Displaying items by tag: Chicago events

Trap Door Theatre is thrilled to continue its 33rd season with a Chicago Premiere of Oh, Buddy, written by Hal Cosentino and directed by Jeremy Ohringer. Oh, Buddy will play November 12th – December 19th, 2026 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W Cortland St. in Chicago. Tickets are now on sale at trapdoortheatre.com or by calling (773)-384-0494.

It's hard to be the New Guy in the world's most generic office. It's even harder to be the New Guy when you're the New Guy because you came out as transgender. And has anybody noticed that the boss is a Big Furry Monster? OH, BUDDY is a dark, absurdist comedy about how the bizarre demands of binary gender affect the way we take on roles in the workplace and beyond. 

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: Oh, Buddy

Author: Hal Cosentino

Director: Jeremy Ohringer

Cast (in alphabetical order): Jack Bowes (New Guy), Haven Crawley (Emery), Mackenzie Jones (Lady), Shail Modi (Buddy), and Dustin Valenta (Dude).

Location: Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. Chicago, IL 60622

Regular Run: Thursday, November 12th –Saturday, December 19th, 2026 (No performances on 11/26-28)

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm. Sundays 12/6 and 13 at 3:00 pm. With a special performance on Sunday, December 6th at 3:00 pm including a talk back after the performance with the playwright.

Tickets: $25. Tickets are currently available at https://our.show/oh-buddy or by calling (773) 384-0494.

Teatro Vista Productions (TVP), the Midwest's only Latine-led Equity theatre company, in collaboration with Audible, presents Cafecito & Loops: A Mexodus Listening Tour Headed South, a FREE series of Sunday listening parties leading up to the Chicago premiere of Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson's hip hop musical Mexodus, playing at The Studebaker Theater November 7-21, 2026.

Cafecito & Loops will be held Sundays, October 11, 18, 25 and November 1, from noon to 4pm, at various locations throughout Chicago, with each stop mirroring a chapter in the play's journey.

"Teatro Vista is thrilled to partner with Audible, the Studebaker and P3 Productions to support Mexodus with Cafecito & Loops, an intentional journey that connects our communities directly to the play's groundbreaking music and message," says Teatro Vista Productions Artistic Director Wendy Mateo. "By mapping this listening tour southward we are tracing a path of artistic expression and resistance across Chicago. This free series is about making space for connection, conversation, and collective joy in neighborhoods that power our city's vibrant cultural landscape."

Teatro Vista Productions will host four listening parties featuring excerpts from the Audible Original, which features the entire musical recorded in immersive Dolby Atmos sound design, each stop acting as a chapter in the experience. These listening parties will be scattered throughout the city, strategically en route from Teatro Vista Productions' homebase at The Exchange in Jefferson Park to where Mexodus is playing at the Studebaker Theater downtown. The events are free and open to all.  Reservations are encouraged at: https://www.teatrovista.org/cafecito-and-loops-rsvp.

Teatro Vista Productions previously produced the world premieres of Brian Quijada's critically acclaimed Where Did We Sit on the Bus in 2016 (in association with DCASE and Victory Gardens Theater) and Somewhere Over the Border in 2022 as part of a rolling world premiere with Syracuse Stage and GEVA Theatre.

The Cafecito & Loops schedule is as follows:

Sunday, October 11, 12pm-4pm

The Exchange, home of Teatro Vista Productions in Jefferson Park

4800 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago

Sunday, October 18, 12pm-4pm

Magnifico Coffee Roasters & Coffee Shop in Avondale

3063 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago

Sunday, October 25, 12pm-4pm

Caña in West Town

1406 W Grand Ave, Chicago

Sunday, November 1, 12pm-4pm

Groundswell Coffee Roasters at the Fine Arts Building in the Chicago Loop

410 S Michigan Ave, Chicago

About Mexodus

Studebaker Theater, P3 Productions and Audible,

in collaboration with Teatro Vista Productions present

Mexodus

Written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson

Choreographed by Tony Thomas

Directed by David Mendizábal

Studebaker Theater, 410 S Michigan Ave, Chicago

November 7-21, 2026

Press Opening: Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 7:30pm

Creators Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson perform this groundbreaking hip-hop musical, using live instruments to build a soundscape live each night incorporating looping to layer rhythms, melodies, and harmonies to create full arrangements on the spot at each performance.

Told through bold storytelling and sick beats, Mexodus reimagines the Underground Railroad heading south to Mexico—unearthing a powerful, untold chapter of American history. Called "thrilling" by The Washington Post and "genius in motion" by the San Francisco Chronicle, this is theatre you feel in your body and your bones.

Tickets for Mexodus are available through the Studebaker Theater Box Office, https://www.fineartsbuilding.com/events/mexodus/ or by calling (312) 753-3210.

About Teatro Vista Productions

Teatro Vista is a non-profit theatre and production company dedicated to multidisciplinary artists of color whose artistic expression on stage and beyond is rooted in the transformative power of owning and telling our own stories.

When the Chicago theater world wasn't ready for us, Teatro Vista Productions made space. For 36 years, we've told true stories that reflect our community. We're not just building on this amazing legacy; we're strengthening and expanding it for the future. Today we continue to actively engage in advocacy that seeks to increase the authentic representations of us on stage and screen.

Teatro Vista Productions believes we are stronger together — across disciplines, across experiences, across mediums, across diasporas. We center our collective of artists at the heart of everything we do. We empower our artists to create with their own authentic voice by providing the tools and resources they need to thrive in the industry. Our work is timely, relevant and authentically reflects our community. Now, as always, We Are Theater With A View.

The company is led by Executive Director Lorena Diaz, Artistic Director Wendy Mateo, and Associate Artistic Director Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel.

Follow TVP on social media & YouTube to experience the multidisciplinary talents of our Artistic Collective and stay connected. @teatrovista

The blurb is: hahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahaha hihihi hahahahahahaha hoho hahahhahaha hehe hahahahahahahahahaha.

Julia Masli's award-winning solo phenomenon ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (a New York Times Top Pick of the Year) arrives at Steppenwolf Theatre Company for a four week engagement January 13 – February 7, 2027 in Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. A special Steppenwolf member pre-sale begins Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 12 pm. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 12 pm at steppenwolf.org/hahahahahahaha or by calling the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

Performer Julia Masli creates a hilarious, yet moving and unpredictable live experience at the intersection of comedy and performance. What begins as playful improvisation evolves into a collective ritual of vulnerability, care and unexpected humor. Masli explores the subtle boundary between a laugh and a tear, proving that one lies very close to the other.

Utterly unlike anything else onstage, this is a completely different experience every night that keeps audiences coming back again and again.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha arrives in Chicago following critically acclaimed and sold-out runs at The Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, SoHo Playhouse in New York City, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, London's Soho Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Steppenwolf's Creative Producer Patrick Zakem shares, "There's nothing quite like this remarkable, wholly indescribable show. After I first saw the show, bleary-eyed in the early morning hours at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I immediately knew I had to tell everyone I know to see it. We're thrilled to finally bring this acclaimed performance to Chicago, and Steppenwolf is excited to collaborate with Julia for the first in-the-round presentation of this work that has built a sea of fans across the world."

What the critics are saying:

"Masli's breakthrough, poignant show has its audience in stitches. So, that's how cults are born."
–The New York Times

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha is "a great unexpected carnival of mutual care, ring-led with a featherlight touch by a clown whose mischief is matched only by her compassion."
–The Guardian

"New York's wildest show" –New York Magazine

"A comedy masterpiece" –The Guardian

"An experiment in collective consciousness." –LA Times

"A jaw-dropping delight." –The Times

About Julia Masli and the show:

Julia Masli is an award-winning clown from Estonia, based in London. All she wants to do is solve people's problems and eventually win the Nobel Prize, presented to those who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. But this plan keeps going wrong as she continually wins prizes for comedy. It was bad enough when she was the winner of the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality in 2019 and her debut show CHOOSH – about a migrant's struggles in the USA – was one of the most acclaimed comedy shows of the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022.

But in 2023, things spiraled when she set out to help audience members in ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, which you can read about in the New York Times here. This serious, important event was nominated for Edinburgh's top prize for Best Comedy Show and named number one comedy show of the year by The Guardian, before being invited for a four-week, completely sold-out run at London's Soho Theatre. Despite the seriousness of Julia's intentions, the show was once more shortlisted for Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, nominated for Edinburgh's top prize of Best Comedy Show and the SKY Arts Best Comedy Award, and declared number one comedy show of the year by The Guardian.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha is a Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company touring production.

Creative Team:

Created and Performed by Julia Masli
Directed by Kim Noble
Sound Design conceived by Alessio Festuccia
Lighting Design conceived by Lily Woodford
Co-Lighting Design by Jennifer Fok
Live Sound Design by Sebastián Hernández
Live Lighting Design and Stage Management by Sarah Chapin
Costume Design by Alice Wedge, Annika Thiems and David Curtis-Ring

Production Details:

Dates: Previews: Wednesday, January 13 and Thursday, January 14, 2027 at 7:30 pm
Opening: Friday, January 15, 2027 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Saturday, January 16 – Sunday, February 7, 2027
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 a 3 pm performance on Saturday, January 16, 2026.

Tickets: Previews: Pay-what-you-want ($15 - $60). Regular run: ($37.50* - $85.00*). Single tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 12 pm at steppenwolf.org/hahahahahahaha or by calling the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. *Ticket prices include processing fees.

Tis the season, in spite of today's unseasonable temps, as A Christmas Carol begins rehearsals for The Goodman's 49^th annual production of Charles Dickens' classic favorite. This year, a new Scrooge—Tim Hopper, acclaimed longtime Chicago actor—joins the production, directed by BOLD Artistic Producer Malkia Stampley for her second year. In addition, 11-year-old Sanjana Suraj (City of Lights Theatre's Annie) makes her Goodman debut as Tiny Tim, plus newly cast ghosts—Ghost of Christmas Past Rae Gray (Graveyard Shift), Ghost of Christmas Present Lachrisa Grandberry (The Color Purple) and the Ghost of Jacob Marley Gavin Lawrence (Dartmoor Prison). Other new faces among the 34-member company include Chad Bay (Remy Bumppo's Art), Sunnie Eraso (Lookingglass Theatre's White Rooster), Joryhebel Ginorio (Raven Theatre's Octet), Jyreika Guest (Definition Theatre's Cypress Bayou), Jourdan Lewanda (Steep Theatre's Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) and Amy Vargas Rivera (Wolf at The Door). Young performers Austin Hartung and Rio Lewis make their Goodman debuts, joined by three returning young performers: Ella Boparai—last year's Tiny Tim—Viva Boresi and Henry Lombardo. Rom Barkhordar (Yasmina's Necklace) joins the company as Scrooge for 10 performances. A Christmas Carol runs November 13 through December 31 (opening night is November 23) in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. For tickets ($34 - $188, subject to change), visit the Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), call 312.443.3800 or purchase online at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol. The Goodman is grateful for the support of PNC (Major Corporate Sponsor).

Millions have rediscovered Dickens' classic at The Goodman over the past five decades—and know why it's "the best Christmas story ever told!" (Time Out Chicago). Follow the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (Tim Hopper) as ghostly intervention transforms his holiday disdain into delight one fateful Christmas night. This timeless production, long heralded for its "first-rate cast and marvelous staging" (Chicago Sun-Times), is not to be missed.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Tim Hopper (Ebenezer Scrooge) last appeared at The Goodman in 2017 as Vanya in Uncle Vanya. He is a Steppenwolf Theater Company ensemble member and has appeared in many plays there, most recently Catch As Catch Can. He will be appearing in the upcoming A24 film Enemies, and also in Trash Mountain. Other films credits include School of Rock and To Die For. Television credits include Chicago Fire, Amazon's Utopia, Emperor of Ocean Park and Fargo, among others.

Rom Barkhordar's (Alternate Ebenezer Scrooge) Goodman Theatre credits include: Yasmina's Necklace, Ruined. Chicago credits include: A Prayer for the French Republic (Northlight); A Lie of the Mind (Raven Theatre); White Christmas (Marriott Theatre); The Band's Visit, A Distinct Society, Wife of a Salesman (Writer's Theatre); Mosque4Mosque (About Face Theatre); Acts of God, Around the World in 80 Days (Lookingglass Theatre); The Elephant Man, Homebody/Kabul (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Pravda, Halcyon Days, Not About Nightingales (Timeline Theatre). Regional credits include: The Band's Visit (TheatreSquared); The Art of Burning (Huntington).

Sanjana Suraj (Tiny Tim) is thrilled to make her Goodman Theatre debut in A Christmas Carol! Her recent stage credits include Young Fiona in Shrek and Lash in Dragon Jr. (Theater on the Hill); Orphan in Annie (City of Lights Theatre); and Young Krishna in Krishna Dance Ensemble (Samskriti). A dedicated musician and performer, Suraj trains in classical Indian music and dance, sings with her school's Honors Chorus, and is currently learning the flute. Offstage, you'll find her jamming to new tunes or immersed in her latest creative art project.

Malkia Stampley (Director) is a three-time Jeff-nominated director from Milwaukee and The Goodman's BOLD Artistic Producer since 2021. Goodman Theatre directing credits: Covenant, A Christmas Carol, BUST (associate director), Primary Trust, In My Granny's Garden, New Stages' This Part of His Life Blooms and Cephianne's Reflection. Additional directing: Remy Bumppo, Rivendell, Raven, Definition, Congo Square, TimeLine, Court, Chicago Shakespeare, Stage Left, Kansas City Rep, Orlando Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee Chamber, Skylight Music, Black Arts MKE, Northern Sky, American Players, Farmers Alley, Northwestern, First Stage, Inc. Malkia is a facilitator with Civic Actors Studio at Court Theatre and a teaching artist with Remy Bumppo.

Company of A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Tom Creamer
Directed by Malkia Stampley

Rom Barkhordar...Alternate Ebenezer Scrooge
Ella Boparai...Emily Cratchit/Ignorance
Viva Boresi...Belinda Cratchit
Tatiana Bustamante...Belle/Ensemble
Amira Danan...Frida
Elleon Dobias...Musician/Felicity
Arash Fakhrabadi...Young Scrooge/Ensemble
Sól Fuller...Martha Cratchit/Fan
Joryhebel Ginorio...Ensemble
Brian Goodwin...Musician
Lachrisa Grandberry...Ghost of Christmas Present/Charwoman
Rae Gray...Ghost of Christmas Past
Jyreika Guest...Maxine Fezziwig/Abigail
Austin Hartung...Gregory Cratchit/Turkey Child
Benjamin Heppner...Musician
Gregory Hirte...Musician/Topper
Tim Hopper...Ebenezer Scrooge
Anthony Irons...Ortle/School Official/Old Joe
Chris Khoshaba...Dick Wilkins/Ensemble
Gavin Lawrence...Young Marley/Ghost of Marley
Helen Joo Lee...Mrs. Cratchit
Henry Lombardo...Peter Cratchit/Boy Scrooge
Jon Hudson Odom...Bob Cratchit
Robert Schleifer...Mr. Fezziwig
Anne Sheridan Smith...Ensemble
Sanjana Suraj...Tiny Tim/Want
Austin Tichenor...Crumb
Penelope Walker...Mrs. Fezziwig/Ensemble 

Understudies include Chad Bay, Sunnie Eraso, Jordan Golding, Jourdan Lewanda, Rio Lewis and Amy Vargas Rivera.

Creative Team

Choreographer and Associate Director...Breon Arzell
Composer...Andy Hansen 
Music Director...Gregory Hirte
Fly Director...Andrea Gentry 
Voice & Dialect Coach...Shadana Patterson
Costume Designer...Heidi Sue McMath 
Lighting Designer...Keith Parham 
Set Designer...Todd Rosenthal 
Sound Designer...Pornchanok "Nok" Kanchanabanca 
Associate Lighting Designer...Brian Elston
Assistant Director/Choreographer...Christopher Michael Richardson
Assistant Sound Designer...Daniella Brown
Young Performer Supervisors...Nihan Baysal and Habby Olusesi
Line Producer...Lena Romano
Second Line Producer...Sarah Slight

Casting by Lauren Port, CSA. Jennifer Gregory is the Production Stage Manager. Beth Koehler and Duncan McMillan are the Stage Managers.

ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Access for more information about The Goodman's accessibility efforts. 

ASL-Interpreted...December 4 at 7:30pm – An ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Audio-Described...December 5 at 2pm; Touch Tour; 12:00pm – Action audibly enhanced via headset.
Open-Captioned...December 6 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
Spanish-Subtitled...December 6 at 7pm – Spanish-translated dialogue via LED sign.
Sensory-Friendly...December 27 at 2pm – Softer lighting and sound; sensory items available for use.

ABOUT THE GOODMAN

Since 1925, The Goodman has been a theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for Chicagoland, where bold stories spark connection, conversation and change. Now, as it enters its second century, The Goodman builds on that legacy with an eye toward the future. Under the leadership of Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, the theater continues to champion new work—following hundreds of plays developed and a national reputation for commissioning and premiering original stories by living writers—while reimagining classics and produce large-scale musicals.

But The Goodman's reach today extends beyond its home in the heart of the Loop. From the intimate magic of The Magic Parlour, now in its third year, to the boundary-pushing world of Theater of the Mind—an immersive experience that blurs the lines between science, storytelling and sensation—and from citywide initiatives like 100 Free Acts of Theater to partnerships with artists and companies across Chicago and around the world, The Goodman is expanding what theater can be, and where it can live.

At its core, The Goodman is driven by a belief that a more empathetic, more connected city is built one story at a time. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime—from babies and young children to teens, adults and seniors—including Theater for the Very Young (ages 0–5) and the beloved annual A Christmas Carol, which has welcomed audiences for five decades. Education and Engagement programs, led by Clifford Director Jared Bellot and based in the Alice Rapoport Center, use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging—reaching thousands each year, the majority from underserved communities.

With nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman remains a defining force in American theater—and the first to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson's American Century Cycle. The theater also frequently serves as a production partner—from national and international companies to Chicago's Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify a wide range of theatrical voices.

Founded by William O. Goodman and his family in memory of playwright Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, the theater carries forward a legacy of artistic ambition and civic generosity. With the help of Mr. Goodman's descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—that spirit continues to shape its future as The Goodman expands its impact across Chicago and beyond. Marsha Cruzan is Chair of the Goodman Theatre Board of Trustees; Diane Landgren is Women's Board President; and Kelli Garcia is president of the Scenemakers Board for Young Professionals.

The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.

For its sixth Halloween season, Rough House Theater Co. has transformed Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage into a spectacular puppet haunted house. Last year I visted House of the Exquisite Corpse V: BLOOD & PUPPETS, and this year’s installment feels familiar in form but distinct in approach. The experience unfolds across six short puppet performances, each about seven minutes long and staged in its own small, enclosed box. Instead of sitting in seats, audience members peer through peepholes and listen through headphones, becoming voyeurs of a series of strange, self-contained worlds.

Last year’s “Blood & Puppets” theme offered a direct prompt. This time, LULLABIES gives its six creative teams a more abstract one, and they take it in folkloric, tall-tale directions. The stories draw on the uneasy promise at the heart of a lullaby: sleep, and you’ll be safe; stay awake, and you’re powerless. The audio narration felt especially full and impactful this year, adding texture to the stories and pulling listeners further into each room.

Jumping Jack Money. Photos by Greg India.

Exquisite Corpse's unique format gives each team room to experiment and draw on personal or cultural connections to lullabies. This variety is one of the production’s greatest strengths. Puppetry appears in many forms, often layered together: shadow puppets, hand puppets, and full-body puppets all share these small spaces. You’re close enough to notice the details in the figures and the mechanics of their movement, while the peepholes keep you just outside the worlds you’re watching.

That close-up view, combined with each team’s total freedom to construct an original world, raises expectations and makes the weaker moments more noticeable. There are always limits in live theater, but it’s disappointing when a story sets up a moment and then declines to stage it. “Jumping Jack Money” is a hilarious, cheeky piece, and its audience interaction is among the evening’s most charming. All the more frustrating, then, is that when the central conflict arrives, the piece avoids the playful challenge of staging a puppet fight and opts for a blackout that isn’t even dark enough to make the absence feel intentional. Another piece introduces a tornado—a chance for an intricate, dynamic effect alongside its many forms of puppetry, then buries the moment under a simple projected animation. Both left me wishing the production had followed through on the possibilities it had deliberately established.

don’t you want to live it? don’t you want to live your dream? 

My favorite stories show what the format can do when its ideas and staging work in tandem. Designed by Caitlin McLeod, “Hushaby hush, you’re not going with them,” performed by Finn Bradley, Eddy Barber-Rozema, Rachel Hartmann and Emilie Wingate, uses an angled castle set with meticulous detail. From all angles, the perspective gives the scene the feeling of a storybook illustration, making it an especially apt fit for a show about the tales we tell to get children to sleep.

The final piece, “don’t you want to live it? don’t you want to live your dream?,” created by J. Felix and Abby Palen and performed by Mallory Limbrell and Shannon Twenter, makes memorable use of its floating, moving set. The performers move around it, giving the puppets space to transform along with the scene. It’s a playful, visually inventive take on lullabies and a strong finish to the sequence.

The experience design has also become more cohesive since last year. Each performance space’s exterior peepholes now feel connected to the story inside, and the paths between each story, between and around the boxes, carry a more unified atmosphere, giving the six distinct rooms a shared setting: an eerie, wonderful night of lullabies and puppets!

House of the Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES runs at Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage through November 1. Tickets are available at roughhousetheater.com/tickets.

Avalanche Theatre announces the world premiere production of They Broke Up by Chicago playwright Skyler Tarnas, November 6–22, 2026.  Opening November 7 at 7:30pm) at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 Ridge Ave.

They Broke Up is Avalanche's first world premiere presented at their new home as a resident company at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. The play is the professional full-length debut from playwright Skyler Tarnas, an ensemble member of Avalanche and graduate of Northwestern University's Writing for the Screen and Stage MFA program.

They Broke Up — which was originally developed in Avalanche's new play incubator the Next Draft Series in 2024 — is an apocalyptic absurdist comedy centered around a friend group trying to weather both the end of the world and the much more devastating end of a relationship. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit avalanchetheatre.com/event-details/they-broke-up.

"They Broke Up is one of the most fun, distinct, and laugh-out-loud plays we've come across at Avalanche. Skyler has such a clear voice and vision for this play, which made the workshop a delight," says Avalanche Theatre's Artistic Director Alexander Attea, who also will perform in production as Brett. "In the two years that we've been working on this play, it has grown and changed in some weird and wonderful ways; all while staying rooted in the comedy and tragedy of this insane group of friends having to grapple with the reality of being themselves."

It's New Year's Eve, and it sure looks like the world is ending. But much more importantly, Brett and Amy have just broken up. As aliens pollute the water, zombies run for Congress, birds ravage the housing market, and apocalyptic cult plans for the end of days, Brett and Amy's friends scheme to reunite them while the ex-couple themselves try to navigate a world with an end-date and a world without each other.

"I remember reading three grotesquely awful news stories in a row in a Trader Joe's parking lot and then dissociating heavily next to the oranges. I realized that's what this play was going to try to capture... the constant overload of tragedy and the deranged sense of detachment I felt like I needed to get through the day, letting numbness shut out helpfulness and growth," says playwright Skyler Tarnas. "I love how absurd I got to be with language and logic in this piece."

Avalanche Theatre's world premiere of They Broke Up plays Nov 6 - 22, 2026, at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble at 5779 Ridge Ave. Tickets are now available starting at an early-bird rate of $25 through September 15th and then increasing to $35 at AvalancheTheatre.com. A special edition of the script, published by Avalanche Theatre, will also be available for purchase as a ticket add-on.

The cast of They Broke Up features Avalanche Theatre ensemble members Gabriela Diaz, Alexander Attea, Ky Anderson, and Mitch Fischer. The cast also includes Reagan James, Jack Disselhorst, Maya McEntyre, and Jo Tannous. Understudies for the production are Lily Lourigan, Nathan Keiller, Becca Anderson, Curen Feliciani, Katie Bevil, and Matt Schutz.

They Broke Up is directed by Avalanche Theatre ensemble member Owen Hickle-Edwards. The design team includes Avalanche Executive Director Zoe Sjogerman (Production Manager), Emma Crumption (Stage Manager), Yukta Sinha (Assistant Stage Manager), Alishiana Uyao (Technical Director), Nathan Keiller (Lighting Designer), Drew McCall (Sound Designer), Eel Black (Costume Designer), Ab Rieve (Props Designer), and Tristin Hall (Intimacy Designer).

They Broke Up

World Premiere

By Skyler Tarnas

Directed by Owen Hickle-Edwards

Nov 6 - 22 (Opening night Friday Nov 6 at 7:30pm) at Rivendell Ensemble Theatre

Information

Tickets: www.AvalancheTheatre.com

General Admission Tickets: $35 - $45

About Avalanche Theatre

Avalanche Theatre, founded in 2019 by Alexander Attea and Zoe Sjogerman, is Chicago's new home for new play development. With a mission centered on developing new plays by Chicago playwrights, Avalanche has workshopped scripts that have gone on to be seen on stages including the Goodman Theatre, Shattered Globe Theatre, Alleyway Theatre, Silk Road Cultural Center, Renaissance Theatreworks, and others, as well as recognition from the Maxim Mazumdar New Play Award and as Finalists & Semi-Finalists for the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Through its script development programs like the Next Draft Series and its monthly Show & Tell events, Avalanche is committed to elevating the voices of Chicago's emerging playwrights.

Oil Lamp Theater is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its next production and the final production in its 2026 season, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, November 20 - December 27, adapted by Joe Landry and directed by Becca Holloway at Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road. The schedule includes preview performances Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. with the opening performance Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with additional Wednesday performances on Dec. 2 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m, Dec. 16 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. There will also be an understudy performance on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $30 for previews and $55 for the run at OilLampTheater.org.  

This heartwarming production is the perfect way to embrace the spirit of the Christmas season. Experience unmatched holiday cheer with Frank Capra's beloved classic, It's a Wonderful Life, reimagined as a captivating Live Radio Play, complete with foley sound effects and set in Oil Lamp Theater’s WBFR radio studio.

Audiences are invited to journey to Bedford Falls, where George Bailey's troubles lead him to wish he was never born. Clarence, an angel sent to intervene, steps in to make his wishes come true and George quickly learns just how blessed he is and how many lives he has touched.

The cast of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play includes Ethan Smith (he/him, Jake Laurents); India Huy (she/her, Sally Applewhite); Adam Schulmerich (he/him, Freddie Filmore); Baxter Konstans (he/him, Harry “Jazzbo” Haywood); Julia Hope Budd (she/her, Lana Sherwood); Anthony Augustine  (he/him, Foley Artist); Christopher Ratliff (he/him, U/S Jake Laurents); Aly Mackenzie (she/her, U/S Sally Applewhite); Neil Figuracion (any, U/S Freddie Filmore); Payton Nesci (he/him, U/S Harry “Jazzbo” Haywood); Katherine Abel (she/her, U/S Lana Sherwood) and John N Williams (he/him, U/S Foley Artist).  

The production team includes Becca Holloway (she/her, director); Anthony Doyle (he/him, stage manager); Trenton Jones (he/him, scenic designer); Rachel D. Hemm (she/her, lighting designer); Taylor Pfenning (she/her, costume designer); Elly Burke (she/her, props designer); Conner Nicoson (they/them, technical director); Connor Windle (she/her, production manager and sound designer) and Rose Leisner (she/her, company manager). 

ABOUT JOE LANDRY, playwright

Joe Landry's plays have been produced across the country and internationally and include It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (named one of the top-ten most produced plays by American Theatre Magazine). His other Live Radio Play adaptations include Vintage Hitchcock, Meet Me in St. Louis, War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast and A Christmas Carol, published through Playscripts/Broadway Licensing and Concord. Other plays include The Wicked Stage, Reefer Madness, Numb and Hitchcocked!. He attended Playwrights Horizons/NYU and has taught playwriting at Sacred Heart University.

ABOUT BECCA HOLLOWAY, director

Becca Holloway is a director/choreographer based in Chicago. She’s thrilled to return to Oil Lamp Theater, where she made her directorial debut 10 years ago! Favorite directing credits include Curious Circumstances of Louis Le Prince, Wise Guys, Die Hard 4 Your Luv (The Factory Theater), Muted (Red Theater) and Wanderlust and The Muses (Chicago Music Theater Festival). As an associate director: Godspell (Music Theater Works) and the upcoming Sunday in the Park with George (Paramount Theatre). Holloway has also worked extensively as a casting director for more than 30 productions including work with Wicked and The Lion King. 

The Sarah Siddons Society is pleased to present its 2026 Award to actress and director Victoria Clark, who recently starred in Kimberly Akimbo as Kimberly on Broadway, for which she won the 2023 Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as a Grammy nomination. Clark also originated the role of Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza both at Chicago's Goodman Theatre and on Broadway, which earned her the 2005 Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical. Additional Tony nominations include Sister Act, Gigi and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. Most recently, she appeared in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway world premiere of Joshua Owen's play Human Things.  

The Society's annual Award is presented to an individual who has achieved outstanding artistic achievement in theatre. Ms. Clark will be honored at the Society's 2026 Benefit on Monday, November 9, 2026 at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St. in Chicago. (6 pm reception, 7 pm program).

Following a reception, the evening's program will include musical selections from Ms. Clark's most memorable shows performed by some of Chicago's most acclaimed theatre artists including Marta Bady, Lillian Castillo, Marya Grandy and Heidi Kettenring under the co-direction of Christopher Chase Carter and Christopher Pazdernik, with music direction by Linda Madonia. The evening, hosted by longtime Chicago radio personality Patti Vasquez, will also feature the induction of the Sarah Siddons Society 2026 Scholarship Recipients.

Single tickets and a variety of sponsorship opportunities are currently available here. All proceeds benefit the Sarah Siddons Society Scholarship Program, dedicated to funding scholarships for promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities.

While in town to accept her award, Victoria Clark will lead a presentation for Chicago-area university theatre arts students at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. 

Sarah Siddons Society President Martin Balogh comments, "We are excited to honor Victoria Clark, the luminous, dynamic and highly respected Broadway actress. In addition to her extraordinary accomplishments as a performer, Victoria's work as a director, writer and teacher has established her as a highly regarded, versatile and truly well-rounded theatrical artist. Her remarkable breadth of talent and dedication to the theatre make her an especially deserving honoree."

More about Victoria Clark

In addition to appearing in fourteen Broadway shows, Victoria Clark's many film and television credits include The Gilded Age, Elsbeth, Almost Family, The Blacklist, Homeland, 911-Nashville, Pose, The Happening, Cradle Will Rock, Hallmark's One Royal Holiday, among others. Clark has had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall several times, singing Ma Joad in the opera The Grapes of Wrath by Ricky Ian Gordon, and Katisha in the Master Voices production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, directed and conducted by Ted Sperling.

Clark is also a director (Love Life for New York City Center's Encores! series) and avid educator, serving as Artist in Residence at both Duke University and Pace University. She is a frequent guest lecturer and Master Class Teacher at her alma mater Yale University. She is currently back at work re-writing her one-woman show for the 245^th time and will hopefully get it up sometime in the next 2-3 decades. 

Clark is the proud mama of green energy consultant and innovator Thomas Guest and resides in New York City with her husband Tom and their two Golden Retrievers Ollie (Zen Master) and Gracie (Naughty Princess). IG: victoriajclark

About Sarah Siddons Society

Since its inception, the mission of the Society has been to fund scholarships to promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities including; The Theater Department, Columbia College; The Theatre School at DePaul University; Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Northwestern University School of Communications and the School of Theatre and Dance at Northern Illinois University. For additional information, visit sarahsiddonssociety.org.

At fifteen, the world can feel like a television show you haven't quite figured out how to turn off.

For Salma (Jacqueline Guillen), it may be even more difficult. She watches too much television—especially detective shows—and has begun to see the world through the eyes of a detective. So when Maria (Andrea Ferro) disappears, Salma doesn't simply wonder where her friend is. She decides to investigate.

She recruits Este (Carmen Berkeley) and Phoebe (Ariana Burks) to help her find Maria, and Phanèsia Pharel's Dead Girl's Quinceañera takes off from there.

Produced by Goodman Theatre in association with Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, the production is a collective World Premiere with Barrington Stage Company and Hartford Stage. Directed by Melia Bensussen, the play has at times the quick-cut energy of the procedural television shows that inspired Pharel when she originally conceived the work.

And it moves fast.

Very fast.

Pharel understands the language of fifteen-year-old girls—the rapid-fire speech, the sudden shifts in thought, the jokes that arrive in the middle of serious conversations and the ability to move from one subject to another without warning. These girls don't simply talk; they process.

And Salma processes everything like a detective.

Television has given her a vocabulary for understanding crime, clues and suspects. She has watched enough procedural television shows to believe she knows how an investigation works. There is something funny about her confidence, but there is also something unsettling about it. For all the light-heartedness there’s an air that something isn’t right.

Pharel wisely doesn't allow that danger to become the only thing we see. The girls joke, argue, tease one another and behave like fifteen-year-olds. Their humor is genuine, but it also creates an increasingly uneasy contrast with what may be happening beyond their immediate world.

That contrast gives the play its darker edge.

The girls are dealing with situations that are far more adult than they are. Salma's television education has taught her that mysteries have clues and crimes have solutions. But real life doesn't necessarily follow the rules of a television show.

The four girls come from distinctly different cultural backgrounds. Salma is Cuban, Este is Salvadorian, Phoebe is Dominican/Haitian, and her cousin Maria is Dominican. Their different cultural experiences shape their ideas about family, friendship, behavior and what it means to grow up American, while their interactions allow Pharel to explore questions of identity, belonging and how young people see one another across economic and cultural lines. Yet they share something equally important: they are all approximately fifteen years old, and they are all American.

Pharel doesn't present Latino identity as one uniform experience. Instead, she allows the girls' differences to shape their relationships and their understanding of the world. They are negotiating family expectations, cultural identity and American teenage life simultaneously.

Dead Girl’s Quinceañera is ambitious, culturally layered and unapologetically youthful. Pharel gives us four girls who may come from different places, but who share the complicated experience of growing up American while carrying the histories, expectations and family secrets that shape who they are. As those secrets begin to surface, friendship is tested, identities are questioned, and the girls are forced to confront realities far beyond their years.

Ultimately, this is a play about friendship, identity and agency—and about young women discovering that sometimes the most important story is the one they have the courage to uncover for themselves.

RECOMMENDED

When: Through Nov. 1 (Extended through November 8th!)

Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.

Tickets: $34-$79

Info: www.goodmantheatre.org

Box Office: 312-443-3800

With Halloween creeping closer, there’s something fitting about revisiting one of opera’s earliest flirtations with macabre horror - especially in a production presented and performed by Chicago City Opera (COT). Der Vampyr may not enjoy the mainstream familiarity of later supernatural works, but its mix of moonlit superstition, doomed romance, and aristocratic menace makes it an ideal October offering. As audiences lean into the season’s appetite for the eerie, Marschner’s opera emerges as a surprisingly modern ancestor to everything from Victorian melodrama to contemporary horror musicals.

Though often treated as a standalone curiosity, Der Vampyr has a lineage that begins well outside the opera house. The story originates with John Polidori’s 1819 prose tale The Vampyre, one of the first works to codify the seductive, aristocratic vampire archetype. Polidori’s narrative was adapted into a German stage play by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter, whose dramatization became the direct source for Wilhelm August Wohlbrück’s libretto. Heinrich Marschner’s 1828 opera builds on Ritter’s theatrical version, shaping the material into a darkly romantic, musically driven narrative that blends early Romantic lyricism with gothic theatrics. In short: Polidori’s story inspired Ritter’s play, and Ritter’s play became the foundation for Marschner’s opera.

Set in early 19th century Scotland, the opera follows Lord Ruthven, a charismatic nobleman cursed with vampirism and bound to claim new victims before dawn or face eternal damnation. After surviving a near fatal attack, the young hero Edgar becomes unknowingly entangled in Ruthven’s hunt. Ruthven first targets the innocent Janthe, luring her to a ruined castle under the guise of seduction, and later sets his sights on Malwina, Edgar’s beloved, whose wedding night becomes his final opportunity to fulfill his deadly pact. As Edgar pieces together the truth, the opera accelerates toward a frantic race against sunrise: Ruthven’s identity is exposed, his supernatural bargain collapses, and the community rallies to save Malwina as the vampire is ultimately destroyed. What remains is a blend of gothic suspense, romantic rescue, and early Romantic moral drama - a seasonally perfect slice of operatic horror as Halloween approaches.

Jeremiah Strickler commands the evening as Lord Ruthven, delivering a performance that blends aristocratic charm with a chilling, predatory stillness. His presence anchors the production - vocally assured, theatrically magnetic, and always in control of the opera’s gothic pulse. Opposite him, Jordan Loyd brings a clear, earnest intensity to Edgar Aubry, shaping the role with a bright tenor and a palpable sense of moral urgency. Loyd had some of the most spectacular and heartfelt vocal moments of the evening, particularly toward the end of Act II as he reflects on his past love. Jessie Lyons’ Malwina adds welcome tenderness, her lyrical phrasing and grounded sincerity adding to the opera’s romantic core. Ariel Emma’s Janthe provides one of the night’s most striking early moments, her brief arc handled with vivid color and fearless commitment, and some of the notes she held were genuinely astounding - the kind that stop the room for a beat. Keaton Payne’s Humphrey von Davenaut provides a sturdy, authoritative counterweight, shaped by both his assured delivery and his expressive, sharply drawn presence. Meanwhile, Molly Clementz (also the production’s graphic designer) brings Emmy Perth to life with bright energy and an impressive finesse that lifts every moment she’s given, adding flashes of warmth, wit, and a polished musicality - especially in the way she shapes and sustains her notes with such control and clarity.

Bat Collazo’s George Dibdin and Kevin Wheatle’s John Berkley round out the ensemble with crisp, well-shaped character work that keeps the world of the opera humming with specificity.

Jerimiah Strickler (rear) Molly Clemenntz (left) and Bat Collazo in Chicago City Opera's Der Vampyr.

One of the unexpected pleasures of the evening was simply hearing each singer on their own - every voice carrying its own color, character, and emotional weight. But when paired, those timbres intertwined with a striking naturalness, and in the moments when all eight sang off one another at once, the result was nothing short of exquisite. The ensemble sound had a richness and immediacy that felt almost architectural, each voice reinforcing the next until the room seemed to vibrate with a unified, resonant force. It was a reminder of how thrilling Marschner’s writing can be when performed by artists who listen as intently as they sing.

Behind the scenes, Alexis Enyart conducts with sharp dramatic instinct, shaping Marschner’s score with clarity and momentum. SarahAnn Sutter’s direction deepens the production’s impact, treating Der Vampyr not merely as gothic spectacle but as a living, breathing psychological drama. She embraces the opera’s supernatural flair with confidence - the shadows, the proximity, the sudden shifts in tone - yet she never lets the human stakes slip away. Sutter has a keen sense for spatial storytelling, using the venue’s architecture to heighten tension and intimacy; she sends performers through the aisles and along the home’s sweeping historic staircase, activating much of the house as part of the dramatic landscape. Her staging choices reveal a director who understands how early Romantic horror works best: not through excess, but through precision, ambience, and emotional clarity. Supported by Jordan Crice’s deft piano work and Adam Nicholson’s distinctive set design, the result is a production where every element feels intentionally placed and dramatically charged. Thanks to this talented cast and creative team, Chicago City Opera builds a world where early Romantic horror feels both stylish and surprisingly immediate.

Although Der Vampyr travels through a handful Chicago area venues during its run, the performance I attended on opening night unfolded inside the storied Colvin House - a location that feels almost predestined for this opera. Colvin House, beautifully placed across the street from Lake Michigan on the corner of Thorndale Avenue and Sheridan Road, proves to be an inspired setting for Der Vampyr, its historic architecture and intimate, richly textured rooms amplifying the opera’s gothic mood in ways a traditional proscenium simply can’t match. The building’s carved woodwork, shadow friendly corners, period furnishings, and old-world elegance create a natural sense of suspense and closeness, allowing the audience to feel almost inside the drama rather than observing it from a distance. The scale of the space heightens the tension - Ruthven’s entrances feel more dangerous, Janthe’s fate more immediate, Malwina’s peril more personal. Colvin House becomes a living extension of the opera’s supernatural world and a perfect match for Marschner’s early Romantic horror.

Despite all its strengths, the evening wasn’t without a minor but noticeable drawback. Although brief stretches of dialogue were exchanged in English, the opera itself is sung in its original German, making the surtitles essential for most. Unfortunately, the monitor displaying those subtitles sat off to the front side and too low to be easily seen by much of the audience; only those in the unobstructed front section had a consistently clear view. Sitting in the third row opposite the monitor side, I was able to catch most of the surtitles when first‑row head movement allowed, but many around me – and further back - were blocked entirely. I’m no set designer, but raising the monitor and centering it - even if it encroached slightly into the stage picture - would make the surtitles far more accessible, a small trade off that would greatly improve audience experience. In the meantime, I strongly recommend that attendees read the Act I and Act II synopsis in the program before the performance begins; with that context in hand, most will have a solid grasp of the unfolding drama even if the surtitles prove difficult to see.

Regardless of that small hiccup, the opera itself remained a beautiful, wonderfully performed experience - rich in mood, artistry, and musical power.

Der Vampyr is recommended as a rare and atmospheric experience - the kind of intimate, site specific opera that feels tailor made for October. For audiences looking to embrace the season with something truly unique, this production offers a gothic thrill you won’t find anywhere else. Upcoming performances include Wednesday, October 7 at Colvin House (7pm), Friday, October 9 at Fulton Street Art Center (7pm), and Sunday, October 11 at Skokie Theatre (3pm).

https://www.chicagocityopera.com/