINKY BOOTS is available on Sony Masterworks Broadway. The original Broadway production of KINKY BOOTS was produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Independent Presenters Network, CJ E&M, Jayne Baron Sherman, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Yasuhiro Kawana, Jane Bergère, Allan S. Gordon & Adam S. Gordon, Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Lucy and Phil Suarez, Bryan Bantry, Ron Fierstein and Dorsey Regal, Jim Kierstead/Gregory Rae, BB Group/Christina Papagjika, Michael DeSantis/Patrick Baugh, Brian Smith/Tom and Connie Walsh, Warren Trepp and Jujamcyn Theaters. 

KINKY BOOTS is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 

For additional show information and tour dates, visit KinkyBootsMusical.com. 

For booking inquiries, contact The Road Company: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; 212.302.5200 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, June 9 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 10 – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 11 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 12 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 13 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 14 – 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 16 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17 – 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 18 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 19 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 20 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 21 – 1:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION (as of April 9, based on availability and subject to change)
Individual tickets for KINKY BOOTS will go on sale on Monday, March 30 and range from $49.00 - $126.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Ticket price listed is when purchased in person at the box office. Additional fees apply for online purchases. 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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Lookingglass Theatre Company, in keeping with its celebrated tradition of bringing to life Ensemble-created new work, presents the world premiere of Untitled Vampire Play, written by Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas and directed by Devon DeMayo. Concluding the company's 2025-2026 season, Untitled Vampire Play runs June 4 – July 12, 2026. Tickets for the production start at $33 and are available for purchase at lookingglasstheatre.org and 312.337.0665. 

Think you've got baggage? Try dating when you have centuries of relationship history and a literal body count. Sink your teeth into Lookingglass Theatre's sharply funny world premiere where the only thing more frightening than vampires (and a serial killer on the loose) is having to meet your new in-laws. This romantic-comedy-meets-horror-story explores love, commitment, codependency...and, of course, vampires.

"The genesis of Untitled Vampire Play came to me on my way to a funeral, oddly enough. I was pondering death and the big question, 'How do two people with different but unwavering convictions make a relationship work?'," notes playwright Kevin Douglas. "Using familiar vampire lore, I wanted to create a world where vampires deal with real human problems to both comedic and tragic effect." 

"I've long admired Kevin's work for its high theatricality, humor and heart. His work is delightfully sneaky; it has us laughing one minute and shocks and awes us the next," comments director Devon DeMayo. "Only Kevin can write a show about vampires that makes an audience feel so alive! By weaving romance, horror, and familial drama, Kevin's play grabs you by the throat and keeps you guessing."

Untitled Vampire Play features ensemble members Walter Briggs (Roderick) and Kareem Bandealy (Louie/Lance) alongside Courtney Rikki Green (Val), Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Dom), Jin Park (Rose/Alexa), and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Alicia/Douchey Dude).

The creative team includes Alyssa Mohn (Scenic Designer), Theresa Ham (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre Pluess (Sound Designer), Benjamin Barnes (Magic/Illusion Designer), Rachel Flesher (Fight/Intimacy Director), and Martine Kei Green-Rogers (Dramaturg).

Untitled Vampire Play                            

Written by:  Lookingglass Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas
Directed by: Devon DeMayo

Featuring:  Ensemble members Walter Briggs (Roderick) and Kareem Bandealy (Louie/Lance) alongside Courtney Rikki Green (Val), Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Dom), Jin Park (Rose/Alexa), and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Alicia/Douchey Dude).

Creatives:  Alyssa Mohn (Scenic Designer), Theresa Ham (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre Pluess (Sound Designer), Benjamin Barnes (Magic/Illusion Designer), Rachel Flesher (Fight/Intimacy Director), and Martine Kei Green-Rogers (Dramaturg).

Dates:                                      

Previews: June 4-12, 2026

Regular run: June 14-July 12, 2026

Community Nights: To Be Announced

Schedule:   

Tuesdays: 7:30 p.m. (only June 16 and July 30)                                                       

Wednesdays:               7:30 p.m.

Thursdays:                   2:00 p.m. (except June 4 and 11) and 7:30p.m.

 Fridays:                       7:30 p.m. (except June 19)

Saturdays:                    2:00 p.m. (except June 6, 13 and July 4) and 7:30 p.m. (except June 13 and July 4)

Sundays:                      2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (only July 5)

Box Office: Buy online at lookingglasstheatre.org or by phone at 312.337.0665

The Lookingglass box office is located at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E Pearson St at Michigan Ave

Accessibility at Lookingglass Theatre Company
Lookingglass Theatre Company is committed to making its performances accessible to all audiences. Each mainstage production offers open captioning, audio-described performances with Touch Tours, and mask-required performances. Discounted $35 tickets are available for each accessible performance using the codes below at lookingglasstheatre.org.

Open Captioning                                   Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m.             Use code CAPTION
Audio-Described/Touch Tour                 Thursday, July 9 at 2 p.m.                      Use code AUDIO
Mask-Required                                     Wednesday, June 24 at 7:30 p.m.          Use code MASK

An accessible entrance is located on Pearson Street, west of the main entrance at 163 E. Pearson Street. The Joan and Paul Theatre is fully accessible via elevator or ramp, with seating available on the ground floor and balcony for patrons using wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, or other mobility aids. Assistive Listening Devices, sensory bags, and large-print programs are available for all performances, and accessible group sales offer up to 25% off for parties of 10 or more.

For assistance with accessible seating, tickets, or accommodations, contact the Box Office at 312.337.0665 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Lookingglass Theatre Company

Founded in 1988 by graduates of Northwestern University, Lookingglass Theatre Company is a nationwide leader in the creation and presentation of new, cutting-edge theatrical works and in sharing its ensemble-based theatrical techniques with Chicago-area students and teachers through Education and Community Programs. Guided by an artistic vision centered on the core values of collaboration, transformation and invention, Lookingglass seeks to capture audiences' imaginations leaving them changed, charged and empowered. Recipient of the 2011 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Lookingglass has built a national reputation for artistic excellence and ensemble-based theatrical innovation. Notable world premieres include Mary Zimmerman's Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses and The Odyssey, J. Nicole Brooks' Her Honor Jane Byrne, David Schwimmer's adaptation of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Studs Terkel's Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession, Matthew C. Yee's Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon and David Catlin's circus tribute to Lewis Carroll, Lookingglass Alice, which was captured by HMS Media and reached 1.6 million PBS viewers. Looking Alice is now available to more than four million students worldwide through Digital Theatre+. Work created by Lookingglass artists has been produced in Australia, Europe and dozens of cities throughout the United States.

I’m going to start with a bit of backstory.  In high school we all read (more or less voluntarily) The Iliad, Homer’s poetic exploration of a war that occurred during the Bronze Age yet continues to resonate with twenty-first century significance. Homer focuses (naturally!) on the guys:  heroic Greek Achilles and his lover Patroclus; Hector, prince and hero of Troy; Greek King Menelaus vs. Paris, Prince of Troy. The women are pretty much either pawns or plunder. The Iliad begins with Hector’s baby bro Paris swiping Helen, wife of Menelaus. Menelaus and Paris duel, intending Helen to be the prize, but when Paris is defeated, Aphrodite delivers him to Helen’s bed before Menelaus has a chance to kill him – a good example of the ambivalent outcomes when the gods and goddesses mix it up with mortals. THE TROJAN WOMEN actually begins with an introduction by Poseidon (Brian Weddington), god of the sea, and Rachel Sledd as Athena, goddess of war.

THE TROJAN WOMEN analyzes the costs of war through the trauma and grief of the Trojan women after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed, and their remaining families taken away as slaves. It’s set in a present-day hospital maternity ward that’s serving as confinement for troublesome females. The Chorus (Morgan Lavenstein), that hallmark of ancient Greek drama who provides insight into events both on- and offstage, appears as a woman vastly pregnant and chained to the bed.  She’s not best pleased at any of this, and no more tickled about rooming with Hecuba (Ashway Lawver), queen of vanquished Troy and vehemently unreconciled to its overthrow.

Ben Page is Talthybius, a Greek herald who pops in and out with news bulletins, each more hideous than the last. His is the task to reveal to the women their destinies: Hecuba will be given to the Greek king Odysseus, the widowed princess Andromache (Jazmine Mazique) is to be the concubine of Achilles’ son, and Cassandra (Liliana Mastroianni) is destined to become the conquering king Agamemnon’s doxy. Cassandra is clairvoyant, which one might assume to be an asset, but her mother has always dismissed her revelations as hysterical attention-seeking, especially as in such grievous times the future may not be something you really want to hear about.  Andromache, Princess of Troy, has just borne a son to her ex-husband ex-Prince Hector, and Talthybius must also break the news that her baby must die, as the Greeks fear he will grow up to avenge his father Hector. And Helen (Morgan Burkey), whose beauty launched a thousand playwrights, ends up back with her husband Menelaus (Marcus Castillo). There’s lots of babies around – we’re in a maternity ward, remember? – and babies are a natural outcome of the unbridled rape that is ubiquitous in wartime; in fact, it appears that the primary position of women in conquered Troy is prone. Plus, ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

OK, are you more or less caught up on characters and setting? cos I need to tell you about Eos Theatre Company. Their stated mission is ‘to shine light into the darkness of the human condition and to amplify women’s voices and stories’, and they’ve chosen THE TROJAN WOMEN as their inaugural presentation because it does both brilliantly. The four co-founders of Eos united at the first table read of The Trojan Women in February 2025. That production was not only fabulous but propagative as well: the four decided to remount the show and simultaneously create a brand-new, all-woman company, named EOS in honor of the Greek Goddess of the dawn who flies her chariot across the sky, pulling back the curtain of night to usher in the light of the sun.

Rachel Sledd is a born-and-bred Chicagoan who lived and acted between New York and Los Angeles until 2006, when she returned to her hometown. Ashway Lawver grew up in Los Angeles. Her passion for the art and study of Acting led her to Chicago to attend The School at Steppenwolf and she found in Chicago her true theatrical home. Morgan Lavenstein began acting in Baltimore at the ripe old age of 8. She attended The School at Steppenwolf and Chicago became her forever home. Morgan Burkey is originally from Texas. In 2017 she was accepted into School at Steppenwolf, where she met fellow co-founders Morgan Lavenstein and Ashway Lawver. Amazing, innit, how extraordinary people from far-flung origins are drawn together? Call it destiny, fate, or kismet, in this case it’s providential.

The production team was as superb as the cast. Co-founder Rachel Sledd was Director and Michael Lesko Stage Manager. Shayna Patel’s Set Design portrayed the ambience before the actors took the stage.  The story was encompassed by Mason Absher’s Sound; his choices of music interlocked perfectly and toward the end the impassioned sound pulled the storyline together, as did Garrett Bell’s breathtaking lighting effects.

Seeing THE TROJAN WOMEN was thrilling not only for the splendid play itself, but for the chance to witness the emergence of Eos, a feminist company whose development is sure to beguile and invigorate Chicago for years to come.

Running through April 18^th at Bramble Arts Loft

RECOMMENDED

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

George Sidney, the prolific 20^th Century movie director who helmed the 1952 movie version of Rafael Sabatini's 1921 novel SCARAMOUCHE as well as Hollywood musicals from SHOW BOAT to VIVA LAS VEGAS, is reported to have said, "I always thought SCARAMOUCHE should be a musical." And now it is. The world premiere musical adaptation of SCARAMOUCHE, with music and lyrics by City Lit Artistic Associate Kingsley Day and book by Day and James Glossman, will close City Lit's 45^th season, playing from May 1 to June 14. The classic adventure story follows the exploits of a sardonic provincial lawyer who is radicalized by his friend's brutal murder on the eve of the French Revolution. He repeatedly evades disaster by taking on a series of new identities—first as an insurgent orator, then a traveling comic actor, and finally a master swordsman. Beth Wolf, recently named one of New City's "Players 2026: 50 People Who Really Perform for Chicago," will direct this full-scale, swashbuckling musical that will take audiences to 18^th Century France with such visual delights as sword fighting, Commedia dell'arte, projections, and costumes of the French elite and peasantry. A score of some 30 musical numbers will be performed by a 10-person cast with extensive musical theater credits from across the Chicagoland areas, accompanied by a three-piece pit band. 

 
Cast in the title role as Andre-Louis Moreau, the young lawyer from Britanny who assumes a secret identity as Scaramouche, will be Ethan Smith, seen recently in Music Theater Works' GODSPELL. The story will be told by a troupe of players, led by their Manager, who will be played by Actors' Equity member Henry Michael Odum. Odum has played such iconic musical theater roles as Fagin in OLIVER! (Citadel Theatre) and The Narrator/Mysterious Man in INTO THE WOODS (Porchlight). Odum will additionally play Gavrillac, Moreau's godfather – a man who many believe is secretly Moreau's father. Gavrillac's orphaned niece Aline will be played by Laura Michele Erle, who earlier this year was Mina in Lazy Susan's DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS. Erle's character Aline is betrothed to the powerful nobleman Marquis de la Tour, who challenges Moreau's best friend, the idealistic Phillipe (Conor Ripperger of GODSPELL, PIPPIN and LEGALLY BLONDE with Music Theater Works), to an outrageously lopsided dual, killing him. De la Tour will be played by Kent Joseph, who is experienced in playing French villains, having been cast twice as Frollo in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Music Theater Works and Metropolis Arts Center). 

The cast also includes Alicia Berneche (Penelope Pennywise in URINETOWN for Theo Ubique) as Madame de Sautron, Shea Lee (THE CONDUCTORS, Lifeline) as Columbine, Ed Rutherford (Pseudolus in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, Madkap Productions) as Chapelier, India Huy (URINETOWN, Theo Ubique) as Climene, and Rushil Byatnal (THE UNKNOWN VARIABLE, Momentary Theatre) as Pierrot. Understudies are Ryan Smetana (u/s Moreau), Brian James (u/s Manager, Gavrillac), Matthew Benenson Cruz (u/s Marquis de la Tour), Will Ehrlich (u/s Philippe), Alex Stetkevich (u/s Aline), and Emma Jean Eastlund (u/s Madame de Sautron).

Kingsley Day's many musical theater works include the one-act musical "Text Me," produced at City Lit in 2024; and with Philip LaZebnik, the musicals SUMMER STOCK MURDER and STATE STREET (the latter produced at City Lit in 2012). Co-Bookwriter James Glossman enjoyed a two-decade-long collaboration with author and journalist Jim Lehrer that included the plays KICK THE CAN, THE SPECIAL PRISONER, and FLYING CROWS. More recently, he collaborated with actor Tom Hanks on the plays SAFE HOME and THIS WORLD OF TOMORROW. SCARAMOUCHE will be directed by Beth Wolf, two-time Jeff nominee for Direction (for OUTSIDE MULLINGAR and SILENT SKY at Citadel Theatre) and Founding Artistic Director of Midsommer Flight. SCARAMOUCHE will open to the press on Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 pm, following previews from May 1 and will play through June 14, 2026.

The designers who will bring the look of late 18^th Century France to City Lit's stage in Edgewater are Trevor Dotson (Scenic Designer), Jackson Mikkelsen (Lighting Designer), Jennifer Mohr (Costume Designer, Commedia Consultant), Meg X. McGrath (Props Designer), Kevin Zhou (Music Director), Tyeese Braslavsky (Assistant Music Director), DJ Douglass (Projections Designer), Maureen Yasko (Violence and Intimacy Design), Ray Post (Assistant Director). The production team also includes Grace Elizabeth Mealey (Stage Manager), Dylan Hirt (Assistant Stage Manager), Alexa Berkowitz (Production Manager), Becca Holloway (Casting Director), Teseela Sokolin-Maimon (Technical Director), Sara Johnson (Production Electrician), Bruce Bennett (Scenic Charge), and Aubrey Pierce (Production Carpenter).

Tickets to SCARAMOUCHE are priced at $37 for previews and $45 for regular performances and may be ordered online at www.citylit.org or purchased over the phone by calling 773-293-3682. Senior prices are $5.00 off regular prices. Students and military are $22.00 for all performances.

The League of Chicago Theatres announces the popular spring theatre promotion Deal Hunt, bringing audiences the best of Chicago theatre at unbeatable prices.

Redeemable from April 14-22, 2026, Hot Tix patrons receive an extra $5 off already-discounted theater tickets for participating performances throughout the Spring season by using the code "Deal Hunt" at www.HotTix.org.

Marissa Lynn Jones, Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres, comments, "We are so excited about Spring's arrival, bringing with it an abundance of new productions to Chicago stages. To kick-start the season, we are proud to bring back Deal Hunt to Hot Tix, making theatre even more accessible and affordable than ever."

To date, 36 productions are participating, including: A Streetcar Named Desire, MadKap Productions at Skokie Theatre; Amplify Queer Joy, Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble at Center on Halsted; Birthday Candles, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at McAninch Arts Center; Building American Pop, Chicago a cappella  at Nichols Concert Hall; Chamber Music Series: Saint-Saëns, Vieuxtemps, and Fauré, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Harris Theater for Music and Dance; Comedy Pageant, Stars & Garters Theater; Cosmic Comedy Hour and The Cosmic Underground Show, Cosmic Underground Theater; Deep Schwa, Doing Our Moms, Improvised Jane Austen, The Armando Diaz Experience, Whirled News Tonight and Devil's Daughter at iO Theater; DIVIDED, The Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University; Do Something Pretty, Rivendell Theatre Company; Eelpout!, Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit; Father of the Bride, Drury Lane Theatre; FreakShow & Tell, Stars & Garters Theater; Heartbreak Hotel, Marriott Theatre; I Hate Hamlet, Saint Sebastian Players at St. Bonaventure; Jetlag, Physical Theater Festival at The Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago; Lizzy & The Triggermen, The Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University; LOKI-The End of the World Tour, Lifeline Theatre; M.A.S.T.E.R.M.I.N.D.S., Stars & Garters Theater; Modern Gentleman, About Face Theatre at Raven Theatre; moonwatchers, Lazy Susan Theatre Co.at Greenhouse Theater Center; Nomad by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Eastman, Harris Theater for Music and Dance; Octet,Raven Theatre; Out Here, Court Theatre; Rising Stars Burlesque Revue, Stars & Garters Theater; Ruthless! The Musical, Citadel Theatre Company; The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview, Trap Door Theatre; The Sugar Wife, The Artistic Home at Theater Wit; The Trojan Women, Eos Theatre Company at Bramble Arts Loft; and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, at Studebaker Theater.

About Chicago theatre 

Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theatres to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 7 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago's theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. Each year Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. For more information, visit www.chicagoplays.com.

The League of Chicago Theatres' Mission Statement

Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens. The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres, which leverages its collective strength to support, promote and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.

Chicago’s First Floor Theater today announced the cast and production team for the Chicago Premiere production of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY, written by reid tang and directed by Tina El Gamal, running May  7 – June 6, 2026 (previews May 7, 9, 10, and 13) on The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets ($10 – $40) available at www.firstfloortheater.com. 

Originally developed through Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks Festival, WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY is an experimental dark comedy that explores chaos, alienation, and the absurdities of modern capitalism. Framed as “a catalog of all the possible phone calls that exist,” the play, which is “not about Amazon, not about Jeff Bezos, and certainly not about Elon Musk,” unfolds through surreal encounters and fractured conversations, creating a genre-bending theatrical experience that blends humor, technology, and existential dread. 

“WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY sits right at the center of First Floor Theater’s mission,” said Andrew Cutler, Artistic Producer of First Floor Theater. “It’s hilarious, dark, and incisive, and it invites the kind of bold theatrical choices our artists love to make. Presenting the production at Raven Theatre also gives us the chance to introduce our work to a new neighborhood and new audiences in Chicago.”

“I’m always drawn to plays that are ‘out there’ - a little scary and untouchable, wacky and daring,” said Tina El Gamal, director of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY. “reid tang’s bird’s-eye view of humanity’s struggle to stay human is exactly that. It grapples with the costs of innovation and consumption as they threaten to outpace our humanity and asks, just how far are we willing to go to keep up with the next-day deliveries? It’s funny, unsettling, and unexpectedly moving–exactly the kind of work I want to make with this incredible team.”

The cast includes Sahar Dika, Jenn Geiger, and Alice Wu, with understudies Joelle Denhof, Kennedy Frazier, and Maliha Sayed.

The production team is led by director Tina El Gamal and includes Conchita Avitia* (Lighting Designer), Spencer Donovan* (Scenic Designer), Adelina Feldman-Schultz (Casting Director), Olivia Gregorich (Assistant Director & Dramaturg), Samantha Kaufman (Violence & Intimacy Director), Kendyl Meyer* (Stage Manager), Lo Ramos (Props Designer), Jae Robinson (Sound Designer), and Nathan Rohrer (Costume Designer)

* Denotes First Floor Theater Company Member

First Floor Theater’s Chicago premiere of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY runs May 7 – June 6, 2026, with previews May 7, 9, 10, and 13. Performances are held Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. at The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets range from $10 – $40. To purchase tickets, visit www.firstfloortheater.com. 

WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY

Written By: reid tang

Directed By: Tina El Gamal

Cast: Sahar Dika, Jenn Geiger, and Alice Wu, with understudies Joelle Denhof, Kennedy Frazier, and Maliha Sayed

Production Team: Conchita Avitia* (Lighting Designer), Spencer Donovan* (Scenic Designer), Adelina Feldman-Schultz (Casting Director), Olivia Gregorich (Assistant Director & Dramaturg), Samantha Kaufman (Violence & Intimacy Director), Kendyl Meyer* (Stage Manager), Lo Ramos (Props Designer), Jae Robinson (Sound Designer), and Nathan Rohrer (Costume Designer)

*Denotes First Floor Theater Company Member

Dates: May 7 – June 6, 2026 (Previews May 7, 9, 10, 13)

Schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.

Run Time: 90 minutes

Location: The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark St., Chicago)

Tickets: General Admission: $10 - $40

Limited number of $10 access tickets available for all public performances.

Box Office: https://www.firstfloortheater.com