Now in its thirteenth 12 months, Chicago Theatre Week has turn out to be a calendar spotlight for arts lovers due to its discounted entry to exhibits.
Tickets went on sale Tuesday for about 85 productions from practically 60 theaters, from downtown locations to storefronts. (To redeem tickets, enter CTW25 on-line the place the positioning asks for a promo code or name the field workplace.) This 12 months’s week of reductions runs Feb. 6–16, with most occasions priced between $15 and $30. The week goes past conventional performs, with tickets obtainable this 12 months for Hubbard Road Dance, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera and The Second Metropolis.
WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis scoured the checklist for a few of the finest offers.
Lifeline Theatre’s Child Prince and Pablo
Via Feb 16
A divided metropolis. An tried revolution that prompts a ban on artwork. A younger prince set to inherit the throne. Sound acquainted? That’s as a result of it’s The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. However on this up to date model, the banned arts are rap music and dance, and the pauper is changed by a drummer who performs underground rap battles.
Goodman Theatre’s Fats Ham
Jan. 11–Feb. 23
The Pulitzer Prize–successful play makes its Chicago debut on the Goodman. The story is a up to date tackle Shakespeare’s Hamlet, advised by means of the lens of Juicy, a younger, queer Black man. For those who’re not aware of Hamlet, chances are you’ll not even know you’re watching the reimagining of a narrative that’s centuries outdated — that’s as a result of author James Ijames’s script is so contemporary. This manufacturing presents a grasp class on updating and retelling a traditional story for contemporary audiences.
Shattered Globe Theatre Foyer Hero
Jan. 24–March 1
Each time I go away a Shattered Globe manufacturing, I’m left in deep thought in regards to the themes on stage. On this present by playwright Kenneth Lonergan, a safety guard, his demanding boss, a rookie cop and her accomplice all see their lives collide on one evening in a Manhattan residence constructing. Fueled by ethical dilemmas and intersecting demographics, this darkish comedy — which premiered Off Broadway in 2001 — asks massive questions and tackles robust themes.
Chicago Kids’s Theatre Handbook Cinema’s The Magic Metropolis
Jan. 25–Feb. 16
Handbook Cinema is most recognized for his or her annual creepy staging of Frankenstein throughout Halloween. This present, offered with Chicago Kids’s Theatre, is much less chilling, however it’s nonetheless staged with the corporate’s trademark model, mixing puppets, shadows, stay music and actors. The story encourages youngsters to construct bridges somewhat than partitions, and after the present, youngsters can play with all of the gear and puppets used on stage.
A Pink Orchid Theatre’s The Cave
Jan. 30–March 16
On the heels of the apocalyptic Michael Shannon-led drama Turret, A Pink Orchid Theatre returns with one other thriller. The Cave follows a Palestinian-American household within the days main as much as the Gulf Battle. As turmoil builds within the outdoors world, this household should additionally battle inner struggles of generational and cultural variations.
Lookingglass Theatre’s Circus Quixote
Jan. 30–March 30
Lookingglass is again from its hiatus, and its first present appears to be like like a blast. This flip on the Don Quixote story blends the unique with Lookingglass’ beloved storytelling model, which contains acrobatics and circus arts. For those who haven’t had the possibility to see a Lookingglass manufacturing, just like the staple Lookingglass Alice, this can be a nice alternative to be dazzled by the corporate’s distinctive model of bodily theater.
Steppenwolf Theatre Firm Idiot for Love
Jan. 30–March 16
Yet one more Sam Shepard play staged in Chicago this season, Idiot for Love belongs on any shortlist of performs to see — particularly when you can snag low cost tickets. This steamy drama is ready within the Mojave Desert, the place two lovers embroiled in battle meet in a motel room. Previous trauma, household drama and a plot twist all come to a head in a manufacturing that includes Steppenwolf ensemble members Caroline Neff (You Received Older, Linda Vista in Chicago and on Broadway) and Cliff Chamberlain (Superior Doughnuts in Chicago and on Broadway).
Court docket Theatre’s A Raisin within the Solar
Jan. 31–March 2
It is a Chicago traditional for a couple of causes. The story itself takes place on the South Facet, and its domestically born-and-raised author Lorraine Hansberry made historical past by turning into the primary Black lady to have one in all her performs premiere on Broadway. Throughout Chicago Theatre Week, you’ll be able to see the South Facet story on the South Facet at Court docket Theatre for a reduction price. That’s a win-win.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Brief Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night time’s Dream
Feb. 8–March 8
Not solely is that this ticket an enormous bang in your buck at a marquee Chicago theater, however it’s additionally an ideal introduction to Shakespeare for these non–English majors who didn’t spend semesters finding out the Bard. Midsummer Night time’s Dream is a comedy (I’d liken it to a teen lust rom-com), and this staging is bite-sized — simply over an hour lengthy with no intermission. An ideal intro for brand spanking new followers and a fast viewing of a traditional for the initiated.
Lyric Opera’s Sondra Radvanovsky in Live performance: The Puccini Heroines
Feb 8–16
If you wish to dip your toe into opera, this can be the proper alternative. Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky will carry out quite a lot of works from the inimitable Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who penned works like Madama Butterfly and La Bohéme.
Raven Theatre’s A Lie of the Thoughts
Feb. 13–March 22
This present by the Pulitzer Prize–successful playwright Sam Shepard will get reimagined by director Azar Kazemi. Two households related by marriage are confronted with the tragic aftermath of an act of violence. On this up to date model, Kazemi introduces an immigrant household, additional stretching Shepard’s critique of the American Dream and exposing the fragility of American idealism.
Hubbard Road Dance Chicago’s Winter Sequence
Feb. 13–16
After a sold-out fall sequence in Steppenwolf’s intimate theater, the famed modern dance firm returns to the Harris Theater downtown with a four-night run, that includes a world premiere by American choreographer James Gregg. The corporate will even carry out work by former Hubbard Road dancers-turned-globetrotting-choreographers Alice Klock and Florian Lochner (often known as FLOCK) and a remount of Black Milk by Ohad Naharin.
Mike Davis is WBEZ’s theater reporter. Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis, a digital producer on the humanities desk, and Cassie Walker Burke, WBEZ’s arts editor, contributed reporting.
