Theater Wit, in collaboration with the Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies at Northwestern and Northlight Theatre, hosts CityTalk: A Series of Conversations on Assimilation, Antisemitism and Culture. This free, unprecedented series of curated talks and convenings with distinguished experts in Jewish history will be presented throughout the Chicago area, March 23 – May 9, 2025. 

The events are free, and advance registration is required. For more information and registration, visit https://citytalkchicago.org/.

CityTalk crafts public conversation to create live, inclusive events to bring people together and encourage a humane perspective about safety, security and fundamental human rights for all. CityTalk invites everyone to take part and brings curiosity, courage and compassion to the table as we explore how the stories of our past shape the possibilities of our future.

CityTalk features presentations and discussions by nationally renowned scholars, artists and thought leaders, acting as a springboard for a space as nuanced and thoughtful as Prayer for the French Republic. These programs will explore historical, social and cultural themes of Jewish assimilation, integration and identity across America and Europe centered in an academic, humanistic, and intersectional perspective.

Jeremy Wechsler comments, "The questions raised by Prayer for the French Republic are too urgent, too layered, to be confined to a single production—even the largest in Theater Wit's history. We need a city-wide conversation. CityTalk is our way of making that happen, offering Chicagoans a rare chance to grapple with the present through the lens of history. In this moment, Americans are being confronted with fundamental questions about safety, identity, and the nature of our society. We cannot navigate the choices ahead without understanding the peril. History and conversation is our best ally in the days to come."

Winner of the 2022 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New Off-Broadway Play, Prayer for the French Republic explores the profound and often painful intersections of faith, family, culture, and country — and what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. Set in the shadow of Marine Le Pen's far-right political rise, the play's themes resonate deeply with the current cultural and political climate in America, where questions of assimilation, identity, and safety remain deeply urgent.

The CityTalk schedule is as follows: 

Rebuilding Jewish Life in France After the Holocaust: American Jewish Aid and the Choice to Stay

Laura Hobson Faure, University Professor; Chair, Modern Jewish History at University Paris 1-Panthéon- Sorbonne

Date: March 26, 2025 at 7:00pm

Location: Mah Tovu Chicago, 7315 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60645

Laura Hobson Fauer's book, A 'Jewish Marshall Plan': The American Jewish Presence in Post-Holocaust France examines the complex interactions, exchanges, and solidarities created between American and French Jews following the Holocaust. Through financial aid, cultural support, and institution-building, American Jewish organizations played a pivotal role in revitalizing French Jewish life. Yet, the decision to stay in France—rather than emigrate to Israel or the United States—was not just about material recovery. It was a deliberate act of reclaiming identity, belonging, and a future in the country that had betrayed so many of its Jewish citizens.

Jewish Identity and Edmond Fleg: Lessons for Today

Sally Charnow, Professor of Modern European and Postcolonial History, Jewish Studies, Women and Gender Studies at Hofstra University

Date: April 9, 2025 at 7:00pm

Location: Theater Wit

In this lecture, historian Sally Charnow explores the diverse forms of Jewish resistance in wartime France, drawing from her book, Edmond Fleg and Jewish Minority Culture in Twentieth-Century France (2021), to highlight how cultural survival became a form of defiance.

Antisemitism in France: Past, Present, and Future

with Maurice Samuels, Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French and Chair at Yale University

Date: April 11, 2025 at 7:00pm

Location: Theater Wit

Drawing from his extensive research on 19th-century French Jewish history, including his award-winning book The Right to Difference: French Universalism and the Jews, Samuels examines the evolution of antisemitism from the post-revolutionary era to the present. He will discuss the rise of the so-called "new antisemitism," characterized by its distinct features in contemporary France, and analyze the nation's responses to this persistent issue.

The Arc of Memorial Vernacular: Holocaust Memory and the Evolution of Public Memorials

James E. Young, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Founding Director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies at University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Date: April 24, 2025 at 2:00pm

Location: North Suburban Synagogue Beth El 

Drawing from his book The Stages of Memory: Memorial Art, Loss, and the Spaces Between (2016), as well as his latest research, Young will explore how the design, intent, and reception of memorials continue to shift in response to historical and political currents. What should a memorial do? Who is it for? And how do different societies confront their pasts through public art? By placing Holocaust memory in conversation with other forms of memorialization, this lecture provides a framework for understanding how historical trauma is remembered—and reinterpreted—in contemporary society.

Assimilation After Revolution: Jewish Emancipation in Post-Revolutionary France

Adi Saleem, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Judaic Studies at University of Michigan

Date: May 1, 2025 at 7:00pm

Location: Segal Visitors Center Auditorium, Northwestern Evanston Campus, 1841 Sheridan Rd

In this lecture, historian Adi Saleem examines the complex and often contradictory role of assimilation in French history by comparing two key moments: the debates surrounding the emancipation of Jews before, during, and after the French Revolution, and the shifting legal status of Algerian Jews and Muslims in the early colonial period.

Yiddish Paris: Jewish Cultural Pluralism and Antifascism in Interwar France

Nick Underwood, Assistant Professor of History and Chair of Judaic Studies at The College of Idaho

Date: May 3, 2025 at 2:00pm

Location: Theater Wit

Underwood explores the ways in which Yiddish-speaking Jews in interwar France navigated questions of belonging, pluralism, and political engagement. Drawing from his book Yiddish Paris: Staging Nation and Community in Interwar France (Indiana University Press, 2022), Underwood highlights key institutions—Yiddish theaters, cultural associations, and intellectual networks—that flourished during this period, fostering a unique synthesis of Jewish and French identity.

French Intellectuals and the Jewish Question: Antisemitism, Universalism, and the Shifting Politics of Jewish Identity

Jonathan Judaken, Goldstein Professor of Jewish History and Thought at Washington University in St Louis

Date: May 4, 2025 at 10:00am

Location: Congregation Rodfei Zedek - 5200 S Hyde Park Blvd in Chicago

In this lecture, historian Jonathan Judaken traces the evolving discourse around the "Jewish Question" in French intellectual life, exploring how key moments—such as the French Revolution, the Dreyfus Affair, the rise of fascism, and the Holocaust—have influenced national debates on Jewish inclusion, nationalism, and political belonging. As antisemitism resurges and political alignments shift, understanding these historical patterns provides essential insight into today's challenges of Jewish identity, political belonging, and the broader struggle for justice.

Medieval Jewish Paris: A Virtual Tour

David Shyovitz, Associate Professor of History and Religious Studies, Director of the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern University

Date: May 7, 2025 at 7:00PM

Location: Theater Wit

Long before the Jewish expulsion from France in 1394, Paris was home to a thriving Jewish community, deeply embedded in the city's intellectual, economic, and religious life. Though much of that history has been obscured by time, its traces remain in medieval records, archaeological discoveries, and the streets of Paris itself. In this immersive virtual tour, historian David Shyovitz reconstructs the world of medieval Jewish Paris, exploring its vibrant culture, its struggles under Christian rule, and the forces that ultimately led to its disappearance. Drawing on historical texts, maps, and contemporary scholarship, this talk will bring medieval Jewish Paris to life, and explore broader themes of persecution, resilience, and the shifting place of Jews in medieval Europe.

American Jews, the Melting Pot, and Cultural Pluralism: Then and Now

Daniel Greene, Historian, US Holocaust Memorial Museum; Adjunct Professor of History at Northwestern University

Date: May 8, 2025 at 7:00pm

Location: Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation - 303 Dodge Ave in Evanston

Historian Daniel Greene explores the evolution of the melting pot metaphor and its alternatives, tracing the emergence of cultural pluralism—which envisions the nation as a federation of diverse ethnic groups, each maintaining its heritage while participating in a shared civic culture. Drawing from his book, The Jewish Origins of Cultural Pluralism: The Menorah Association and American Diversity, Greene examines how American Jews helped shape ideas of pluralism and influenced present-day debates about national identity, multiculturalism, and diversity.

ABOUT PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

CityTalk is presented in conjunction with the Northlight Theatre and Theater Wit co-production of Joshua Harmon's celebrated play Prayer for the French Republic, directed by Theater Wit's Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler, running April 10 – May 11, 2025, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. Tickets are now on sale through the box office, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie; 847.673.6300; northlight.org.

In 1944, a Jewish couple in Paris desperately awaits news of their missing family. More than 70 years later, the couple's great-grandchildren find themselves facing the same question as their ancestors: "Are we safe?" Following five generations of a French-Jewish family, Prayer for the French Republic is a sweeping look at history, home, and the effects of an ancient hatred. Winner of the 2022 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New Off-Broadway Play, this celebrated work is from the author of Bad Jews and Significant Other.

The cast includes Janet Ulrich Brooks (Marcelee Salomon), Rom Barkhordar (Charles Benhamou), Rae Gray (Elodie Benhamou), Max Stewart (Daniel Benhamou), Lawrence Grimm (Patrick Salomon), Maya Hlava (Molly), Henson Keys (Pierre Salomon), Kathy Scambiatterra (Irma Salomon), Torrey Hanson (Adolphe Salomon), Alex Weisman (Lucien Salomon), and Nathan Becker (Young Pierre Salomon).

The creative team is Jeremy Wechsler (director), Joe Schermoly (set designer), Mara Blumenfeld (costume designer), JR Lederle (lighting designer), Joseph Cerqua (sound designer), Nicolas Bartleson (prop designer), Katie Klemme (stage manager), and Jyreika Guest (resident violence and intimacy coordinator).

About The Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies

The Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern University is a hub for transformational undergraduate and graduate education, innovative faculty and student research, and accessible and engaging communal programming. The Crown Center houses the Jewish Studies Program, an interdisciplinary unit of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, which brings together faculty from across the humanities and social sciences. Undergraduate students can major or minor in Jewish Studies ​or Hebrew studies, and can choose from dozens of annual courses on the full gamut of Jewish thought, history, literature, and culture--from the ancient world of the Hebrew Bible to the modern history of the State of Israel. The Crown Center also houses the Jewish Studies Graduate Cluster, which offers graduate students across the university advanced training and research support for interdisciplinary work in Jewish Studies.

Faculty affiliated with the Crown Center are award-winning educators and scholars, who approach the fields of Jewish and Israel Studies from diverse chronological, geographic, and disciplinary vantage points. The Center hosts a steady stream of visiting professors and postdoctoral fellows from Israeli universities, and facilitates collaborative research between students and faculty at Northwestern and those in major Israeli universities.

The Center also serves a broader public audience through an extensive array of vibrant public programs. It hosts four annual lectureships, cultural and artistic performances, and other educational opportunities and events.

About Northlight Theatre

Northlight Theatre is proud to be among the largest and longest-running nonprofit theatres in the Chicago area. Founded in 1974, Northlight aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion through its mainstage productions, dynamic education and community programs, and dedication to new work.

Now approaching its 50th Anniversary Season, the organization has mounted over 250 productions, including more than 45 world premieres. Northlight has earned 230 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 36 Awards, as well as 11 Edgerton Foundation for New Play Awards. As one of the area's premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.

About Theater Wit

Founded in 2004, Theater Wit is a cultural hub of the Chicago theater landscape, specializing in contemporary works of comedy, intellect and heart. Under a unique, playwright-centric second production process, Theater Wit has become a nationally recognized producer of new work by writers like Anne Washburn, Will Eno, Itamar Moses, Joshua Harmon and Madeleine George.

Under founding Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler's leadership, Theater Wit has grown from a small $40K annual budget to a leader in the Chicago landscape with an annual budget of $750K. In 2007, he supervised and designed a new home for Theater Wit, a three-theater facility that hosts Wit's own award-winning work and gives a home to a number of Chicago's best neighborhood theaters with over 500 performances per year from 20+ companies in a typical season.

Lyric Opera of Chicago today announces the company's 2025/26 Season, its first complete season under the leadership of new General Director, President & CEO John Mangum. A rich mix of traditional operas and other live performances anchored by the incomparable Lyric Opera Orchestra and Lyric Opera Chorus, the season includes two world premieres, two Lyric premieres, three new-to-Chicago productions, an expansion of the sold-out Movie Nights at Lyric series, a solo recital by one of opera's most legendary stars, and performances by some of the biggest names in musical theater. Lyric also deepens its mission to be the cultural hub for live performance in Chicago by commissioning and producing the work of two iconic Chicago pioneers: alternative rocker Billy Corgan, who presents world-premiere concerts reimagining his era-defining album with The Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, for the operatic stage to celebrate its 30th anniversary; and Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young, who writes and stars in the world-premiere musical work safronia.

"Next season is filled with a tremendous range of lavish and powerful opera productions that we are excited to share with our audiences," says John Mangum, General Director, President & CEO of Lyric Opera of Chicago. "I'm just as excited about a series of special performances and productions that open the aperture and expand the definition of opera and what an American opera company can be. The season clearly illustrates how this company continues to push the art form forward and create new work that can only happen in Chicago."

"I am also excited to continue the great partnership I share with Lyric's Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and to have Lyric audiences experience his electrifying musical leadership," continues Mangum. "Next season, Enrique will conduct the work of five different composers, an eclectic and wide-ranging list that includes Cherubini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Orff, and Mozart. Outside of the opera house, Enrique continues to be a strong advocate for our art form throughout the city and a champion for our city in his travels around the world. He has truly earned his title of 'Chicago's maestro-around-town.'"

The company's 71st anniversary season opens on Friday, October 10, 2025, with the Lyric Opening Concert & Gala. Continuing the event's tradition ushering in the start of Chicago's new cultural season, this special concert shines a spotlight on some of Broadway's most beloved talents and showcases a different side of the Lyric Opera Orchestra's vast musical expertise. More information will be announced soon.

The opera season continues the next evening with the Lyric premiere of Cherubini's tragedy of infidelity and vengeance, Medea, October 11–26, 2025. Conducted by Maestro Mazzola and presented in the Lyric coproduction directed by Sir David McVicar, Medea stars Chicago's hometown diva Sondra Radvanovsky, for whom this production was created, in the title role. Performances also feature returning Lyric favorites Matthew Polenzani as Giasone, Zoie Reams as Neris, and rising star Elena Villalón in her Lyric debut as Glauce.

Following its sold-out, one-night-only premiere with Singin' in the Rain earlier in the current season, the Movie Nights at Lyric series expands to include two performances of two beloved films, both steeped in the musical theater tradition, and each powered by the Lyric Opera Orchestra performing the score live on stage in harmony with the film shown on a huge screen above them. The first film is presented October 16 & 18, 2025, and the second film is presented on April 10 & 11, 2026; movie titles will be announced soon.

The season continues with a pair of Italian verismo one-act operas: Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana & Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, on stage November 1–23, 2025. Known together as Cav/Pag, opera's most thrilling double bill is conducted by Maestro Mazzola and presented in director Elijah Moshinsky's Lyric production by revival director Peter McClintock. Cavalleria rusticana stars Yulia Matochkina as Santuzza and SeokJong Baek as Turiddu in their Lyric debuts alongside Lyric favorite Quinn Kelsey as Alfio. Kelsey also appears as Tonio in Pagliacci together with returning favorites Russell Thomas as Canio and Gabriella Reyes as Nedda.

November also brings Orff's blazing cantata Carmina Burana to the stage, for three performances only, November 14–18, 2025. Conducted by Maestro Mazzola and with more than 225 artists on stage — the combined forces of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Lyric Opera Chorus plus a large children's chorus from Uniting Voices Chicago and soloists Jasmine Habersham, David Portillo, and Ian Rucker — Orff's themes of the fickleness of fortune, the joys and sorrows of love, and the fleeting nature of existence are brought to vivid life.

A blockbuster month at Lyric continues with world-premiere performances celebrating the 30th anniversary of the decade-defining album by the legendary Chicago alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins: A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, for seven nights only, November 21–30, 2025. Iconic frontman Billy Corgan reimagines his magnum opus by marshaling all of Lyric's technical and artistic forces — including the epic sound of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus and special guest artists — for an immersively original sonic and visual experience that blurs the boundaries of opera, rock, and performance art. Featuring newly commissioned arrangements and orchestrations by Corgan and James Lowe, who also conducts, as well as costumes from House of Gilles by Gilles and Chloé Mendel Corgan, these historic performances promise to further magnify the legend of the original album and expand the definition and intention of opera.

"It is thrilling to collaborate with Lyric head John Mangum, my musical partner James Lowe, and all of the artists at Lyric in reimagining this very special and historic album, and to discover how Lyric's full operatic treatment is helping me experience my own compositions in powerful new ways," says Billy Corgan. "Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way."

Tickets for A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. at lyricopera.org and are available to Lyric subscribers now, as part of a subscription package.

The winter brings a pair of operas that examine the romantic passions of women through startlingly different lenses. Salome, Richard Strauss's explosive opera of obsession and depravity, returns to Lyric for the first time in nearly 20 years, January 25–February 14, 2026. Conductor Tomáš Netopil, the incoming Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, makes his Lyric debut leading a supersized Lyric Opera Orchestra through Strauss's groundbreaking score. Sir David McVicar's decadent and provocative production, revived by Julia Burbach, is set in 1940s fascist Italy and is presented in North America for the very first time. The demanding title role of Salome is sung by Elena Stikhina in her Lyric debut; returning stars Brandon Jovanovich and Tanja Ariane Baumgartner play her demented parents, Herod and Herodias; and Nicholas Brownlee makes his Lyric debut as the object of her deadly affection, Jochanaan.

In repertory with the dark and demanding Salome is Mozart's lighthearted romantic comedy Così fan tutte, on stage February 1–15, 2026. Maestro Mazzola conducts Mozart's sparkling score, and Michael Cavanagh's new-to-Chicago production, set in a 1930s-era seaside country club, is revived by Roy Rallo. The opera — the second in Lyric's exploration of the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy of operas, following the current season's The Marriage of Figaro — stars Jacquelyn Stucker as Fiordiligi, Cecilia Molinari as Dorabella, and Anthony León as Ferrando, all in their Lyric debuts, along with Ian Rucker as Guglielmo, Ana María Martínez as Despina, and Rod Gilfry as Don Alfonso.

International superstar Renée Fleming makes her much-anticipated return to the Lyric stage for one night only on Thursday, February 5, 2026, with a program based on her 2023 Grammy-winning album and performed with pianist Inon Barnatan. Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene, created in partnership with the National Geographic Society, which designed the recital's captivating video elements, blends classic Romantic-era works and contemporary selections in a program that captures the evolution of the human experience in nature.

The unforgettable music of Puccini returns to Lyric when Madama Butterfly takes the stage, March 14–April 12, 2026. Conducted by Domingo Hindoyan and presented in a beautiful new-to-Chicago production from Lyric's own Matthew Ozawa, this critically acclaimed presentation reckons with the opera's outdated stereotypes and challenges audiences to reconsider their point of view while respecting the opera's beloved scenic and musical traditions. Karah Son, one of the leading Butterflys of our time, makes her Lyric debut in the title role; the opera also stars Evan LeRoy Johnson as Pinkerton and Nozomi Kato as Suzuki, both in their Lyric debuts. Ozawa's striking new vision for the opera's traditional Japanese setting is executed by an all-female and all-Japanese design team, bringing new dimensions to the age-old story.

Paired with the classic Madama Butterfly is an acclaimed contemporary Spanish-language opera in its Lyric premiere: El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego), by composer Gabriela Lena Frank and the librettist Nilo Cruz (librettist for Lyric's world premiere Bel Canto in the 2015/16 Season), March 21–April 4, 2026. Conductor Roberto Kalb and director Lorena Maza, reprising their roles from the work's 2022 world premiere and both in their Lyric debuts, lead this colorful, surrealist production in which Frida and Diego's art comes to life on stage, powered by Frank's lush, evocative music inspired by Mexican folk music traditions. Daniela Mack stars as Frida, and Alfredo Daza makes his Lyric debut as Diego. Ana María Martínez returns for a second appearance in the season as Catrina, and the rising star countertenor Key'mon W. Murrah makes his Lyric debut as Leonardo.

Lyric concludes its opera season with another world premiere: safronia, an Afro-surrealist opera featuring music and libretto by Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young, for two performances only, April 17 & 18, 2026. safronia is young's moving story of the Great Migration, told through the eyes of a family returning from the northern U.S. to their southern hometown to reckon with the ghosts of their past. First conceived following young's galvanizing appearance in Lyric's Twilight: Gods in the 2020/21 Season, safronia marries folklore, poetry, and history with gospel, blues, funk, and soul. These vibrant, immersive, concert-style performances are directed by visionary storyteller Timothy Douglas in his Lyric debut.

"safronia is a deeply personal story to me — it is my story, but it is also our story, and I am honored to tell our story in our city's great temple of culture," says young. "When words and music combine in opera, their powers take on even greater resonance and meaning. I can't wait for Chicago to meet safronia and to come along on her operatic journey."

Continuing Year-Round Programs at Lyric

The excitement of its current 50th anniversary season will continue as The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, Lyric's world-class artist-development program, marks another season of excellence in the 2025/26 Season. Members of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble will appear in a variety of onstage roles, and several notable alumni of the program — including Matthew Polenzani, Quinn Kelsey, Lauren Decker, Ryan Capozzo, and Ian Rucker (who is finishing his tenure in the Ensemble this season) — will return to Lyric next season. The Ryan Opera Center Final Auditions, at which more than 20 finalists representing the world's finest emerging artists audition for a spot in the Ryan Opera Center's 2026/27 Ensemble, will be held Sunday, September 14, 2025. Rising Stars in Concert, the program's annual showcase of its current Ensemble, will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

Ryan Opera Center artists and members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra come together to signal a new cultural season is ahead with one of the city's most anticipated free events: Sunday in the Park with Lyric, an annual concert conducted by Maestro Mazzola in the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, will be held Sunday, September 7, 2025.

Lyric Unlimited, the company's Learning & Civic Engagement division, is dedicated to education and community initiatives that connect Lyric to the city of Chicago through collaborative programming. One of Lyric Unlimited's most popular events for Chicago families — Explore Your Lyric, a day of fun and adventure for all ages at the Lyric Opera House —  is set for Saturday, April 18, 2026.

          Lyric Unlimited's Opera in the Neighborhoods program also returns in the 2025/26 Season with both school and public performances of a powerful opera for young audiences. Katie: The Strongest of the Strong — An opera for all —  composed by Faye Chiao with a libretto by Anton Dudley, is inspired by the true story of Katie Sandwina, a circus strongwoman in the early 1900s who helped lead the women's suffrage movement. Opera in the Neighborhoods performances reach more than 5,000 students and their families each season through Lyric's longstanding annual tours that include both school-based and public performances.

Lyric also plans an expansion of its existing program of Student Dress Rehearsals in the 2025/26 Season. In the current season, more than 2,000 Chicago students will attend dress rehearsals of operas, and current goals are to double student participation at dress rehearsals in the next season.

"All year long — whether on the stage with our world-class performances, backstage with our renowned artist-training programs and topflight design shops, or out in the community in classrooms, parks, and other spaces around the city — Lyric is the cultural hub for all of Chicago," says Mangum. "We look forward to continuing to bring Chicago audiences together to see and hear universal stories told through the singular power of live music and the human voice."

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to continue its 49th season with the Chicago premiere of The Book of Grace, an incendiary family portrait by Suzan-Lori Parks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Topdog/Underdog. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, The Book of Grace will play March 27 – May 18, 2025 in Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets starting at $20 are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 6 pm.

The Book of Grace will feature ensemble member Namir Smallwood (Steppenwolf: Bug, True West–also Galway Festival, Seagull. Broadway/Off-Broadway: Pass Over. TV: American Rust) with Jerome Preston Bates (Broadway: Seven Guitars, Stick Fly, Jitney. TV: All My Children) and Zainab Jah (Broadway: Eclipsed. Off-Broadway: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. TV: Only Murders in the Building).

About the Production:

Grace looks for the good in everything: in her husband's rules, in the border he patrols, in the return of his estranged son. But a want for goodness cannot unwind the past, as this taut family reunion explodes in all directions. Witness this startling reminder that the search for common ground can be bloody and brutal, leaving casualties on every side of the divide.

Steppenwolf is thrilled that the Chicago premiere of The Book of Grace offers playwright Suzan-Lori Parks an opportunity to revisit this "companion" to Topdog/Underdog, deepening and expanding the world of her play for the present day.

The creative team includes Arnel Sancianco (Scenic Design), Raquel Adorno (Costume Design), Jason Lynch (Lighting Design), Curtis Craig (Sound Design & Original Music), Rasean Davonté Johnson (Projection Design) Kate DeVore (Vocal Coach), Jonathan L. Green (Dramaturg), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Michelle Medvin (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager). For cast and creative team bios, click here.

Production Details:

Title: The Book of Grace
Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks
Director: Steve H. Broadnax III
Cast: Ensemble member Namir Smallwood (Buddy) with Jerome Preston Bates (Vet) and Zainab Jah (Grace),

Location: Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, 1646 N. Halsted St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, March 27 – Saturday, April 5, 2025
Press performance/Opening: Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 6 pm
Regular run: Thursday, April 10 – Sunday, May 18, 2025
Curtain Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 3 pm & 7:30 pm; and Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be performances on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, April 9 at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, May 10 at 3 pm or 7:30 pm; Sunday, May 11 at 3 pm or Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30 pm; there will be an added matinee performance on Wednesday, May 7 at 2 pm.

Tickets: Single tickets for The Book of Grace ($20 - $102) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. Steppenwolf Flex Memberships are also currently on sale: Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production and RED Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30.

Accessible Performance Dates:

Audio-described and Touch Tour: Sunday, May 4 at 3 pm (1:30 pm touch tour)
Open-Captioned: Saturday, May 3 at 3 pm & Thursday, May 8 at 7:30 pm
ASL-Interpreted: Friday, May 16 at 7:30 pm

Education and Engagement:

Throughout the 2024/25 season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to the next generation of theatre learners, makers and appreciators with robust education and engagement programming. Programming includes dedicated student matinee performances during four of the five Membership Series productions including Noises Off, Leroy and Lucy, Fool for Love and The Book of Grace, in-school residencies in partnership with Chicago Public schools, workshops, panels and events specifically geared towards teens, as well as professional development trainings and resources for educators. Additionally, Steppenwolf is reimagining their community engagement and will pilot new public programming, continue accessibility programming and offer opportunities for deeper explorations for audiences throughout the season. For additional information about Steppenwolf's Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip, visit steppenwolf.org/education-and-engagement/steppenwolf-field-trip-series.

Artist Biographies:

Jerome Preston Bates (Vet) Broadway: Seven Guitars, Stick Fly, Jitney, American Son, Death of a Salesman. Off Broadway: The Refuge Plays (Roundabout Theatre Company), The Public, Beckett Theatre, Abingdon Theatre, Circle Rep, Playwrights Horizon, New Federal Theatre, Negro Ensemble Company. Regional: Seven Guitars (opposite Viola Davis, world premiere, Goodman Theatre), Yale Repertory, The Kennedy Center, Hartford Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Comedy of Errors, King Richard III), Old Globe (Macbeth), Folgers (King Lear in association with Classical Theatre of Harlem), Wilma Theater, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia Drama Guild, among others. Director: The Man in Room 304 (Luna Stage), Seven Guitars (Triad Stage), A Raisin in The Sun (Livingstone College), all 10 of the American Century Cycle at Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History. Writer: Electric Lady, Augusta Brown, Mr. Unemployed, Jimi Hendrix (screenplay). Film: Shaft (with Samuel L. Jackson), PEEPLES, Musical Chairs, Tio Papi, The Out of Towners. Television: All My Children, Oz, Law and Order, SVU, New York Undercover, Sesame Street, Lights Out, Notes from the Field with Anna DeVere Smith. Awards: seven time AUDELCO winner. Education/Training: LAMDA/London, University of Tennessee, Knoxville College, The New School, Professional Positions: Teaching Staff at Stella Adler School of Acting NY.

Zainab Jah (Grace) Broadway: Eclipsed, Venus, Boesman and Lena. Off Broadway: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (MCC); The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Atlantic Theater Company). Regional: Hamlet (Wilma Theater); The Convert (LATC). Film: Reunion, Farewell Amor, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, False Positive. Television: The Continental, The Blacklist, Only Murders in the Building, The Good Lord Bird, Deep State, Instinct, Blindspot, Elementary, Homeland.

Namir Smallwood (Buddy) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2017. Steppenwolf: Seagull, Bug, True West, BLKS, Monster, Man In Love, The Hot L Baltimore, Last Night and the Night Before. Broadway: Pass Over. Off Broadway: Pipeline, Pass Over (Lincoln Center). Chicago: Primary Trust (Goodman); Charm (Northlight Theatre); The Grapes of Wrath (The Gift Theatre); East Texas Hot Links (Writers Theatre). Regional: Marin Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Guthrie Theater. International: True West (Galway International Arts Festival). Television: Chicago Fire, Betrayal, Elementary, American Rust (Showtime/FreeVee); Power Book IV: Force (STARZ). Film: Rounding, About Time, Bailey's Blues.

Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright) is a multi-award-winning American writer/musician and the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog which recently enjoyed its twentieth anniversary Broadway revival. The production won the 2023 Tony Award, (Best Revival Of A Play). Last season she had new works which received world premieres, notably, at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Sally & Tom and, at Joe's Pub in New York City, Plays for the Plague Year (winner of The Drama Desk Award for Best Music in a Play). As a college student, Parks studied creative writing with James Baldwin, who encouraged her to begin writing for the theatre.

Steve H. Broadnax III (Director) Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man. Additional: Branden Jacobs- Jenkins's Appropriate at the Old Globe, Suzan-Lori Parks's Sally and Tom at the Public Theatre/ Guthrie Theatre (World Premiere), Katori Hall's Pulitzer Prize Premiere The Hot Wing King at Signature Theatre, Lee Edward Colston's The First Deep Breath, Geffen Theatre (Jeff Awards Best New Work), Dominique Morisseau's Sunset Baby at Signature Theatre and Blood at the Root at the National Black Theatre (Winner of Kennedy Center's Hip Hop Theater Creator Award) and William Jackson Harper's Premiere Travisville Ensemble Studio. Ensemble Studio Theatre member, Associate Artistic Director at People's Light Theatre, Professor of Theatre at Penn State University, and Head of MFA Directing.

Accessibility:

As a commitment to make the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each STC production. Assistive listening devices (ALDs), large-print programs and Braille programs are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Chicagoland's longest running musical theatre, Marriott Theatre, continues its 50th Anniversary Season celebration with the epic production of Titanic The Musical, directed and choreographed by Connor Gallagher (Marriott Theatre debut! Broadway: Beetlejuice; Off-Broadway: The Big Gay Jamboree, The Robber Bridegroom, Into the Woods; Beauty and The Beast, Disney's Tale of Moana, Tangled) with Musical Direction by Jeff Award winner Ryan T. Nelson. Capturing the triumph and tragedy of the hopeful passengers on the ill-fated Ship of Dreams, Titanic The Musical previews on April 9, opens Wednesday, April 16 at 7pm, and runs through June 1, 2025. Based on the real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Titanic The Musical is a stirring portrait of the passengers on board the "unsinkable ship" and the tragedy that followed. With a soaring score by Maury Yeston and book by Peter Stone, the original Broadway production won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book.

"As a child who discovered musical theatre in the '90s, Titanic was a formative show for me," said director Conor Gallagher. "The chance to bring it to life on the Marriott Theatre stage is a thrilling, daunting, and ultimately energizing task. Add to that the legendary actors of Chicago and one of the most haunting scores ever written, and I couldn't be happier to be collaborating on this production. I promise it will be unlike any Titanic you've seen before."

Titanic The Musical stars David Girolmo as "Captain E.J. Smith," Alex Goodrich as "J. Bruce Ismay," Christopher Kale Jones as "Thomas Andrews," Lillian Castillo as "Alice Beane," James Earl Jones II as "Edgar Beane/Fourth Officer Boxhall," Erica Stephan as "Kate McGowan,"  Garrett Lutz as "Jim Farrell,"  Eric Amundson as "Bellboy," Joel Gelman as "Second Officer Charles Lightoller/John Jacob Astor," Darian Goulding as "Frederick Barrett/Benjamin Guggenheim," Laura Guley as "Kate Murphey/Eleanor Widener," Kelli Harrington as "Charlotte Cardoza," Matthew Hommel as "Harold Bride/Joseph Bell/Bandmaster Wallace Hartley," Mark David Kaplan as "Isidor Straus/Quartermaster Robert Hitchens," George Keating as "First Officer William Murdoch," Heidi Kettenring as "Ida Straus," Will Lidke as "Charles Clarke/George Widener," Francesca Mehrotra as "Caroline Neville/Mme. Aubert," Victoria Okafor as "Kate Mullins/Stewardess/Madeleine Astor," Lucas Thompson as "Frederick Fleet," Kevin Webb as "Henry Etches/Third Officer Herbert Pitman," with Anna Louise Bramlett, Andrés Enriquez, David Gordon-Johnson, Michael Metcalf and Schyler Vargas.

The artistic team features Associate Director and Choreographer Katie Johannigman, Scenic Designer Collette Pollard, Costume Designer Sully Ratke, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer Miguel Armstrong, Lighting Designer Jesse Klug, Sound Designer Michael Daly, Props Designer Sally Zack, Dialect Coach Adam Goldstein, Conductor Brad Haak and Stage Manager Colt Luedtke.

NEW FOR 2025 WEEKNIGHT PERFORMANCE TIMES, Titanic The Musical is scheduled to run Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., with select Thursday 1:00 p.m. shows. Call for group, dinner-theatre, student, senior, and military discounts. To make a restaurant reservation, please call 847.634.0100. Free parking is available at all performances. To reserve tickets or become a Marriott Theatre subscriber during the 50th Anniversary season, please call the Marriott Theatre Box Office at 847.634.0200 or go to www.tickets.marriotttheatre.com. Visit www.MarriottTheatre.com for more information. Attendees are also invited to visit Three Embers Restaurant before the show to experience a pop-up experience that will coincide with Titanic The Musical, transporting guests to another realm while enjoying a themed food and beverage menu led by the culinary team at Three Embers Restaurant.

Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to announce that a revitalized new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary musical, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, will play Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre December 11, 2025 – February 1, 2026, as part of a new multi-year North American Tour. Featuring Maria Björnson’s brilliant original design, this production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was rapturously received by London critics when it reopened at its birthplace His Majesty’s Theatre in 2021. Both the acclaimed new London production and the forthcoming North American Tour are directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn , based on the celebrated original direction by Harold Prince with choreography by Gillian Lynne, recreated and adapted by Chrissie Cartwright.

Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA delivers a theatrical experience unlike any other—one that Chicago theatergoers won’t want to miss—and can be added on to the next Broadway In Chicago season package, on sale this April. Groups (10+) are available now by calling (312) 977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For more details, visit BroadwayInChicago.com.

"PHANTOM HAS NEVER LOOKED MORE SPECTACULAR" - Sunday Express

"THE SHOW HAS ONLY GROWN IN ITS ARTISTIC POWER" - Sunday Times

Cameron Mackintosh said, "I'm really delighted to bring Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA back to thrill American audiences once again after its phenomenal record-breaking run on Broadway. When I unveiled this new production in London after the pandemic many of our brilliant original creative team, including Hal Prince, Gillian Lynne and Maria Björnson, were sadly no longer with us. Our exciting new team, inspired by their predecessors’ glorious work, updated certain aspects of the production that resulted in a dazzlingly fresh version of the much-loved original, which was rapturously received by audiences and critics alike. So, in just a year’s time, when we raise our even more sensational chandelier, you can once again thrill to Andrew’s soaring music of the night and be swept away by a revitalized PHANTOM in all its glory!” 
 
Andrew Lloyd Webber said, “The Phantom made it very clear that it would not be long before his legend would, once again, be told in America. While Hal, Gillie and Maria are, sadly, no longer with us, they live on in the show we all created together. Love, passion and live theatre are what THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is all about. I still get goosebumps every time that chandelier comes alive and infuses the theatre with something that only happens when design, direction and music are completely at one. I am absolutely delighted that we are bringing this very special production back to audiences across North America.” 
 
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is widely considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular productions in history, playing to over 160 million people in 47 territories and 195 cities in 21 languages. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s romantic, haunting, and soaring score includes “The Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” “Masquerade,” and the iconic title song. It tells the tale of a disfigured musical genius known only as ‘The Phantom’ who haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House. Mesmerized by the talents and beauty of a young soprano, Christine, The Phantom lures her as his protégé and falls fiercely in love with her. Unaware of Christine’s love for Raoul, The Phantom’s obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events where jealousy, madness, and passions collide. 
 
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, originally produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, has become one of the most successful shows in the world. The original London stage production is now the second longest-running musical ever. It opened on Broadway on January 26, 1988, directed by Harold Prince. It won seven 1988 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and reigned as the longest-running show in Broadway history since January 9, 2006, when it surpassed Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats , also produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The New York production played a staggering nearly 13,981 performances, been seen by 20 million people and grossed over $1.4 billion. After an unprecedented 35 record-breaking years, the Broadway production played its final performance on April 16, 2023. 
 
There have been three U.S. National Tours based on the original Broadway production.  The First National Tour played Los Angeles and San Francisco for a combined total run of almost 10 years, playing 3,902 performances to 6.6 million people.  The Second National Tour had an 8.5-year run playing 3,364 performances to 7.5 million people.  The Third National Tour had an 18-year run, playing 7,284 performances to 16.7 million people.  The three U.S. national tours played 216 engagements in 77 cities for an unprecedented total of 36.5 years and over 14,500 performances to 31 million people – making it the most successful and longest-running touring show in U.S. history.

The new North American tour of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will premiere at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, MD in November 2025. Casting will be announced at a later date. 

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and presented by Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group Ltd. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart, and Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel ‘Le Fantôme de l’Opera’ by Gaston Leroux, with Orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Musical Supervision is by Kristen Blodgette. The Production Design is by Maria Björnson, and the Set Design is adapted by Matt Kinley with Associate Costume Design by Jill Parker, Lighting is by Andrew Bridge with Associate Lighting Design by Warren Letton, Video Design is by George Reeve, Sound is by Mick Potter. The Musical Staging and Choreography is by Gillian Lynne, recreated and adapted by Chrissie Cartwright. Originally Directed by Harold Prince, this new production is Directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn.  
 
Please sign up for more information on the new North American production at ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com
 
Please follow: 
ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com 
facebook.com/thephantomoftheopera 
instagram.com/phantomtour 
tiktok.com/@phantommusical>  
YouTube.com/thephantomoftheopera 
#PhantomTour 
 
The Really Useful Group has launched The Box Five Club, a hub for fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals to explore unseen archives, behind-the-scenes moments, new videos, articles, and previews from new shows and music. Fans can sign up for free at boxfiveclub.com , which will subscribe them to the curated newsletter featuring first looks, news, articles, and video content, early access to tickets and events for all Lloyd Webber shows, including THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, as well as additional member benefits.  
 
Please sign up for more information at TheBoxFiveClub.com. 

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 25 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.
Follow @BroadwayInChicago on
Facebook ● Instagram ● TikTok ●Bluesky ● YouTube
#broadwayinchicago

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice… Beetlejuice! You’ve summoned him once again, Chicago— BEETLEJUICE is back for another hauntingly hilarious run! The edgy and irreverent Broadway smash hit will haunt the Cadillac Palace Theatre for a strictly limited engagement today through March 16, 2025. Individual tickets ($47.50-157.50) and a select number of premium tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at BroadwayInChicago.com. Group orders of 10+ are also available by calling (312) 977-1710 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Patrons can also participate in a digital lottery for a chance to purchase $25 tickets for each performance. A limited number of day-of-show, in person $49 Rush tickets will also be available for all performances. Click here for more information.

Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. With an irreverent book, an astonishing set, and a score that’s out of this Netherworld, BEETLEJUICE is “SCREAMINGLY GOOD FUN!” (Variety). And under its uproarious surface (six feet under, to be exact), it’s a remarkably touching show about family, love, and making the most of every Day-O!

BEETLEJUICE is directed by Tony Award® winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge!, Director of Warner Bros. forthcoming TOTO, the animated musical film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark’s 2017 book) with an original score by Tony Award nominee Eddie Perfect (King Kong); a book by Tony Award nominee Scott Brown (“Castle Rock”) and Tony and Emmy Award® nominee Anthony King (“Robbie”); music supervision, orchestrations and incidental music by Kris Kukul (Joan of Arc: Into the Fire); and choreography by Connor Gallagher (The Robber Bridegroom).

BEETLEJUICE features scenic design by three-time Tony Award nominee David Korins (Hamilton); costume design by six-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long (The Producers); lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (Kinky Boots); sound design by Tony Award winner Peter Hylenski (Moulin Rouge!); projection design by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Peter Nigrini (Dear Evan Hansen); puppet design by Drama Desk Award winner Michael Curry (The Lion King); special effects design by Jeremy Chernick (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), hair and wig design by Drama Desk Award nominee Charles G. LaPointe; make-up design by Joe Dulude II; associate director is Catie Davis and associate choreographer is Michael Fatica; casting by The Telsey Office.

BEETLEJUICE Producers include Warner Bros, Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and NETworks Presentations.

BEETLEJUICE opened at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on Thursday, April 25, 2019, presented by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (Mark Kaufman) and Langley Park Productions (Kevin McCormick), and won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for David Korins’ scenic design and was nominated for eight Tony Awards including Best New Musical. BEETLEJUICE had a history making run on Broadway - following the release of the musical’s original Broadway cast recording and Tony Awards appearance, the box office exploded, making it the surprise hit of the 2018/2019 season. BEETLEJUICE’s Tony Awards performance has gone on to be the most watched musical number from the broadcast with over 3,921,530 views. BEETLEJUICE became a sensation with fans everywhere including on TikTok, which lead to an additional burst of ticket sales from a new audience for Broadway, making the musical one of the top grossing shows on Broadway, going on to break the Winter Garden box office record. The smash hit musical BEETLEJUICE played 366 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway before being shuttered with the rest of Broadway on March 12, 2020. BEETLEJUICE returned triumphantly to Broadway with performances on April 8, 2022, at the Marquis Theatre where it continued to haunt Broadway through January 8, 2023.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and WARNER RECORDS released BEETLEJUICE – ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING for digital download, streaming and on CD. The album is produced by Tony Award winner Matt Stine, Tony Award winner Alex Timbers, Tony nominee Eddie Perfect and three-time Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch and has surpassed 250 million streams in the United States and 760 million streams globally. These landmark numbers continue the remarkable success of the album, reaching the list of top 10 most streamed OBCRs of the previous decade. The show’s songs have placed in Spotify’s “Viral 50” charts in 13 different countries. In addition, “Say My Name,” one of the show’s breakout showstoppers, was chosen as Amazon’s “Alexa Song of the Day” in 2019. The incredible growth is partly a result of user-generated content on TikTok, where songs from the album have been used in over one million videos.

BEETLEJUICE is based on the 1988 Academy Award®-winning Geffen Company motion picture presented by Warner Bros. and directed by Tim Burton. The smash hit comedy starred Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder with story by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson.

Like BEETLEJUICE on Facebook at Facebook.com/BeetlejuiceBway/.
Follow on TikTok, Twitter , and Instagram @BeetlejuiceBway.
For more information, visit www.BeetlejuiceBroadway.com.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m.                  Saturday, March 15 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m.           Saturday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m.                Sunday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m.
Friday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m.                      Sunday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 25 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 Theatre 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, visit www.broadwayinchicago.com.
Follow @broadwayinchicago on Facebook, Instagram , Blue Sky, and TikTok #broadwayinchicago

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago announces 16 by Red Clay Dance Company for three performances only, April 17-19, 2025, featuring Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward (‘02)’s new staging of Written on the Flesh and a premiere by Bebe Miller—commissioned and set on Red Clay Dance Company dancers including Columbia alumni Amaya Arroyo (‘23) and Celeste Brace (‘23).

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit dance.colum.edu/events/2025/4/17/red-clay-dance-company.

Season 51 welcomes the return to the Dance Center of two extraordinary dance artists who have significantly impacted the dance ecosystem in Chicago and beyond—Bebe Miller and Vershawn Sanders-Ward. New York- and Ohio-based Miller was dubbed a “MoMing Sensation” by the Chicago Tribune in 1986 when she first performed in Chicago at MoMing Dance and Arts Center. Miller made her Dance Center debut at the original Uptown location in 1990 as part of Present Vision/Past Voice – The African American Tradition in Modern Dance series and returned in 1999 for the Changing Channels Festival where then-undergraduate Vershawn Sanders-Ward first experienced her work. From 2005 through 2020, the Dance Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Links Hall all presented Miller in Chicago. Sanders-Ward founded Red Clay Dance Company in Chicago in 2009 and began making a local, national and international name for herself. Sanders-Ward returned to her alma mater for Red Clay Dance Company’s collaboration with Uganda-based Keiga Dance Company in 2018. During the pandemic, the South Loop Spark Plug incubator residency at the Dance Center commissioned four Chicago-based choreographers, including Sanders-Ward, to premiere new works in 2022 that were developed over a 6-month period with Miller serving as an artistic process mentor. 16 is the latest opportunity for Chicago to experience these two artists at the Dance Center.

“Vershawn Sanders-Ward and Bebe Miller are shining examples of continued, never-ending dedication to the field, to process, to inquiry, to continuing to investigate,” says Dance Center Artistic Director Meredith Sutton.

Tickets for Red Clay Dance Company’s 16 at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago (1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) are now available for $30, with non-Columbia student tickets available for $10. Performances are Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. (includes post-performance Q&A with Bebe Miller and Vershawn Sanders-Ward); Friday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit dance.colum.edu/events/2025/4/17/red-clay-dance-company.

Displayed int he lobby will be an archive of Red Clay Dance Company’s16 years in partnership with the Chicago Dance History Project for audiences to view before the show and during intermission.

Alongside the performances, advanced/professional dancers and students can take a masterclass with Bebe Miller at Red Clay Dance Company (808 E. 63rd Street, Chicago) on Thursday, April 17. Tickets are available for $30 HERE. A workshop with Vershawn Sanders-Ward will also be held at the Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago (1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) on Friday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m.

When Written on the Flesh first premiered in 2016 at Chicago’s DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, it had been sparked by a Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2014 essay in The Atlantic where he wrote: “elegant racism is invisible, supple, and enduring.” In developing the dance work, Vershawn Sanders-Ward and the Red Clay Dance Company dancers were struck by how memories of direct, in-your-face bigotry were easy to call up and respond to, “But some of the underpinnings of the things that we just move through in our lives become a way of living,” says Sanders-Ward. “They are actually invisibilized. I was intrigued about how to make those things visible.”

This 2025 restaging takes the inquiry deeper, drawing additional inspiration from Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: “As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.” Reimagining the work with the current dancers in the company, Sanders-Ward seeks to confront systemic racial inequities while searching for resilience, forgiveness, and love.

“There are systemic issues that we still don’t have the courage to really lay bare,” says Sanders-Ward. “Even when it’s bubbling up there’s still this powerful dynamic to suppress and suppress and suppress, not let’s address it head on no matter how disruptive it’s going to be. We see pockets of it. But are we willing to let it all come out?”

“The relationships that I have now in the field are because of the time that I was at the Dance Center and the generosity of the faculty in making connections for me,” says Sanders-Ward. “I feel very blessed to be in a position to put the dancers in the company in relationship with Bebe Miller, an artist who is just legendary to me, but is also still on her own creative journey.” says Sanders-Ward. “It’s a homecoming to be able to be incubated in a space and go away and to come back at this pivotal moment.”

About 16’s Choreographers

A native New Yorker, Bebe Miller first performed her choreography at NYC’s Dance Theater Workshop in 1978. She formed Bebe Miller Company in 1985 to pursue her interest in finding a physical language for the human condition. Committed to keeping dance available to a wide spectrum of people and to further the conversation about the role of arts and creativity in our culture, Miller is dedicated to providing access to the creative process and expression to diverse communities. She has created more than 50 dance works for the company and has been commissioned and presented by 651 ARTS, BAM Next Wave, DTW, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theater, PICA, REDCAT, Walker Art Center, and Wexner Center for the Arts among others. Her choreography has been performed by Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M. (Abraham In Motion), Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet, Philadanco, Salt Lake City’s Repertory Dance Theater, the UK’s Phoenix Dance Company, PACT Dance Company of Johannesburg, South Africa, and at a host of colleges and universities including the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. Named a Master of African AmericanChoreography by the Kennedy Center in 2005, Bebe has been a Movement Research honoree, has received four New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” awards, the David R. White Award from New York Live Arts, United States Artists and Guggenheim Fellowships, honorary doctorates from Ursinus College and Franklin & Marshall College, and is one of the inaugural class of Doris Duke Artist Award recipients. Bebe is a Distinguished Professor Emerita in The Ohio State University’s Department of Dance and lives in Columbus, OH. bebemillercompany.org

The Founding Artistic Director& CEO of Red Clay Dance Company, Vershawn Sanders-Ward blends elements of African diasporic dance forms with modern techniques and is committed to reshaping the landscape of contemporary dance while driving social change. Through Red Clay Dance Company, she provides a platform for artists of diverse backgrounds to explore issues of identity, race, and social justice through dance and ARTIVISM. Her work has been presented in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, and internationally in Toronto, Dakar and Kampala and commissioned by Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, Knox College, AS220, and the National Theatre in Uganda. On the Board of Trustees for Dance/USA, Sanders-Ward is President of the Board of Directors for the Black Arts & Cultural Alliance of Chicago, was selected as a Community Impact Fellow for the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago and as a member of the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit for Emerging Global Leaders. She is the recipient of the inaugural Walder Foundation Platform Award, Dance/USA Artist Fellowship, Dance/USA Leadership Fellowship, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Award, and 3Arts Award. She was featured on the 2024 Chicago episode of the PBS series "The Expressway with Dulé Hill, "named a 2024 Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, and inducted into Newcity’s “Players 50: People Who Really Perform for Chicago” Hall of Fame in 2023. Sanders-Ward is a candidate for Dunham Certification and currently serves on faculty at Loyola University of Chicago. She holds an MFA in Dance from New York University and is the first recipient of a BFA in Dance from  Columbia College Chicago, where she was a Gates Millennium Scholar. redclaydance.com

About Red Clay Dance Company

Red Clay Dance Company, Chicago’s premier Afro-contemporary dance company, is the brainchild of Vershawn Sanders-Ward, the institutions’ Founding Artistic Director & CEO. The touring company is an award-winning ensemble of versatile and dynamic dance Artivists that tour and perform locally, nationally, and internationally. In its 16-year history the company has toured and performed in venues such as the Harris Theater for Music & Dance, Dance Center of Columbia College, the DuSable Museum Roundhouse, the Museum of Contemporary Art, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, The Painted Bride, Joyce Soho, and the National Theater of Uganda. Committed to taking their signature Artivism in Motion from the stage into learning environments, its community engagement work is a vital part of the company’s creative process and village building work.

About The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago

Within the School of Theatre and Dance, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago is home to the Dance program and the Dance Presenting Series. Valuing embodied human expression, nurturing an expansive understanding of dance from the established to the experimental, and centering pluralism, the Dance Center aims to be a nucleus for innovation and creativity—on stage, in the classroom, and beyond. By partnering with local, national, and international dance artists dedicated to transforming the field, the Dance Presenting Series offers live performances and other shared opportunities for students, faculty, artists, and audiences to connect, witness, research, experiment, practice, imagine, and grow. We cultivate an environment and culture that prioritizes respect for self and others, and advances an anti-racist, equitable, and just society.

Season 51 is supported in part by Alphawood Foundation, Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council, Kalapriya Center for Indian Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Red Clay Dance Company, and The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. Additional support for She’s Auspicious is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

About Columbia College Chicago

Located in the heart of downtown Chicago’s Cultural Mile, Columbia College Chicago is a private, nonprofit college offering a distinctive curriculum that blends creative and media arts, liberal arts, and business for nearly 6,700 students in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Dedicated to academic excellence and long-term career success, Columbia College Chicago creates a dynamic, challenging, and collaborative space for students who see the world through a creative lens.

Obliteration, LLC & The Revival Theater announce a limited engagement of Obliteration, written by Andrew Hinderaker, directed by Jonathan Berry, featuring Michael Patrick Thornton and Cyd Blakewell. Obliteration runs April 10-May 4, 2025, at The Revival Theater, 906 S Wabash Ave in Chicago.

Obliteration is a fusion of stand-up comedy and theater that tells the story of two comedians, Neal (Thornton) and Lee (Blakewell), trying to make sense of a world that's falling apart, even as their own lives are hanging on by a thread.

Obliteration played last summer to sold out audiences and rave reviews as part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Festival and produced by The Gift Theatre in a production directed by Andrew Hinderaker. 

"I've loved stand-up comedy my whole life. But I'd never attempted to write it—I'm a playwright, not a comedian. Then a few years ago, I stumbled upon this quote from the brilliant Phoebe Waller-Bridge: 'You get a lot for free from an audience if you can make them laugh.' Immediately an idea for a play unspooled in my mind: a fusion of stand-up and theater that would tell the story of two comedians, whose lives were hanging on by a thread," comments Andrew Hinderaker. 

Hinderaker continues, "I wrote the piece for two of my fellow ensemble members of Chicago's Gift Theatre: Michael Patrick Thornton, with whom I've collaborated for over a decade; and Cyd Blakewell, with whom I've been desperate to work for years. Our process was simple: I'd write some pages, hoping they would make Cyd and Mike laugh and/or cry. Then they'd read the pages and make me laugh and cry. Over a year, we built the 'play' like this, gradually folding an audience into our process. And once we got people in the room, that's when we realized, holy shit, there's something here."

"I've known all three of these artists for over 20 years and what I can say with certainty is that they are uncompromising in their pursuit of excellence in the art. It's a privilege to return to this production as director and, because we're in a very different moment, I'm sure the play and these actors will be in response to that. What hasn't changed, is our need for laughter, our need for connection, and I am thrilled to create the opportunity for a new audience to experience that," comments Jonathan Berry. 

The Revival Theatre's John Stoops comments, "The Revival is thrilled to host the incomparable Michael Patrick Thornton and Cyd Blakewell in Obliteration. We can't imagine a better way to celebrate our 10th year than to present this groundbreaking production that celebrates comedy and drama in equal measure."

FACTS

Title: Obliteration

Written by: Andrew Hinderaker

Directed by: Jonathan Berry

Cast: Cyd Blakewell and Michael Patrick Thornton 

Production team: Matthew Chapman (sound designer), Sheryl Williams (intimacy director), Jenn Thompson (production coordinator), Sarah Luse, (stage manager)

Location: The Revival Theater, 906 S Wabash Ave in Chicago

Dates: April 10-May 4, 2025

Previews: April 10, 11, 13, and 16, 2025

Opening: April 17, 2025 

Performance schedule: Thursdays-Sundays at 8pm

by: Jonathan Berry

Cast: Cyd Blakewell and Michael Patrick Thornton 

Production team: Matthew Chapman (sound designer), Sheryl Williams (intimacy director), Jenn Thompson (production coordinator), Sarah Luse, (stage manager)

No performances April 12 or 19, 2025

Tickets:https://www.the-revival.com

Previews: $25, $20 students

Regular run: $35, $25 students

About the Artists

Andrew Hinderaker (Playwright) most recently served as an Executive Producer and Showrunner of Black Rabbit, an upcoming Netflix series starring Jason Bateman and Jude Law. He previously created and showran the Showtime series, Let the Right One In, starring Oscar Nominee Demián Bichir, as well as the Netflix series, Away, starring Oscar Winner Hilary Swank. Additional TV writing credits include Penny Dreadful and The Path, but Hinderaker's heart and soul belong to the theater, where he specializes in writing plays that are (nearly) impossible to produce. Recent projects include The Magic Play (Goodman Theatre; Actors' Theatre of Louisville; Portland Center Stage) a five-year collaboration with a sleight-of-hand card artist; and Colossal, an epic theatrical event featuring full-contact football hits, a modern dance company, and a drum line. Colossal received a National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere from 2014- 2016, with its inaugural production at the Olney Theatre Center (DC) receiving numerous Helen Hayes Awards, including Best New Play. Hinderaker's additional plays include Suicide, Incorporated; Dirty; Kingsville; and I Am Going to Change the World, all of which premiered in his hometown of Chicago before enjoying productions in NY and throughout the world. Hinderaker holds an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a proud ensemble member of the Gift Theatre Company in Chicago. Obliteration marks his seventh collaboration with Michael Patrick Thornton, and his first with Cyd Blakewell. They are two of his favorite artists in the world.

Jonathan Berry (Director), a Chicago director, producer and teacher, is the Artistic Director of Penobscot Theatre in Bangor, Maine. He spent five years as an Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and he remains a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre. Steppenwolf directing credits include: Lindiwe (Co-directed with Eric Simonson and featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo), The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace. Steep Theatre productions include: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven't Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Griffin, productions include: The North American premiers of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff Award Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, as well as The Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening Company, Picnic, Time and the Conways, Dead End, The Hostage and Journey's End. He directed the NY premiere of Andrew Hinderaker's Suicide, Incorporated for The Roundabout. His work has been honored with numerous Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, as well as frequent representation on the end of year Top Ten lists of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times and TimeOut Chicago. He won the Joseph Jefferson Award for directing for his work on Simon Stephen's Punk Rock.  

Berry served as Assistant Director for Anna D Shapiro's Broadway productions of Of Mice and Men and This is Our Youth. At the Gift Theatre, he directed the world premieres of Andrew Hinderaker's Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated. At the Goodman Theatre, he directed the New Stages productions of Martin Zimmerman's The Solid Sand Below and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's The World of Extreme Happiness. Other work includes: American Theatre Company: Kill Floor, American Blues: Little Shop of Horrors and Sideman; Redtwist: Look Back in Anger and Reverb, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Jackalope Theatre: The Casuals, Strawdog: Conversations on a Homecoming, Remy Bumppo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: The Sea and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (Afterdark Award – Best Production) He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University under the tutelage of Anna D. Shapiro. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois – Chicago, Vagabond School, Act One Studios, and Columbia College Chicago. For 17 years he played an integral role in the esteemed ensemble training program The School at Steppenwolf, serving as director of the program from 2015-2019. 

Michael Patrick Thornton (Neal) has appeared on stages throughout the world, most recently on Broadway with Jessica Chastain in the acclaimed and Tony-nominated production of A Doll's House, directed by Jamie Lloyd and adapted by Amy Herzog, for which Michael's performance as "Dr. Rank" won the 2023 Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award for the best performance by an actor in a classical play in the New York metropolitan area. 

Thornton made his Broadway debut in Sam Gold's production of Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. Other highlights: The Gift Theatre's Doubt at Steppenwolf's 1700, Will Eno's Title and Deed (Lookingglass—Time Out Magazine Best Actor Award) as well as Eno's Middletown (Steppenwolf) the premiere of Andrew Hinderaker's Colossal (Olney Theatre, Kennedy Center) Othello (The Gift, "Iago") Our Town (Actors Theatre of Louisville) and the world premieres of Hinderaker's Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated (The Git) for which Thornton was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award. During his 2016 performance in the title role of Richard III (The Gift, at Steppenwolf) Thornton became the first actor to ever act onstage while wearing a robotic exoskeleton, pairing not only an actor with a disability with a character with a disability, but furthermore using cutting-edge technology to theatrically complicate the character of Richard and its discussion around disability, ableism, and representation. This production continues to be the subject of podcasts, published essays, anthologies, and academic papers.

Michael won the 2006 Jeff Award for Solo Performance for The Good Thief (The Gift).

On camera, Thornton has acted opposite Oscar Winners Jessica Chastain, J.K. Simmons, Hilary Swank, Alicia Vikander as well as Oscar nominees Jude Law and Demián Bichir. For two seasons, he played the love interest of six-time Tony Award winning legend Audra McDonald on Private Practice. 

In addition, Thornton's acclaimed improv show—You & Me—premiered at Steppenwolf and has since played for over a decade throughout Chicago, the country, as well as Dublin, Ireland. You & Me most recently had the honor of making its New York debut at Lincoln Center with Michael's comedy partner for life Susan Messing. The Chicago Reader has called the show and Thornton's improvisation "masterful."

Select Film/TV: Ponderosa, The Last Day, The Savant, Black Rabbit, NCIS, The Good Doctor, Let The Right One In, Chicago Party Aunt, 61st Street, A Million Little Things, Away, All Rise, Madam Secretary, The Red Line, Counterpart, Elementary, and The View From Tall. 

Select Awards: Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award; Irish Books and Music Festival (iBAM!) Award Recipient; Best Actor: 2017 Midwest International Film Festival (The View From Tall); Tree of Life Award: Shirley Ryan Ability Lab; 3Arts Artist Award; Northlight Theatre's Jack Springer Award for Outstanding Performance; The Tim Meier and Helen Coburn Meier Foundation Achievement Award; The Second City Foundation's Jim Zulevic Chicago Arts Award; The Joseph Jefferson Award for Solo Performance, and induction into The University of Iowa and St. Patrick High School Halls of Fame.

Cyd Blakewell (Lee) is living her best life working on this incredible project with this fantastically dreamy team. She is a proud ensemble member of The Gift Theatre, where she is also the Casting Director. Gift Shows: The Locusts, The Pillowman, Doubt, A Life Extra Ordinary, Good For Otto, Body + Blood, Broadsword, Mine and multiple episodes of TEN. Chicago theatre credits: The Brightest Thing in the World (About Face); Birthday Candles (Northlight); The Snare (Jackalope); Balm In Gilead and Port (Griffin); Buddy Cop 2, breaks & bikes and MilkMilkLemonade (Pavement Group); Sweet Confinement and Ivanov (SiNNERMAN Ensemble); Orange Flower Water (Interrobang); Lies & Liars and Mimesophobia (Theatre Seven)d; Rewind (The Side Project). She recently wrapped a short film called Fairground and can also be seen in Jeri's Grille. Cyd got her BFA from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, is a graduate from the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Promote Talent Agency. She is married to Keith Neagle and mother to Wesley, who give her an endless amount of love and support.

Stand Up Together, a comedy benefit in support of artists impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, hosted by Second City and SNL Alum Katie Rich, is planned for Thursday, March 27 at 7:30pm at Laugh Factory Chicago, 3175 N Broadway. Comedians Pat McGann, Katie Rich, Megan Gailey, Marcella Arguello, Kristen Toomey, Calvin Evans, Matty Ryan, Chris Bader and more will take the stage to raise funds for artists and industry professionals impacted by the Southern California wildfires.

All ticket sales, raffle proceeds and donations will go to Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF), an organization that offers a variety of services that can provide emotional and financial relief to entertainment industry members and their families during times of need, including financial assistance, supportive counseling, and assistance navigating insurance needs for entertainment industry members and their families impacted by the Southern California wildfires.

Since January 7, MPTF has received over 530 fire-related calls, including over 150 clients who have suffered complete loss of home. Over 200 clients have already received financial assistance. MPTF has been receiving significantly higher requests for assistance in times of need currently due to the industry contraction and wildfire relief, with industry members also still in recovery from the impact of the pandemic and dual strikes. 

The event is produced by Artists First and Laugh Factory. Tickets, priced at $35, as well as raffle tickets for purchase are available at https://bit.ly/standuptogetherevent. Laugh Factory Chicago is located at 3175 N Broadway. Stand Up Together is an 18+ showcase.

About Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF)

MPTF supports working and retired members of the entertainment community with a safety net of health and social services, including temporary financial assistance, case management, and residential living. From childcare to living and aging well with dignity and purpose, MPTF is there to guide the industry workforce through the enormous obstacles life presents. For over 100 years, the extraordinary generosity of the entertainment community has enabled MPTF to deliver charitable services to industry members in need. MPTF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization.

MPTF is supported by the philanthropy and volunteer services of fellow entertainment industry members. Our industry is unique and we have a history of taking care of our own like no other industry in the world. People are at the heart of what we do each and every day and it's because of the generosity of countless donors, families, and volunteers, that we can deliver services to thousands of people each month.

Victory Gardens Theater, in association with Relentless Theatre Group, will present the Midwest premiere of a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winner, filmmaker and former Chicago-based playwright David Mamet, "Henry Johnson." Presented in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Victory Gardens, the production will be directed by Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Edward Torres (Co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus at Teatro Vista) and will star acclaimed actors Thomas Gibson (TV's "Criminal Minds"), Keith Kupferer ("Ghostlight") Al'Jaleel McGhee and Daniil Krimer. Dennis Zacek, the Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus at Victory Gardens Theater, who led the company to receive a 2001 Tony Award for excellence in regional theater, will serve as Executive Producer.

The press performance will be Sunday, April 14 at 3 p.m.

"Henry Johnson," which is being produced for the first time since its world premiere in Los Angeles in 2023, delves into the themes of manipulation and ethical ambiguity. The story follows Henry Johnson, a middle-aged man, as he navigates a series of encounters, both in the corporate world and in prison. As the play progresses, audiences are prompted to wonder: "What is the price of compassion?" 

The production features a lighting design by Jared Gooding, costumes by Stephanie Cluggish, set design by CODESIGN STUDIOS, props by Jeff Brain and fight choreography by David Woolley.

Tickets, which range in price from $64-69, will go on sale today, March 7 at 10 a.m. at victorygardens.stagey.net/projects/12019. The performance schedule is Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m. Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. There will be no performances April 18 – 20.

David Mamet (Playwright)

Chicago-born David Mamet is the author of numerous critically acclaimed, award-winning plays including "American Buffalo," "Speed the Plow," and "Glengarry Glen Ross," for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1984.

His films include "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Wag the Dog," "The Verdict," " Hoffa," "Ronin," "The Untouchables," "House of Games" (writer/director), "Oleanna" (writer/director), (writer/director), "Homicide" (writer/director), "The Spanish Prisoner" (writer/director), "State and Main" (writer/director), "Heist" (writer/director), "Spartan" (writer/director) and "Redbelt" (writer/director). His most recent books are "True and False," "Three Uses of the Knife," "The Wicked Son," "Bambi vs. Godzilla," "The Secret Knowledge," "Chicago" "The Diary of a Porn Star," "Recessional: On the Death of Free Speech and the Cost of a Free Lunch,"  and the upcoming "The Disenlightenment: Politics, Horror, and Entertainment." He directed the world premieres of his most recent plays, "Bitter Wheat," starring John Malkovich, on the West End in 2019, and The Christopher Boy's "Communion" at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles in February 2020. He recently wrote and directed the film "Henry Johnson," available soon at HenryJohnsonMovie.com.

Edward Torres (Director)

Edward Torres is a director and performer whose work has been seen on stages across the country. As an actor, he most recently appeared in Bruce Norris's "Downstate" at Playwrights Horizons, following acclaimed productions at the National Theatre in London and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.  He also received a Lucille Lortel nomination for Featured Outstanding Performance 2023 for his role in Downstate

As a director, Edward has led productions at The Old Globe, including "El Borracho," "Familiar," "Native Gardens" and "Water by the Spoonful." He was named one of The Old Globe's Classical Directing Fellows in 2021 and directed the podcast adaptation of "Macbeth" for NEXT Chapter Podcasts and Play On Shakespeare. He helmed the world premiere of Kristoffer Diaz's "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity" at Victory Gardens Theater and Teatro Vista, a production that was named Best Play of 2009 by the Chicago Tribune and won five Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Production and Best Director.

Torres has also directed at several other prominent theaters, including Geffen Playhouse, Second Stage Theatre, Goodman Theatre, The Public Theater and Repertorio Español. His work has earned him accolades such as the Latin ACE Award for Best Musical and the Artistas de Teatro Independiente Award for Best Director. He is an associate Professor at University of Illinois -Chicago and serves as Artistic Director Emeritus at Teatro Vista

Thomas Gibson  (Gene)

Thomas Gibson hails from Charleston, South Carolina. At a young age, Thomas became interested in theater, and later moved to NY to become a member of Group 14 at Juilliard's Drama Division.

He has worked extensively on stage in NY, including Shakespeare in the Park, Molière and Noel Coward on Broadway, as well as last year's premiere of Ibsen's "Ghost" by Charles Busch at Primary Stages. Thomas has also created roles in premieres by Romulus Linney, Anna Cascio, David Hare, and Howard Brenton, among others.

Thomas' work in films and television includes the beloved "Tales of the City" series, as well as Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut," Whit Stillman's "Barcelona," Scorcese's "Age of Innocence," as well as "Love and Human Remains" and "Stardom," both with Denys Arcand. He starred with Jenna Elfman in "Dharma and Greg," for which he was twice nominated for a Golden Globe. He is also known for playing Aaron Hotchner on the series "Criminal Minds." Thomas is an accomplished director both in the theater and on television, and recently produced and starred in "The Writer's Bible," a short film which he co-wrote with his son, JP, and which JP directed and produced.

Keith Kupferer (Jerry)

Keith Kupferer delivered a widely praised, powerhouse performance in "Ghostlight," directed by Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan, which premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance in 2024 and was later released nationwide by IFC Films. His work in the film earned him multiple prestigious end-of-year nominations, including recognition from the Gothams and Independent Spirit Awards. He was awarded Best Actor in a Comedy by the Satellite Awards and named the "2025 Chicagoan of the Year in Film" by the Chicago Tribune.

A veteran of Chicago's theater scene, Kupferer has performed at many of the city's most esteemed institutions, including Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Northlight Theatre, A Red Orchid and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. A founding member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble—now celebrating its 30th anniversary—he has starred in critically acclaimed productions such as "A Mile in the Dark," "The Cake," "American Wee-Pie" and "Cal in Camo" (for which he won a Jeff Award for Supporting Actor). His other notable credits include "Support Group for Men," "God of Carnage" and "Sweat" (Goodman); "The Seagull," "The Great Leap," "The Qualms," "Good People" and "Middletown" (Steppenwolf); "Hillary and Clinton," "Never the Sinner" and "Appropriate" (Victory Gardens); "West Side Story" (Lyric Opera) and the world premiere of "The Humans" (American Theater Company).  He has also appeared in numerous films and television shows.

Al'Jaleel McGhee (Mr. Barnes)

Al'Jaleel McGhee is a dynamic actor whose work spans stage and screen. He recently toured nationally with the Broadway production of "A Soldier's Play" and has performed extensively in Chicago's top theaters. His credits include "Noises Off" at Steppenwolf, "Intimate Apparel" and "Fireflies" at Northlight Theatre, "Hamlet" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, "Graveyard Shift" at the Goodman Theatre's New Stages Festival, "Paradise Blue" at TimeLine Theatre, and "Blues for an Alabama Sky" at Court Theatre.

Beyond Chicago, Al'Jaleel has appeared in regional productions such as "Noises Off" at the Geffen Playhouse and "Toni Stone" at the Huntington Theatre. On screen, he can currently be seen in "Lady in the Lake" and "Shining Girls" (Apple TV+), "61st Street" (AMC), and "POWER Book IV: FORCE" (Starz).

Al'Jaleel holds an MFA from Northwestern University and studied at the University of Illinois Chicago and North Carolina Central University. He is represented by Gray Talent Group.

Daniil Krimer (Henry Johnson)

Daniil Krimer is an actor and theatermaker whose work spans stage and screen. In New York, he appeared in "Really Really" with Normal Ave Productions. His regional credits include "Sherlock Holmes" at West Virginia Public Theatre, while in Chicago he has performed in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Twelfth Night" at Kane Repertory Theatre.

On television, Daniil has been seen in "FBI" and "Chicago P.D." He holds an MFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University and is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of Kane Repertory Theatre. He is grateful to David Mamet for the opportunity to bring his work to his hometown and to his family for their unwavering support.

About Dennis Zacek

Dennis Zacek is Artistic Director Emeritus of Victory Gardens Theater where he held the position of Artistic Director for 34 years. He, his wife Marcelle McVay, and Sandy
Shinner accepted Victory Gardens' 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.

He also accepted the Actors Equity Association (AEA) Spirit Recognition Award on
behalf of Victory Gardens. The Spirit Award is given to institutions that "have made
nontraditional casting a way of life." Among other awards are a Jeff Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Chicago Equity Theatre, an Artistic Leadership Award from the League of Chicago Theatres, the Rosetta Lenoire Award from AEA and the Sidney R. Yates Arts Advocacy Award from the Illinois Arts Alliance (now Arts Alliance Illinois). Zacek is Professor Emeritus at Loyola University and was included on Utne Reader's list of "Artists Who Will Shake the World." Currently he works at The Studios of Key West as a teacher during the winter. He has directed more than 250 productions in his career.

About Relentless Theatre

Relentless Theatre Group believes great theater challenges the mind. Our mission is to offer a theatrical home for public discourse, freedom of expression, and brilliant creation.

About Victory Gardens Theater

The Victory Gardens Theater, established in 1974, stands as a beacon of innovation and artistry in the theater community. With a record of producing more world and Chicago premieres, collaborating with more living playwrights, and exporting new plays for production elsewhere than any other theater in the region, we are proud to lead the way in the evolution of contemporary theater. Our mission is to cultivate and present powerful, new works that capture the diverse narratives of our world, enriching the American theater landscape. Through our productions, we ignite important conversations that drive meaningful civic change and foster an inclusive theater experience that invites everyone to partake.

Our achievements over the past 50 years were recognized in 2001 when we received the prestigious Tony Award® for Outstanding Regional Theatre at New York's Radio City Music Hall. This esteemed award honors our unwavering commitment to artistic excellence and our significant contribution to the growth of theater on a national scale. As we celebrate our past, we look forward with determination to the next 50 years, remaining steadfast in our values of integrity, diversity, innovation, and excellence. Together, we will continue to inspire and transform the theater experience for audiences everywhere. Please visit victorygardens.org/mission-history to learn more about our history or victorygardens.org/donate/ to donate to our cause.