Theater and Stages
The run will last March 4 through April 26, 2026, at the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St. No casting was announced.
Beyoncé brings her Cowboy Carter Tour to town, Asian American Showcase highlights established and emerging filmmakers, and the Lincoln Roscoe Art & Craft Fair kicks off the summer fest season. These are among the highlights in the week ahead.
Playwright Jordan Harrison’s play, running through June 1, hurtles through time and space with a “Black Mirror"-like twist.
Performers and stage managers reached a five-year deal with New York-based private equity owners ZMC.
Director Trent Stork’s vision for “Cats” has spectacle on overdrive, with a stellar ensemble of quadruple-threat actors/singers/dancers/circus artists.
The talented cast and crackerjack director Jen Ellison get up-close and personal with material about people simply inhabiting this world, rather than commenting on it.
Katy Perry headlines the United Center, the Opera Festival of Chicago gets underway, and Ballet Chicago presents a showcase of George Balanchine classics. These are among the highlights in the week ahead.
What makes “Hymn” genuinely special is the relaxed authenticity of the performances and the fluid elegance of director Ron OJ Parson’s production, both made possible by the inspired choice by playwright Lolita Chakrabarti to adapt the play to Chicago’s South Side.
The family drama by Branden Jacobs Jenkins was commissioned by Steppenwolf and debuted in March 2024 in Chicago before moving to Broadway this year.
Contreras becomes the first Puerto Rican actor to portray Orpheus in the stage production, which arrives in Chicago this week.
In director Mikhael Burke’s staging, “At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen” is a sequin-studded, rose petal-raining ode to joy. The Story Theatre’s 90-minute two-hander feels not only timely but defiantly so.
While there are some exuberant ensemble sections, strong individual performances and fine dancing, the work does not completely cohere. It feels a little unfinished, its full potential not yet fully realized.
Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha” on stage at the Harris Theater, Hadestown at the CIBC Theatre, Japanese Breakfast at the Salt Shed and the Chicago Film Critics Film Festival are among the highlights in the week ahead.
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, the drama punches deep into the physical and emotional devastation that invariably results when all-consuming anger has no outlet. The production also shows the alchemic power of a tight-knit community determined to protect its own.
Director Charles Newell’s production is a thrillingly staged piece of theater, uncannily appropriate to the moment.
A circus-inspired “Cats” at the Paramount Theatre, the One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart, and EXPO Chicago at Navy Pier are among the highlights in the week ahead.
Bell brings his ‘Who’s With Me?’ comedy tour to Chicago, where he graduated from high school and began his career.
The multigenerational drama hurtles by on a razor’s edge between tragedy and comedy, rage and serenity, hope and despair.
“Titanic the Musical” strives to tackle issues of class, immigration and hubris. Moreover, the Marriott cast gives the underwhelming score soaring power.
The financially strapped Western Avenue venue near Roscoe Village has been a staple for experimental dance and performances for nearly 50 years.
Red Clay Dance Company at the Dance Center, Peter Frampton at the Chicago Theatre, and Lincoln Park Zoo’s Spring Egg-Stravaganza are among the entertainment highlights in the week ahead.
There’s really no question that “Henry Johnson” is David Mamet’s best play in many years.
The Writers Theatre production considers language in all its contradictions, as a vehicle for understanding and misunderstanding, human progress and historical loss.