Displaying items by tag: chicago theatre

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to continue 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. 

Adirondack Chair Circle will feature ensemble member Caroline Neff (Mr. Wolf, Fool for Love, POTUS, Another Marriage), with additional casting to be announced shortly.

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), 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). Additional casting to be announced.

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 membership 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 Membership 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.

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: FBI, Three Women, Let the Right One In, The Red Line, Chicago PD, 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.

Accessibility:

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

Sponsor Information:

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 M. Angell Family 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, Walder Foundation, 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, Jessica and Dominic Green Family Fund, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. 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 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.

American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, announces the recipient of the 2026 Blue Ink Award is Nia Akilah Robinson for her play Overnight at the Museum. As part of the award, Robinson receives a $3,000 cash prize and a staged reading at American Blues Theater at the annual Blue Ink Festival of new plays on August 15, 2026, at American Blues Theater, 5627 N Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

The festival will celebrate the 2026 Blue Ink Award recipient Nia Akilah Robinson and featured finalists Benjamin Benne and Claire Crowley. Reservations for individual tickets are available at americanbluestheater.com/ and (773) 654-3103. The suggested donation is $12 per play or $30 to see all three. Reservations are recommended as the festival is expected to sell out. Refreshments and beverages will be served throughout the day.

The schedule of events on Saturday, August 15 follows:
10:00am – Doors open for the 2026 Blue Ink Festival
10:30am – stage reading of Overnight at the Museum by Nia Akilah Robinson, winner of 2026 Blue Ink Award
12:00pm – Reception
12:30pm – staged reading of and thou shalt be healed by Benjamin Benne
  2:30pm – staged reading of The Scouts of America Don't Sell Cookies, B*tch by Claire Crowley

The nationally renowned Blue Ink Award for playwriting was created by American Blues Theater in 2010 to support new work. Theaters in Chicago and throughout the country have taken note of the competition as the winning plays have had a remarkable page-to-stage success rate. In Chicago alone, four scripts that were featured in the Blue Ink Festival are being produced this season including: Uhuru (Featured Finalist, 2023) at American Blues Theater followed by the world premiere at Alley Theater in Houston fall, 2026; Sisters (Finalist, 2023) at Writers Theater in fall 2026 after its world premiere at Northern Stage in Vermont; Dead Girl's Quinceanera (Semi-finalist, 2025) - world premiere at Goodman Theater this fall; and The Conquered (Winner, 2024) - world premiere at American Blues Theater spring 2027. Four scripts that were featured in the competition were produced in Chicago in past three seasons: Things With Friends (Winner, 2023) - world premiere at American Blues Theater, 2025 and 2026 Steinberg/ATCA runner up/ finalist; Alma (Winner, 2019) - world premiere American Blues Theater and Center Theatre Group (Kirk Douglas) and went on to productions in multiple cities, including Seattle, Denver and Boston; a home what howls (or the house what was ravine) (Featured Finalist, 2022) - world premiere at Steppenwolf in 2024, and Welcome to Matteson (Winner, 2018) – world premiere New Jersey Repertory and Congo Square Theatre (2023)

Submissions are now open for the 2027 Blue Ink Awards.

About the Plays

*denotes ensemble member or artistic affiliate of American Blues Theater

OVERNIGHT AT THE MUSEUM  
by Nia Akilah Robinson
directed by Manny Buckley*
Saturday, Aug 15 at 10:30 AM

Featuring Rasaan Khalil (DaMarcus), Terah Jene (Deandra & others), and Martel Manning* (Darius)

"One and done before the full-time security come through with them fancy museum suits, and them ear-piece-sez and- and them lil' first aid certified pins."

Two Black men who work as night guards for museum security are stealing Ghanian artifacts from a gentrified American neighborhood. Can they get them where they need to be before the grand opening of a "Neo-African Museum"? Overnight at the Museum is a hilarious heist story that masterfully toys with our definitions of history, legacy, and art.

Nia Akilah Robinson (she/her) is a playwright and actor who reps Harlem with all her might. Productions: Soho Rep U.S. Off Broadway Premiere (2025 New York Times Critics Pick), NextStop Theatre (2026 Helen Hayes Recommended), Co-Pro: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company & Company One Theatre, Urbanite Theatre, Theatre503, Theatre Exile, and The Hearth. Her work has been seen and developed with Nashville Repertory Theatre (Ingram New Works Project), Steppenwolf Theatre, The New Group, The Ground Floor: Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Great Plains Theatre Conference, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Waterwell, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Urbanite, and New Georges. Nia has been a MacDowell Fellow, Travis Bogard Eugene O'Neill Foundation Fellow, and a writer for PEN America and EST/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (short play). She has had residencies at NYSAF and The Pocantico Center through YoungArts. Nia's work has been featured at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The Fire This Time Festival, and the 48th Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival. Nia has been awarded 1st Place for the 2023 A is For Playwriting Contest, the Next Wave Initiative Lorraine Hansberry Writing Scholarship, a Miranda Family Fund Commission, and the NYSCA Grant (CCCADI). She was shortlisted for the 2023 Theatre503's International Playwriting Award. And Nia is a member or alumna of Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood, I-73 at Page 73, The Orchard Project NYC Greenhouse, The Wish Collective, and TheBlackHERthePen. Education: Yale (DGSD- MFA Playwriting Candidate) & Juilliard (Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program).

and thou shalt be healed
by Benjamin Benne
directed by associate artistic director Elyse Dolan*
Saturday, Aug 15 at 12:30pm

Featuring Editha Rosario-Moore* (Mary) & Nate Santana* (Johnny)

"The article explores how what we believe can be powerful enough to become reality"

Mary and Johnny are siblings – with a complicated cult upbringing. Johnny has left the cult but Mary remains. They reunite on a remote mountain in New Mexico when Mary brings news that will force them both to reckon with their relationship, their beliefs, and their faith.

Benjamin Benne (he/him) was the 2019 winner of the Blue Ink Playwriting Award for his play Alma, which had its World Premiere with American Blues and Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles) in 2022, then went on to productions at ArtsWest (Seattle), Curious (Denver), Central Square (Cambridge), The Spot (Ketchum), Chance (Anaheim), and Passage (Trenton). He has also had plays produced with Mosaic (DC), First Floor (Chicago), Portland Stage (ME), Pillsbury House (Minneapolis), Actors Theatre (Louisville), and forthcoming at Crowded Fire (San Francisco) and Boston Court (Pasadena). His plays have also been developed by the O'Neill, Ojai, Oregon Shakes, The Public, Roundabout, Primary Stages, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, and The Playwrights' Center, among many others. He was named part of "LA Vanguardia: The Latino innovators, instigators, and power players breaking through barriers" by the Los Angeles Times and received an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama. www.benjaminbenne.com\

THE SCOUTS OF AMERICA DON'T SELL COOKIES, B*TCH
by Claire Crowley
directed by Ian Paul Custer*
Saturday, Aug 15 @ 2:30 PM

Featuring Kieran McCabe* (Joe), Kelan Smith (Dylan), Manny Buckley* (Benny), Christopher Acevedo (Jared), & JG Smith* (Effie).

"Nope nope nope cookies aren't just for girls. Cookies are for everyone!"

The Scouts of America Don't Sell Cookies, B*tch interrogates the relationship between capitalism and violence through the lens of American youth. The Scouts of America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, have changed their name to be gender inclusive! Effie, a girl, decides to join the Scouts, eager for new friends and an escape from the norm. She enters the formers boys' club with an intensity and hunger for new skills that surprises her troop leader, Joe, and scares her fellow scouts. As she traverses the unfamiliar landscape, she battles assumptions and underestimations of her personhood. There is also a bald eagle. This is important.

Claire Crowley (she/her) is a New York-based playwright and screenwriter from the ocean and mountains of New England. Sometimes she writes dark comedies, and sometimes she writes drama, but always her plays are centered on themes of violence and money, grief and loss and yearning, hypocrisy and intra, inter, and structural power, (dis)belonging and home and liminality, community and friendship and queerness. Her plays include THE SCOUTS OF AMERICA DON'T SELL COOKIES, B*TCH (Blue Ink Award Featured Finalist, GPTC New Play Festival, Ojai Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, O'Neill Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, Echoes Writers Program Finalist), THE CALLING or BROKE (O'Neill Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, Fringe Fest PVD) and METASTASIZED (B&E Rooftop Reading Series Finalist, Woodward Residency Finalist). Her plays have been developed with Great Plains Theater Commons, American Blues Theater, Primary Stages, The Tank, Playwrights Realm, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, and The Barrow Group. She is a Hunter College Playwriting MFA '28 Candidate.

About the Blue Ink Award for playwriting

The nationally renowned Blue Ink Award for playwriting was created in 2010 to support new work. Since inception, we've named 16 Award winners, 197 finalists, and 283 semi-finalists. Over $15,000 in cash and prizes will be distributed to playwrights in 2026.

Each year American Blues Theater accepts worldwide submissions of original, unpublished full-length plays. The winning play will be selected by Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and the theater's Ensemble. The 2026 winning playwright receives a monetary prize of $3,000. Cash prizes are awarded to finalists and semi-finalists too. All proceeds of the administrative fee are distributed for playwrights' cash prizes.

Submissions for the 2027 Blue Ink Award are now open. All submissions must be received by American Blues Theater by August 31, 2026 at 11:59pm. Playwrights may only submit one (1) manuscript each year for consideration.

About American Blues Theater
Winner of the prestigious National Theatre Company Award from American Theatre Wing (Tony Awards), American Blues Theater is an Ensemble of artists committed to producing new and classic diverse stories that ask the question: "What does it mean to be American?"

The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Ensemble theater in Chicago. As of 2026, the theater and artists received 265 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and 44 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.

Nearly fifty years after its groundbreaking premiere, Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf remains one of the most important works ever written for the American stage. Neither conventional play nor musical, Shange called her work a "choreopoem," a seamless fusion of poetry, dance, music, and theatrical ritual that forever changed the landscape of Black theatre.

When the work premiered in 1976 it shattered theatrical conventions. The original production gave Black women something rarely afforded on the American stage: the authority to tell their own stories without apology, through language that was lyrical, raw, sensual, political, and deeply personal. At a time when Black women were often relegated to supporting roles in theatre, Shange centered their voices, their pain, their joy, and ultimately, their survival. The production earned multiple Tony Award nominations and cemented itself as a cornerstone of the American theatrical canon.

Its relevance today is perhaps even more striking. In an era shaped by conversations surrounding gender-based violence, mental health, reproductive autonomy, identity, and the ongoing struggle for Black women to be fully seen and heard, Shange's words continue to resonate with astonishing clarity. The emotional truths embedded in her poetry refuse to age.

ETA Creative Arts Foundation's production, directed by Donn Carl Harper, wisely understands that the strength of for colored girls lies in trusting Shange's language. Harper resists the temptation to over-direct or impose unnecessary concepts upon the material. His direction is careful, respectful, and largely unobtrusive, allowing the poetry to remain the undeniable centerpiece.

The production, however, begins on an unfortunate note. Opening night started approximately thirty minutes late, a delay that inevitably affected the audience's energy. Compounding that issue was the decision to open with Nina Simone's haunting "Four Women." While Simone's anthem is unquestionably a masterpiece and shares thematic kinship with Shange's work, its placement here felt somewhat gratuitous. After already waiting half an hour, the audience was asked to spend another five minutes listening to a recorded song while nothing occurred onstage. Rather than heightening anticipation, the extended prelude tested the audience's patience before the choreopoem had the opportunity to speak for itself.

Once the production settles into Shange's text, however, it finds its rhythm.

Levi Wilkins' abstract scenic design provides an uncluttered visual landscape that allows the performers to inhabit both literal and emotional spaces. His lighting effectively supports the shifting moods of the evening, although both scenic and lighting concepts occasionally seem content to complement the material rather than challenge it. Given the limitless theatrical possibilities inherent in a choreopoem, I wish he would have made bolder visual choices that embrace the work's dreamlike qualities.

Markene Peavy's costume designs honor the play's iconic color symbolism, a safe choice, but it doesn't distinguish each woman as individuals, a missed opportunity.  Peavy's choreography becomes the production's most compelling storytelling device. Rather than serving as decorative movement between monologues, the choreography extends Shange's language into the body, allowing emotion to continue flowing.

Among the ensemble, Madison Savannah (Lady in Purple) emerges as an exceptional physical storyteller. Her dancing possesses remarkable precision, grace, and emotional transparency, making every movement feel deeply connected to the poetry. She consistently commands attention without disrupting the ensemble's collective balance.

The performances throughout demonstrate a clear understanding that these women are not individual characters so much as facets of a shared experience.

Tina Marie (Lady in Red) delivers her poetry with commanding authority and emotional maturity. Margo Harper (Lady in Blue) brings quiet dignity and introspection, while Deborah Ross (Lady in Green) grounds her moments with warmth and humanity. Tracey Renee (Lady in Orange) finds welcome humor amid the heartbreak, providing necessary moments of emotional release. L.A. Holts (Lady in Yellow) infuses her work with youthful vitality and infectious spirit. Kennedi Coleman (Lady in Brown) offers moments of thoughtful restraint that contribute beautifully to the ensemble's collective voice.

Opening night also presented an increasingly familiar frustration that falls outside the production itself but nonetheless affected the theatrical experience. The persistent glow of cell phones and repeated audience distractions proved difficult to ignore. Theatre remains one of the few art forms built upon a shared agreement between artists and audience to be fully present in the moment. When that agreement is repeatedly broken, everyone in the room loses something.

Even with its uneven opening and a few missed opportunities for greater theatrical imagination,

ETA's production succeeds where it matters most: it trusts Shange.

That trust is ultimately enough.

Nearly fifty years after its premiere, for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow Is enuf continues to remind audiences that Black women's stories are not peripheral to the American experience - they are central to it. Their pain, laughter, sensuality, vulnerability, resilience, and joy remain as urgent today as they were in 1976.

Shange did more than write a play. She created a language for survival.

ETA Creative Arts Foundation honors that legacy with sincerity, sensitivity, and respect, reminding us that some masterpieces require no reinvention- only artists willing to listen deeply enough to let them speak.

Recommended

When:   thru August 31
Where: 7558 South Chicago Ave Chicago
Tickets: $30 - $50 general admission

Info: www.etacreativearts.org

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company is pleased to announce the cast, creative and production teams for the first production in its 2026 - 2027 season, Mud Row, written by Dominique Morisseau and directed by Malkia Stampley, October 15 - November 15, in Theater One at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Previews are Thursday, Oct. 15 through Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2:30 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Subscriptions for the 2026 - 2027 season and single tickets are on sale now at RemyBumppo.org. Groups of 10 or more may call the Theater Wit Box Office at 773.975.8150 to receive group discounts and make reservations. 

Set in the historically Black neighborhood of Mud Row in West Chester, Pennsylvania, two generations of sisters protect and defy the legacy of their foremothers in this surprisingly funny, thrilling and ultimately hopeful play from Tony Nominee and MacArthur “Genius” Grant Recipient Dominique Morisseau. Mud Row deftly shifts between past and present exploring themes of identity, belonging and the complexities of heritage through the lives of several Black women and men, each with their own struggles and aspirations. 

“Mud Row invites such a timely conversation about home, identity, family obligations and the reminder that the choices we make and the narratives we hold onto can last for generations,” said Director Malkia Stampley. “There’s always something to pass on to the next generation, including the choice to heal. I am thrilled to make my Remy Bumppo Theatre Company debut and to work with some of Chicago’s finest artists. I am grateful to the Remy Bumppo family for trusting me with Dominique Morisseau’s beautiful work.”

The cast of Mud Row includes Ayanna Bria Bakari* (she/her, Regine); Toccara Castleman (she/her, Frances); Alexis Janae (she/her, Elsie); Tiffany Renee Johnson+* (she/her, Toshi); Jabari Khaliq (he/him, Tyriek); Jamaque Thomas (he/him, Davin); Maureen Azzun (she/her, Toshi U/S); Quenna Barrett (she/her, Regine U/S); Emefa Dzodzomenyo (she/her, Elsie U/S); Reginald Hemphill (he/him, Davin U/S) and Solomon Langley (he/him, Tyriek U/S).

The creative and production team for Mud Row includes Malkia Stampley (she/her, director); Lo Williams (she/her, associate director); Jean E. Compton* (she/her, stage manager); Matthew R. Chase (he/him, production manager); Jyreika Guest (she/her, violence & intimacy designer); Abhi Shrestha (they/them, dramaturg); Shadana Patterson (she/her, voice & text coach); Sydney Lynne (she/her, scenic designer); Amanda Herrmann (they/them, properties designer); Levi Wilkins (he/him, lighting designer); Christopher Kriz (he/him, composer & sound designer); Evelyn Danner (she/her, costume designer); Aubrey Pierce (she/her, scenic supervisor); Nicholas Chamernik (he/him, lighting supervisor); Gabriela Carrillo (she/her, wardrobe supervisor); Adelina Feldman-Schultz, Tertulia Creative Solutions (she/her, casting director); Marti Lyons (she/her, artistic director); Margaret McCloskey (she/her, executive director); Christina Casano (she/her, creative producer); Missy Preston (they/the, development manager) and John Craig (they/he, operation manager).

~ denotes member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

+ denotes Core Ensemble Member

^ denotes Associate Artist 

* denotes member of Actors Equity Association 

Cast and creative team members are subject to change. 

ABOUT DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU, playwright, Mud Row

​​Dominique Morisseau is the author of The Detroit Project (A 3-Play Cycle): Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater Company/Broadway, Tony Award nomination for Best Play), Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre) and Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem and NBT). Additional plays include: Bad Kreyòl (Signature Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club), Confederates (Signature Theatre), Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theatre), Sunset Baby (LAByrinth Theatre), Blood at the Root (National Black Theatre) and Follow Me To Nellie’s (Premiere Stages). She is the Tony Award-nominated bookwriter on the Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre) and is currently working on her latest, Hippest Trip – The Soul Train Musical (ACT). TV/Film: co-producer on “Shameless” (Showtime), the film adaptation of the documentary “STEP” (Fox Searchlight) and consultant on the Netflix animated feature, “Tunga.” Awards include: PoNY Fellowship, TEER Trailblazer Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Audelco Awards, NBTF August Wilson Playwriting Award, Wyndham Campbell Prize, Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, OBIE Award (two), Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship, one of Variety’s Women of Impact for 2018 and a MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow. In 2022, Dominique was awarded the key to the city by the Mayor of Detroit.

ABOUT MALKIA STAMPLEY, director, Mud Row

Malkia Stampley makes her Remy Bumppo Theatre Company debut directing Mud Row. Currently, she leads producing at Goodman Theatre as the BOLD Artistic Producer since 2021. Stampley is also a facilitator with Court Theatre’s Civic Actors Studio and teaching artist. She co-founded Bronzeville Arts Ensemble in 2013 and the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival in 2020. She is a Black Excellence Award Recipient for Directing (Primary Trust at the Goodman), twice Jeff nominated and a BOLD Artist with the BOLD Women’s Leadership Circle. Theater directing credits include Goodman Theatre, Rivendell, Kansas City Rep, Northern Sky Theater, TimeLine, Shattered Globe, Raven Theatre, Black Arts MKE, First Stage, Skylight Music Theater, American Players Theater, Milwaukee Rep, Chicago Shakes, Milwaukee Black Theater Festival, Farmers Alley Theatre and Milwaukee Fringe Festival. She is a member of SDC and a LORT Mentorship Committee member.

ABOUT REMY BUMPPO THEATRE COMPANY

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company expands and enriches their community’s view of the world, and their own, by producing both the great plays of the past and the important plays of today. As an ensemble-driven theater company, Remy Bumppo authors a more humane culture that listens to, and seeks to understand, the voices, the ideas and the stories of one another. 

Since its inception in 1996, Remy Bumppo has produced a blend of modern classics and complex contemporary works, presented in an intimate setting with clarity, wit and passion. We invite audiences to engage directly with the art through conversation with the artists.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Mud Row

October 15 - November 15 

Written by: Dominique Morisseau 

Directed by: Malkia Stampley 

Website link: RemyBumppo.org

Location: Theater One, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL 60657

Previews: Thursday, Oct. 15 - Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2:30 p.m.

Estimated Total Run Time: 90 minutes with no intermission

Regular Run: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

BLACKOUT Night: Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. 

Remy Bumppo hosts a performance specifically dedicated to serving Black-identifying theatergoers and the Black community at large. Patrons may use the code BLACKOUT for $30 tickets when purchasing online, by phone or in person.

Open Caption Performance: Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. 

At the Open-Captioned performance, a TV monitor will present dialogue and sounds in text that is in sync with the performance. 

Patrons may use the code RBTCACCESS for $5 off tickets when purchasing online, by phone or in person.

Remy Bumppo’s Between the Lines: Sunday, Nov.1 at 2:30 p.m. 

Remy Bumppo’s Between the Lines performances include a pre-show lecture led by a Chicago luminary who will discuss the themes of the play, the performance, and a post show talkback with the artists.

ACCESS PERFORMANCES:

Audio Description/Touch Tour Performance: Thursday, Nov. 5 at 2:30 p.m., Touch Tour at 1 p.m. 

Listeners will hear a description of actions, body language, lights, costumes, scenery and other aspects of the production not conveyed by voices and sounds from the stage.This service allows blind and visually- impaired patrons to hear a description of the visual elements taking place on stage. 

Touch Tours are 45-minute artistic conversations and tactile explorations of costumes, props and set pieces for patrons who are blind or low-vision

Patrons may use the code RBTCACCESS for $5 off tickets when purchasing online, by phone or in person.

Previews: $34.00 - $38.00

Regular Run: $38.00 - $58.00

Industry Tickets: $20.00, available for Thursday and Friday performances using

code INDUSTRY

Student Tickets: $15.00, available for all performances using code STU15

Group Discounts: For groups of 10 or more, call the Theater Wit Box Office at

773-975-8150.

Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln Avenue), an historic incubator for new play development, proudly announces the World Premiere staging of The Humanities, a contemporary new work by acclaimed playwright Zayd Ayers Dohrn, directed by veteran Chicago talent Eddie Torres. The Humanities is a provocative, ripped-from-the-headlines story that explores the events after a controversial speaker is invited to lecture at an elite American university. Performances of The Humanities begin Thursday, September 10, and continue through Sunday, October 4, 2026; the official Opening is Sunday, September 13, at 6 p.m.

The all-Chicago cast of The Humanities includes Nora Dunn, Al’Jaleel McGhee, Steve Pickering, Isa Arciniegas, Daniil Krimer, Devaughn Asante Loman, Piper Murphy, William Anthony Sebastia Rose II, and Sabine Wan with understudies Alexander Chance, Naomi Evans, Avery-Slade Fountain, and Clara Imon Pedtke, while the creative team includes Edward D. Richardson (Stage Management), Jayce Lewis (Assistant Stage Management), David Woolley (Fight Choreography), Julie Granata-Hunicutt (Intimacy Direction), Maren Rosenberg (Production Management), Brian Sydney Bembridge (Lighting/Scenic Design), Myron Elliott (Costume Design), and Johnny Johnathan (Sound/Production Design).

“I wrote The Humanities years ago, thinking about the forces that seemed to be tearing America apart and leaving the country vulnerable to an authoritarian takeover,” said Ayers Dohrn. “If anything, the themes of the play – identity, race, protests on college campuses, and political violence – have only become more relevant, and this feels like the perfect moment to premiere a new play about the impulses that divide us and about our collective search for a more perfect union.”

“For over 50 years, Victory Gardens Theater has nurtured and produced relevant, new work that reflects the diverse stories of the community and contributes to the vitality of American theater.  Hiring an all-Chicago cast to perform The Humanities further reinforces Victory Gardens’ commitment to investing in the city’s exceptional artistic talent and elevating Chicago voices,” added Torres, also Victory Gardens Interim Artistic Director.

Zayd Ayers Dohrn is the author of the acclaimed national bestselling memoir Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young and creator of the hit podcast Mother Country Radicals. His plays include Revolution(s) (the Goodman), The Profane (Playwrights Horizons), Outside People (The Vineyard), and Reborning (The Public/SPF). Ayers Dohrn is the Daniel Hale Williams Professor and Director of the MFA in Writing for Screen + Stage at Northwestern University. The Humanities was developed by Ayers Dohrn during a residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference in 2019, under Preston Whiteway, Executive Director, and Wendy C. Goldberg, Artistic Director, and in partnership with the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, in the 2019 New Stages Festival, under Robert Falls, Artistic Director, and Roche Schulfer, Executive Director. 

Eddie Torres is an acclaimed director & performer. He has won five Jeff Awards, notably for Best Director for the premiere of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a Latin ACE Award, and an ATI Award. He is a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, the Artistic Director Emeritus of Teatro Vista Productions, and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Performance schedule & ticket pricing

The Humanities will be performed in a limited engagement Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, October 4, 2026, with its official Opening on Sunday, September 13, at 6 p.m. Performances take place on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. (with the exception of September 13). Please note, this work contains mature themes including sexual content, strong language, and partial nudity, and is not suitable for children under 17 without parental guidance. Tickets, which start at $55, are now on sale by visiting eventbrite.com. Use promo code PREVIEW to receive 25% off all Adult and Senior tickets for performances on September 10, 11, and 12. For information about group rates and discounted ticket packages, please contact the Victory Gardens Theater Box Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Victory Gardens Theater

Victory Gardens Theater serves as a sanctuary for fearless artistic exchange, producing new work that ignites the imagination and challenges the mind. Since its founding in 1974, the nonprofit theater company Victory Gardens Theater has produced more world and Chicago premieres, worked with more living playwrights, and exported more new plays for production elsewhere than any other theater in the region. Victory Gardens Theater strives to be a national leader in bringing stories to the stage that ignite social change and strengthen community, creating a more just and compassionate world. Victory Gardens Theater is currently under the direction of Interim Executive Director Archana Vaidya and Interim Artistic Director Eddie Torres. For more information, please visit victorygardens.org.

Secrets, sisterhood and solving crime take center stage this fall in the world premiere co-production of Dead Girl's Quinceañera by Miami native playwright Phanésia Pharel. Director Melia Bensussen's ensemble cast includes Carmen Berkeley (Hartford Stage's Romeo and Juliet), Ariana Burks (A Christmas Carol), Andrea Ferro (Columbia Lenfest Center's Big Love) and Jacqueline Guillén (Off-Broadway, Torera). Understudies will be announced at a later date. Co-produced with Barrington Stage Company and Hartford Stage, Dead Girl's Quinceañera appears in the Owen Theatre September 26 – November 1. For tickets ($34 - $79; on sale August 7), call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Quince. The Goodman is grateful for the support of Conagra Brands Foundation (Corporate Sponsor Partner), The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust (Lead Sponsor of IDEAA Programming) and Bold Ventures (Production Support).

"Dead Girl's Quinceañera is a celebration of young women's imagination, initiative and courage," said director Melia Bensussen, who is also Artistic Director of Hartford Stage. "Although all four identify as Latina, each one arrives with a different personal experience and history.  In their collaboration and friendship, we see our own journeys reflected – as they harness their power and agency, we too, watching them, celebrate our own transformations and those of our neighbors. ¡Que feliz estar haciendo este trabajo en Chicago!" 

FACT: Maria was last seen at her Quinceañera. FACT: The party ended early due to an unknown emergency. FACT: Maria has not responded to any messages in 19 hours. Now, her three best friends—armed with confidence, questionable clues and zero adult supervision—are on the case, racing against the clock to find out what happened. The pressures of Latine girlhood punctuate the joy ride through the power and pleasure of adolescent friendships in this comic thriller. 

"I'm in awe that my play appears at The Goodman at the start of their 101^st Season and second century," playwright Phanésia Pharel said. "I wrote this play for my best friend, to celebrate how much our relationship changed my life. It's been a beautiful experience to see this coming-of-age story resonate with people who may have never been to Miami and/or who might not be of Hispanic descent. It reminds me that even at this moment where forces are hoping to divide us, theater can connect us all to our true humanity."

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Phanésia Pharel (Playwright) is a Haitian-American playwright and screenwriter from a dragon fruit farm in Miami. She is the daughter of an immigrant teacher and farmer. She recently made her Off-Broadway debut at the WP Theater with her play The Waterfall. She is the Playwriting Fellow (2025-2027) at Emory University, where she serves as a visiting professor and has a new play produced by their repertory company. Her plays have been developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, New Harmony Project, Playwrights' Center, New York Stage and Film, SolFest, Thrown Stone, Shattered Globe and Echo Theater Company. She has received commissions from the Atlantic Theater, Lucille Lortel (Alcove), La Jolla Playhouse, Miranda Family Fund, Hero Theatre, City Theatre Miami and the Latinx Playwrights Circle. Pharel is a member of the Obie-winning EST/Youngblood group and The Wish Collective. As a screenwriter, she is a member of Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Screenwriting Lab. Her honors include The Kilroys Web, five awards from the Kennedy Center and an A is For Playwriting Award recipient. She holds a BA in Urban Studies from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of California San Diego. 

Melia Bensussen (Director) is an award-winning director, teacher and artistic leader who has directed extensively at leading theaters throughout the country. The first woman to lead Hartford Stage, she has been its Artistic Director since the summer of 2019. Devoted to new work as well as to classic texts, she was appointed Artistic Director of the National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Theater Center in 2024. Raised in Mexico City, Bensussen is fluent in Spanish and has translated and adapted a variety of texts, including her edition of the Langston Hughes translation of Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding, published by Theater Communications Group. Among her credits developing and premiering new works, she co-conceived and directed, alongside playwright Kirsten Greenidge, the theatrical adaptation of Anthony J. Lukas' Pulitzer Prize winning Common Ground, which premiered at the Huntington Theater in Boston. A graduate of Brown University, Bensussen serves on the Arts Advisory Board for the Princess Grace Foundation, and on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). Prior to her position at Hartford Stage, she was Chair of the Performing Arts Department of Emerson College, in Boston. She is the recipient of an OBIE Award for Outstanding Direction, as well as the Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation for Excellence in Directing. 

Company of Dead Girl's Quinceañera
By Phanésia Pharel 
Directed by Melia Bensussen
A World Premiere Co-Production with Barrington Stage Company and Hartford Stage 

Carmen Berkeley...Ensemble
Ariana Burks...Ensemble
Andrea Ferro...Ensemble
Jacqueline Guillén...Ensemble

Creative Team

Set Designer...Sara Brown
Lighting Designer...Dan Kotlowitz
Sound Designer...Salvador Zamora
Costume Designer...Raquel Adorno
Movement Choreographer...Mayte Natalio
Dialect Coach...Cynthia Santos Decure
Associate Director...Ludmila de Brito
Assistant Director...Lorenzo Rush, Jr.
Assistant Set Designer...Daniel Prosky
Assistant Lighting Designer...Emma Berry
Assistant Sound Desiger...Harper Justus
Line Producer...Malkia Stampley
Second Line Producer...Sarah Slight

Casting by Alaine Alldaffer, CSA, Lisa Donadio and Lauren Port, CSA.

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

ASL-Interpreted...October 16 at 7:30pm – An ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played. 
Audio-Described...October 17 at 2pm; Touch Tour; 12:30pm – Action audibly enhanced via headset. 
Spanish-Subtitled...October 17 at 7:30pm – Spanish-translated dialogue via LED sign. 
Open-Captioned...October 18 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance. 

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.

Producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch, along with Broadway In Chicago are thrilled to announce THE NOTEBOOK, a new musical based on the best-selling novel that inspired the iconic film, is now playing at Broadway In Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.). THE NOTEBOOK is playing for a limited engagement through August 16 only. Returning to Chicago following the world premiere in Summer 2022, audiences in Chicago are about to fall in love all over again with this beloved story.

“THE NOTEBOOK is ultimately a celebration of life, love, and the power of memory,” said producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch . “Audiences first fell in love with this timeless story as a novel, then as an iconic film, and now they can experience it anew as a moving musical event. With multi-platinum artist Ingrid Michaelson’s unforgettable score and Tony Award nominated Bekah Brunstetter’s beautifully crafted book, THE NOTEBOOK comes to life on stage in a way that will resonate deeply with audiences across North America.”

Allie and Noah, two people from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. “Full of butterfly-inducing highs and beautiful songs” (Entertainment Weekly), THE NOTEBOOK is a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.

Based on the book that has sold millions of copies worldwide and a film that is one of the highest-grossing romantic dramas of all-time, the musical adaptation of THE NOTEBOOK played Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre from March 2024 to December 2024 following a critically acclaimed world premiere engagement at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2022.
 

“Absolutely gorgeous. Not to be missed.” – Chicago Tribune

THE NOTEBOOK features music and lyrics by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and a book by playwright Bekah Brunstetter (writer and producer on NBC's “This Is Us,” The Cake). The production is directed by Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, RENT) and Schele Williams (Aida, The Wiz), with choreography by Katie Spelman (Associate Choreographer on Moulin Rouge! The Musical).
 

“Romantic, life-affirming and ingeniously adapted.” – USA Today

The creative team for the tour includes scenic design by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Mia Neal, and projection design by Lucy Mackinnon. The production’s music supervisor is Carmel Dean, who also collaborated on arrangements with Ingrid Michaelson and on orchestrations with John Clancy, and the music director is Tina Faye. Casting by The Telsey Office, Patrick Goodwin , CSA.

The production was recently recognized with three 2024 Tony Award nominations (Best Book of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical), Drama League Award nominations for Outstanding Production of a Musical, two Distinguished Performance Awards and the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing, Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical, and an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical.
 

“A love story for the ages.” – The New York Daily News

Atlantic Records officially released the Grammy-nominated THE NOTEBOOK (Original Broadway Cast Recording), with a score that Vanity Fair calls “strikingly beautiful” by multiplatinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, available  HERE.

Following its release, THE NOTEBOOK (Original Broadway Cast Recording) debuted at #1 on the Top Broadway chart in Music Connect, with breakout single “My Days” now surpassing 9 million streams on Spotify alone.
 

www.NotebookMusical.com

Follow THE NOTEBOOK on X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, August 4 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 5 – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 6 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, August 7 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 8 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 9 – 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 11 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 12 – 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 13 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, August 14 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 15 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 16 – 1:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION As of August 4, based on availability and subject to change)
Individual tickets for THE NOTEBOOK are on sale now and range from $37.00 - $132.00 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. Patrons can also participate in a digital lottery for a chance to purchase $30.00 tickets for each performance, which is inclusive of all mandatory taxes, restoration, handling, and third-party fees. In addition to the lottery, a limited number of day-of-show, in-person Rush tickets will be available for $49.00 for all performances. Click here for more info on Digital Lottery and In-Person Rush. 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.
Follow @BroadwayInChicago on
Facebook ● Instagram ● TikTok ● Bluesky ● YouTube
#broadwayinchicago

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to launch its 51st Season with Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog, helmed by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, who returns to Steppenwolf following his hit production of King James. Ensemble members Glenn Davis (Windfall, Purpose–Chicago/Broadway, King James) and Namir Smallwood (Windfall, The Book of Grace, Bug–Chicago/Broadway) go head-to-head in this highly-anticipated revival, more than two decades after the company's celebrated 2003 production.

Topdog/Underdog will play a limited engagement September 17 — November 1, 2026 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets go on sale Thursday, July 9, 2026 at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. 

About the Production:

Brothers Lincoln and Booth, named in jest, are two Black men living in America just trying to get by. Lincoln dresses like his namesake, reenacting his assassination for money and laughs. Booth stays stuck in their apartment, working tirelessly on his three-card hustle. Sibling rivalry and a lifetime of resentment come to a head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride. The deck is stacked with a Tony Award-winning director, a Pulitzer Prize-winning script and a tour-de-force showdown for ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood. "Take thuh cards and show me whatcha got!" 

The creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (Scenic Design), Dede Ayite (Costume Design), Lee Fiskness (Lighting Design), Justin Ellington (Sound Design), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager). For full cast and creative team bios, click here.

Production Details:

Title: Topdog/Underdog
Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks
Director: Kenny Leon​ 
Cast: ensemble members Glenn Davis (Lincoln) and Namir Smallwood​ (Booth)

Understudies: Anthony Fleming III (Lincoln) and Patrick Newson Jr. (Booth)

Location: Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, September 17 – Saturday, September 26, 2026
Regular run: Tuesday, September 29 – Sunday, November 1, 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, September 22, Thursday, October 1, Tuesday, October 6, Tuesday, October 13, Wednesday, October 21 or Thursday, October 22; there will be an added 2 pm matinee on Wednesday, October 21.

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 Topdog/Underdog ($20 – $124*) go on sale Thursday, July 9, 2026 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 membership 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, October 25 at 3 pm (1:30 pm Touch Tour)
Open-Captioned: Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 pm & Saturday, October 17 at 3 pm
ASL-Interpreted: Friday, October 16 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 Membership 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. Additionally, Steppenwolf is reimagining their community engagement and will pilot new public programming, continue accessibility programming and offer opportunities for deeper explorations for audiences throughout the season. For additional information about Steppenwolf's Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip visit steppenwolf.org/education-and-engagement/steppenwolf-field-trip-series.

Artist Biographies:

Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright) is a multi-award-winning writer and musician. She is the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog, which recently won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival. Her other plays include Sally & Tom (2024), Plays for the Plague Year (Drama Desk Award, Best Music, 2023) and Father Comes Home From The Wars (2014). Parks' first marathon-writing "micro diary plays," 365 Days/365 Plays were produced worldwide in what was the largest grassroots collaborative theatre project to date. She is a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, a novelist: Getting Mother's Body (Random House); and a screenwriter: Girl 6, Genius: Aretha, and The United States vs Billie Holiday. Parks also writes songs and fronts her band "SLP& The Joyful Noise," with her punk-couture medicine show, The Tune Up, world-premiering this summer. As a college student Parks is grateful to have studied creative writing with James Baldwin, who encouraged her to write for the theatre.

Kenny Leon (Director) is a Tony Award-winning director. Broadway: The Balusters, Othello, Our Town, HOME, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, Topdog/Underdog, Ohio State Murders, A Soldier's Play, American Son, Children of a Lesser God, Holler If Ya Hear Me, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, Stick Fly, August Wilson's Fences, Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf. Off-Broadway: The Conversation (Astor Place Theatre), This World of Tomorrow (The Shed), King James, The Underlying Chris, Everybody's Ruby, Emergence-See! (The Public), Smart People (Second Stage). Opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors, Margaret Garner. Television: Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia, Colin in Black & White, 4400, Amend: The Fight for America, American Son (adapted for Netflix), Hairspray Live!, The Wiz Live!, Steel Magnolias, Dynasty, In My Dreams. Author: Take You Wherever You Go. Artistic Director Emeritus: Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company. Senior Resident Director: Roundabout Theatre Company. Awards: Obie, Actors Fund Medal of Honor, George Abbott Lifetime Achievement for American Theatre, Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre.

Glenn Davis (Lincoln) is an actor, producer and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, alongside Audrey Francis, where he has been an ensemble member since 2017. His Steppenwolf credits include Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older, The Brother/Sister Plays, Head of Passes, King James (also Mark Taper Forum), Describe the Night, Purpose and Windfall. Broadway credits include: Purpose; Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (also Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum). Off-Broadway credits include Transfers (MCC Theatre), Wig Out! (Vineyard Theatre), Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle Nomination) and King James (MTC). Other regional credits include Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theatre Festival). International credits include Downstate (National Theatre, UK), Edward II, The Winter's Tale and As You Like It (Stratford Festival), Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Television credits include Billions, 24, The Unit, Jericho and The Good Wife. Glenn is an Artistic Associate at the Young Vic in London and at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. He is also a partner in Cast Iron Entertainment, a collective of artists consisting of Sterling K Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, Andre Holland and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Cast Iron is currently in residence at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In 2021, Glenn founded The Chatham Grove Company along with his producing partner Tarell Alvin McCraney.

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

Accessibility:

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

Sponsor Information:

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 M. Angell Family 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, Walder Foundation, 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, Conagra Brands Foundation, Rich and Margery Feitler, FROST CHICAGO, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Thoma Bravo and Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the 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 50 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.

A quick history lesson: Anne Bonny and Mary Read are two of history’s most famous female pirates. Both women disguised themselves as men and sailed under the command of Captain Calico Jack Rackham, where they became part of the same crew. There has long been speculation that they may have had a romantic relationship, though there is no widely accepted historical evidence to support it.

That essentially sums up the history covered by yo ho., SMJ’s original play which reimagines Anne and Mary’s story in a very queer, very explicit way. Described as “equal parts historical fantasy and introspective sexual and gender exploration,” the production has far more interest in the latter than the former. It uses these historical figures less as a subject to interrogate than as a launching point for a silly, raunchy, gay pirate adventure.

This is not inherently a bad thing – director JD Caudill’s production is clearly committed to creating both queer joy and comedic sexual exploration on stage, and for queer artists to come together to make something. yo ho. may not be as historically based or polished as it markets itself to be, but with accurate marketing, there is definitely an audience to love the show.

The cast is the heart of the production. The outrageous script makes room for the entire cast to throw themselves into spicy, raunchy, hilarious, and sometimes sacrilegious moments for multiple characters, whether that be ensemble playing multiple roles or one character with two alter egos. Two particular standouts were William Delforge (Chad/James) and Brittani Yawn (Vanessa) – both cast members carried the production, playing multiple roles with great comedic timing and execution, and larger-than-life physical comedy. Funny on their own, Delforge and Yawn only became more powerful when playing off of each other.

(L to R) Rachel Sleek Bañuelos and Sierra Bryn in the world premiere of yo ho.

This constant-humor approach does limit the nuance of character relationships that can be developed; however, it does not mean that the show was void of emotionally moving moments. Rachel Sleek-Banuelos’ eleventh-hour monologue is stunningly moving; despite the moment feeling a bit out of place in the script overall, Banuelos temporarily silences the theatre and lands it perfectly regardless. However, in the end, the play’s ending unfortunately does lean into a gimmick that feels more abrupt than satisfying.

For a company called Babes with Blades, though, the clearest strength is exactly where it should be: the fighting. The stage combat is consistently impressive, but the swordplay in particular is fast, dynamic, and genuinely intimidating from only a few feet away. Even when the choreography is visibly choreographed, it never becomes mechanical. Carly “CB” Carson’s fight choreography has momentum and danger, nearly intimidating to be sitting mere feet from.

The technical production also feels surprisingly considered for the polish of the show. The set creates a convincing pirate-world atmosphere within The Edge’s black-box space, though some scene changes feel more complicated than the material requires. In general, yo ho. can feel disproportionately unserious compared with its technical ambition: the energy is closer to an enthusiastic college-theater production than the fully realized historical fantasy its marketing material promises.

Still, there is an audience for this show. The theatregoer who wants a messy, high-energy night of queer pirate smut – perhaps with friends after a nearby Edgewater happy hour – may have a genuinely great time. For everyone else, yo ho. is best approached with the understanding that it is not a sweeping historical drama, but an overwhelmingly unserious fantasy which features strong sword fighting and a few flashes of something more.

yo ho. is running Thursdays through Sundays at The Edge Off-Broadway through August 29th. Tickets are available at BabesWithBlades.org