Displaying items by tag: The Auditorium Theatre

Wednesday, 29 April 2026 21:47

Free Metra rides for all Broadway In Chicago Shows all summer

Broadway In Chicago and Metra are pleased to announce a new promotion featuring nine shows coming to Chicago this summer: CHICAGO THE MUSICAL, LES MISÉRABLES, SPAMALOT, KINKY BOOTS, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, SUFFS, & JULIET, THE NOTEBOOK, and THE OUTSIDERS.

Getting there is easy — and free! Ride Metra free to and from the theatre with your show ticket, valid on the date of your performance only. This special offer is available throughout the run of each show and includes round-trip travel. Just show your ticket to the conductor each way and enjoy a relaxing ride into the city before the curtain rises and back home after the show! Metra offers a short, walkable connection from any of its five downtown stations, each less than a mile away from the Cadillac Palace Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, CIBC Theatre, and The Auditorium™ located in the heart of the Loop—and has compatible schedules with both shows throughout the day and evening. Metra provides the ideal solution for theatre lovers seeking a safe, convenient, and stress-free ride.

Tickets may be purchased at www.BroadwayInChicago.com or any Broadway In Chicago venue box office. Additional fees apply to online purchases. Group reservations for 10 or more are available by calling 312-977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Current subscribers may add these shows when renewing by clicking here or calling 312-977-1717. Individual ticket information for each show can be found below.

For information on Metra schedules, click here.

CHICAGO THE MUSICAL
May 5 – May 10, 2026
The Auditorium™, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr.
Link to EPK

CHICAGO is still the one musical with everything that makes Broadway shimmy-shake: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one showstopping song after another and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen.

In the whirlwind of Chicago’s Jazz Age, two of the Cook County Jail’s most notorious Murderesses — vaudeville star Velma Kelly and chorus girl Roxie Hart — become fierce rivals as they compete for headlines amidst a media frenzy.

Broadway’s longest-running musical has been razzle dazzling audiences for over 29 years, and after more than 10,000 performances, 6 Tony Awards®, 2 Olivier Awards, and a Grammy®, we’re just getting started.

Come on, babe! Head back to CHICAGO!
We’re hotter than ever.

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $40.00 to $130.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

LES MISÉRABLES
May 12 – May 24, 2026
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.
Link to EPK

Cameron Mackintosh presents the acclaimed production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Tony Award®-winning musical phenomenon, LES MISÉRABLES. This brilliant staging has taken the world by storm and has been hailed as “a reborn dream of a production” (Daily

Telegraph). Set against the backdrop of 19^th century France, LES MISÉRABLES tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of LES MISÉRABLES includes the songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More” and many more.

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $49.00 to $170.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

SPAMALOT
May 19 – May 31, 2026
CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.
Link to EPK

THE TONY AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL COMEDY IS BACK!

SPAMALOT, which first galloped onto Broadway in 2005, features a book & lyrics by Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle.

The original Broadway production was nominated for fourteen Tony Awards and won three, including best musical. The musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the film classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, SPAMALOT features well-known song titles such as “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” “The Song That Goes Like This,” “Find Your Grail” and more that have become beloved classics in the musical theatre canon.

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $35.00 to $130.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

KINKY BOOTS
June 9 – June 21, 2026
James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
Link to EPK

Everybody say “Yeah!” and let KINKY BOOTS lift your spirits to high-heeled heights! Winner of the Tony®, Grammy®, and London’s Olivier Awards for Best Musical, KINKY BOOTS captivates and entertains audiences around the world with a Tony-winning score

by Cyndi Lauper, book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein , and original direction and Tony-winning choreography by Jerry Mitchell.

Based on true events, KINKY BOOTS follows the journey of two people with nothing in common… or so they think. The unlikely pair find that they have more in common than they realized and discover that you change the world when you change your mind.

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $49.00 to $126.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
June 23 – July 5, 2026
James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
Link to EPK

“Many wonders await audiences in this gorgeously imaginative Broadway musical.”- The New York Times

The critically acclaimed bestselling novel comes to “thrilling,

dazzling” life (Time Out New York) in a unique, spectacle-filled new musical! Hailed as a Critic’s Pick, The New York Times calls it “stunning, emotional, heart-filled and gorgeously imaginative.”

After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life—and love—beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.

So, step right up to the “spellbinding entertainment” (Variety) at WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, “the best new musical on Broadway” (Theatermania).

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $39.00 to $130.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

SUFFS
July 7 – July 19, 2026
CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.
Link to EPK

BEHIND EVERY POWERFUL WOMAN… ARE MORE POWERFUL WOMEN.

Direct from Broadway, comes the acclaimed Tony Award®-winning

musical SUFFS about the brilliant, passionate, and funny American women who fought tirelessly for the right to vote. Created by Shaina Taub, the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, this “thrilling, inspiring and dazzlingly entertaining” (Variety ) new musical boldly explores the triumphs and failures of a struggle for equality that’s far from over. Winner of the Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Musical.

“Like all of the best Broadway musicals, SUFFS humanizes, empowers, moves, and entertains.” Chicago Tribune

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $37.00 to $132.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

& JULIET
July 22 – August 2, 2026
The Auditorium™, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr.
Link to EPK

Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she

ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love — her way.

Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, including "Since U Been Gone‚" "Roar," "Baby One More Time," "Larger Than Life‚" "That’s The Way It Is,“ and "Can't Stop the Feeling!"—all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it.

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $49.00 to $175.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

THE NOTEBOOK
August 4 – August 16, 2026
James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
Link to EPK

Based on the best-selling novel that inspired the iconic film, THE NOTEBOOK tells the story of Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, who 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, and features music by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and a book by TV’s Bekah Brunstetter (“This Is Us”).

Individual tickets go on sale on May 4 and will range from $37.00 to $127.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

THE OUTSIDERS
August 4 – August 16, 2026
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.
Link to EPK

The winner of four 2024 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, is THE OUTSIDERS. This classic coming-of-age story takes you to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1967, where Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade, and their family of Greaser “outsiders” dream about

who they want to become in a world that will never accept them. THE OUTSIDERS features Danya Taymor’s Tony Award winning direction that’s “refreshing, gritty, and endlessly effective.” (The New York Times). With “high-octane choreography” (New York Magazine), THE OUTSIDERS has been described as “more pulse-pounding than anything else on Broadway!” (Time Out New York).

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $49.00 to $160.00. Additional fees apply for online purchases.

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

For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.
Follow @broadwayinchicago on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky #broadwayinchicago

Published in Theatre Buzz

Matters of the Heart: Patti LuPone’s Evening of Memory, Mischief, and Grace

Patti LuPone’s long-running concert piece Matters of the Heart unfolded on the stage of the National Historic Landmark The Auditorium Theatre not as a greatest-hits parade, but as a seasoned artist’s intimate conversation with her own past. Premiering some 25 years ago at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York City, the show has aged not into nostalgia, but into something more textured: a living scrapbook of memory, mischief, heartbreak, and hard-won grace.

LuPone has always commanded a fiercely loyal LGBTQ following, and the sold-out house in Chicago testified to that enduring bond. The atmosphere felt at times like a cabaret. You could sense an audience primed not merely to applaud, but to commune. There was something for everyone here—Broadway diehards, pop romantics, and those who come for the diva energy and stay for the vulnerability.

Accompanied by a pianist and a string quartet, LuPone curated a program that balanced theatrical bravura with intimate confession. Her Broadway selections landed with the authority of a performer who has lived inside these songs. “I’m In Love with a Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific sparkled; “Not a Day Goes By” from Merrily We Roll Along unfurled in aching, mature regret. “Being Alive” from Company—the great anthem of ambivalent longing—rang with the clarity of someone who has wrestled with love and come back wiser, if not unscarred. “Back to Before” from Ragtime surged with emotional velocity, while her unexpected, intriguingly restrained take on “Easy to Be Hard” from Hair reframed youthful protest as weary, rueful remembrance.

LuPone’s comic timing remains lethal. Her wry humor bubbled up in “Shattered Illusions,” “Better Off Dead,” and “I Never Do Anything Twice,” songs that let her weaponize self-awareness and mischief in equal measure. She skewers romance and ego with relish, but never without implicating herself in the joke. This is the diva who knows her myth and plays with it. And the surprises. “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys arrived like a soft confession, stripped of pop gloss and steeped in tenderness. “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper was rendered not as a radio staple but as a promise dedicated to her family. These choices reveal LuPone’s instinct for emotional translation, taking familiar songs and making them speak in a new dialect.

Most affecting were the quieter moments, where LuPone let her guard down. In “Unexpressed,” “Alone Again (Naturally),” “The Air That I Breathe,” “Sand and Water,” “My Father,” and “Look Mummy, No Hands,” she showed a softer, contemplative side—less brassy legend, more vulnerable human being. These songs felt like pages torn from a private journal, offered up without ornament. It was here that Matters of the Heart earned its title.

LuPone, being the diva that she be, did get into a little kerfuffle this past summer with the theatre community. She apologized, took responsibility and, as these things tend to go in a resilient artistic ecosystem, everyone seems to have moved on. There are bigger issues pressing on the country today, and this evening reminded us that art’s role is not to litigate old wounds, but to open space for empathy.

In a moment when America feels increasingly brittle, Matters of the Heart lands as a small act of emotional repair. We could all use more love in this country right now—more listening, more generosity of spirit, more room for contradiction. LuPone, in all her fire and fragility, offered exactly that: a reminder that hearts break, heal, and, if we’re lucky, learn to sing again.

National Historic Landmark

The Auditorium

50 E Ida B Wells Dr, Chicago, IL 60605

312.341.2300

Published in Theatre in Review

Kunlun Myth Beautifully Brings Chinese Culture to Chicago

The China Performing Arts Agency presented “Kunlun Myth,” an original musical from producer Wang Yu, for a two-night engagement at The Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University. “Kunlun Myth” smartly incorporated ancient and modern concepts into an elegant, sparky performance and what better venue to perform than the Auditorium Theater. During this visually stunning show, The Auditorium was filled with an incredible energy. A number of bubbly performances, original dance productions and strong vocals made for a uniquely wonderful experience.

The “Kunlun Myth” begins in the Kunlun Mountains (important fabled mountains in Chinese mythology) where the Heaven Pillar resides. This pillar connects Heaven and Earth, and serves as a portal between the two worlds. Deng Fei, a college student from Beijing, visits the Kunlun Mountains and discovers the relic of the Heaven Pillar. Deng Fei reads the pillar’s inscription and is abruptly transported to Heaven. Once there, he meets Mei Duo, the daughter of the Heaven pillar tribe’s chief. Deng Fei and Mei Duo fall in love. Deng Fei also meets Queen Mother who wishes to rebuild the Heaven Pillar because Gong Gong knocked it down. Gong Gong does not want the pillar rebuilt because he fears that the disasters from Earth will travel through the pillar and destroy Heaven. Ultimately, Deng Fei is on a quest for self-knowledge, and returns back to Earth in good spirit.

Properly capturing the mystical Kunlun Mountains on stage would seem like a difficult feat, but set designers were successfully able to create the magical mountains. Elaborate patterns and set pieces were jaw-droppingly beautiful. The creative juices were really flowing. The lighting designs were dramatic and impressive. Neon lights accentuated set pieces and made the stage pop with color.

From gold, shimmering gowns to casual khakis, the costume department was superb. Every single costume was elegant in its own way, whether it was Mei Duo’s dress, or Gong Gong’s suit of amour. The only character without an elegant costume was Deng Fei, who sported a Yankee snapback, green windbreaker, and khakis.

Beautiful vocals and powerful music made the auditorium rumble. Music styles ranged from pop, rock, and hip hop. Mai Duo sang beautifully, definitely goosebump worthy. Gong Gong had deep, commanding vocals which set the show’s deep and dark mood.

Kunlun Myth was performed in Chinese, with English subtitles to aid audience’s understanding. There were no subtitles for dialogue, only for the musical numbers. Audience members who could not understand Chinese that may have been lost during the dialogue relied on body language to help understand. Since the dialogue was in Chinese, much was left for interpretation.

Performances were held on Wednesday, Sept. 2 @ 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 3 @ 7:30 p.m.

Published in Theatre in Review

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