Theatre with a side of life
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the North American premiere of 42 BALLOONS. Did you know in 1982 a truck driver named Larry Walters ascended 16,000 feet in a lawn chair tied to 42 balloons? Jack Godfrey (book, music, lyrics) tells the true story of a man chasing his fantastical dream. Larry wanted to be a pilot in the ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents HYMN. Two men meet. Each is grieving. Their childhoods have led to very different adult outcomes. They are both searching for something missing. Can they find it in each other? Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti tells the tale of two strangers in their fifties. When their paths cross accidentally, they share ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the North American Premiere Production of SUNNY AFTERNOON. Boy, you really got me goin’… The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. The Kinks! In the 1960s, British bands invaded American music. Their revolutionary sounds and looks changed rock and roll forever. They were distinctly different groups with similar origin stories. Childhood mates rising to stardom ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Olney Theatre Center’s production of AVAAZ. Upon arrival to the 6th floor studio theatre at Chicago Shakes, the audience is greeted by sumptuous eye candy designed by Beowulf Boritt. Several elegant chandeliers dangle over a lavish spread of apples, greenery, candles and ornate brass pitchers and holders. Along the back wall are ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, presents PERICLES. After a thirty year absence, RSC returns to Chicago with its production of a lesser known Shakespearean play. Pericles is a young ruler exploring other lands. In Act One, a shipwreck brings him to the shores of Pentapolis where he falls in love and ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents HENRY V. Playwright William Shakespeare penned the tale of the young King of England invading France. He wrote of the motivations, negotiations, and ramifications of war. His depiction is a history lesson of the Battle Agincourt during the Hundred Years’ War. Shakespeare utilized a multitude of characters, nobles and commoners, ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the U.S. Premiere of THE LORD OF THE RINGS - A Musical Tale. Both diehard Tolkien fans and complete novices to Middle Earth will enjoy the epic storytelling in Chicago Shakes’ latest production. The creative team of Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus (books and lyrics) bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy from page ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in association with Andy Jones and Dylan Pager, presents THE ENIGMATIST: David Kwong a magician, crossword constructor and master class storyteller! THE ENIGMATIST is a show like no other. And it really starts before it begins. Audience members are encouraged to arrive 20-30 minutes before curtain to wander through the puzzle garden. Each ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the World Premiere of JUDGEMENT DAY. Tony and Emmy Award-Winning Actor Jason Alexander brings his iconic George- Costanza-style-humor to Chicago. Alexander (Sammy) is starring in a new show about a morally bankrupt man grappling with the great beyond. After a near-death experience, Sammy learns that God and heaven exist. This realization makes ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents ILLINOISE a new kind of musical. In 2005, singer, songwriter and composer Sufjan Stevens debuted his album “Illinois.” Stevens’ songs told the simplistic and complex eccentricities of Midwestern life. His composition had surprising depth as he weaved stories of aliens, zombies, serial killers, comic books, mental health and first loves into music. ...