LOOKING FORWARD: Chicago Shows We're Excited to See
Continuing our support of productions that embrace inclusion for artists and audiences, below are shows that you can buy tickets to THIS WEEK that we feel are moving our community in the right direction. Let your wallet do the talking. Buy tickets to shows that celebrate inclusion. Then write to producers and tell them you want to see more of it. Decision makers are led by numbers and this is one way we can all make a difference.
The House Theatre of Chicago presents United 232
Adapted and Directed by Vanessa Stalling
Playing through May 1 at The Chopin Theatre
1543 W Division St, Chicago
On July 19, 1989, a DC-10 headed for O’Hare with 296 aboard is paralyzed mid-air. For 44 minutes, the aircraft descended towards an emergency landing and crashed at Sioux City Gateway airport. To the astonishment of all who witnessed the event, 184 of 296 passengers and crew survived. Drawing on the interviews and research conducted by Evanston author Laurence Gonzales for his critically acclaimed book, Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival, this brand new play, United Flight 232, is a reflection on how to comprehend tragedy and celebrate human ingenuity in the face of overwhelming challenges.
Ticket Prices: $15-35 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Brenda Barrie, Echaka Agba, Alice Da Cunha, Elana Elyce, Rudy Galvan, Johnny Arena, Kroydell Galima, Michael Martin and James Doherty
You're Being Ridiculous presents OOPS
Curated by Jeremy Owens
Playing March 12 at Mayne Stage
1328 W Morse Chicago, IL
You're Being Ridiculous is a group of real people telling real (nonfiction) funny stories about their lives with a theme as their guide. Our motto is good stories are better than good times. We laugh at ourselves and laugh with each other. Everyone has a story to tell. What’s yours?
Each show features six or more performers telling a 10-ish minute story. The show runs between an hour and an hour and a half.
Ticket Prices: $15 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Brooke Allen, Ricardo Gamboa, Elizabeth Gomez, Tyler Greene, Sarah Hollenbeck, Jill Howe, Sam Irby, Rebecca Makkai, Jeremy Owens, and Karen Shimmin
AboutFace Theatre presents After All the Terrible Things I do
Directed by Andrew Volkoff
Playing through April 10 at Theater Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave, Chicago IL
A gripping and intimate new play from one of American theatre’s rising stars explores the dark side of ordinary people, second chances and the price of forgiveness. Returning to his Midwestern hometown after college, Daniel, a young, gay writer, takes a job at the local bookstore he knew as a child. After he and Linda, the Filipina bookstore owner, begin working together, they discover they share a dark connection that goes much deeper than a love of literature.
Ticket Prices: $20-35 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Lisa Tejero and Colin Sphar
The Gift Theatre presents Richard III
Directed by Jessica Thebus
Playing through May 1 at Steppenwolf's Garage Theatre
1624 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL
The Gift leads this innovative take on the Shakespearean classic—a production originally planned by the disbanded Next Theatre of Evanston—presented in Steppenwolf’s Garage Theatre. Experience some of the finest actors in the Chicago theater community coming together to tell the outrageous rise and reign of Richard. In partnership with The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Ticket Prices: $20-35 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Michael Patrick Thornton, Brittany Burch, John Connolly, Kenny Mihilfred, Keith Neagle, Jay Worthington, Kyle Zornes, Jenny Avery, Thomas J. Cox, Olivia Cygan, Adrian Danzig, Shanesia Davis, Gregory Fenner, Christopher Peltier, Hannah Toriumi, Caroline Latta and Martel Manning
The Goodman Theatre Presents The Matchmaker
Directed by Henry Wishcamper
Playing through April 10 in The Albert Theatre
170 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL
Cunning, crafty and thoroughly modern, Dolly Gallagher Levi knows a good catch when she sees one. So when the wealthy Horace Vandergelder hires her to find him a wife, Dolly doesn’t need to look far to find his perfect mate. The Matchmaker is an uproarious romp that reminds us to embrace the unexpected in our lives.
Ticket Prices: $20-50 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Kristine Nielsen, Allen Gilmore, Theo Allyn, Behzad Dabu, Lawrence DiStasi, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Sydney Germaine, Marc Grapey, Anita Hollander, Ronobir Lahiri, Elizabeth Leod, Postell Pringle and Ron Rains
Pride Films & Plays Presents Raggedy And
Directed by Cecilie D. Keenan
Playing through April 10 at Rivendell Theater
5779 N Ridge Chicago, IL
In Raggedy And, a fast-paced ultramodern comedy of manners, the perfect poet is needed for the impending inauguration of America’s first female president. When Ondi Rivers, a trans woman, is selected, her wife hits the roof and her son is torn. Imagining the glare of the media spotlight on her family’s private life, will she take the stage?
Ticket Prices: $15-27 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Averis Anderson, Delia Kropp, Katurah Nelson and Manuel Ortiz.
Steppenwolf Theatre presents The Compass
Directed and Devised by Michael Rohd
Playing through March 12 at Steppenwolf Theatre
1650 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL
At the center of The Compass is a trial, determining the fate of a young person who used an app to make a life-altering decision. In this play, every show will end differently, depending on what you, the audience, decide. Join us as we navigate the question: When someone else, or something else, tells you what to do, what exactly are you responsible for? School performances are Tuesday through Friday at 10am and are reserved for school groups only.
Ticket Prices: $15-20 Buy tickets HERE
The show features Bryan Bosque, Cherly Lynn Bruce, Ariana Burks, Jasin Cardenas, Melissa DuPrey, Cruz Gonzalez Cadel, Krylstel McNeill, Johnathan Nieves, Abby Pajakowski, Sean Parris, Emilio Robles, Alex Tey, LIndsey Barlag Thornton and Tim Hopper.
