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Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to launch its 51st Season with the world premiere of Chicago playwright Stephanie Alison Walker's biting satire Adirondack Chair Circle, directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Downstate, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), playing October 22 — December 6, 2026 in Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

The Adirondack Chair Circle cast features a stellar lineup of talent including ensemble member Caroline Neff, who returns to the Steppenwolf stage, adding to her extensive Steppenwolf credits including Mr. Wolf, Fool for Love, POTUS and Another Marriage. She is joined by David Darrow, who dazzled Steppenwolf audiences as Mozart in last season's record-breaking Amadeus. Broadway favorite Katrina Lenk, who received Tony and Grammy Awards for her turn in The Band's Visit, returns to Steppenwolf for the first time since 2005's Lost Land. Making her Steppenwolf debut is Chicago actor Wendy Mateo, while Sadieh Rifai returns to Steppenwolf after captivating audiences in last year's You Will Get Sick.

About the Production:

A gaggle of suburban moms, armed with pickleball paddles and hard kombucha, are ready to take on the school board in the fight of their lives: attempting to ban the controversial books available to their kids in the school library. But is this trusted inner circle all on the same page? A piercing world premiere from a Chicago playwright, Stephanie Alison Walker's Adirondack Chair Circle exposes the hilarious hypocrisy of the causes we claim and the company we keep. And has a damn good time doing it.

The creative team includes Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design), Izumi Inaba (Costume Design), Barbara Samuels (Lighting Design), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), Nicholas Hussong (Projection Design), Steph Paul (Choreographer), Kate DeVore (Vocal Coach), Bryar Barborka (Dramaturg), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Michelle Medvin (Production Stage Manager) and Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager). For full cast and creative team bios, click here.

Production Details:

Title: Adirondack Chair Circle
Playwright: Stephanie Alison Walker
Director: Pam MacKinnon
Cast: ensemble member Caroline Neff (Evelyn Grace) with David Darrow (Crow), Katrina Lenk (Banna), Wendy Mateo (Winona) and Sadieh Rifai (Libby).
Understudies: Tiffany Bedwell (Banna), Brittany Burch (Evelyn Grace), Alex Casillas (Winona), Warren Keith Duncan (Crow) and Erinn Fredin (Libby).

Location: Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater, 1646 N. Halsted St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 22 – Saturday, October 31, 2026
Opening: Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 6 pm
Regular run: Tuesday, November 3 – Sunday, December 6, 2026
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 7:30 pm performances on Tuesday, October 27, Thursday, November 5, Tuesday, November 10, Wednesday, November 18, Wednesday, November 25, Thursday, November 26 and Tuesday, December 1; there will be an added 2 pm matinees on Wednesday, November 25 and Wednesday, December 2.

Tickets: Classic Memberships starting as low as $165 are now on sale for Steppenwolf's 2026/27 season at steppenwolf.org/myseason. Single tickets for Adirondack Chair Circle ($20 – $149*) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. Steppenwolf Flex Memberships are currently on sale: Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production and RED Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30. *Pricing includes an $8.50 handling fee

Steppenwolf offers 20 tickets for $20 (no added fees) for each performance of every Main Series production. Use promo code 20FOR20 to redeem this offer online, available in advance until they're sold out for every main series show. Limit 2 tickets per person. You can also purchase by phone at (312) 335-1650 on the day-of show at 12 pm for main series performances. Limit 2 tickets per person.

Accessible Performance Dates:

Audio-Described and Touch Tour: Sunday, November 22 at 3 pm (1:30 pm Touch Tour)
Open-Captioned: Saturday, November 7 at 3 pm, Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, November 28 at 3 pm
ASL-Interpreted: Friday, December 4 at 7:30 pm

Education and Engagement:

Throughout the 2026/27 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 Main Series productions including Topdog/Underdog, Adirondack Chair Circle, The Comeuppance and Ellen B., 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. For additional information about Steppenwolf's Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip visit steppenwolf.org/education-community/school-teacher-programs/field-trips.

Artist Biographies:

Stephanie Alison Walker (Playwright) is an internationally-produced, award-winning playwright whose work is known for the personalization of the political, humor in darkness and the dramatization of the resilience of women. She is a native Chicagoburbian who has lived all over including London, Buenos Aires, San Juan Island and fifteen years in Los Angeles. She received her Bachelors in English/Creative Writing and Spanish from the University of Colorado and her Master of Professional Writing from the University of California. She began writing plays while working for Fox Theatricals in Chicago. Her play about the housing crisis, American Home, was the inaugural winner of American Blues Theatre's Blue Ink Award. Her play about the mothers of the disappeared in Argentina, The Madres, received a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at Teatro Vista in Chicago, Skylight Theatre Company in L.A., Moxie Theatre in San Diego and Shrewd Theatre Company in Austin. It was the 2019 Winner of the Francesca Primus Prize, winner of the Ashland New Plays Festival, the Generations Prize and semi-finalist for the CTG/ Humanitas Prize for playwriting. Her follow-up play The Abuelas, premiered at Teatro Vista and was recently adapted into a short film titled The Birthday Gift. The Art of Disappearing was a finalist for the Primus Prize and enjoyed critical praise for the world premiere in Chicago by 16th Street Theater in 2015. Friends with Guns, her play about liberals and gun ownership was an O'Neill Finalist, winner of Best New Play at the 2019 Valley Theatre Awards, and had its Chicago premiere by A Short Leap Theatre Company in 2025. Sophia Hayden Deserves Better tells the story of the architect of the Woman's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and was recently a part of Gglassfest by Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago. The Ordeal of Water, inspired by the first women to work as Longshoremen at the Port of Los Angeles, was most recently a part of Bay Street Theater's New Works Festival. Adirondack Chair Circle, her play that tackles suburban book-banning moms, was developed at The Inkwell Theater Company and A Red Orchid's Studio at A Red Orchid. Her short plays have been anthologized by Smith & Kraus. Her full-lengths are published by Broadway Publishing, Inc. In addition to writing plays, she is currently adapting Friends with Guns and The Abuelas as features while raising two spirited boys and selling real estate in the suburbs of Chicago. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Honor Roll Playwrights, NNPN Affiliated Artist, and a proud alumni of the Playwrights Union. stephaniealisonwalker.com

Pam MacKinnon (Director) is a Tony, Drama Desk and multi-Obie Award winning director. She is the artistic director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She has directed more than eighty productions. Her Tony Award-winning production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? originated at Steppenwolf. Her production of Bruce Norris's Downstate (Steppenwolf, National Theatre and Playwrights Horizons) was celebrated with several Jeff Awards and won Pam her second Obie. She served as president of SDC, the national Union of choreographers and directors.

David Darrow (Crow) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Amadeus; Off-Broadway: Memnon (Classical Theatre of Harlem), All Is Calm (Drama Desk Award), The Revival (Project Y Theatre); Regional: Over ten productions at The Guthrie including A Little Shop Of Horrors, Juno And The Paycock  and The Tempest; Sweat (ACT); Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Fiddler on the Roof (Asolo Repertory Theatre); Lookinglass Alice, Twelfth Night (Baltimore Center Stage); Romeo And Juliet (Ten Thousand Things); Television: RJ Decker, Ballard and Cupertino; Education: MFA Grad Acting – Tisch School of the Arts. David has written several musicals which have been developed/produced at theatres around the country.

Katrina Lenk (Banna) Broadway: Company, The Band's Visit (Tony, Grammy, Lucille Lortel Award), Indecent, Once, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, The Miracle Worker. Additional theater credits include: High Spirits (New York City Center Encores!), Indecent (Vineyard, La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Rep), iWitness (Mark Taper Forum), Lost Land (Steppenwolf), Lovelace: A Rock Opera (L.A./Edinburgh). Television: Cupertino, Apples Never Fall, Ozark, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Little Voice, The Good Fight, The Village, Tommy, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, et al.

Wendy Mateo (Winona) is beyond thrilled to make her Steppenwolf debut. Wendy is the Artistic Director of Teatro Vista Productions (TVP) and a Chicago-based actor, director and filmmaker. An iO and Second City alum, she has been seen on stage in Beyond Caring and Big Lake Big City (Lookingglass Theatre). Her directing work includes The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Goodman Theatre); ¡Bernarda! (TVP); Mojada (upcoming at Court Theatre). Her TV/film acting credits include Chicago Med, Station Eleven and Widows, while her filmmaking credits include Good Mothers and Hair.

Caroline Neff (Evelyn Grace) is a Steppenwolf ensemble member. At Steppenwolf, she was last seen in Mr. Wolf, Fool for Love, POTUS, Another Marriage, Describe the Night, Seagull, Dance Nation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, You Got Older, Linda Vista (also Taper Forum and Broadway), The Fundamentals, The Flick, Airline Highway (also Broadway), The Way West, Three Sisters, Annie Bosh is Missing and Where We're Born. Select theatre credits include: Lettie (Jeff Award Best Actor, Victory Gardens Theater); Uncle Vanya (Goodman Theatre); A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Jeff Award for Best Actress), The Knowledge, Harper Regan, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (Steep Theatre); The Downpour (Route 66 Theatre); Port (Griffin Theatre); 4000 Miles (Northlight Theatre); Moonshiner (Jackalope Theatre). Regional credits include: Peerless (Yale Repertory Theatre). Film and television credits include: Parallax (upcoming Apple tv) FBI, Three Women, Let the Right One In, The Red Line, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, Open Tables and Older Children, and heard in multiple Audible Projects such as: Song of the Northwoods, Crowded Hours, Denali and Boar's Nest. She is a proud company member of Steep Theatre and holds her BA from Columbia College.

Sadieh Rifai (Libby) Steppenwolf Theatre: You Will Get Sick, August: Osage County (u/s). The Targeted, Do You Feel Anger, An Evening at the Talk House, Grey House (A Red Orchid). She's performed at theaters such as Goodman, American Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare and Milwaukee Repertory. Film: Block Party, Hekla, The Wise Kids, Nate and Margaret, Olympia, All Happy Families. Television: Bettendorf Talks, The Red Line, Chicago Med, Patriot, Shining Girls and Somebody Somewhere. Sadieh received the Princess Grace Award in 2011 & The Princess Grace Fellow in 2026. She's a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Venture and Paonessa Talent.

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/plan-your-visit/accessibility or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sponsor Information:

Adirondack Chair Circle is a recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul Angell Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Julius Frankel Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Shubert Foundation, Inc, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Rich and Margery Feitler, FROST CHICAGO, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Jessica and Dominic Green Family Fund, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Orlebeke Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Thoma Bravo, and Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.     

About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier Ensemble Theater with 51 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions have made this theatre legendary. From the early phenomenon of Balm in Gilead, to The Grapes of Wrath, August: Osage County, Downstate, The Brother/Sister Plays, and more recently, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Purpose, Steppenwolf Theatre has had a long-running and undeniable impact on American Theatre and Chicago's cultural landscape. Founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise, Steppenwolf started as a group of friends in their teens and early 20s performing in the basement of a school in Highland Park, Illinois. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards, two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the boundaries of live theater and pushes the limits of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf's Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Innovation Arts & Entertainment, along with Broadway In Chicago, are thrilled to announce single tickets for ALL THINGS EQUAL: THE LIFE AND TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG (www.allthingsequalrbg.com), will go on sale Friday, September 25. Produced by Scott Stander, the production that has toured more than 40 cities nationwide to date, is written by multiple Award-winner Rupert Holmes and directed by Laley Lippard. The production stars Michelle Azar who originated the role. Over the course of ninety fascinating and often funny minutes, the one-woman-production presents an intimate portrayal of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a true American original. ALL THINGS EQUAL: THE LIFE AND TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG will play Broadway In Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago) for a limited three-day engagement, January 26 – 28.

“In creating this play about her richly-lived life and hard-fought struggles, I came to ever more deeply marvel at her strength, tenacity, sly wit, and compassion,” says Holmes. “Our play also reveals the love song that ran through her remarkable life and shares the music that was her giddy delight. ALL THINGS EQUAL offers each theatregoer the chance to better know this woman, her yearning for equality, and her love for this nation's precious institutions: Ruth ... Justice ... and the American way.”

In ALL THINGS EQUAL: THE LIFE AND TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG , Supreme Court Justice “RBG” welcomes a friend of the family to her cozy chambers to convey, over the course of ninety fascinating and often funny minutes, a sense of her life and its many trials: losing her mother the day before she graduated as valedictorian of her Brooklyn high school; being one of only nine young women studying law at Harvard while also raising a daughter and helping her husband battle cancer; fighting for women's rights in the nineteen-seventies before condescending all-male courts; and taking courageous stands for human rights as a voice of reason amid a splintering and increasingly politicized Supreme Court. An evening with a great and compassionate icon of straight-thinking American justice emerges, an RBG who is not only “notorious” but victorious as she takes a stand for ordinary people facing the many challenges of a changing world.

"We couldn't be more excited to bring Ruth Bader Ginsburg's story to even more cities in 2027," says Producer Scott Stander. "Audiences across the country have responded to this show with laughter, tears, and a renewed appreciation for what one determined person can accomplish. Her story continues to resonate, and we can't wait to share it with new audiences everywhere we go."

“Bring your scrunchies, your hankies, your humor, and your heart to this entertaining and uplifting event,” says Holmes.

For more information, visit www.allthingsequalrbg.com. Follow All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Instagram and Facebook.

About Rupert Holmes, Playwright
Rupert Holmes was the first person in Broadway history to solely win Tony awards for Book, Music, and Lyrics, this for his creation The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which also won the Tony award for Best Musical. He has received five New York Drama Desk awards in the categories of Book (twice), Music & Lyrics, Orchestrations, and--most recently (2025)--for Best Adaptation. His Broadway shows include Curtains with Kander and Ebb (Tony noms to Holmes for Book and Additional Lyrics), Say Goodnight, Gracie (Tony nom to Holmes for Best Play), Accomplice (Edgar award from The Mystery Writers of America), his stage adaptation of John Grisham's A Time to Kill, and his recent Gilbert and Sullivan adaptation of Pirates! The Penzance Musical (Tony nomination, Best Revival). He has written over twenty musicals and plays performed at major venues regionally and internationally. Holmes is author of the recent New York Times Best Seller Murder Your Employer. His first novel Where the Truth Lies was adapted for film starring Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon. His musical novel Swing reached #24 of all books on Amazon.

Holmes contributed songs to the Golden Globe-winning score of A Star is Born. For television, he created and scripted all 55 episodes of AMC’s first original series Remember WENN. He has written, arranged & conducted numerous recordings for Barbra Streisand, including the platinum album Lazy Afternoon; his songs have been recorded by Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, Britney Spears, Rita Coolidge, Renée Fleming, and countless others. Holmes is also the singer-songwriter of his own iconic #1 Billboard hit “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” featured in over fifty motion pictures and TV shows. He is recipient of the George M. Cohan Award from ASCAP and recently received an honorary doctorate from The Manhattan School of Music.

Michelle Azar, Actress (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Her performance background began in Chicago where she sang with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s children’s choir. She received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and started working immediately as Janis Joplin in Beehive. Once moving to Los Angeles, she received Ovation awards for her roles in both dramatic and comedic roles and was the 2016 Stage Raw award winner for Best Actress in Eric Coble’s My Barking Dog directed by Michael Michetti. Most favorite stage credits: Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish! (Soraya Theatre) Bella in Lost in Yonkers, and Berte in Boeing, Boeing (La Mirada Theatre) and Masha in Mayakovsky and Stalin (Cherry Lane Theatre). Select television and film credits include: NCIS LA, How To Get Away With Murder, Criminal Minds, The Magicians, Aquarius, Community, and the upcoming short, CryBaby Michelle is no stranger to the one-woman show, as her own original piece, FROM BAGHDAD TO BROOKLYN, continues to tour around the country after its sold out premiere at the United Solo Festival in NYC.

Laley Lippard (she/her), Director
Lippard is a director, dramaturg, educator and producer dedicated to social justice through the arts. Lippard has developed new work and directed across the country at theaters such as Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Alliance Theater, Round House Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, American Theater Company, Magic Theatre, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Theater J, Kitchen Dog, Eaton Workshop, Dobama Theater, foolsFURY Theater, Z Space, Solas Nua, and Virginia Stage Company among others. Recently, she collaborated and trained throughout Japan, India and Greece on a premiere adaptation of Oedipus by Ellen McLaughlin which performed at ancient sites across Greece. Her site specific work has been noted in The New York Times (The Smuggler with Solas Nua) and her work was adapted to film which premiered in NYC’s 1st Irish Festival (In the Middle of the Fields - US premiere). Lippard was the co-founder and co-executive producer of The Chicago Home Theater Festival, a five-year city-wide artistic network and annual event that organized artists and neighbors to celebrate local culture, share a communal meal, experience diverse art forms in alternative spaces, and build intentional community across lines of difference. Other producing work includes Z/Magic Mondays at Magic Theatre as Artistic Associate, with The Welders as Interim Creative Producer, and as the Cleveland Play House inaugural Artistic Directing Fellow. She has artistically collaborated with HowlRound and the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, Intersection for the Arts, American Conservatory Theater, Court Theatre, Syracuse Stage, and TheatreWorks. Lippard has taught, workshopped, and/or directed at Stanford University, Northwestern University, Kenyon College, Hampshire College, Carnegie Mellon University, and Case Western Reserve MFA Acting program. Lippard is a member of the National Directors Fellowship, the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, an Associate Member of the SDC, and holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University.

Scott Stander, Producer
Stander has produced concerts and theatre attractions for the last 20 years including the Rocky Horror Picture Show Spectacular Tour with original cast members Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell, Clue: The Movie with original cast members Lesley Ann Warren and Tim Curry and “Judy Garland We Need A Little Christmas”, starring internet sensation Debbie Wileman. Upcoming: 40^th Anniversary of Little Shop of Horrors with original cast member Ellen Greene. He has also produced Debbie Wileman’s Happy 100th Birthday, Judy! concert and her debut CD: "I'm Still Here - The Songs Judy Would Sing". Past hits: The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Tour starring Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell; An Evening With Sophia Loren (10 city US tour - Spring 2016); Dance To The Movies starring Shirley Jones and Lesley Ann Warren (Spring 2016); Dancing With A Twist-mas (Christmas 2015); Ballroom With Twist – starring TVs Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Karina Smirnoff, Tony Dovolani and Peta Murgatroyd (National Tour – 5 seasons) Broadway: If You Ever Leave Me I’m Going With You starring Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna (Broadway and Chicago Company and National Tour); Steve Allen and Phyllis Diller – Together Again For The First Time (12 city Concert Tour); An Evening With Shirley Bassey (10 city Concert Tour); Milton Berle’s 90^th Birthday Celebration (13 city tour); Breaking Legs starring Frank Gorshin (Off Broadway and tour); Say Goodnight Gracie (2^nd National Broadway Tour starring Don McArt – 3 year tour); Odd Couple – Female Version starring Barbara Eden and Rita McKenzie (National Tour – 3 seasons); Love Letters starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman and Hal Linden (National tour); Bermuda Avenue Triangle starring Renee Taylor, Joe Bologna and Lainie Kazan (National Tour); Ethel Merman’s Broadway starring Rita McKenzie (Off Broadway-John Houseman Theatre and National Tour).

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, January 26 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 27 – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 28 – 7:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION (As of September 24, based on availability and subject to change)
Individual tickets for ALL THINGS EQUAL: THE LIFE AND TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG go on sale on Friday, September 25 and range from $30.00 - $80.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Ticket price listed is when purchased in person at the box office. Additional fees apply for online purchases. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 26 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, The Auditorium, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place .
 

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.
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Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham, continues its 35^th Anniversary Season with the highly-theatrical historical boxing drama The Royale from Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black, Buena Vista Social Club) and directed by Tyrone Phillips (Fat Ham; Byhalia, Mississippi). Inspired by the first Black world heavyweight champion and Chicagoan Jack Johnson, The Royale follows Jay "The Sport" Jackson as he fights for his place in history, The Royale will run October 22 – November 29, 2026 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 

Jay is a really good boxer, so good they call him "The Sport." He's won his last seventy-six fights and has his sights set on being crowned the next heavyweight champion. But it's 1905, and in the Jim Crow era, a Black man doesn't get to fight a reigning white champion. When a surprising chance at the title appears, Jay gears up for the fight of his life—where the stakes are staggeringly high inside the ring and out. Inspired by real-world boxer Jack Johnson, this adrenaline rush of a play by Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black, Buena Vista Social Club) is a kinetic and poetic portrayal of what it takes and what it costs to make history. 

"The Royale is inspired by the boundary-breaking boxer Jack Johnson and the price of his determination to get to the top, As Jay's obstacles grow, so does his determination, his pride, his discipline and the costs to the people who love him," comments says Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham. "Director Tyrone Phillips and his incredible ensemble of performers will conjure an entire world and its systemic tension using a captivating blend of rhythmic and percussive choreography. It's an invigorating way to continue our 35th season at Writers with a play built from a piece of American history too often left out of the story."

The cast of The Royale includes: La'Tevin Alexander (Jay), Scott Aiello (Max), Ajax Dontavius (Fish), James Vincent Meredith (Wynton), AnJi White (Nina). The understudies are Yomade Adefeso (Jay Understudy; Fish Understudy), Kristin Ellis (Nina Understudy), Joel Gelman (Max Understudy), Frederick Paul Williams (Wynton Understudy).

The creative team includes: Tyrone Phillips (Director), Rasell Holt (Movement Director), Lauren M. Nichols (Scenic Designer), Gregory Graham (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Stephanie Farina (Sound Designer) and Kenya Hall (Dramaturg). The stage manager is Imani M. Ross.

Single Tickets for The Royale start at $35 are now on sale at the Writers Theatre Box Office at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, by calling 847-242-6000, and at www.writerstheatre.org.

About the Artists

Marco Ramirez (Playwright) has had plays produced at Lincoln Center Theater, The Kennedy Center, The Humana Festival, The Old Globe (San Diego), The Bush Theatre (London), American Theater Company (Chicago), Soulpepper (Toronto) and Center Theatre Group (LA). Honors include Helen Hayes and Drama Desk nominations, the Outer Critics Circle's John Gassner Playwriting Award, Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship, Lincoln Center's Le Comte du Nouy Award and TCG's Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Marco is also a WGA and Emmy Award-nominated TV writer and producer, where his credits include Marvel's Daredevil (Netflix), Marvel's The Defenders (Netflix), Sons of Anarchy (FX), Orange is the New Black (Netflix) and Fear the Walking Dead (AMC).

Tyrone Phillips (Director) is the founding Artistic Director of Chicago's Definition Theatre. Recipient of the 2022 Alumni Award for Diversity and Inclusion, he is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has studied abroad at Shakespeare's Globe. As a first generation Jamaican-American, Tyrone is passionate about equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in the fine arts industry and has completed advanced anti-racism training to lead change in our community. Select theater credits: Definition Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Writers, Old Globe, Berkeley Rep, Milwaukee Rep, St. Louis Rep and Stage 42 (off-Broadway). Tyrone is currently adjunct faculty at DePaul University and serves on the Board of Directors for the League of Chicago Theaters. He is the recipient of the Inaugural Arts Midwest Peter Capell Award for Midwestern Creativity and Entrepreneurship and proud member of SDC, SAG-AFTRA and the NAACP. 

La'Tevin Alexander (Jay) is making his Writers Theatre debut. Regional credits include Joe Turner's Come and Gone as Herald Loomis (Penumbra Theatre); The Piano Lesson as Lymon (Milwaukee Rep and Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park); The Light as Rashad (Portland Center Stage); Paradise Blue as P-Sam (Portland Playhouse); A Christmas Carol as Scrooge (Portland Playhouse); Reggie Hoops as Muncie (Profile Theatre); and Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy as Jonathan Harker (Portland Center Stage). Film credits include Outdoor School (2025); Test Screening (2024); The Paper Tigers (2020); Marry, Fuck, Kill (2024); and Dearest Eva (2022). Television credits include: DELPHI (Prime); CHAD (TBS); The Wonderland Murders (ID); Portlandia (IFC); and Grimm (NBC). He has a BA from Florida A&M University.

Scott Aiello (Max) is returning to Writers Theater, where he previously appeared as Duke Frederick in As You Like It. Other Chicago Theater credits include: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Goodman), Hamlet (SS), A Midsummer Night's Dream (SS), Henry V and Richard III (Chicago Shakespeare), A View From the Bridge (Shattered Globe), Perfect Mendacity (Steppenwolf), Awake and Sing! (Timeline). T.V. and film: American Rust (Showtime, Recurring), Billions (Showtime, Recurring). Joseph Jefferson Awards- Leading Actor in a Play (A View From the Bridge, Shattered Globe, 2024), Supporting Actor in a Play (Broadway Bound, Pegasus Players, 2002) Scott has narrated over 300 audiobooks. Training: The Juilliard School.

Ajax Dontavius (Fish) is a Haitian-American actor. Recent credits include: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Seattle Rep and Remy Bumppo Theatre); Last Night and The Night Before (Steppenwolf Theatre); Measure for Measure (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Fences (American Blues Theater); and Middle Passage (Lifeline Theatre). Television: NCIS: Origins, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., 61st Street. Education: B.F.A. Acting – Roosevelt University/Chicago College of Performing Arts.

James Vincent Meredith (Wynton) previously appeared at Writers Theatre in The Dutchess of Malfi and Othello. Broadway credits include Skin of Our Teeth (LCT), Book of Mormon (Eugene O'Neill, also National Tour), The Minutes, and Superior Donuts (both Music Box). Local credits include work at Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman, Court, Victory Gardens and Steppenwolf (ensemble member since 2007). Recent Television credits include Fargo (FX), Emperor of Ocean Park (MGM), Your Honor (Showtime), 61st Street (AMC/CW)

AnJi White (Nina) hails from the South Side of Chicago. She last appeared in Covenant and Fat Ham (Goodman Theatre). Some Chicago credits include East Texas Hot Links (Court Theatre, Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actress); For Colored Girls (Court Theatre Jeff Award for Best Ensemble); Sunset Baby (Black Theatre Alliance Award for Best Actress, TimeLine Theatre) and more. Regional credit: Paradise Blue (Studio Theatre in D.C., Helen Hayes for Outstanding Supporting Performer). TV credits include: Marvel's Ironheart, Fargo, 61st Street and more.

The Royale

Written by Marco Ramirez
Directed by Tyrone Phillips

Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre

October 22 – November 29, 2026

Cast: La'Tevin Alexander (Jay), Scott Aiello (Max), Ajax Dontavius (Fish), James Vincent Meredith (Wynton), AnJi White (Nina), Yomade Adefeso (Jay Understudy; Fish Understudy), Kristin Ellis (Nina Understudy), Joel Gelman (Max Understudy) and Frederick Paul Williams (Wynton Understudy).

Creative Team: Tyrone Phillips (Director), Rasell Holt (Movement Director), Lauren M. Nichols (Scenic Designer), Gregory Graham (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Stephanie Farina (Sound Designer), Kenya Hall (Dramaturg) and Imani M. Ross (Stage Manager).

Performance Schedule: 

Wednesdays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm 

Thursdays: 7:30pm  

Fridays: 7:30pm  

Saturdays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm  

Sundays: 2:00pm and 7:00pm 

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

ASL-Interpreted Performance: Saturday, November 14 at 2:00pm 

Pay-What-You-Can Performances: Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm and Sunday, November 22 at 7pm

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

Prices: $35+

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

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

Single tickets will go on sale Tuesday, September 1. Flex subscriptions and tickets are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, and at the Box Office by calling 847-242-6000. 

Teatro Vista Productions, the Midwest's only Latine-led Equity theatre company, led by Executive Director Lorena Diaz and Artistic Director Wendy Mateo in collaboration with Associate Artistic Director Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, announces its 2026-27 Season. The season opens with the groundbreaking live looping hip-hop musical Mexodus, November 7-21, 2026, presented by Studebaker Theater, P3 Productions and Audible, in collaboration with Teatro Vista Productions. The musical, making its Chicago Premiere, is written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, choreographed by Tony Thomas, and directed by David Mendizábal. The season continues with Luis Alfaro's Mojada, March 12 - April 11, 2027, directed by Wendy Mateo and Denise Yvette Serna, presented in partnership with Court Theatre. Concluding the season is the Chicago Premiere of Reggie Hoops by Kristoffer Diaz, directed by Khanisha Foster, and presented as part of Teatro Vista Productions' multi-year partnership with Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

As part of its commitment to community engagement, supporting its artists and creating new digital projects, the TVP Season 36 includes the launch of a new In Process: Podcast starting in October featuring in-depth Artist on Artist conversations. The first episode will feature TVP Artistic Collective members Max Arciniega and Paloma Nozicka. Live Mexodus Listening Parties, on October 11, 18, 25 and November 1, will be held in locations throughout the city and strategically en route - from Teatro Vista Productions' homebase at The Exchange in Jefferson Park to where Mexodus is playing at the Studebaker Theater downtown - with each stop mirroring a chapter in the play's journey. TVP will also continue workshopping plays to live audiences with In Process Live; presenting La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny, by Carmen Rivera  and directed by Cándido Tirado, on January 23, 2027.

The 2026-2027 season includes:

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 Avenue, 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 available at: https://www.fineartsbuilding.com/events/mexodus/.

Mojada

By Luis Alfaro 

Directed by Wendy Mateo and Denise Yvette Serna 

Presented In partnership with Court Theatre

Court Theatre, 5535 S Ellis Ave, Chicago

March 12 - April 11, 2027  

Press Opening: Saturday, March 20, 2027 at 7:30pm

An adaptation of an ancient classic tale of revenge, sacrifice, and the high price of pursuing freedom, Mojada renders Euripides's Medea myth urgently and achingly alive in the city of Chicago.

Medea survived a treacherous journey from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life, but the promise of the American Dream is quickly unravelling. She sews exquisite garments in her backyard, suffocated by fear. Her son sheds tradition as fast as he can, trading huaraches for Vans. And her husband grows distant, seduced by ambition and proximity to power. Trapped between who she was and who America demands she become, Medea finds herself in a standoff with the very dream she risked everything to reach. 

Co-directed by Teatro Vista Productions' Artistic Director Wendy Mateo and Artistic Collective member Denise Yvette Serna, Mojada confronts the contradictions at the center of American identity: opportunity and erasure, belonging and betrayal. Both a love letter and a searing indictment, this electrifying production asks: What are we willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of liberty?

Tickets are available at https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2026-2027-season/mojada/ .

The Chicago Premiere of

Reggie Hoops

By Kristoffer Diaz

Directed by Khanisha Foster

Co-Presented with Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater, 1700 N Halsted, Chicago

May 2027

Reggie was one of the NBA's most promising young executives and one of its most compelling characters: a queer Afro-Latina with a gift for structure and a keen appreciation of the art of on-court sacrifice. After an abrupt firing, she finds herself back at home navigating suburbia, parenthood, and her parents' anything but revolutionary past. An unexpected visit from a one-time fling forces her to reconsider what really matters and how far she's willing to go to succeed at the only things she's ever loved.

Reggie Hoops is a sharp, funny, and modern story about parenthood, generational pressures, and the pain that comes with chasing your passion, from the Tony-nominated writer of Hell's Kitchen and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.

Reggie Hoops is the second production presented as part of the multi-year partnership between Teatro Vista Productions and Steppenwolf. With Teatro Vista Productions in residency at Steppenwolf, both companies are modeling a relationship that they hope will inspire further collaboration in Chicago's iconic theater community among organizations of all sizes.

Tickets will be available soon at steppenwolf.org/.

Community Engagement and Special Events

In Process Podcast

Episode 1 featuring Max Arciniega and Paloma Nozicka
October 2026

Mexodus Listening Parties

Cafecito and Loops: A Mexodus Listening Tour headed South

October 11, 18 and 25, November 1, 2026

Mexodus will host four listening parties featuring excerpts from the Audible Original, each stop acting as a chapter in the experience. This series of events turns a night at the theater into a greater story. These listening parties will be scattered throughout the city, strategically en route from Teatro Vista Productions' homebase to the Studebaker Theater.

Sunday, October 11: The Exchange, home of TVP - Jefferson Park

Sunday, October 18: Magnifico Coffee Roasters & Coffee Shop - Avondale

Sunday, October 25:  Caña - West Town

Sunday, November 1: Groundswell Coffee Roasters - Fine Arts Building - Chicago Loop 

In Process Live: La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny

By Carmen Rivera

Directed by Cándido Tirado

Starring Melissa DuPrey as La Lupe

January 19-23, 2027 - Workshop

January 23, 2027 - Presentation with invited guests

Teatro Vista Productions will revisit this groundbreaking script 25 years after its world premiere with fresh talent and an evolved understanding of Afro-Latinidad in American pop culture.

Before there was Janis Joplin, Patti La Belle, and Madonna – there was LA LUPE.  Best known for her powerful voice, electrifying performances, and controversial life, La Lupe gained fame as one of the first Latin cross-over musical superstars. She was born Guadalupe Yoli Raymond in Santiago de Cuba in 1936, and became one of the most influential Latin performers of the 20th century.

After a fall from grace, La Lupe - now far from the spotlight and living in the Bronx - receives an "F" on an essay about her own life from a skeptical professor, igniting a struggle to reclaim the truth of her extraordinary musical legacy in a powerful story of defiance, passion, and redemption.

About Teatro Vista

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

Lookingglass Theatre’s production of Kowalski offers a gripping, fictionalized glimpse into the first meeting between two theater greats: Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando. Set in 1947 in a dilapidated beach house, the plot revolves around the legendary playwright as he puts the finishing touches on his landmark work, A Streetcar Named Desire. As he searches for the actor to embody the raw, animalistic energy of Stanley Kowalski, a young, unknown Marlon Brando arrives at his doorstep, having hitchhiked from New York at the behest of director Elia Kazan. What follows is a matching of wits as the two men size each other up over one emotional rollercoaster of an evening.

While theater lore holds that Brando delivered a stunning cold read that instantly entranced Williams, this narrative reimagines the fateful event with far more tension. Here, Brando is cold and calculating, intentionally manipulating the playwright while using a carefully constructed facade of vulnerability and raw power to charm his way into the iconic role. Williams is no saint either, finding ways to toy with the young actor by dangling the part just out of reach.

At the core of the production's success are incredible performances by Johnny Galecki and Jacob Moskovitz, both of whom completely lose themselves in these legendary figures. Known for starring in Roseanne and The Big Bang Theory, for which he earned an Emmy nomination, Galecki captures Tennessee Williams down to his distinct physical posture and Southern warmth. Moskovitz, who recently starred in Amazon’s Elle, a prequel series for Legally Blonde, delivers a striking turn as Marlon Brando. Beyond impeccably hitting Brando's distinct vocal cadence, Moskovitz imbues the character with a guarded, mysterious quality that feels both distant and intimate. Their chemistry transforms the stage into an intense battle of wits as two formidable forces try to push each other to the breaking point.

(from left) Johhny Galecki as Tennessee Williams, Alison Cimmet as Margo Jones, Ellie Ricker as Jo, and Jacob Moskovitz as Marlon Brando. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

In this reviewed performance, understudy Paige Cilluffo stepped into the role of director Margo Jones, usually played by Alison Cimmet. Cilluffo’s performance was compelling, bringing an effortless, era-appropriate authenticity that blended naturally into the story's world.

The staging is elevated by excellent set design, which immerses the audience directly inside Williams' personal space. The intimate environment makes viewers feel like eavesdroppers on a sizzling face-off.

Written by Gregg Ostrin, Kowalski features razor-sharp dialogue and wit, blending history and modern culture to create a fascinating, behind-the-scenes "what-if" scenario filled with humorous nods to Streetcar and theater days of old.

Before arriving in Chicago, Kowalski ran Off-Broadway in early 2025 with Robin Lord Taylor as Williams and Brandon Flynn as Brando. The only cast members from that production to transfer to Chicago were Alison Cimmet (as Margo Jones) and Ellie Ricker (as Jo). It is the hope of the creative team to eventually bring this piece to Broadway, and with a few tweaks – mainly smoothing out the edges of Jo, who currently feels more like a plot device than a fully realized character – this captivating play is certainly ready.

With excellent direction from Colin Hanlon, Kowalski is driven by a razor-sharp script and remarkably nuanced portrayals from Johnny Galecki and Jacob Moskovitz. Their honesty and raw talent on stage anchors the drama perfectly and keeps the audience locked in for entire evening, wondering what twist will happen next.

Kowalski runs until October 25, 2026. *Extended through November 8th!

https://lookingglasstheatre.org/plays/kowalski/

Detroit was burning in the summer of 1967, inside one basement, life was still  going on.

That contrast is at the heart of Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ’67, now being produced by Pulse Theatre Company in residence at eta Creative Arts Foundation. Directed by Pulse Executive Artistic Director Aaron Reese Boseman, with assistance from the wonderful AnJi White, the production takes us into the lives of people trying to maintain some sense of normalcy as their city moves toward upheaval.

The summer of 1967 was a year of enormous social and political upheaval. Detroit’s Black community was confronting racial discrimination, police brutality and economic inequality while the city was experiencing major changes in population, industry and employment.

Then came July 23.

A police raid on an after-hours establishment on Detroit’s 12th Street ignited five days of unrest. The uprising reflected longstanding tensions involving racial discrimination, police-community relations, economic inequality and the changing landscape of the city. Forty-three people died, hundreds were injured, thousands were arrested, and buildings throughout Detroit were destroyed or damaged.

Yet Morisseau doesn't put the uprising on display for us.

Instead, she puts us in a basement and allows us to listen to the people who have something to lose.

And what a basement it is.

Photo Credit: Aaron Reese Boseman

Kevin M. Rolfs has created a remarkably realistic environment for this after-hours joint. An old washer and dryer, a well-used sofa, a period bar, scraps of wood and exposed beams make the space feel genuinely lived in rather than simply designed. Look around and you will find virtually everything you would expect in a 1960s Detroit basement.

Rolfs has proven himself a master designer, and this is among his best work.

Levi J. Wilkins’ lighting design is equally impressive. The basement does not exist in isolation. Light from outside constantly reminds us that another world is happening beyond those walls. The working fixtures inside, combined with changing light through the windows, establish the passage of time with remarkable precision.

Together with Warren Levon’s sound design, Terri Devine’s period-perfect costumes, and Rueben Echoles’ hair and makeup, the production creates an immersive portrait of 1967 Detroit. The design team doesn’t simply tell us we are in Detroit in 1967—they make us feel that we are there.

To say the ensemble is outstanding would be an understatement.

Shenise Danyel, whom I vividly remember as the maid in Invictus Theatre’s The House That Will Not Stand, is exceptional as Chelle, the level-headed sister whose strength anchors the household.

Tamarus Harvell another exceptional  actor, plays Lank, a recent Vietnam veteran carrying dreams and the complicated weight of returning home from war. His presence reflects another reality of 1967: America was deeply immersed in Vietnam, with young men—including many Black and working-class men—being drafted into military service.

Jimiece Gilbert brings confidence and energy to Bunny, the best friend who knows exactly who she is.

Emma Jean Eastlund plays Caroline, a woman carrying secrets beneath the surface.

And then there is Dairyon Bolden as Sly.

Bolden was the biggest surprise for me. He is a genuine scene stealer, commanding every moment he occupies. That is no small accomplishment with a cast of this caliber. Bolden understands that commanding a scene does not necessarily mean being the loudest person in it. His choices are specific, confident and compelling.

Boseman’s direction brings the emotional life of Morisseau’s play to the surface without forcing it. The pacing is deliberate, and his decision to avoid blackouts between scenes works particularly well. The scenes roll smoothly into one another, creating the sense that life in this basement simply continues. There is no interruption between one emotional moment and the next. The outside world may be changing dramatically, but inside this basement, people still have to live, love, argue, dream and make decisions.

That contrast becomes one of the production’s greatest strengths.

The audience knows what is happening outside. The characters know what is happening outside. Yet the basement remains a place of refuge, business, friendship and possibility.

And that makes the history feel personal.

Detroit ’67 is ultimately about much more than an uprising. Through Morisseau’s writing, it becomes a story about people trying to hold onto one another while the world around them changes. The historical events give the play its pressure, but the characters give it its heart.

Pulse Theatre Company’s 2026–27 season is dedicated to examining Black life, family, memory and mental health across generations. Beginning with Detroit ’67, the company has established a compelling foundation for that exploration.

For Pulse Theatre Company, Detroit ’67 is not simply a production about 1967.

It is a reminder that history lives in rooms, in families, in memories—and sometimes, in a basement where the outside world is beginning to burn.

Highly Recommended

When: Through Nov. 1

Monday, Friday & Saturday 7:30pm

Saturday & Sunday 3:00pm

Where: eta Creative Arts Foundation 7558 S. Chicago Ave. Chicago, Ill.

Running time: 2 hours, 30 mins.

Tickets: $25-$40

(872)306-5734

www.pulsetheatrechicago.org

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble closes its milestone 30th season with Bonnie’s Last Flight, a sly, sky‑high comedy set during a flight attendant’s final day on the job - a blend of sharp satire and warm, traditional character comedy that’s genuinely, disarmingly funny. Jan has always carried a quiet love for writing, and now she’s earned a spot in an elite program - a dream she’s never fully allowed herself to chase. Handing over her wings means more than leaving the airline; it means finally giving herself permission to focus, to create, and to figure out who she is when she’s no longer defined by the job that shaped her life. But instead of treating her retirement as a tidy celebration, the play leans into the strange limbo that comes when a long‑held identity is about to disappear. Jan isn’t just stepping off a plane - she’s stepping out of the role that has shaped her routines, her friendships, and the way she moves through the world. That kind of transition can feel exhilarating, but it can also feel like freefall: What happens when the structure you’ve relied on for decades suddenly dissolves? Who are you when the uniform comes off?

Around her, the cabin is filled with a wonderfully mismatched crew navigating their own turbulence. Greig, her closest colleague - and one of the few people Jan truly considers family - is somehow the only person on board who doesn’t realize this is her final flight. While Jan quietly braces for the unknown, Greig clings to nostalgia – reminiscing about the 70s and 80s when people flew with style and grace, which in turn translated to proper behavior as passengers. LeeAnne, the rookie attendant, is still wobbling her way through the basics and is convinced the rest of the crew resents her simply for being young. Meanwhile, the Captain - who relies a little too heavily on mid‑air “comforts” - and the Co‑Pilot form an offbeat duo doing their best to keep the ride smooth and the mood light, even as everything around them threatens to veer off course. And then there’s Mark Twain – Jan’s guiding light and inspiration - drifting through the cabin like a sardonic travel spirit, adding an off‑kilter, almost dreamlike layer to the already unpredictable atmosphere. At any given moment, he might toss out a Twain‑ish zinger like, “Don’t argue with stupid people - they’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

And yes - the title Bonnie’s Last Flight does mean something specific. The play waits to share it, and it’s worth letting that moment land on its own.

Paul Oakley Stovall as Greig and Rebecca Spence as Jan. Photos by Jenn Udoni.

Rivendell’s latest offering finds sharp, playful humor in every recognizable quirk of air travel - from the ritual of cramming bags into overhead bins to the exaggerated seatbelt pantomime, from the sad little routines of in‑flight food service to the collective sigh of a delayed takeoff, and even the inevitable moment when the Boingo internet keeps going down. Playwright Eliza Bent (The Regulars, Karen, I Said) threads these details together with wit and oddball charm - comic gold, really - especially in the way she captures the crew’s half‑coded, half‑conspiratorial communication style. Director Devon de Mayo amplifies that energy by staging the entire piece as an 85‑minute real‑time passage through the air on the gloriously scrappy Smelta Airlines, traveling from “use your imagination” to Chicago. Audience members are assigned boarding groups before entering, and once inside, the immersion never breaks - we are the passengers, and the cast treats us as such. In Rivendell’s intimate 40–50 seat house, the action unfolds close enough to feel immediate, with scenes playing out just a few feet away and often surrounding you entirely. Surprise song‑and‑dance numbers erupt out of nowhere and are executed with precision that feels almost impossible in such close quarters. As someone who now dreads flying, I thoroughly enjoyed being on this airborne adventure.

On top of the cleverly crafted script and fine‑tuned direction, the cast’s blend of Rivendell regulars with notable newcomers is the last flourish that makes the whole thing take off. Rebecca Spence, a longtime Rivendell ensemble member fresh off her appearance in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Fault directed by Jason Alexander and her screen work on Taylor Sheridan’s The Madison, returns with a commanding presence as Jan, grounding the production with a performance that moves effortlessly between wry humor and quiet emotional depth. Up close, we see what a truly talented actor she is - we feel every beat of her internal calculus, the uncertainty, the flickers of excitement, the moments of reflection, and even the disappointments, all delivered with a subtlety that makes her journey resonate long after the plane arrives in Chicago.

Eric Slater (left) as Pilot and Glenn Obrero as Co-Pilot in Bonnie's Last Flight.

Spence is joined by fellow Rivendell ensemble members Jessica Ervin, Eric Slater, and Glenn Obrero, each bringing sharp timing, confident comic instincts, and just the right touch of vulnerability when the moment calls for it, with Paul Oakley Stovall and LaKecia Harris rounding out the cast as fantastic additions who elevate the ensemble’s already cohesive dynamic.

Eric Slater’s dry‑witted Captain/Pilot lands every beat with understated precision, while Jessica Ervin’s off‑balance LeeAnne provides a wonderfully unpredictable charge that never feels forced. Glenn Obrero’s earnest Co‑Pilot (“Jesus,” as the Captain likes to refer to him), brings a lovable silliness along with genuine warmth, a combination that gives the show extra bounce. Paul Oakley Stovall, a standout as Greig, draws on his wide‑ranging stage experience to deliver a performance full of nuance, comic assurance, and centered emotional presence that adds unexpected depth to the production. The ensemble’s cohesion is further strengthened by LaKecia Harris, whose turn as Mark Twain brings a sly, confident rhythm that meshes seamlessly with the group’s comic fabric. Together, they’re dynamite - fully in tune with one another and performing with the cohesion of a team that’s been flying together for years.

At its core, Bonnie’s Last Flight is less about airline chaos and more about the uneasy moment when a person realizes the next chapter of life doesn’t come with a boarding pass. Jan is standing at the edge of retirement, a place where excitement and dread blur together. Leaving a long‑standing job can feel like stepping off a moving walkway: suddenly the rhythm that shaped your days disappears, and you’re left wondering who you are without the role that once defined you. While Jan wrestles with that quiet panic, the rest of the cabin spirals in their own directions - LeeAnne dodging emotional landmines, the Captain leaning too hard on liquid courage, and Erik trying to squeeze a thought into the noise. Beneath the jokes and mishaps, the play nudges at something more human: the fear of losing purpose, the hope of reinvention, and the strange freedom that comes when life forces you to start over.

This design team gives us the feel of being inside an airplane, creating an environment that gently echoes the experience of settling into a cabin. Scenic designer Regina García shapes Rivendell’s intimate space into a compact aircraft interior, complete with a cockpit, a small lavatory, a food‑and‑drink station, and lighted walkways that recall the soft glow of aisle markers guiding passengers to their seats. Saawan Tiwari’s costumes reinforce the world with grounded, character‑specific details that nod to real airline crews without slipping into caricature. Garnett Bell’s lighting adds subtle shifts that mirror the ambience of a cruising cabin or the quick changes that accompany an announcement. And Satya Chavez’s sound design supplies the familiar chimes, the pressurized hush of doors, and the clipped rhythm of airline instructions, creating an auditory landscape that instantly situates us in the sky.

In short: Bonnie’s Last Flight promises a strange, playful, and slightly chaotic airborne adventure - a character‑driven comedy about people stuck in the sky and stuck in their lives, trying to figure out what comes next. The humor lands repeatedly with precision, but what ultimately gives the show its staying power is the heart that surfaces beneath and during the laughs - those small, sincere moments of connection and longing that linger long after the final descent.

Already extended to October 25th at Rivendell’s home on Ridge Avenue, this production is a sure‑fire good time that’s sure to send you back to the friendly skies with a smile. For tickets and more show info, visit https://www.rivendelltheatre.org/bonnieslastflight.

Highly recommended.

There are some productions you watch, and then there are productions that make your heart swoon and your toe tap. Sheldon Epps’ Play On! is definitely the latter. Now playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, this exuberant musical takes Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, moves it to 1930s Harlem, adds the extraordinary music of Duke Ellington, and transforms the story into a celebration of love, ambition, identity and music.

The magical kingdom of Illyria becomes Harlem, where aspiring songwriter Vy (Hailee Kaleem Wright) arrives with dreams of making it in show business. To get close to the legendary bandleader known as The Duke (Edred Utomi), Vy disguises herself as a man. Complications quickly follow when Lady Liv (Krystal Joy Brown) becomes attracted to Vy's alter ego. Shakespeare's mistaken identities remain at the heart of the story, but Cheryl L. West's book gives the familiar comedy a distinctly African American cultural identity.

West's script is hot and popping, filled with rhythm, humor and personality. She understands that the language of Shakespeare can be transformed without losing the comic machinery that makes Twelfth Night work. The characters may come from Shakespeare, but they walk, talk and move to the syncopated Harlem beat of the 1930s.

And that Harlem beat is everywhere.

The company of Chicago Shakespeare’s production of Play On! Photo by Kyle Flubacker.

The production's exciting choreography by Edgar Godineaux captures the elegance, sophistication and exuberance of the big-band era. The ensemble - Marquez Linder, Selena Robinson, Dylan C. Smith, Joey Stone, Shelbi Voss and Danny Dwaine Wells II - keeps the stage alive with movement and energy. The choreography doesn't simply accompany the music; it becomes part of the storytelling.

The Duke Ellington score is the production's heartbeat. Under the musical direction of Theodis Rodgers Jr., with beautiful orchestrations by Luther Henderson Jr., the music has both sophistication and swing. Ellington's compositions give the characters another way to express what they sometimes cannot say in words.

For me, the Harlem setting brought back a very personal theatrical memory. Play On! reminded me of the very first show I ever worked on, Bubbling Brown Sugar by Loften Mitchell, from a concept by Rosetta LeNoire (my theatre Godmother), in New York City. That experience introduced me to the power of Black theatre, music and storytelling existing together onstage. Watching Play On! brought some of that same feeling back—the excitement of seeing Black history, Black music and Black theatrical expression become one living theatrical experience.

That connection makes Play On! particularly meaningful. This isn't simply Shakespeare with jazz added to it. It is a conversation between William Shakespeare and Duke Ellington, two artists separated by centuries but connected through their understanding of human behavior, love, comedy and the power of performance.

The cast embraces that world beautifully. James Earl Jones II brings comic energy and warmth to Sweets, while Alanna Lovely gives Miss Mary a strong and engaging presence. James Harkness brings charm and theatricality to Jester. Alan H. Green gives Rev authority and comic flair.

At the center, Wright's Vy captures the vulnerability and determination of a young artist trying to discover who she is and where she belongs. Brown's Lady Liv brings glamour and emotional power, while Utomi's Duke possesses the commanding presence of a bandleader who has created his own musical kingdom.

Epps understands that the success of Play On! depends upon allowing Shakespeare's story and Ellington's music to breathe together. The result is a production that feels celebratory without becoming superficial, and contemporary without abandoning its literary foundation.

Play On! is Shakespeare filtered through the cultural richness of 1930s Harlem, propelled by Duke Ellington's music and driven by a syncopated Harlem beat.

It is a joyous reminder that great stories can travel across centuries - and sometimes, when the right music is added, they can still make us want to dance.

Highly Recommended

When: Through Oct. 18

Where: The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.

Running time: 2 hours, 20 mins.

Tickets: $55-150

312-595-5600

chicagoshakes.com

If anyone has ever told you to buckle up and enjoy the ride, they were talking about life—and even if they didn’t know it, they were talking about Ride the Cyclone, the musical.

When six teenagers die in a rollercoaster accident and end up in purgatory, each arguing their case to be reborn (in song form) to a fortune-telling machine, the audience is given the gift of seeing six individuals as they really are—no pretense, but maybe with some well-earned bells and whistles—as they unapologetically define themselves and fight to extend their too-short earthly lives.

Canadian composers and lyricists Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell bring a carnival disaster and its afterlife to life in their 2009 Ride the Cyclone the musical, which first premiered at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2015. This Arlington Heights Metropolis Performing Arts Center production is directed by Lillian Castillo, one of the original Ride the Cyclone cast members from the 2015 Chicago Shakespeare Theatre production and on the world premier cast recording, bringing her unique insight to this long overdue 2026 production in the Chicago suburbs, with musical direction by Carolyn Brady.

Front Row: Rylee Michelle as Constance Blackwood, Eldon Warner-Soriano as Ricky Potts, and Alex Merkel as Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg Back Row: Peyton Owen as Noel Gruber and Eric Amundson as Mischa Bachinski. Photography by Jennifer Heim.

Set in the remote town of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Cyclone follows six members of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir as they ride the Cyclone rollercoaster (not to be confused with New York City’s Coney Island Cyclone built in 1927) and meet their demise when its sends them all plummeting to their deaths before they’d ever really gotten to experience life—or had they?

As the six choir kids wake in a purgatory ruled by the fortune-telling machine Karnak (played impressively by Dave Honigman, who looks and moves like an actual animatronic) they are told that one of them may be reborn to begin again the life that ended for them so swiftly—if, and only if, their fellow choir members unanimously vote for them to be reborn.

Thus begins the real ride, the wild, colorful journeys each teenager takes the audience on as they show us who they are, what they want, and what they each make of their life. And in doing so, they challenge the notion that a short life, or a quiet life, or a purely imaginative life, is not a life well lived.

Dave Honigman as The Amazing Karnak. Photography by Jennifer Heim.

The overachieving Ocean (played delightfully annoyingly and with nuance by Alex Merkel, who straddles the line between a try-hard class president and an unlucky teenage girl struggling to make sense of her fate) sings about her accomplishments, intellect, and drive, brutally putting down her choirmates in the process. 

Others live out the inner life they always wished for on earth, like the only gay kid in town Noel dreaming to be a disease-riddled French prostitute in the 1930s (played with fabulous conviction by Peyton Owen), or the disabled boy Ricky (played charmingly by Eldon Warner-Soriano) sharing his inner reality where he rules a planet of hot humanoid cats.

Eldon Warner-Soriano as Ricky Potts, Alex Merkel as Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, Peyton Owen as Noel GruberPhotography by Jennifer Heim.

Misha, the Ukrainian transplant, played with the perfect of blend of teenage-boy posturing and vulnerability by Eric Amundson, first raps in hilariously obnoxious autotune before laying his heart bare expressing his love for his online girlfriend Talia. 

Constance, the naive pushover of the group, played with authenticity and sweetness by Rylee Michelle (stepping in for Diana Marilyn Alvarez), sings about the liberation she felt flying through the air to her death and reveals she may have actually been the most worldly and experienced of them all.

Like the Cyclone itself, it’s quite a ride.

Amelia Tam as Jane Doe. Photography by Jennifer Heim.

It even has a spooky factor beyond its dark subject matter: the headless girl, Jane Doe. Losing her head in the accident, Jane’s body was unclaimed at the coroner, she has no memories of who she was, and she’s replaced her head with her doll’s head, giving her a vacant, black-eyed stiffness that makes her creepy but also pitiful.

Played hauntingly and heartbreakingly by Amelia Tam, Jane Doe’s movements and presence are hypnotizing, scary, and sad all at once. The only character who sings in an operatic soprano, Jane steals the show every time she’s featured, her “Ballad of Jane Doe” possibly being the strongest song in the musical, where she first laments then rages about her death and the tragedy of being anonymous even to herself.

As director Lillian Castillo describes in her director’s note, composer Jacob Richmond wrote this show in response to his sister’s tragic and unexpected death. When she passed and became an anonymous statistic in a news story, “her wholly singular and marvelous existence boiled down to a number—that was the jumping off point, restoring individuality to a group of people who died suddenly.”

Center: Eldon Warner-Soriano as Ricky Potts, Back Left to Right: Peyton Owen as Noel Gruber, Rylee Michelle as Constance Blackwood, Amelia Tam as Jane Doe, Alex Merkel as Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, and Eric Amundson as Mischa Bachinski. Photography by Jennifer Heim.

And while the subject matter is dark, the theme and message aren’t. There’s so much humor—both irreverent and whacky—love, and authenticity weaved into every line and note of this show. Ride the Cyclone encourages you to live your life to the fullest, whatever your wildly individual definition of that is.

Because life isn’t about how it ends—it’s about the ride.

Ride the Cyclone is playing at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center Main Stage through October 25, 2026. Tickets can be purchased at MetropolisMetropolis or by calling the box office at 847-577-2121.

Studebaker Theater, P3 Productions and Audible, in collaboration with Teatro Vista Productions, present the Chicago premiere of the groundbreaking, award-winning new hip-hop musical Mexodus, written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, choreographed by Tony Thomas, and directed by David Mendizábal. Mexodus plays a limited three-week run at Chicago's historic Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, from November 7 to November 21, 2026.

Tickets for the Chicago premiere of Mexodus, November 7–21, 2026, are now on sale starting at $36, with discounted student tickets for $20, at FineArtsBuilding.com/Mexodus.

Told through live looping, bold storytelling and sick beats, Mexodus reimagines the Underground Railroad heading south to Mexico—unearthing a powerful, untold chapter of American history. Called an "electrifying theatrical experience" by The New York Times, "thrilling" by The Washington Post and "genius in motion" by the San Francisco Chronicle, this is theater you feel in your body and your bones. Created and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, this groundbreaking musical follows a freedom seeker and an unlikely ally as they forge a remarkable bond that transcends borders.

This year Mexodus won four Lucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Musical, four Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, three Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Music, one Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical, and one Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical—the first Off-Broadway musical to win the award in 30 years.

The Chicago premiere follows the musical's critically acclaimed twice-extended run at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre in New York in 2025 and return Off-Broadway engagement at the Daryl Roth Theatre earlier this year. Mexodus is now available as an Audible Original, featuring the entire musical recorded in immersive Dolby Atmos sound design and extending its reach to millions of listeners around the world.

The Studebaker Theater engagement of Mexodus represents a homecoming for Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Quijada is from the Chicago area, and Robinson previously called the city home. An early workshop and developmental performances of the musical were held in Chicago in 2021 and 2023.

"We couldn't be more excited to bring Mexodus to Chicago," said Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. "Not only do we both have connections to the city, but much of the development of Mexodus happened there. Chicago, pull up!"

Ben Holtzman, Sammy Lopez, and Fiona Howe Rudin of P3 Productions added, "After building such a strong community around the show in New York City, we're thrilled to now bring this bold, original musical to Chicago audiences, especially at the historic Studebaker Theater. It's an honor to continue sharing the show's joy, energy, and message of solidarity with a city that feels so deeply connected to the spirit of Mexodus."

Kate Navin, Audible Head of Creative Development for North America, said: "It has been an honor to share Mexodus with the world, through the Audible Original release and on stage in New York, where it once again took the city by storm. We can't wait to present Brian and Nygel's groundbreaking musical in Chicago, where this work was nurtured during its development. As the production reaches more cities across the United States and listeners globally through Audible, we're continuing to broaden and honor this important story for audiences both in the theater and beyond."

Fine Arts Building and Studebaker Theater Proprietor Erica Berger said, "We are beyond proud to be a Co-Producer on Mexodus, one of the most exciting new musicals in recent memory. Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson are two exceptional artists with strong ties to Chicago. The Studebaker Theater has been a creative home to innovative theater artists for more than 125 years, and bringing Mexodus home to Chicago further emphasizes our commitment to that legacy." Managing Artistic Director Jacob Harvey added, "We're actively building new pathways for how commercial productions can find a home in Chicago. Mexodus is our first co-producer credit on an Off-Broadway production, but it won't be the last. This is a new era for the Studebaker, cementing us as the premier Chicago venue for developmental and acclaimed productions alike."

Artistic Director Wendy Mateo of Teatro Vista Productions said, "Teatro Vista Productions cultivates the telling of stories that accurately reflect our community and increase the authentic representations of us on stage and screen. We are extremely honored to have been a part of the world premieres of Brian's Where Did We Sit on the Bus? and Somewhere Over the Border. So this is a full circle moment for us to help bring Brian and Nygel back to Chicago and to share the story of Mexodus with our audiences."

Mexodus was developed in previous productions at New York Stage and Film (2021), Baltimore Center Stage & Mosaic Theater Company of DC (Spring 2024), and Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Fall 2024).

The creative team for Mexodus includes Riw Rakkulchon (Scenic Design), David Mendizábal (Costume Design), Mextly Couzin (Lighting Design), Mikhail Fiksel (Looping Systems Architecture and Sound Design), Johnny Moreno (Video/Projections Design), Tony Thomas (Choreographer), and Claire Yenson, C.S.A. (Casting). Hope Villanueva is the Production Stage Manager, and theatrical supervision is by Cath Bates with general management by Pemberley Productions.

TICKETS

Tickets for the Studebaker Theater performances of Mexodus are now on sale starting at $36, with discounted student tickets for $20, at FineArtsBuilding.com/Mexodus.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Saturday, November 7 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (press opening)

Sunday, November 8 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 12 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Friday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 14 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 15 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 17 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 18 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 19 at 11 a.m. (student matinee)

Friday, November 20 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 21 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

ABOUT P3 PRODUCTIONS

P3 Productions is an award-winning producing team led by Ben Holtzman, Sammy Lopez, and Fiona Howe Rudin, dedicated to uplifting new voices and communities. Broadway productions include CALL ME IZZY, HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO, and JOB. In addition to MEXODUS, upcoming productions include WANTED, INTER ALIA, and THE NINTH WOMAN. Recent co-producing credits include EVERY BRILLIANT THING, ART, SUNSET BLVD., JUST FOR US, and A STRANGE LOOP on Broadway, as well as INTER ALIA, KINKY BOOTS, 1536, SUGAR DADDY, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, NEXT TO NORMAL, and ORLANDO in London's West End. Learn more at www.p3.productions.

ABOUT AUDIBLE THEATER

Audible Theater makes outstanding performances and powerful storytelling available to live audiences in New York City and millions of people all over the world. Since founding in 2018, Audible Theater's dynamic mix of live and audio theater productions have been praised as "trailblazing" (Variety), "illuminating" (Forbes), and "an exemplary use of the medium" (The Observer).

Audible Theater productions have garnered more than 60 nominations and 14 wins across the theater awards landscape. More than 120 audio theater titles have released on Audible. Audible Theater has produced the multi-award-winning and seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical Dead Outlaw, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, book by Itamar Moses, conceived by David Yazbek, and directed by David Cromer; Hannah Moscovitch's play Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes starring Ella Beatty and Hugh Jackman; Sorry for Your Loss written by and starring Michael Cruz Kayne;  Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares written by and starring Laura Benanti; Alex Newell and the Gospel of a Diva written by and starring Alex Newell; Nostalgia: A Love Letter to NYC written by and starring Eva Noblezada; Girls & Boys starring Carey Mulligan; Harry Clarke starring Billy Crudup; and many others at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. Audible Theater has also produced audio adaptions of acclaimed plays including Colman Domingo's Wild with Happy starring Domingo, Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Washington, Alex Newell, and Tyler James Williams; David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face starring Daniel Dae Kim and Jason Biggs; David Auburn's Summer, 1976 starring Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht; and many more.

In May 2018, Audible announced that the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village would serve as its creative home for live performances in New York, with Audible members receiving exclusive access to discounted tickets and related audio content. Since then, Audible has hosted and produced a wide variety of live performances at the Minetta Lane including dramatic plays, comedic shows, original musical performances, and more.

Since June 2017, Audible has commissioned 50 playwrights to receive support from its $5 million Emerging Playwrights Fund dedicated to developing innovative English-language works from around the globe. The initiative enables the creation of original plays driven by language and voice, keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevate listening experiences through powerful performances and extraordinary vocal storytelling. Emerging Playwrights commissions have included Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar, The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson, Good Enemy by Yilong Liu, and more.

ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, offering global audiences a powerful way to enhance and enrich their lives through extraordinary content. Audible's catalog includes more than 1,000,000 audio titles, including Audible Originals as well as audiobooks and podcasts from leading studios, print, audio and magazine publishers and world-renowned entertainers.

ABOUT THE STUDEBAKER THEATER

Located inside Chicago's landmarked Fine Arts Building, the Studebaker Theater is one of the city's most historic performance venues, led by Erica Berger and Jacob Harvey. Since its curtain first rose in 1898, the Studebaker stage has been graced by luminaries including Bob Hope, Peter O'Toole, Mae West, Ethel Barrymore, Geraldine Page, Vincent Price and many more. Following a major multi-million-dollar renovation led by Berger Realty Group and completed in 2022, the Studebaker has been home to NPR's popular news quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" and has hosted performances from new musicals including 44: The Obama Musical, Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile, and Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. Other recent productions include Ava: The Secret Conversations starring Elizabeth McGovern and Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol. Learn more at fineartsbuilding.com.

ABOUT TEATRO VISTA PRODUCTIONS

When the Chicago theater world wasn't ready for us, Teatro Vista Productions made space. For 35 years, we've told true stories that reflect our community. We're not just building on this amazing legacy; we are 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 is led by Lorena Diaz (Executive Director), Wendy Mateo (Artistic Director) Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel (Associate Artistic Director) and Carina E. Sanchez (Board President).

Teatro Vista Productions believes artists of color are inherently genius across disciplines, experiences, media and diaspora. We center our collective of artists at the heart of everything we do. We empower them to create with their own voice by providing the tools and resources they need to thrive in the industry. Our work is timely, relevant and reflects our community. Now, as always, We Are Theater With A View. Join us across online channels at @teatrovista to experience the multidisciplinary talents of our Artistic Collective and visit teatrovista.org to stay connected to all things TVP. Pa'lante Juntos. Forward Together.