Theatre with a side of life
Goodman Theatre presents The Who’s TOMMY the Musical. TOMMY and Des are back! Thirty years after its Tony Award-winning original production, Des McAnuff (director and co-libretto) returns to reimagine The Who’s TOMMY. In the early 90s, Pete Townshend (music, lyrics, co-libretto) and McAnuff collaborated using existing music for the story and co-creating the book. Now, TOMMY ...
Goodman Theatre presents THE CHERRY ORCHARD. Aristocrats are confronted by a dilapidated estate, a non-producing orchard and a carefree past that no longer exists. In his 1903 classic, Anton Chekhov explored the end of serfdom. Lyubov (played by a fierce Kate Fry) returns to her childhood home after an extended absence. Despite a celebrity welcome from ...
Goodman Theatre presents SWING STATE. Playwright Rebecca Gillman pens an intriguing tale of pandemic wreckage. Gillman sets her story in rural Wisconsin in 2021. The show opens in palpable silence as Mary Beth Fisher (Peg) cracks eggs into a bowl. She methodically beats in the flour. The ordinariness of her actions are momentarily interrupted by the ...
Goodman Theatre, in association with Center Theatre Group, presents The Second Stage Theater Production of CLYDE’S. Playwright Lynn Nottage has penned a helluva comedy! Four ex-cons have struggled to find work after their incarceration. They each have landed a job at Clyde’s, a diner on the Interstate. The owner, Clyde, is an ex-felon and a ...
GoodmanTheatre presents the Chicago premiere of the musical LIFE AFTER. Today is her birthday! And Alice (played by an outstanding Samantha Williams) plans to crush the school debate and then celebrate with friends. When her dad (played by a charismatic Paul Alexander Nolan) shows up unexpectedly to take her to dinner, they quarrel. She storms ...
Goodman Theatre presents the World Premiere of GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR. It’s 1958. The Jack Parr Show is broadcasting from LA for Sweeps Week. Since ratings are everything, Jack has booked his friend Oscar Levant. Oscar is known for his piano virtuosity and his unfiltered humor. Oscar’s quick, self-deprecating and unscripted wit is the perfect draw for ...
Goodman Theatre presents CHRISTMAS CAROL. Larry Yando celebrates his 14th stint as Scrooge in Goodman’s 44th production of the Dickens’ holiday show. Yando owns this iconic miser role… in an almost unsettling way. He makes it impossible to hate the deplorable penny-pincher. His cruelty has biting humor. His curmudgeon stance has playful charm. Even before his ...
Goodman Theatre, in conjunction with Dallas Theater Center, presents AMERICAN MARIACHI. The mere mention of the word ‘Mariachi’ cues up a familiar, upbeat tune in my head. It conjures up images of strolling musicians bringing colorful tradition to otherwise indistinguishable Mexican restaurants. The performers, however momentarily at a table, become the focal point of the evening’s ...
Goodman Theatre presents SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY. Playwright Joselyn Bioh’s story is a tribute to the best and worst parts of being a girl in high school. The ladies bond and giggle over boys, clothes and makeover parties. They also confront the clique pressures of trying to fit in, being cool and ...
Goodman Theatre presents BERNHARDT/HAMLET. It is 1899. Legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt is producing “Hamlet” and casting herself in the lead. Playwright Theresa Rebeck imagines the complications of this moment in theatre history. Bernhardt is 55, struggling financially and forcing her married lover to adapt Shakespeare’s play. The real life story intrigues. A turn-of-the-century woman refusing to ...