Displaying items by tag: live theatre

 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 (Windfall, Purpose–Chicago/Broadway, King James) and Namir Smallwood (Windfall, The Book of Grace, Bug–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/Underdog, Adirondack Chair Circle, The 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 6, Genius: 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 Balusters, Othello, Our 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 Sun, The 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: Mahalia, Colin 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 Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older, The Brother/Sister Plays, Head of Passes, King James (also Mark Taper Forum), Describe the Night, Purpose and Windfall. Broadway credits include: Purpose; Bengal 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 II, The Winter's Tale and As You Like It (Stratford Festival), Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Television credits include Billions, 24, The Unit, Jericho 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: Windfall, Mr. Wolf, You Will Get Sick, The Book of Grace, Seagull, Bug, True West, BLKS, Monster, Man In Love, The Hot L Baltimore, Last Night and the Night Before. Broadway: Pass Over, Bug. Off Broadway: Pipeline, Pass 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, Betrayal, Elementary, American 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.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Hell in a Handbag Productions celebrates its 25th year with a revival of Joan Crawford Goes to Hell, a sharp, mischievous look at the Hollywood icon through the company’s signature parody lens. It is truly perfect timing that Handbag's guiding force David Cerda has chosen to do this play in the hellish year of 2026. First staged in 1999 by Sweetback Productions, the show is currently staged at The Clutch with a fresh cast and a renewed appetite for chaos, blending biography, satire, and Crawford’s own self-mythologizing into a hypnotic, magnificent, and powerfully funny indictment of one of Hollywood’s greatest movie stars. It’s a wildly funny show, bristling with the kind of big, brazen laughs that Handbag delivers better than anyone. The premise is simple and delicious: Joan Crawford dies and lands in hell, where she’s forced to relive scenes from her life as filtered through daughter Christina’s memories, including the indelible Mommie Dearest moments, from the wire hanger tirade to the all-out battle royale between mother and daughter. 

One of the show’s sharpest structural choices is the way it pits Christina’s Mommie Dearest against Joan’s own memoir, My Way of Life. Each woman clings to her version of the truth, and the production amplifies that contradiction by having the characters volley excerpts from their respective accounts. Christina’s recollections paint a childhood marked by significant acts of child abuse and cruelty, while Joan counters with polished, self‑protective passages that insist on glamour, discipline, and maternal devotion. The back‑and‑forth becomes a theatrical tug‑of‑war over legacy itself. The truth is, legacy is all that was important to Joan Crawford because she cared more about public perception than her own children. 

Handbag’s reimagining of the most unforgettable Mommie Dearest moments hits home in both comedy and tragedy, reminding us why those scenes have stayed lodged in the cultural imagination for decades.

(left to right) Gretchen Greear and Anna Rose Steinmayer in Hell in a Handbag Productions’ revival of Joan Crawford Goes To Hell.

With Christina and Joan locked in a battle over whose version of the truth will prevail, Handbag pushes the idea even further: Joan isn’t embodied by just one performer. She’s split into three distinct incarnations, each capturing a different era and emotional temperature. David Cerda, as Joan #1, the older, not-so-remorseful, excuse-making Joan who has just passed away, delights everyone in the role with a wry, sardonic comic edge (and yes, Handbag finds a way to even make a deathbed funny). Gretchen Greear steps in as Joan #2, the impeccably polished Hollywood star, while Nicholas Ian unleashes Joan #3, the volatile, larger-than-life tempest with a hair-trigger temper. Together, the trio creates a lively rotation that keeps the show moving and underscores the contradictions that fueled Crawford’s public image. I really enjoyed watching the three Joans bounce off one another – the interplay keeps the show unpredictable in the best way.

By splitting Joan Crawford into three personalities, the production sharpens our view of the forces pressing in on her - Hollywood’s unforgiving demands, the intimidation she faced under MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer, and the specter of financial ruin - all seen through Christina’s spooky, subjective retelling of her mother’s life. 

And Cerda, now back as his premiere character Joan Crawford, also recorded an album called The Joans back in 2001, and the music is used in this play. Having also been in a band at the time we met, I remember feeling an immediate connection with David - a kind of gay fairy godmother - from the first time I heard him elicit enormous laughs from his loving audiences through Joan’s curling blood‑red lips. 

(left to right) Haley Gillman,Nicholas Ian and Ryan Kenny.

Joan’s remorse is fleeting at best. The production makes it clear that even when she’s forced to relive the worst moments of her life, including the cruelty toward Christina, the chaos she inflicted on friends, and the emotional wreckage she left behind, she rarely accepts responsibility. Instead, she pivots, excuses, reframes, or outright denies, often doubling down on the very behaviors that landed her in trouble in the first place. When Joan Crawford is asked if she had any regrets about her dramatic life decisions, she answers with a martini dry, rock solid “absolutely not” that millions of women from her generation to the present will all echo with a fury. Handbag plays this not as tragedy but as sharp comedy: Joan’s instinct for self-preservation is so strong that the devil himself can’t pry a sincere apology out of her. The result is funny, pointed, and perfectly in line with the company’s parody style.

At the same time, the play doesn’t ignore the darker realities of Crawford’s life. Even though Joan Crawford was accused of severe child abuse by two of her adopted children, the play also acknowledges that a woman alone in the world at that time - especially one operating at her level of Hollywood fame and power - would have faced enormous pressure, mind‑bending double standards, and relentless scrutiny, including outright sexist abuse both behind the scenes and sometimes in public. 

I’ve always appreciated Handbag’s knack for casting performers who can land both the joke and the heart of a moment, and this group embodies that beautifully. A steady, clear‑eyed anchor comes through in TJ O’Brien’s performance as Adult Christina, while Haley Gillman supplies a youthful spark as her younger counterpart. As Carol Ann, Ryan Kenny delivers some of the evening’s most reliable laughs, playing a maid whose patience seems almost supernatural. Lori Lee steps into a few sharply etched roles, including Helga, a housemaid and recipient of Crawford’s iconic “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the dirt” line, and Al Steele, the Pepsi executive who became Crawford’s fourth husband.

Good-natured and genial, Michael Rashid’s Greg brings an easy charm to the MGM lawyer who helped facilitate Christina’s adoption, though even he eventually reaches his limit with the Crawford tumult. A devilish glint runs through Nick Dorado’s turn as Mr. Deville, guiding Joan through her infernal afterlife, while Anna Rose Steinmayer and Tyler Calhoun add texture throughout the ensemble.

The magnificent projections, beautifully designed by DJ Douglass, deliciously underscore how much of Crawford’s power came from the control of her face - the slick black rolls of shiny hair, the hours of evenly applied makeup, the sweet yet searing expressions, those magnificent, even terrifying eyes. She quite literally had to possess the “looks that kill” to survive the jungle of Hollywood. The projections draw from multiple sources, each revealing a different facet of her beauty and its eventual fading, including one haunting image of her gaunt body dancing in an old nightgown near the end of her life. Handbag uses these projections to sprinkle in memorable cameo appearances: Jennifer Engstrom of A Red Orchid Theatre and Coco Sho Nell materialize as yet more versions of Joan, adding to the show’s gleeful multiplicity. 

(left to right) Gretchen Greear and ensemble members Lori Lee and TJ O’Brien. Photos by Rick Aguilar Studios.

Playwright and Artistic Director David Cerda once again proves why Handbag’s voice is so distinct, shaping the material with his trademark blend of camp, bite, and affectionate parody. In perfect sync with that tone, director Cheryl Snodgrass keeps the energy sharp and well-paced, guiding the ensemble through the show’s chaos with a steady hand and a clear understanding of how Handbag humor lands best.

I noticed early on that what makes David’s writing - and the plays he produces - so special is the deeply compassionate view of life he brings from the woman’s side of things. Cerda doesn’t just tease the audience with camp, easy and tawdry jokes, he educates, encourages and supports his audience with easy and tawdry jokes. 

Even Hell needs a good design team, and this one delivers the right mix of style, practicality, and playful flair. Marcus Klein’s scenic design uses a simple, brilliant, sparkling catwalk feel that suits the production well, giving the cast plenty of room to play without clutter. Costumes by Ben Argenta Kress are perfectly designed to reflect the period with style and humor, Syd Genco’s makeup design adds dramatic, expressive detail, and Keith Ryan’s wig work rounds out the look with steady, character-focused polish.

If you’re already a fan of David Cerda as Joan Crawford and of Hell in a Handbag Productions, you should still do yourself a favor and watch Mommie Dearest before seeing the show. You’ll laugh hysterically, and during the play you’ll fully appreciate the immaculate detail the production and cast bring to the black‑and‑white film projections, the hair and wigs, the makeup, costumes, and jewelry - all crafted to showcase the utmost in humor, radiance, and accuracy.  

For two decades, Buzz Center Stage has lovingly followed Handbag’s work, and in their 25th anniversary celebratory season, Joan Crawford Goes to Hell does what the company does best: delivers affectionate and hilarious parody with a genius wink of glamour. It’s a light, funny summer offering with a faithfully committed ensemble and a clear love for the material.

Joan Crawford Goes to Hell runs August 21st through September 27th at The Clutch, 4335 N. Western Ave. Tickets available at handbagproductions.org.

Highly recommended.

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 Salesman, Long 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. 

Composition, tension, balance, light, and harmony come together seamlessly in Kokandy Productions’ revival of Sondheim’s opus, ‘Sunday in the Park with George’. Director Derek Van Barham transforms the basement of the Chopin Theatre into a three dimensional reproduction of Georges Seurat’s ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’ for this beloved musical’s return to Chicago.

Sondheim was never known to write ordinary musicals. His smash hit ‘Company’ is considered the first “concept” musical. Wherein, the story has no real plot, instead themes are explored through song. ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ with whom he worked with James Lapin is similar in that it’s hard to describe exactly what it’s about, per se. In succinct terms, it’s a fictionalized account of how Georges Seurat painted his pointillism masterpiece while trying to balance interpersonal relationships. Specifically, his flailing relationship with the painting’s focal point, Dot. It’s as if Sondheim was exploring his own obsessiveness and how it hindered him in many ways.

‘Sunday in the Park with George’, which won the 1985 Pulitzer for drama, has a special connection to Chicago as the famed painting hangs in the Art Institute. The last time a local storefront theatre revived it was 2010. However, longtime Chicago theatre lovers are unlikely to forget Gary Griffin’s production at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2004, later remounted in 2012. Though it’s a favored musical by many, it’s not one often produced because you really need all the right ingredients to do this one justice.

Kokandy has gathered those ingredients for this imaginatively staged new version. Derek Van Barham, who also serves as artistic director has been noodling on this show for the near decade he’s been working with Kokandy and the result is simply gorgeous.

A large and talented ensemble is led by Kevin Webb as Georges and Missy Wise Vanderzee as Dot. The two are not only incredible vocalists but each are wonderful in bringing their characters off the canvas and into real life. Webb’s take on Georges is vulnerable, less stoic, less cold,  less fixed. Vanderzee is also much warmer and less shrill than the original cast recordings. Going from 1800s Dot to 1980s elderly Marie can prove to be tricky for some actors but Vanderzee does a great job of bridging the gap with humor and pathos.

Perhaps no other adjective is more apt to describe this production than bittersweet. Nearly devoid of melodrama and yet cuts right to the emotional bone. Under Nick Sula’s music direction Sondheim’s orchestrations are performed with such attention to detail that audiences hang around well past the curtain call. Some of the best choral arrangements ever composed for the stage finds their stride as the company and music moves fluidly through G “Max” Maxin IV’s brilliant staging.

Van Barham has made something special here. Moving the staging from the traditional proscenium to an in-the-round black box provides so much more room to play around with the spectacle of live theatre. Rather than aiming for utmost fidelity to the ‘Sundays’ that have come before it, Kokandy opts to create their own signature production that will be remembered as one of Chicago’s best.

Through November 1 at Kokandy Productions at Chopin Theatre. 1543 W Division St. 773-278-1500

https://www.kokandyproductions.com/

From its beginning in 1992 on the tiny stage of a modest theater, Dance for Life (DFL) has grown and grown over the decades into something glorious.  Its purpose over the last 35 years, as conceived by DFL’s creator, Keith Elliott, then with the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, has never altered or faltered.  Mobilize a community devastated by a deadly scourge.  Raise money to help the stricken. Build solidarity within Chicago’s professional dance culture.  Initially and always a festival of dance chiefly focused on that second point, a few things have changed with time.  Although AIDS has virtually been vanquished, at least in the first world, health and other needs within the dance community have not diminished.  In 2025, DFL affiliated Chicago Dance Health Fund awarded $75,000 to dancers and other dance professionals facing critical need. 

The annual celebration of dance very much remains a way for dancers to help other dancers by practicing their art.  These days its being done on a much grander scale and showcasing a far wider range of what world class dance looks like and even feels like in the present day.

There were hints the 35^th annual Dance for Life performance at the Auditorium Saturday night would be particularly memorable and they all centered on dress.  Although venue is always a factor, dance audiences are not especially circumspect when it comes to presentation.  Much of the attire on display in the concert hall’s spacious lobby that evening was not only stylish, dashing and glamorous, some pieces touched on the spectacular.  Collectively, the energy they generated heightened the sense of expectation that already hung heavy in the air.  The display proved just the right harbinger to forecast a sensational night of dance.

Bulging at the seams with the exceptional, the latest iteration of DFL showcased ten dance companies along with two additional finale works - and even a third, a raffle performance. In addition to the traditional large-scale finale that always closes the show, the program would also include a sizzling bonus dance performance that was also featured in the inaugural DFL concert. 

This year’s show opened with elegance.  Danced to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s Beyond Mortal used sweep and grace to beautifully capture the secular spirituality of Mozart’s score.  Choreographed by the company’s Artistic Director Nicole Clarke-Springer, it reveals how one Black-led dance company lives up to its mission to “diversify the aesthetics of contemporary dance”.  Fireworks scripted in the language of the ethereal, Beyond Mortal ushered in the night with a nod to serenity and poise.

Giordano Dance Chicago. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

Giordano Dance Chicago decided to leave a different stamp on the gala by amping up a version of its signature heat.  There would be several excerpts featured throughout the evening and Giordano chose the best of its 2011 Sabroso to spellbind the thousands seated in the ornate theater.  Not only were the dancers speed and precision blinding, their joy blasted from the stage.  Triggering genuine awe and lighting up the room with cheers.

The temperature would ebb and flow throughout the night and after such a prodigious display of white-hot energy, a cool down came in the form of romantically sublime ballet.  This year a pair of fresh Joffrey faces, Hyuma Kiyosawa and Yumi Kanazawa, superlatively danced Postcards, founder Robert Joffrey’s ode to love, innocence and Paris of the 1920s.  With Jorge Ivars’ ravishing accompaniment on piano, the dance ushered in an extended moment of enchantment.

A slight pause and rocket engines soon screeched again with Loud, created by KC Bevis and performed by the Ensemble of Chicago Dance Crash.  Street dance and concert dance converged to make scorching hot magic in this mesmerizing performance. Here dance takes on a decidedly charismatic persona. One defined by strength, vigor, dexterity and boundless native imagination.   Jazzed up with the burning beats of DJ B-Gram P, the heady mix of club and dance culture lit the theater on fire.  One of many highlights that evening, Loud proved once again boundaries in dance simply don’t exist.  

Both Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater and later Trinity Irish Dance Company stole the show with drama and the ability to turn the sound of synchronized feet striking a stage floor into transfixing music.  In this case eliciting two completely different emotional responses that were both riveting.

Trinity Irish Dance Company. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Ballet 5:8 luxuriated in the freedom and unique beauty of contemporary ballet.  On their heels was another band of boundary pushers.  Chicago Dance Artists Piece performed Harrison McEldowney and Jeremy Plummer’s Red, White & Black; employing aerial concepts devised by Plummer.  Aerial acrobatics, dance and music by F.U.N. came together to blend brawn-flecked whimsy with a healthy dash of wholesome excitement.

After intermission, and dressed up in colorfully glam togs, Visceral Dance Chicago tapped into mischief. Dancing R E V E L, set to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, they vamped, seduced and cavorted to the timeless music of an international classic. Devilishly choreographed by Nick Pupillo, it was not only brilliant and unexpected, it was massive delight to watch.

Visceral Dance Chicago. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

Two other works were even more impactful.  One was a dance featured in the very first Dance for Life performance called The Man That Got Away.  Sultry, sexy and a solid story told in dance, it featured only two dancers.  One acted simply as a prop.  The other, Johnathon Dole, was the soloist who danced the part of a shattered heart. One that begged and pleaded not to be ignored and cast aside.  Dole’s was the kind of dancing that kept rising and rising until it struck magnificent.  Buoyed by the right dancer, the right music and the power of bold expressive choreography, The Man That Got Away induced amazement and roars of approval.

The other masterwork was more restrained but no less beautiful or potent.  Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists danced a portion of Cloudline, a dream-state piece that used a 30-foot-silk cloth to help accentuate the dance’s atmosphere.  Two lovers find one another and embody the mystery and overwhelming satisfaction true love manifests through dance. As portrayed in movement by Morgan Clune and Amari Frazier, a more convincing display of that ideal is impossible to imagine.  A benchmark piece, its sudden and surprising ending provoked a collective gasp and then robust ovations.

This year’s concert honors choreographer, mentor and teacher Randy Duncan.  Mr. Duncan has created most DFL closing works since its inception, including Renewed; this year’s finale. Made up of dancers from the night’s performing companies, freelancers and students, they comprise a large contingent.  And in the muteness of Richard Dayhoff’s quiet gray costumes, there was a somber cast that shadowed their numbers. 

As the dance developed and took shape to music and lyrics by Ira Antelis, you could see the themes of resilience and positive conviction shining through.  A rejoicing in emerging from darkness to thrive once again.  The essence of Dance for Life. 

Dance for Life

August 22, 2026

The Auditorium Theatre

50 Ida B. Wells Drive

Chicago, IL  60605

For more information:  https://www.cdhf.org/danceforlife

City Lit Theatre’s world premiere of Shane, adapted for the stage and directed by Mark Pracht, brings a fresh, nostalgic perspective to Jack Schaefer’s classic novel - a story immortalized by Alan Ladd in the memorable 1953 film. Pracht, who has been developing this piece since the 2000s, crafts the adaptation as a heartfelt tribute to his own father and grandfather. The result is a sincere exploration of positive masculinity, celebrating men who stand by their virtues and protect others, even at great personal cost.

Set in the Wyoming Territory in the 1880s, the story kicks into gear when Shane, a quiet, mysterious stranger carrying the weight of a dangerous past, rides onto the homestead of Joe Starrett. Seeing something noble in the newcomer, Joe offers him a job as a farm hand, inviting him into his home and introducing him to his wife Marian and young son Bob. But the family’s peaceful routine is threatened by an escalating battle over land. Fletcher, a ruthless local cattle baron, wants to drive out the homesteaders at all costs, even hiring a killer to instigate a final conflict.

The narrative shines primarily through the eyes of young Bob, played warmly by Bruce Holtman. Spying on Shane at every opportunity, Bob serves as our window into understanding this complex, high-stakes frontier world. Narrating much of the action, Holtman skillfully transitions from an energetic, shy, and wide-eyed child into a mature observer. He injects a sense of humor into the production, as his younger self observes the adult world without always understanding the subtext. Through Bob’s perspective, the story taps into the beloved western's classic father-son overtones. He sees the mysterious stranger as the tough, capable man he wants to become, while Shane’s genuine kindness toward the boy shows that despite a dark past, he is capable of taking him under his wing.

Whitney Minarik (Marian Starrett), Josh Odor (Joe Starrett) in Shane at City Lit Theatre.

Michael B. Woods gives a strong performance as Shane, maintaining a jaded, guarded viewpoint that slowly softens. He gives the titular character a needed complexity as he wrestles with his past and rediscovers himself.  Woods also executes the stage combat with convincing physical precision.

The ensemble also gives strong performances. Josh Odor plays Joe Starrett, with a steady, kind masculinity. He is stoic, hard-working, and fiercely devoted to his family, yet far from weak; in Shane, he finds a true blood brother who is willing to stand beside him in the fight against Fletcher's greed. Whitney Minarik plays the wife, Marian, with equal skill, portraying a stern woman who may be a little bit of a fish out of water in the frontier, but who manages regardless. Minarik handles the character's complex emotional landscape well, navigating a subtle romantic pull toward Shane.

Adapting a western presents production challenges, and yet, the play manages a compelling story. In a contemporary landscape where masculine energy is often framed negatively, this tale highlights what it means to be a man of integrity: placing the needs of others first and standing up for what is right despite fear. As Shane famously notes, "A gun is a tool. No better and no worse than any other tool.” In that same spirit, Shane learns to see himself as more than the past he ran from. By choosing to protect a family and a home he cares about, his ultimate victory on stage allows us, much like Bob, to recognize our own capacity for growth and virtue. City Lit’s Shane is earnest, capable entry for anyone looking to step into the Wild West for an evening.

Through October 4^th. https://www.citylit.org/shows/46-s

The rise of artificial intelligence raises many questions about its effect on humanity. What does it mean if we become increasingly reliant on AI to think for us, create for us, and entertain us? What happens if this tool encroaches into our lives in ways it never should? Matthew Libby’s Sisters at Writers Theatre tackles the impact of AI in a fascinating way—what if it’s part of your family? Directed by Jessica Thebus, the play examines the profound, complicated implications of growing up with a synthetic sibling. Brenda Barrie plays Matilda, whose sister is an AI system named Greta, performed off-stage by Chloe Johnston. The story follows their complex relationship, which spans decades.

The weight of the production falls heavily on Barrie, who delivers a remarkable performance. She carries the hard task of playing Matilda across a ninety-year lifespan—from a six-year-old child to a woman in her nineties—without any reliance on makeup or costume changes. Instead, she portrays each stage of life through subtle shifts in posture, physicality, and the changing timbre of her voice. Because she is the only person on stage for the entire evening, the play functions virtually as a one-woman character study, compelling the audience to lean into the smallest movements of her face to track the complex emotions her character conceals. Opposite her, Chloe Johnston plays Greta, masterfully capturing the polite, Siri-esque cadences of an operating system while subtly infusing threads of humanity as the AI evolves.

At its core, the piece wrestles with a wounded family dynamic. Matilda is a deeply lonely character, bearing a chip on her shoulder after feeling neglected by her father following her mother's death. She struggles to comprehend how her father could share his deepest self with a system of circuit boards while remaining emotionally distant from his only daughter. This insecurity fuels Matilda’s initial hesitancy to accept her "sister" and drives a quiet jealousy, as through the years, others seem to value a computer over a living human. When Greta eventually asks for a physical body, Matilda must confront this jealousy directly, knowing that Greta’s lack of a physical form was the one thing that gave Matilda the upper hand.

Where Sisters stumbles slightly is in its thematic focus. The play begins to feel muddled as it attempts to juggle a wide array of high-concept questions: What rights does AI have? Is AI a friend or a foe? Is Matilda being manipulated by a machine? Is it healthy to befriend a computer?

Other works tackling the intersection of AI and humanity have succeeded by maintaining focus. Films like Spike Jonze’s Her (starring Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely man falling for an operating system) or Alex Garland’s Ex Machina maintain clarity by grounding their sci-fi premises in very specific themes that examine intimacy with AI or the ethics of creating a seemingly sentient computer. In contrast, Sisters struggles to decide whether it is a play about sisterhood, grief, memory, the inevitable intrusion of technology, or if it’s a character study using AI as a mirror for human fault. Sisters has interesting moments, but it's hard to feel their gravity when so many ideas are talking at once.

Part of the disconnect in this piece also seemed to be Matilda’s guardedness. She goes through phases of being open and closed with her “sister,” and since this is the only window into her as a character, the audience can’t get close because she’s not letting Greta get close. The hook of the play doesn't come until much later when the underlying truth of Matilda's feelings finally erupts. It’s when the sisters are finally seeing each other for who they are that the piece finds itself and provides intrigue.

Perhaps some technical difficulties also caused a disconnect. The set is simple; a living room with a single chair and a side table. But projections and sound cues build a larger world. Visual cues tell us Matilda’s age as we jump through time, and at some moments, we see videos of Matilda in her younger days through Greta’s eyes. The production also evokes Greta’s progression in a highly effective way. We experience a sort of cosmic spark of life as Greta first comes online, and later, when Greta expands into an infinite system, the stage turns into a breathtaking sky full of stars.

Unfortunately, the evening had several technical difficulties. The projectors seemed to reboot several times during the performance, and the play was halted for approximately ten minutes for a bug to be fixed. Nevertheless, Barrie handled the delay like a total professional, resuming the performance without a moment’s hesitation once the system recovered.

Ultimately, Sisters is an intriguing piece of theater. While the script could benefit from a more refined focus, it remains a thoroughly compelling watch, anchored by an extraordinary lead performance from Brenda Barrie that easily carries the evening.

Sisters plays at Writers Theatre until November 8.