LOOKING FORWARD: Chicago Shows We're Excited About
Continuing our support of productions that embrace inclusion for artists and audiences, below are shows open or opening soon in Chicago that we feel are moving our community forward. As a staff, we have not necessarily seen all of these shows but are really glad they are happening.
We are excited to list shows that offer some or all of the following: - Non-traditional casting
- Accessible storytelling
- Variety of perspectives on the design and production teams
- Playwrights/Directors from underrepresented communities
- Diversity in season programming
Buy tickets to shows that celebrate inclusion. Then write to producers and tell them you want more of it. Decision makers are led by numbers and this is one way you can make a difference.
Prop Thtr presents
Neverland
Devised by the ensemble
Directed by Olivia Lilley
through December 2
at 3502 N Elston
Neverland chronicles the final days of Peter Pan's reign in Neverland as seen from three wildly different perspectives: Peter's, Wendy's, and Hook's. The journey from childhood to adulthood has never been so treacherous than in this "Peter Pan" in the era of Trump's America.
The cast, artistic and production team include: Kate Black-Spence, Gaby Labotka, Steph Vondell, Rory Jobst, Mary Iris Loncto, Tyler Brockington, Bernadette Carter, Dylan Fahoome, Mateo Hernandez, Carolyn Waldee, Sissy Anne Quaranta, and Electra Tremulis, Jenn Geiger, Isa Ramos, Nina D'Angier, Diane Hamm, David Goodman-Edberg, Ele Matelan, Catherine Miller, Tanuja Jagernauth, Madeline Moeller, Marlana May Carlson and Carolyn Waldee.
Tickets are $10 - 20 and can be purchased here.
Jackalope Theatre presents
In the Canyon
Written by Calamity West
Directed by Elly Green
Extended through December 1
at The Broadway Armory Park 5917 N Broadway
In the Canyon is a new American saga by Calamity West spanning from 2007 to 2067. In an exploration of the present attack on Roe v. Wade, this world premiere chronicles a story of survival, and imagines the decline of a broken society. When the sun begins to set on a shattered world, the canyon rocks and walls come alive and a story of resistance is birthed.
The cast, artistic and production team include: Liz Sharpe, Paloma Nozicka, Peter Moore, Andrew Swanson, Diego Colón, Helen Joo Lee, Shariba Rivers, Asia Jackson, William Boles, Rachel Sypniewski, John Kelly, Shelbi Arndt, Dana Macel, Shain Longbehn, Dani Wieder, Sam Hubbard, Catherine Miller, Almanya Narula, Devonte Washington and Kasey Trouba.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Sideshow Theatre presents
HeLa
Written by J. Nicole Brooks
Directed by Jonathan L Green
through December 23
at The Greenhouse Theatre Center 2257 N Lincoln Ave
1951: A mother of five visits the “colored” gynecology ward of Johns Hopkins, knowing something unusual is happening in her body. 1981: A child watches Carl Sagan’s Cosmos on a basement television in Chicago as her auntie plays bid whist upstairs with the neighbors. The Distant Future: A gold-plated flying saucer hovers over the Earth, its pilot watching and waiting patiently as stars gently twinkle in her hair. All three stories connect, collide and expand, blending Afrofuturism with the true story of Henrietta Lacks and one little girl’s love of science. This winter, journey from East Baltimore to Chicago’s West Side to outer space, as J. Nicole Brooks’ new play explores who has the power over the stuff we are made of.
The cast, artistic and production team include: Matt Fletcher, Ann James, David Lawrence Hamilton, Ayah Sol Masai Hall, Nicole Michelle Haskins, Carolyn Nelson, Deanna Reed-Foster, Yu Shibagaki, Noël Huntzinger, Sim Carpenter, Michael Huey, Justin J. Sacramone, Catherine Allen, and Emily Ioppolo.
Tickets are $18-$23 and can be purchased here.
Strawdog Theatre presents
The Revolutionists
Written by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Denise Serna
through December 29
at 1802 West Berenice Avenue
Charlotte Corday plots to assassinate one of the (French) Revolution's most outspoken participants. Deposed Queen Marie Antoinette grapples with her losses. Playwright Olympe de Gouge attempts to write something that speaks to the moment and will stand the test of time. Marianne Angelle, Caribbean spy, fights to expand the nation’s notion of liberty to include women of color. Thrown together in one room, four vastly different women clash over the purpose of art, the use of violence, and a woman's role in the midst of madness.
The cast, artistic and production team include: Kamille Dawkins, Sarah Goeden, Kat McDonnell, Izis Mollinedo, Claire Chrzan, with Alex Casillas, Leah Hummel, Spencer Meeks, Danielle Myerscough, Jess Haworth, Shelbi Ardnt, Rachel Rauscher and Lauren Brady.
Tickets are $26-$35 and can be purchased here.
