Theatre with a side of life
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Disney BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. A tale as old as time… The girl meets beast is a well-known fairytale. Disney has produced their musical version in multiple ways; animated film (1991), Broadway stage (1993), full movie (2017), and television special (2022). The show features a memorable score that includes the romantic ballad “Beauty ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents COMEDY OF ERRORS. Shakespeare’s tale of two sets of identical twins is a lampoon of shipwreck separation, mistaken identities and alternative twin sets. This established Shakes comedy is already a character-heavy farce. Director Barbara Gaines escalates the absurdity by framing the play as a movie. The movie is being produced to cheer ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s World Series Stage presents Wise Children’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS. The UK show is a co-production of National Theatre, Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic and York Theatre Royal in association with Berkley Repertory Theatre. Emily Brontë’s classic masterpiece gets an innovative spin by Adapter and Director Emma Rice. Brontë penned a saga of love/hate, lust/revenge ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Upon arrival, the audience becomes barflies at a Cuban nightclub. Maracas are shaking. Showgirls are dancing. Drinks are pouring.The Havana vibe is sexy and fun. Before the play even begins, the debauchery is on full display. Cash is exchanged. Clothes are removed. Hook-ups are arranged. Director Henry Godinez places ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the World Premiere of the musical, THE NOTEBOOK. An old woman has Alzheimers. Her husband faithfully reads to her daily from a notebook. It describes the love story of their life. His hope is the words and memories will bring her back to him. Nicholas Sparks wrote the best selling novel in ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the World Premiere IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, A New Musical. The creative team of Kellen Blair (book and lyrics) and Joe Kinosian (book and music) reimagine a 1953 sci-fi flick as a musical comedy. Blair and Kinosian spoof the tale of a small town being invaded by aliens. Their parody is ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. It’s believed Shakespeare penned this tale in 1603 around the time of Queen Elizabeth’s death and during a plague that killed one-in-five Londoners. It is one of 18 plays printed seven years after the Bard’s own death. The first record of it being performed is in 1741. ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a Beatles inspired AS YOU LIKE IT. Adapter and Director Daryl Cloran takes a1620’s comedy and infuses it with 1960’s music. The brilliant pairing, centuries in the making, is a poetic explosion of joy and words. Cloran, along with the Bard of the Beach Shakespeare Festival, conceived this unusual compilation. At first, ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents EMMA a new musical. Jane Austen’s beloved tale of a young woman of privilege and her questionable matchmaking skills gets a musical makeover. Paul Gordon (book, music, lyrics) deftly adapts the classic. Gordon serving as playwright and composer aids the ongoing seamless transitions. Characters’ musings go from spoken to sung with a breath ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents THE WIZARD OF OZ. Frank Baum’s classic is a beloved children’s story. The tale of Dorothy and Toto whisked away by a tornado, befriending a misfit crew and getting chased by a witch is well-known. The film version is iconic. And the spin-off musicals, “The Wiz” and “Wicked”, have garnered their own ...