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Buzz Center Stage

 Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to launch its 51st Season with Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog, helmed by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, who returns to Steppenwolf following his hit production of King James. Ensemble members Glenn Davis (WindfallPurpose–Chicago/Broadway, King James) and Namir Smallwood (WindfallThe Book of GraceBug–Chicago/Broadway) go head-to-head in this highly-anticipated revival, more than two decades after the company's celebrated 2003 production. 

Topdog/Underdog will play a limited engagement September 17 — November 1, 2026 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets are currently on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. 

About the Production:

Brothers Lincoln and Booth, named in jest, are two Black men living in America just trying to get by. Lincoln dresses like his namesake, reenacting his assassination for money and laughs. Booth stays stuck in their apartment, working tirelessly on his three-card hustle. Sibling rivalry and a lifetime of resentment come to a head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride. The deck is stacked with a Tony Award-winning director, a Pulitzer Prize-winning script and a tour-de-force showdown for ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood. "Take thuh cards and show me whatcha got!" 

The creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (Scenic Design), Dede Ayite (Costume Design), Lee Fiskness (Lighting Design), Justin Ellington (Sound Design), Jyreika Guest (Violence & Intimacy Consultant), Kate DeVore (Vocal Coach), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), ensemble member Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager). For full cast and creative team bios, click here.

Production Details:

Title: Topdog/Underdog
Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks 
Director: Kenny Leon
Cast: ensemble members Glenn Davis (Lincoln) and Namir Smallwood (Booth)
Understudies: Anthony Fleming III (Lincoln) and Patrick Newson Jr. (Booth)

Location: Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, September 17 – Saturday, September 26, 2026
Opening: Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 6 pm
Regular run: Tuesday, September 29 – Sunday, November 1, 2026

Curtain Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 3 pm & 7:30 pm; and Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be 7:30 pm performances on Tuesday, September 22, Thursday, October 1, Tuesday, October 6, Tuesday, October 13, Wednesday, October 21 or Thursday, October 22; there will be an added 2 pm matinee on Wednesday, October 21.

Tickets: Classic Memberships starting as low as $165 are now on sale for Steppenwolf's 2026/27 season at steppenwolf.org/myseason. Single tickets for Topdog/Underdog ($20 – $129*) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. Steppenwolf Flex Memberships are currently on sale: Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production and RED Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30. *Pricing includes an $8.50 handling fee

Steppenwolf offers 20 tickets for $20 (no added fees) for each performance of every membership series production. Use promo code 20FOR20 to redeem this offer online, available in advance until they're sold out for every main series show. Limit 2 tickets per person. You can also purchase by phone at (312) 335-1650 on the day-of show at 12 pm for main series performances. Limit 2 tickets per person.

Accessible Performance Dates:

Audio-Described and Touch Tour: Sunday, October 25 at 3 pm (1:30 pm Touch Tour)
Open-Captioned: Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 pm & Saturday, October 17 at 3 pm
ASL-Interpreted: Friday, October 16 at 7:30 pm

Education and Engagement:

Throughout the 2026/27 season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to the next generation of theatre learners, makers and appreciators with robust education and engagement programming. Programming includes dedicated student matinee performances during four of the five Membership Series productions including Topdog/UnderdogAdirondack Chair CircleThe Comeuppance and Ellen B., in-school residencies in partnership with Chicago Public schools, workshops, panels and events specifically geared towards teens, as well as professional development trainings and resources for educators. For additional information about Steppenwolf's Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip, visit steppenwolf.org/education-community/school-teacher-programs/field-trips.

Artist Biographies:

Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright) is a multi-award-winning writer and musician. She is the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog, which recently won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival. Her other plays include Sally & Tom (2024), Plays for the Plague Year (Drama Desk Award, Best Music, 2023) and Father Comes Home From The Wars (2014). Parks' first marathon-writing "micro diary plays," 365 Days/365 Plays were produced worldwide in what was the largest grassroots collaborative theatre project to date. She is a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, a novelist: Getting Mother's Body (Random House); and a screenwriter: Girl 6Genius: Aretha, and The United States vs Billie Holiday. Parks also writes songs and fronts her band "SLP& The Joyful Noise," with her punk-couture medicine show, The Tune Up, world-premiering this summer. As a college student Parks is grateful to have studied creative writing with James Baldwin, who encouraged her to write for the theatre.

Kenny Leon (Director) is a Tony Award-winning director. Broadway: The BalustersOthelloOur Town, HOME, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, Topdog/Underdog, Ohio State Murders, A Soldier's Play, American Son, Children of a Lesser God, Holler If Ya Hear Me, A Raisin in the SunThe Mountaintop, Stick Fly, August Wilson's Fences, Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf. Off-Broadway: The Conversation (Astor Place Theatre), This World of Tomorrow (The Shed), King James, The Underlying Chris, Everybody's Ruby, Emergence-See! (The Public), Smart People (Second Stage). Opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors, Margaret Garner. Television: Robin Roberts Presents: MahaliaColin in Black & White, 4400, Amend: The Fight for America, American Son (adapted for Netflix), Hairspray Live!, The Wiz Live!, Steel Magnolias, Dynasty, In My Dreams. Author: Take You Wherever You Go. Artistic Director Emeritus: Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company. Senior Resident Director: Roundabout Theatre Company. Awards: Obie, Actors Fund Medal of Honor, George Abbott Lifetime Achievement for American Theatre, Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre.

Glenn Davis (Lincoln) is an actor, producer and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, alongside Audrey Francis, where he has been an ensemble member since 2017. His Steppenwolf credits include DownstateThe ChristiansYou Got OlderThe Brother/Sister PlaysHead of PassesKing James (also Mark Taper Forum), Describe the NightPurpose and Windfall. Broadway credits include: PurposeBengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (also Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum). Off-Broadway credits include Transfers (MCC Theatre), Wig Out! (Vineyard Theatre), Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle Nomination) and King James (MTC). Other regional credits include Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theatre Festival). International credits include Downstate (National Theatre, UK), Edward IIThe Winter's Tale and As You Like It (Stratford Festival), Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Television credits include Billions24The UnitJericho and The Good Wife. Glenn is an Artistic Associate at the Young Vic in London and at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. He is also a partner in Cast Iron Entertainment, a collective of artists consisting of Sterling K Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, Andre Holland and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Cast Iron is currently in residence at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In 2021, Glenn founded The Chatham Grove Company along with his producing partner Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Namir Smallwood (Booth) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2017. Steppenwolf: WindfallMr. WolfYou Will Get SickThe Book of GraceSeagullBugTrue WestBLKSMonsterMan In LoveThe Hot L BaltimoreLast Night and the Night Before. Broadway: Pass Over, Bug. Off Broadway: PipelinePass Over (Lincoln Center). Chicago: The Lost Boys of Sudan (Victory Gardens Theater); Charm (Northlight Theatre); The Grapes of Wrath (The Gift Theatre); East Texas Hot Links (Writers Theater). Regional: Marin Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Guthrie Theater. International: True West (Galway International Arts Festival). Television: Chicago Fire, BetrayalElementaryAmerican Rust (Showtime/FreeVee); Power Book IV: Force (STARZ). Film: Rounding, About Time, Bailey's Blues.

Accessibility:As a commitment to make the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each STC production. Assistive listening devices (ALDs), large-print programs and Braille programs are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sponsor Information:United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Julius Frankel Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Rich and Margery Feitler, FROST CHICAGO, Jessica and Dominic Green Family Fund, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Thoma Bravo, and Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.            

About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier Ensemble Theater with 51 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions have made this theatre legendary. From the early phenomenon of Balm in Gilead, to The Grapes of Wrath, August: Osage County, Downstate, The Brother/Sister Plays, and more recently, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Purpose, Steppenwolf Theatre has had a long-running and undeniable impact on American Theatre and Chicago's cultural landscape. Founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise, Steppenwolf started as a group of friends in their teens and early 20s performing in the basement of a school in Highland Park, Illinois. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards, two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the boundaries of live theater and pushes the limits of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf's Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.orgfacebook.com/steppenwolftheatretwitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

BrightSide Theatre will celebrate its 15th anniversary with "Monte Carlo Night," a gala and fundraiser, on Friday, September 25, 2026, at Yellow Box Theatre, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville. The special evening will bring together supporters, artists, audiences, and community members to honor 15 years of stories, performances, and memories while raising support for BrightSide Theatre's future.
 
Guests will enjoy a cocktail reception, Italian dinner buffet, entertainment, casino-style games, live and silent auctions, and special anniversary moments celebrating BrightSide Theatre's impact in Naperville and the surrounding area. Tickets may be purchased online at https://brightsidetheatre.com/15th-anniversary-gala/.
 
For 15 years, BrightSide Theatre has brought professional theatre, concerts, youth productions, and community performances to Naperville and the surrounding area. The anniversary gala will celebrate everyone who has helped shape that journey and will help make the next 15 years possible.
 
Proceeds from the event will support BrightSide Theatre's continued work creating professional theatre, providing opportunities for local artists, and inspiring young performers through the BrightSide Theatre Youth Project.
 
Event Details
What: Monte Carlo Night: 15th Anniversary Gala & Fundraiser
When: Friday, September 25, 2026
Where: Yellow Box Theatre, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville 60540
Tickets: $125 per person, available at https://brightsidetheatre.com/15th-anniversary-gala/ 
RSVP Deadline: September 21, 2026
Schedule: 6:30 p.m. cocktail reception and check-in; 7:00–10:00 p.m. Italian buffet, entertainment, casino-style games, and auctions
 
ABOUT BRIGHTSIDE THEATRE
 
BrightSide Theatre (Jeffrey Cass, Artistic Director and Julie Ann Kornak, Executive Director) is committed to Enlighten, Educate, and Entertain through comedies and inspirational stories from across the globe.  A unique blend of award-winners, premieres, modern works and timeless classics meant to reflect upon and inform our community inhabit BrightSide's stage. For more information on BrightSide Theatre, please visit www.BrightSidetheatre.com.

Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) hosts its highly anticipated 19th Anniversary "Dancing With The Giordano Stars" ballroom dance competition 7-11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave. This popular annual event, patterned after the hit ABC series "Dancing With The Stars," benefits GDC's transformative initiatives through the GDC Youth Arts Education Fund. Event Co-Chairs are Dina Gallay and Sandy Golub. Emcee for the evening is former FOX News and sports anchor Corey McPherrin.

On Oct. 8, a group of Chicago A-listers, each with their Giordano professional dancer partner, will compete for a shot at winning the coveted Disco Ball and the title of Best Male Dancer or Best Female Dancer. The stakes are high with each couple performing only one dance for one chance to impress the guest judges including Emmy Award-winning director, choreographer and GDC Resident Choreographer Al BlackstoneAssociate Publisher Chicago Star Media and author of the Candid Candace Blog, Candace Jordan and Emmy Award-winning Anchor/Reporter and Host at Fox 32 Chicago, Tia Ewing. Contestants also vie for special awards for Top Fundraiser and Audience Favorite.

The slate of male contestants (and their GDC dance partners) includes. Andy Anisfeld, Vice President Medical Affairs and Health Impact, Immunology, AbbVie (Erina Ueda), Adam Cummis, Restaurateur, Blaze Pizza (Analysse Vance), Ted Grady, Partner, J&L Catering ,(Sasha Lazarus), Erik Kessler, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal (Amanda Hickey-Newcom) and Peter Q. Thompson, Managing Director, Blue Marlin Partners (Talia Luzzo).

The slate of female contestants (and their GDC dance partners) includes Jordan C. Carqueville, MD, Founder of Derm Institute of Chicago (Joshua Brumm), Allana Emery, Finance Director , Publicis Groupe (Eduardo Zambrana), Annie Laughton, Stay at Home Mom (Simon Schuh),  Bonnie Micheli, CO-CEO, Shred415 (Aidan Aloma) and Elena Moore, Physician, Gynecologic Oncology, Endeavor Health (Adam Houston).

Individual tickets begin at $150. Tickets include a 4-hour open bar and light fare provided by J&L Catering. For tickets or more information, visit giordanodance.org/dwtgs or call 312.922.1332.

"Dancing With The Giordano Stars" fundraising supports GDC's transformative initiatives. Through the Youth Arts Education Fund, the company illuminates the path for the next generation with innovative programs such as the CPS Jazz Dance/Science & Health, GDC's Free Ticket Program, dynamic dance workshops, enriching mentorship partnerships, immersive school residencies and the esteemed NGCP® certification.

"Dancing With The Giordano Stars 2026" precedes GDC's "untamed passion" fall engagement
at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, located at 9501 Skokie Blvd.,
at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7. For tickets, visit northshorecenter.org.

America's original jazz dance company electrifies into their 64th season with radiance and infinite horizons. Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) is an iconic cultural institution with deep roots in Chicago and around the globe (28 countries, 47 states, and more than 1,300 cities). From founder Gus Giordano's vision, the company continues to honor the past while pushing the art form forward. Nan Giordano celebrates 42 years as an artistic leader responsible for commissioning innovative choreographic works and mentoring thousands of dancers. Alongside Nan, Associate Artistic Director, Cesar G. Salinas and the magnificent dancers are an integral part of the GDC legacy. Al Blackstone serves as Resident Choreographer, truly a testament that the art form of jazz dance is thriving. The company is one of the few in the world that has a foundational technique, Nan Giordano Certification Program®, with certified teachers in 9 countries and 36 states. GDC is committed to Youth Arts Education at home and on tour through mentorships, scholarships, and our free Chicago Public Schools and park programs. GDC is proud to be one of the longest running dance companies in the world, continuing to enrich lives through dance. For more information visit giordanodance.org.

Award-winning Redtwist Theatre, launching its 22nd season with Prayer Circle, September 17 - November 8, by Erik Gernand and directed by Executive Artistic Director Dusty Brown, announces today an added special engagement to its 2026 - 2027 season, the world premiere of Flying Monkeys, produced in collaboration with the New Theatre Project, December 6 - January 17, by L.C. Bernadine and directed by Robert Falls, at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Preview performances are Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Regular performance schedule includes Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. Some dates adjusted for the holidays. Single tickets are on sale starting September 15 for $50 (seniors and veterans: $35; students: $10 and Fridays are Pay-What-You-Can) with subscriptions also available at RedtwistTheatre.org

Chicago is a city where, when all goes well, theater happens at every scale. Just weeks after his production of Don Giovanni will open at the almost 3,500-seat Lyric Opera of Chicago, Robert Falls will direct Flying Monkeys, a new play by Chicago playwright L.C. Bernadine, at Edgewater’s Redtwist Theatre, an intimate venue of just over 35 seats. 

Flying Monkeys follows two transport agents working in the so-called “troubled teen industry.” Hired by a desperate mother, they arrive in the middle of the night to legally take her 15-year-old daughter from her home and deliver her to a residential treatment program across the country. What begins as a job governed by contracts and procedure becomes increasingly complicated as everyone involved is forced to confront what they believe desperation can justify.

Falls read the play earlier this year and was drawn both to its subject and to the opportunity to stage it in an extremely intimate venue. “I’ve been an admirer of L.C. Bernadine’s plays for quite a while,” said Robert Falls. “She has a very distinctive voice — tough, funny, poetic and completely her own — and Flying Monkeys feels to me like an especially exciting new work. It takes on difficult, volatile material without reducing anyone to a type or telling us too quickly what to think. The play keeps shifting under you: your sympathies move, your assumptions get challenged and what at first seems morally clear becomes much more complicated. There are no easy villains and no easy answers, which is exactly what I find so compelling about it.” 

For Falls, the shift from Lyric Opera to Redtwist reflects something essential about Chicago theater. He continued, “I cut my teeth in Chicago at Wisdom Bridge Theatre, one of the city’s first storefront theaters, a small space up two flights of stairs over a bar and a violin repair shop on Howard Street. I spent more than a decade of my life there, so coming to Redtwist really does feel like a homecoming. It’s one of Chicago’s finest theaters and there’s something about being back in a room this intimate that takes me right back to where I began.” 

“L.C. Bernadine has been an incredible friend and collaborator over the past few years, welcoming me to Chicago when I first made the move,” says Redtwist Artistic Director Dusty Brown. “After working together on the Independent Productions Initiative, I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate artistically with L.C. on her new play. Bringing Bob Falls on to direct spoke to the very thing that drew me to Chicago in the first place, the most incredible artists in the world can be found in the least likely of places. Some of our country’s greatest artists started their careers in Chicago storefronts and Bob Falls’s return is a reminder that artistic merit can’t be judged simply by the size of the theatre.”

Redtwist Theatre is producing Flying Monkeys in collaboration with the New Theatre Project. Peter Handler and Spencer Huffman will serve as producers. Founder of the New Theatre Project Spencer Huffman said, "Since our first production in 2024, L.C. has been pivotal in New Theatre Project's success as a producer. When the opportunity arose to co-produce her excellent new play with Bob directing, we jumped at it. This collaboration captures something essential about the Chicago theatre: the city's most notable director teams up with two small storefronts to produce a new play by an under-the-radar Chicago playwright. It's so exciting."

ABOUT L.C. BERNADINE, playwright 

The author of numerous plays and a frequent collaborator with The New Theatre Project, Bernadine was recently profiled in Newcity's "50 Players" as founder of the Independent Productions Initiative, which supports work outside ongoing companies. Her plays include The Whole Seamus Thing, co-written with Ben Auxier (Bramble Theatre); Welcome J-1 Students (University of Alabama Theater); Is You Is, a musical co-written with Nik Whitcomb and Erik Olsen about the 1930s “Races of Mankind” exhibit at The Field Museum (DCASE’s Chicago Cultural Center New Play Residency and then Broadway Rose Theatre, Portland, Oregon) and The Virginian, co-written with Spencer Huffman (City Lit Theatre). 

ABOUT ROBERT FALLS, director

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Robert Falls has directed new plays and reimagined classics, large-scale musical theater and opera in the United States and internationally. He began his career at Chicago’s Wisdom Bridge Theatre and later served as artistic director of Goodman Theatre for 35 years. His most recent productions include Richard Greenberg’s Holiday at the Goodman and Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Falls’ many Broadway credits include Death of a SalesmanLong Day’s Journey into Night, Horton Foote’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Young Man from Atlanta and Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida.

His honors include a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Obie Award, Helen Hayes Award, multiple Jeff Awards and the Savva Morozov Diamond Award from the Moscow Art Theatre. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2015.

ABOUT NEW THEATRE PROJECT, producer

The New Theatre Project is an independent theatre collective based in Chicago. The New Theatre Project intends to put artists at the far edge of their abilities so that they must discover something new to succeed. They believe there is nothing more moving than an artist on the brink. This process of artistic risk and discovery defines their work.

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), the professional theater company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), is pleased to announce that, in keeping with the company's general policy of promoting from within, BTE Interim Artistic Managing Director Daniel Millhouse has been named the company's new Managing Artistic Director. 

"As we enter our 40th anniversary season, welcoming Daniel Millhouse as Managing Artistic Director seems incredibly fitting. He has worked with the Ensemble for nine years, and has been mentored by Connie Canaday Howard and Amelia Barrett, both sharing their deep institutional knowledge and sharp artistic vision. Daniel brings an understanding of who BTE has been, who we are, and who we strive to be. BTE has and will continue to provide thought-provoking, laughter-inducing, and heart-tugging professional storytelling not only for our community but for those who travel to see the immense level of talent our ensemble and guest actors share with us," shared Brandee Martin, president of BTE's Board of Directors. 

"I am honored to work with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble as we enter our 40th anniversary season," said Millhouse. "BTE has a remarkable legacy of bringing artists and audiences together through powerful storytelling. I look forward to building on that legacy with our Ensemble, Board, students, and community while creating new opportunities for connection, collaboration, and artistic growth." 

From July 2024-June 2026, Millhouse served as BTE's Interim Associate Artistic Director, Associate Artistic Director, and then Interim Managing Artistic Director, contributing to season planning, production oversight, marketing, educational outreach, subscriber engagement, fundraising, and strategic planning. Other administrative credits include co-founder and Managing Director of Misalliance Repertory Theatre (2019-2022), where he oversaw company operations, financial planning, marketing, fundraising, nonprofit compliance, and production activities. 

As an actor, BTE audiences have enjoyed Millhouse in productions like "The 39 Steps" and the Pemberley trilogy by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Millhouse is an Associate Professor in the theater department of the College of DuPage where he directs collegiate productions. 

Millhouse* is also BTE's newest Buffalo Theatre Ensemble member. Other members of the
ensemble: Aly Renee Amidei^, Robert Jordan Bailey*, Amelia Barrett*, Bryan Burke*(Business Manager), Connie Canaday Howard*, Rebecca Cox, Lisa Dawn, Nick DuFloth, Jon Gantt, Christopher Kriz^, Laura Leonardo Ownby, Michael W. Moon, Kurt Naebig*, GalenG. Ramsey*, William Sandy "Smillie* and Kelli Walker.  

*Denotes member of Actors' Equity; ^Denotes member of United Scenic Artists 

In collaboration with BTE's Board of Directors and Ensemble members, Millhouse is ramping up plans for BTE's 40th anniversary season which includes: "Louisa May Alcott's Little Women" by Lauren Gunderson, directed by BTE Managing Artistic Director Daniel Millhouse*(Nov. 12-Dec. 13, 2026); "Dial M for Murder" by Frederick Knott, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by former Goodman Theatre Associate Director and long-time BTE director Steve Scott (Jan. 28-Feb. 28, 2027); "One Man, Two Guvnors" by Richard Bean, directed by BTE Managing Artistic Director Emerita Connie Canaday Howard* (May 6-June 6, 2027). For tickets or more information, contact the MAC Box Office at 630-942-4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org. 

Throughout its 2026-2027 season BTE continues its commitment to the next generation of
artists by offering collegiate artists the opportunity to shadow professional artists and productions, continued mentoring through a student shadow program, the BTE Stage Management Scholarship and high school ambassador outreach. 

About Buffalo Theatre Ensemble  

The mission of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of quality theater for the enjoyment of its audiences. Since its founding in 1986, BTE has produced 132 productions and presented more than 2,000 performances, featuring world and regional premieres. In the 2025-2026 season, BTE employed 80 professional artists and
welcomed 8,800 patrons. Over 500 College of DuPage students studied and attended productions. The Equity Jeff Awards have recognized the company with two awards and more than a dozen nominations. The Jeff Awards are Chicago's premier professional theater awards, recognizing excellence in acting, directing, design, and production among companies in the Chicago area. 

BTE was established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation in 2016. For more information about BTE, please visit BTEChicago.com or AtTheMAC.org.  

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is partially supported and funded by generous grants from Arts DuPage, Choose DuPage, College of DuPage Foundation, The Norm Woodel Inspiration Fund, the DuPage Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. 

Promethean Theatre Ensemble announced today it will offer post-show audience talkbacks following two performances of their Chicago premiere of BLOOD OF THE LAMB. This gripping two-woman, Kafka-esque thriller by Arlene Hutton is set in a time about two days from now, when Nessa, traveling from LAX to JFK, finds herself diverted to Dallas. Trapped in a room with Val, a lawyer, Nessa just wants to leave on the next plane out. But this is Texas, and Nessa is pregnant and Val is on the phone with legislators who are pulling the strings. 
 
Playwright Hutton is available for media interviews via email. Representatives of Midwest Access Coalition will participate in talkbacks following performances on Sunday, September 13 and Thursday, September 24. Midwest Access Coalition provides pregnant people with practical support, including assistance with the cost and logistics of getting to an abortion appointment. Many of the people served by the organization are traveling out of state to access reproductive resources and care.

Anna C. Bahow, an ensemble member with Promethean and an Artistic Associate with Silk Road Cultural Center and the International Voices Project, will direct two alternate casts. One cast will feature Heather Dennis* (title role in PTE's ANTIGONE) as Nessa and Kirsten D'Aurelio as Val; and the other cast will include Meghann Tabor* (Ismene in PTE's ANTIGONE) as Nessa and Delia Ford (emeritus member of Babes with Blades) as Val. 

Bahow says, "Neither cast is billed as the "main" cast. No performance is the definitive one. That randomness is the point. Arlene Hutton's play is not about two specific women. It is about the millions of women who could be either woman, depending on where they were born, what they earn, and what state or county they are in. Change the actors and the argument in the play stays the same. Where you live still decides what happens to your body. State lines still hold, and the laws behind them keep getting harsher. 

Following opening weekend, D'Aurelio and Dennis will perform Thursdays and Saturdays, and Tabor and Ford will perform Fridays and Sundays. Tabor and Ford will perform the Thursday, September 3 preview and the Tuesday, September 29 industry night performance, and D'Aurelio and Dennis will perform the Friday, September 4 preview and the Tuesday, September 22 industry night performance.

The BLOOD OF THE LAMB design team includes Amy C. Gilman (Scenic Designer), Rachel M. Sypniewski (Costume Designer), Emily Hayman (Sound Designer), Karen Wallace (Lighting Designer), Breezy Snyder (Scenic Painter), and Tristan Brandon* (Props Designer). Also on the production team are Vanessa Copeland (Assistant Director), Alexa Berkowitz* (Production Manager), Line Bower (Technical Director), Ella Joyce Johnson (Stage Manager), and Christina Renee Jones* (Dramaturg).
 
BLOOD OF THE LAMB premiered in 2023 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where THE GUARDIAN called the intermissionless drama "an acutely tense drama of reproductive rights." It received a 2025 Drama Desk Award Nomination for Outstanding Play for its 2024 off-Broadway premiere in 2024, which BROADWAYWORLD called "an essential must-see show." 
 
*Indicates Promethean Theatre Ensemble member.
 
Tickets are $35 general, $25 students and seniors and are on sale at https://www.prometheantheatre.org or The Den Theatre Box Office, 773-697-3830.

BLOOD OF THE LAMB
By Arlene Hutton
Directed by Anna C. Bahow
September 3 – October 3, 2026
Previews Thursday September 3 and Friday, September 4 at 8 pm 
Regular Run: Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Talkbacks following the Sept. 20 and 24 performances
Industry Night performances Tuesdays September 22 and 29 at 8 pm

The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago 60622
Ticket Prices: $35 general, $25 students and seniors

For tickets, visit https://www.prometheantheatre.org or The Den Theatre Box Office, 773-697-3830.
 
A searing drama about bureaucratic chaos in a post-Roe America. When pregnant Nessa's transcontinental flight is diverted to Dallas, she is detained with an unexpected adversary: a court-appointed attorney assigned to represent her baby and decide her future. BLOOD OF THE LAMB is an urgent post-Roe thriller about the choices taken from us—and the choices we can still make.

INTENDED AUDIENCE This production is intended for mature audiences, ages 16 and up. The content explores intense political and medical themes surrounding reproductive rights and medical procedures. 

Rising star Jacob Moskovitz ("Elle") has joined the cast of Kowalski as Marlon Brando, alongside previously announced Chicago theater veteran Johnny Galecki ("The Big Bang Theory," "The Little Dog Laughed") as Tennessee Williams. The celebrated new play by Gregg Ostrin, directed by Colin Hanlon, will come to Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company at the historic Water Tower Water Works, 163 E Pearson St. at Michigan Ave. in Chicago, playing September 15-October 25, 2026.

Additional casting will be announced soon.

Tickets are available at lookingglasstheatre.org and 312.337.0665. Kowalski is a part of the 26/27 Lookingglass Membership and Subscription Series. Single tickets range from $37 to $97, with a limited number of premium seats also available.

Set over one pivotal evening in 1947 Provincetown, Kowalski imagines the electrifying first meeting between Tennessee Williams and a young Marlon Brando, just as Williams searches for the actor who would forever change the destiny of A Streetcar Named Desire. Blending fact, memory, and theatrical imagination, the play offers a fascinating glimpse into the creative forces behind one of the most influential works in American theater. Kowaslki explores the intersection of ambition, artistry, desire, and the creation of theatrical history.

JACOB MOSKOVITZ (Marlon Brando) is a rising talent delivering versatile and engaging performances across film and television. Most recently, he starred in the highly anticipated Legally Blonde prequel series ELLE from Amazon and Hello Sunshine, which has already been renewed for a second season.

Moskovitz recently completed production on the Fernando Meirelles-directed Netflix feature Here Comes the Flood, appearing alongside Robert Pattinson, Denzel Washington, and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Earlier this year, Jacob also starred in Seth Meyers' produced feature Brian, which premiered to strong reviews at SXSW. He can currently be seen in the independent feature The Floaters, which was released July 10, 2026. Additional film credits include the A24 feature Y2K, directed and written by Kyle Mooney and Evan Winter, as well as Isle Child, directed and written by Thomas Percy Kim. On television, Jacob's credits include "Chicago P.D." (NBC), "The Good Fight" (Paramount+), Magnum P.I.  (NBC), and "FBI: International" (CBS).

JOHNNY GALECKI (Tennessee Williams) is an acclaimed actor best known for his starring role as 'Leonard Hofstadeter' on the award-winning CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory," for which he earned Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award nominations. He first gained widespread recognition as 'David Healy' on the groundbreaking sitcom "Roseanne" and has appeared in numerous film and television projects throughout his career including HancockVanilla Sky, I Know What You Did Last SummerSuicide KingsIn Time and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. His stage credits include the Tony Award-nominated Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed for which he received a Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, The Drawer BoyPot MomThe Member of the Wedding and Galileo.

GREGG OSTRIN (Playwright) A native of Los Angeles, his most recent plays include A Very Streaming Christmas and The Spy Who Went Into Rehab (Pacific Resident Theatre, Venice, California), The Soul of Motown (Stage West Theater, Calgary), Truffles (Secret Door Theater, New York City) and Rank & File (Hudson Theater, Los Angeles). His play The Beverly Hills Hotel Peace Talks just had its premiere staged reading at The Coachella Valley Rep in Palm Springs, California for its Origins series. It will be opening there in May 2025. He dedicates this play to his former mentor, the late George Furth.

COLIN HANLON (Director) is an actor, writer, director, and producer living in New York City. He most recently directed Broken Snow (with Tony Danza, Tom Cavanagh and Michael Longfellow). He also directed I Love You Because-a queer retelling in NYC, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and co-directed It's Only a Play at George Street Playhouse. He's the co-producer & star of Submissions Only. He's also an adjunct professor at NYU New Studio, LIU, Stella Adler, and Cap 21. He teaches auditioning and self-tape technique at his private studio. Still a working actor as he's been on "Modern Family," "Difficult People," "The Sinner," "The Good Fight" and currently "Uncoupled" on Showtime. Broadway: FalsettosRent, Wicked (First National Tour) and In Transit. Off-Broadway: NYC premiere of Dot by Colman Domingo (Vineyard Theater, dir. Susan Stroman), A.R. Gurney's last play Final Follies dir. David Saint (Cherry Lane) and I Love You Because (original cast).

About Lookingglass Theatre Company

Founded in 1988 by graduates of Northwestern University, Lookingglass Theatre Company is a nationwide leader in the creation and presentation of new, cutting-edge theatrical works and in sharing its ensemble-based theatrical techniques with Chicago-area students and teachers through Education and Community Programs. Guided by an artistic vision centered on the core values of collaboration, transformation and invention, Lookingglass seeks to capture audiences' imaginations leaving them changed, charged and empowered. Recipient of the 2011 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Lookingglass has built a national reputation for artistic excellence and ensemble-based theatrical innovation. Notable world premieres include Mary Zimmerman's Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses and The Odyssey, J. Nicole Brooks' Her Honor Jane Byrne, David Schwimmer's adaptation of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Studs Terkel's Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession, Matthew C. Yee's Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon and David Catlin's circus tribute to Lewis Carroll, Lookingglass Alice, which was captured by HMS Media and reached 1.6 million PBS viewers. Looking Alice is now available to more than four million students worldwide through Digital Theatre+. Work created by Lookingglass artists has been produced in Australia, Europe and dozens of cities throughout the United States.

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Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce a darkly delicious Halloween surprise: Kokandy Productions’ critically acclaimed revival of JEKYLL & HYDE will be extended by popular demand through November 8. For a frightfully good group night, discounted group rates for parties of 10 or more may be purchased beginning today, Wednesday, August 26 at 10:00 AM, by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 312-977-1710. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com. A new block of individual tickets for this cauldron of thrills will go on sale tomorrow, Thursday, August 27, for the extended performances October 27—November 8, 2026. Individual tickets, priced from $45 to $110 with a select number of premium seats available for all performances, may be purchased at www.BroadwayInChicago.com or in person at any Broadway In Chicago venue box office. Additional fees apply for online purchases. Kokandy Productions’ Jekyll & Hyde will play the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St.) from September 8 to November 8. For the performance schedule and additional ticket information, see below.

Leading the multi-award-winning Jekyll & Hyde cast this Halloween season for a hauntingly good night at the theatre are Jeff Award winners David Moreland (Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde), Ava Lane Stovall (Lucy Harris), and Emily McCormick  (Emma Carew). Also featured are Jake Elkins (Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde alternate), Dani Pike (Lucy Harris alternate)Nathan Calaranan (Sir Danvers Carew)Ismael Garcia (Lord Savage) (they/he), Joe Giovannetti (Gabriel John Utterson)Jon Parker Jackson (Bishop of Basingstoke) (he/they), Quinn Kelch (Simon Stride, Spider) (he/him), Quinn Rigg (General Lord Glossop, Bisset)Gabby Sauceda-Koziol (Sir Archibold Proops) (she/her), Quinn Simmons (Nellie, Poole) (they/he/she), Maiko Terazawa (Lady Beaconsfield), and Kevin Webb (Gabriel John Utterson) (he/him). Understudies are Jeffrey Gougis Jr (Sir Danvers Carew, Gabriel John Utterson)Emily Ling Mei (Emma Carew) (she/her), and Anna Seibert (Lucy Harris) (she/her). Swings are Andrew LundHalli MorganCaitlin Preuss, and Jaxson Smith.

The distinguished creative team for Jekyll & Hyde, conceived for the stage by Steve Cuden & Frank Wildhorn and based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, features a book & lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn, orchestrations by Kim Scharnberg, arrangements by Jason Howland, direction by Derek Van Barham, music direction by Nick Sula, and choreography by Brenda Didier.

ABOUT JEKYLL & HYDE
Murder and chaos are pitted against love and virtue in this sweeping gothic musical. The epic struggle between good and evil comes to life on stage in the musical phenomenon, Jekyll & Hyde. Based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson and featuring a thrilling score of pop rock hits from multi-Grammy- and Tony-nominated Frank Wildhorn and double-Oscar and Grammy-winning Leslie Bricusse, Jekyll & Hyde has mesmerized audiences the world over.

JEKYLL & HYDE is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

 
 

TICKET INFORMATION (as of 8/26/26, based on availability and subject to change)
Individual tickets, priced from $45 to $110 with a select number of premium seats available for all performances, may be purchased tomorrow, Thursday, August 27, at www.BroadwayInChicago.com or in person at any Broadway In Chicago venue box office. Additional fees apply for online purchases. Discounted group rates for parties of 10 or more may be purchased beginning today, Wednesday, August 26 at 10:00 AM, by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 312-977-1710. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 26 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at The Auditorium.

ABOUT KOKANDY PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 2010, Kokandy Productions seeks to leverage the heightened reality of musical theatre to tell complex and challenging stories, with a focus on contributing to the development of Chicago-based musical theatre artists and raising the profile of Chicago's non-Equity musical theatre community.

The company's artistic staff is comprised of Derek Van Barham (Producing Artistic Director), Scot Kokandy (Executive Producer), Nicholas Reinhart (Associate Producer), and Adrian Abel Azevedo & Leda Hoffman (Artistic Associates). The Board of Directors includes Preston Cropp, Scot Kokandy, Danielle Sparklin and Katie Svaicer. 

JEKYLL & HYDE Previews Begin: September 8, 2026
JEKYLL & HYDE Opening Night: September 16, 2026
JEKYLL & HYDE Performance Run: September 8—October 25, 2026
JEKYLL & HYDE Extension Dates: October 27—November 8, 2026
 

www.kokandyproductions.com
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Chicago-based Emmy Award-winning performance collective and film/video production company Manual Cinema premiered two new hand-animated films at the Obama Presidential Center Museum earlier this year. Now, the company is bringing two of its acclaimed live-action productions back to Chicago's historic Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building, where audiences can witness Manual Cinema's handmade magic created before their eyes with performers, musicians, and hundreds of puppets.

Timed to coincide with the Halloween and Christmas holidays, Manual Cinema and the Studebaker Theater co-present Manual Cinema's Frankenstein, an adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic horror novel, for four performances only October 30–November 1, 2026; and Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, a unique take on the Charles Dickens classic, from December 18–27, 2026.

Tickets for Frankenstein and Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol at the Studebaker Theater (410 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) go on sale Friday, August 28. Tickets are $35-$75, with student tickets available for $25 with proof of ID. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit fineartsbuilding.com/studebaker.

"Manual Cinema is a truly exceptional team of multidisciplinary artists, as demonstrated by the fact that they were tapped to create two short films for the Obama Presidential Center Museum," says Jacob Harvey, Managing Artistic Director of the Fine Arts Building and Studebaker Theater. "We're thrilled to bring their productions of Frankenstein and Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol back to the Studebaker this year, where audiences can experience the magic of their live-action, handmade filmmaking in person."

"We're so excited to be returning to the Studebaker Theater with Frankenstein and Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol!" adds Drew Dir, Co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. "Our adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic gothic novel has been touring the Western Hemisphere for years, and we're thrilled to bring it back home for an encore Halloween engagement. Meanwhile, Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol has become a beloved holiday tradition for our fans—we're thrilled to give Chicago audiences another chance to see it!"

SHOW DETAILS

Frankenstein

Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building

410 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago

October 30–November 1, 2026

In Manual Cinema's thrilling version of the classic Gothic tale Frankenstein, the Chicago-based performance collective imaginatively combines shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and live sound effects and music in a haunting show unlike any other. The production stitches together the fictional story of Frankenstein with the biography of the original novel's author, Mary Shelley, to create an unexpected tale about the beauty and horror of creation.

Frankenstein is adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley, with a concept by Drew Dir. The production is devised by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller. Original music and sound design are by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter.

Performance times:

Friday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. (press opening)

Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m.

Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol

Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building

410 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago

December 18–27, 2026

Featuring hundreds of handmade puppets, immersive sound design and a stunning live scoreManual Cinema's Christmas Carol is a holiday show unlike any other. Avowed holiday skeptic Aunt Trudy has been reluctantly recruited to carry on her late husband Joe's tradition of spreading Christmas cheer, and recreates his annual Christmas Carol puppet show over Zoom while the family celebrates from afar. But as Trudy dives deeper into the story, the puppets take on a life of their own and the family call transforms into a breathtaking, one-of-a-kind cinematic reimagining of Dickens's classic ghost story.

Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens and devised by Manual Cinema, with additional writing by Nate Marshall. Storyboards and puppet design are by Drew Dir, with original score and sound design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter, and lighting design by Trey Brazeal.

Performance times:

Friday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. (press opening)

Saturday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 24 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 26 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 27 at 2 p.m.

About the Fine Arts Building and Studebaker Theater

The Fine Arts Building, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2023, is a home for art in all forms: from pioneers like Poetry magazine's founding publisher Harriet Monroe, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, illustrator W. W. Denslow, sculptor Lorado Taft and the Chicago Little Theatre, to the ongoing legacies of painters, musicians, booksellers, puppeteers, dancers, photographers and craftspeople who inhabit the building today, the Fine Arts Building is buzzing with more than a century of Chicago creativity and innovation.

A Chicago Landmark since 1978, the building features original Art Nouveau murals from the late 19th century and the Studebaker Theater, one of the city's oldest and most significant live theatrical venues. Following a major multi-million-dollar renovation of the Studebaker led by Berger Realty Group and completed in 2022, the theater has been home to NPR's popular news quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" and has hosted performances from new musicals including 44: The Obama MusicalRoald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile, and Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, along with productions Ava: The Secret Conversations starring Elizabeth McGovern and Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol. For more information, visit fineartsbuilding.com.

About Manual Cinema

Manual Cinema is an Emmy Award-winning performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company founded in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive stories for stage and screen. Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and live music, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality.

The company was awarded an Emmy in 2017 for "The Forger," a video created for The New York Times, and named Chicago Artists of the Year in 2018 by the Chicago Tribune. Their shadow puppet animations were featured in the 2021 film remake of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions. In collaboration with the Obama Foundation and Batwin + Robin Productions, Manual Cinema created two animated films for the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago, Ten Letters a Day and Power of Place.

Recent productions include Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster, based on books by Mo Willems, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and a revamped production of The Magic City, based on Edith Nesbit's 1910 novel. In 2023, Manual Cinema completed production on their first self-produced short film, Future Feeling, and toured with folk rock band Iron & Wine the following year. In Summer 2025, Manual Cinema premiered their latest feature production, The 4th Witch—a bold and imaginative inversion of Macbeth that is now touring.

Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln Avenue), an historic incubator for new play development, proudly announces the World Premiere staging of The Humanities, a contemporary new work by acclaimed playwright Zayd Ayers Dohrn, directed by veteran Chicago talent Eddie Torres. The Humanities is a provocative, ripped-from-the-headlines story that explores the events after a controversial speaker is invited to lecture at an elite American university. Performances of The Humanities begin Thursday, September 10, and continue through Sunday, October 4, 2026; the official Opening is Sunday, September 13, at 6 p.m.

The all-Chicago cast of The Humanities includes Ernest BentleySteve PickeringIsa ArciniegasNaomi Evans, Daniil KrimerDevaughn Asante LomanPiper MurphyDerrick Sanders III, and Sabine Wan with understudies Alexander ChanceAvery-Slade Fountain, and Clara Imon Pedtke, while the creative team includes Edward D. Richardson (Stage Management), Jayce Lewis (Assistant Stage Management), David Woolley (Fight Choreography), Julie Granata-Hunicutt (Intimacy Direction), Maren Rosenberg (Production Management), Brian Sydney Bembridge (Lighting/Scenic Design), Myron Elliott (Costume Design), and Johnny Johnathan (Sound/Production Design).

"I wrote The Humanities years ago, thinking about the forces that seemed to be tearing America apart and leaving the country vulnerable to an authoritarian takeover," said Ayers Dohrn. "If anything, the themes of the play – identity, race, protests on college campuses, and political violence – have only become more relevant, and this feels like the perfect moment to premiere a new play about the impulses that divide us and about our collective search for a more perfect union."

"For over 50 years, Victory Gardens Theater has nurtured and produced relevant, new work that reflects the diverse stories of the community and contributes to the vitality of American theater.  Hiring an all-Chicago cast to perform The Humanities further reinforces Victory Gardens' commitment to investing in the city's exceptional artistic talent and elevating Chicago voices," added Torres, also Victory Gardens Interim Artistic Director.

Zayd Ayers Dohrn is the author of the acclaimed national bestselling memoir Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young and creator of the hit podcast Mother Country Radicals. His plays include Revolution(s) (the Goodman), The Profane (Playwrights Horizons), Outside People (The Vineyard), and Reborning (The Public/SPF). Ayers Dohrn is the Daniel Hale Williams Professor and Director of the MFA in Writing for Screen + Stage at Northwestern University. The Humanities was developed by Ayers Dohrn during a residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference in 2019, under Preston Whiteway, Executive Director, and Wendy C. Goldberg, Artistic Director, and in partnership with the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, in the 2019 New Stages Festival, under Robert Falls, Artistic Director, and Roche Schulfer, Executive Director. 

Eddie Torres is an acclaimed director & performer. He has won five Jeff Awards, notably for Best Director for the premiere of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a Latin ACE Award, and an ATI Award. He is a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, the Artistic Director Emeritus of Teatro Vista Productions, and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Performance schedule & ticket pricing

The Humanities will be performed in a limited engagement Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, October 4, 2026, with its official Opening on Sunday, September 13, at 6 p.m. Performances take place on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. (with the exception of September 13). Please note, this work contains mature themes including sexual content, strong language, and partial nudity, and is not suitable for children under 17 without parental guidance. Tickets, which start at $55, are now on sale by visiting eventbrite.com. Use promo code PREVIEW to receive 25% off all Adult and Senior tickets for performances on September 10, 11, and 12. For information about group rates and discounted ticket packages, please contact the Victory Gardens Theater Box Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Victory Gardens Theater

Victory Gardens Theater serves as a sanctuary for fearless artistic exchange, producing new work that ignites the imagination and challenges the mind. Since its founding in 1974, the nonprofit theater company Victory Gardens Theater has produced more world and Chicago premieres, worked with more living playwrights, and exported more new plays for production elsewhere than any other theater in the region. Victory Gardens Theater strives to be a national leader in bringing stories to the stage that ignite social change and strengthen community, creating a more just and compassionate world. Victory Gardens Theater is currently under the direction of Interim Executive Director Archana Vaidya and Interim Artistic Director Eddie Torres. For more information, please visit victorygardens.org.

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25 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln Avenue), an historic incubator for new play development, proudly announces the World Premiere staging of The…

Lookingglass Kowalski starring Johnny Galecki and Jacob Moskovitz September 15 through October 25

25 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Joining the previously announced stars of Kowalski Johnny Galecki ("The Big Bang Theory," "The Little Dog Laughed") as Tennessee Williams and Jacob Moskovitz ("Elle") as Marlon…

Shattered Globe Theatre Opens 36th Season with Midwest Premiere of VLADIMIR October 2 – November 14 at Theater Wit

25 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Shattered Globe Theatre is pleased to open its 36th Season with the Midwest premiere of Erika Sheffer's Vladimir, an unflinching drama of resistance directed by Ensemble Member Lou Contey*,…

TICKETS FOR A 20 RETURNS WITH SPECIALLY PRICED $20 TICKETS FROM HOT TIX AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 14, 2026

24 August 2026 in Theatre Buzz

The League of Chicago Theatres announces the return of Tickets for a 20. From Thursday, August 27 through Monday, September 14, 2026, theatregoers can…

Babes With Blades's announces William Shakespeare's KING LEAR, October 15 - November 21

24 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s (BWBTC), now presenting the world premiere of yo ho. through August 29 at The Edge Off-Broadway, shares the…

BrightSide Theatre announces THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL, to play October 2 - 18

24 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

BrightSide Theatre has announced cast and crew for THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL - the kickoff production of BrightSide's 15th Anniversary season.…

35th Annual Dance for Life Saturated with Excellence

23 August 2026 in Dance in Review

From its beginning in 1992 on the tiny stage of a modest theater, Dance for Life (DFL) has grown and…

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces Two Shakespeare Productions in Repertory beginning October 13 - January 3

21 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces the cast and creative team for the company's fall Shakespeare Repertory productions, an unforgettable theatrical event at the heart…

Rising star Jacob Moskovitz to play Marlon Brando in the Chicago presentation of Kowalski at Lookingglass Theatre

20 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Rising star Jacob Moskovitz ("Elle") has joined the cast of Kowalski as Marlon Brando, alongside previously announced Chicago theater veteran Johnny Galecki ("The Big Bang Theory," "The Little…

McHenry Outdoor Theater: Nostalgia With a Modern Heartbeat

20 August 2026 in Theatre Buzz

There was a particular kind of magic to seeing a movie outside when I was a kid in 1970s Chicago…

‘Anatomy of a Suicide’ Is Hard to Watch, But Not Because of the Subject

18 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Perhaps surprisingly, Anatomy of a Suicide is not an overwhelmingly emotionally gripping play, nor is it horrifying. Instead, it vividly…

Gwydion Theatre Company presents The Chicago Premiere of Por’ Knockers at the Greenhouse Theater’s Studio 44 September 10 - October 4

18 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

This narrative tracks five individuals within the "People’s Diasporatic Party"—outfitted in corporate attire—as they take refuge in a desolate East…

 

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