Northlight Theatre Presents The Heart Sellers January 23 – February 23, 2025

 Northlight Theatre continues 2024-2025 season with

The Heart Sellers 

By Lloyd Suh

Directed by Helen Young

January 23 – February 23, 2025

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, continues its 2024–2025 season with The Heart Sellers, Lloyd Suh’s funny and moving play about the Asian immigrant experience in the 1970s, directed by Helen Young. The Heart Sellers runs January 23 – February 23, 2025, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. I'll be out for the press opening January 30th so check back soon for my full review. 

It’s Thanksgiving 1973, and life in the USA is lonely for recent Asian immigrants Jane and Luna, with their workaholic husbands leaving them to fend for themselves. Over sips of wine and a questionable frozen turkey, they reminisce about home and dream of spreading their wings together in the land of opportunity: disco dancing, learning to drive, and even a visit to Disneyland. Inspired by the landmark “Hart-Celler Act” which opened a new path to citizenship for people around the world, this funny and moving play gives a big-hearted voice to the Asian immigrant experience.

Artistic Director BJ Jones comments, “Lloyd Suh’s play offers the tale of two women from different countries and cultures, learning about each other, their new home, and the odd custom of cooking a turkey to celebrate America’s uncomfortable beginnings. The metaphor is not lost on us, and we root for these women and their own journeys. It’s a deceptively funny and yet profound tale. These brave pioneers struggle to learn about each other and their new life. It’s a glimpse of our own ancestors' journeys, and conversely, reflects the very moment that occupies the national conversation today. It offers the opportunity for us to have compassion for those who seek a better life and, one would argue, contribute to the strength and quality of ours.”

The cast is: Aja Alcazar (Luna) and Seoyoung Park (Jane).

The creative team includes: John Culbert (Set Design), Jessica Kuehnau Wardell (Costume Design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (Co-Lighting Design), Josiah Croegaert (Co-Lighting Designer), Forrest Gregor (Sound Design) and Nicolas Bartleson (Properties Designer). Jooyoung Cho is the dramaturg and Katie Klemme is the production stage manager). 

Tickets for the remainder of the 2024-2025 season, including The Heart Sellers, Prayer for the French Republic, and Twisted Melodies, are now on sale through the box office, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie; 847.673.6300; northlight.org.

About the Artists

Lloyd Suh (Playwright), a second-generation Korean-American playwright, explores Asian American identity, culture, and history in his works, including The Chinese Lady, Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, American Hwangap, and more. His plays have been staged at notable U.S. theaters such as the Atlantic Theater Company, The Public Theater, and Berkeley Rep, as well as internationally in the Philippines and South Korea. Suh has received prestigious accolades, including the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Herb Alpert Award, the Horton Foote Prize, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. From 2005 to 2010, he was the artistic director of Second Generation Theatre Company and co-director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab. He also served as director of artistic programs at The Lark from 2011 to 2020. A resident playwright at New Dramatists, Suh is a member of the Actors Studio and Ensemble Studio Theatre. He holds a B.A. in English from Indiana University and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School. In 2024, he joined Princeton University’s faculty at the Lewis Center for the Arts.

Helen Young (Director) Northlight Theatre debut. Selected credits: What the Constitution Means to Me, Black Sunday, The Chinese Lady, Building a Bridge Toward Asian Visibility (online event with Stephanie Hsu) - Timeline Theatre; The Great Leap - Farmers Alley Theatre; American Hwangap - ASquared; Tiny Dynamite - Halcyon/ASquared; Tea - Prologue Theatre; Wild Boar, New China Festival - Silk Road. Other directing credits include work with: Rivendell, LifeLine, Goodman, Strawdog, Steppenwolf, Depaul, Remy Bumppo, Chicago Dramatists, Artemisia, Artistic Home, Token, Miranda Theatre's Liz Smith Reading Series at the Cherry Lane. Young is a company member at Timeline Theatre Company. Young is also a SAG/AFTRA actor represented by Grossman Jack Talent. Film/TV credits: Chicago Med, PD, Justice; Stranger Than Fiction, The Prize (Producer).

Aja Alcazar (Luna) (she/her) has appeared in Chicago in The Penelopiad (Goodman); Ring of Fire (Drury Lane); Cambodian Rock Band (Victory Gardens); Merrily We Roll Along (Porchlight); Aristophanesathon, Cinderella (Hypocrites), Hookman (Steep); Little Fish (Kokandy); The Wedding Singer (Haven); Spring Awakening (Griffin Theatre). Regional credits: I Oughta Be in Pictures, The Angel Next Door, Million Dollar Quartet (Peninsula Players); Cambodian Rock Band (City Theatre, Merrimack Repertory); Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore (Olney Theatre Center); A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory); Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (South Coast Repertory). Aja is represented by Stewart Talent Chicago and Brave Artists LA. 

Seoyoung Park (Jane) was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Seoyoung now proudly calls Chicago her second home. She is passionate about contributing to the diversity of Chicago's vibrant theatre scene. Recent credits include The Long Christmas Dinner, Attempts on Her Life (TUTA Theatre), Indecent (ARKO/Korea Premiere), tvN's Criminal Minds, and more. Education: MFA in Acting, TTS at DePaul University; BA and MA in Acting, Chung-Ang University. Represented by DDO Artists Agency. www.seoyoungpark.com @psych0_0p

Dates:

Previews begin January 23, 2025

Press Opening: Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 7:30pm

Regular run: January 31 – February 23, 2025

Schedule:   

Tuesdays: 7:30pm 

Wednesdays: 1:00pm and 7:30pm

Thursdays: 7:30pm 

Fridays: 7:30pm

Saturdays: 2:30pm and 7:30pm

Sundays: 2:30pm and 7:30pm

Backstage with BJ – Northlight’s popular discussion series with Artistic Director BJ Jones – will be held January 17 at 12pm.

An Open Captioned performance will be held on Friday, February 14 at 7:30pm. An Open Captioned and Audio Described/Touch Tour performance will be held on Saturday, February 15 at 2:30pm.

Location: Northlight Theatre is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie

Tickets:

Previews: $35-$74

Regular run: $49-$91

Student tickets are $15, any performance (subject to availability)

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie.

847.673.6300; northlight.org

Director Helen Young has worked in Chicago at Rivendell, LifeLine, Goodman, Strawdog, Steppenwolf, DePaul, Remy Bumppo, Chicago Dramatists, Artemisia, Artistic Home and Token, among others. This is her Northlight Theatre debut.

Aja Alcazar (Luna) (she/her) has worked extensively on Chicago stages, including The Penelopiad (Goodman); Ring of Fire (Drury Lane); Cambodian Rock Band (Victory Gardens); and Merrily We Roll Along (Porchlight).

Prior to relocating to Chicago, Seoyoung Park built a diverse career in the Korean entertainment industry, featuring in various TV shows and films, including Criminal Minds and Don’t Dare to Dream. Her theatre credits include the devised play Linmiathes (Hypsipyle) at Hydra Theatre in Greece and Indecent (Halina) at Daehakro Arts Theatre in Seoul.

2024-2025 Season

The 2024-2025 season continues with Joshua Harmon’s celebrated play Prayer for the French Republic, directed by Jeremy Wechsler in a co-production with Theater Wit, April 10 – May 11, 2025. The season closes with the mesmerizing one-man show about Donny Hathaway, Twisted Melodies, written and performed by Kelvin Roston Jr, July 10-August 10, 2025.

Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.

Founded in 1974, the organization has mounted over 240 productions, including more than 45 world premieres. Northlight has earned 230 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 36 Awards, as well as 11 Edgerton Foundation for New Play Awards. As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.

Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions BMO Harris Bank; Bulley & Andrews; Byline Bank; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, Inc.; The Field Foundation of Illinois; Full Circle Foundation; Grumman Butkus Associates; Hagerty Consulting; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; John R Halligan Charitable Fund; LionBird; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Mabadi Realty; Mammel Family Foundation; Modestus Bauer Foundation; Northwestern University; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Pritzker Foundation; The Schubert Foundation, Inc.; The Sullivan Family Foundation; The Weatherlow Foundation; Tom Stringer Design Partners.

TICKETS ON SALE: Tomorrow 1/7/25 at 10am for Chicago Theatre Week 2025

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Hot Savings On Cool Shows!

Tickets go on sale starting tomorrow at 10am for 

Chicago Theatre Week 2025

a program of the League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago

Here at ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama we're passionate about Chicago's Theatre scene and cover upwards of 200 shows annually. Want to see shows like a critic without breaking the bank? During theatre week you can! We've been covering this amazing annual event since it's inception and highly recommend setting a reminder for 10am tomorrow and enjoying the savings. Don't miss this. 

Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday. January 7, 2025, for Chicago Theatre Week (#CTW25), an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago during which visitors and residents can access value-priced tickets. Chicago Theatre Week is February 6-16, 2025. For the third consecutive year, HotTix.org will host Chicago Theatre Week Continued from February 17-23, 2025, which will extend Theatre Week discounts to participating productions for an additional week.

The value-priced CTW tickets will be $30, $15, or less. Tickets will go on sale at 10:00am CST on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at ChicagoTheatreWeek.com. 

Last year’s Chicago Theatre Week saw massive ticket sales with more than 18,000 tickets sold to 81 participating productions for more than 446 performances. 64 theaters participated in CTW 2024, with 29 neighborhoods and suburbs represented. The program continues to bring in new audiences to area theatres with approximately 58% of patrons visiting their chosen theatre for the first time. Chicago Theatre Week also raises the visibility of the theater industry, as evidenced by the 144,689 unique visitors to www.chicagoplays.com from the ticket onsale through the end of Theatre Week.

A sample of the many productions expected to participate are:

Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert – Lyric Opera

Singin’ In the Rain in Concert – Lyric Opera

A Raisin in the Sun – Court Theatre

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical – Drury Lane

Avaaz – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

The Heart Sellers – Northlight Theatre

Fool for Love – Steppenwolf Theatre Company

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Betrayal – Goodman Theatre

Winter Series – Hubbard Street at Harris Theater for Music and Dance

Fat Ham – Goodman Theatre and Definition Theatre

Waitress – Paramount Theatre

Salonen Conducts Bluebeard's Castle – Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Kitty James and Destiny's Trail to Oregon – The Factory Theatre

A Lie of the Mind – Raven Theatre

MFA Collaboration: Wink – Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts

Native Gardens – Buffalo Theatre Ensemble

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire

Teatro Zin Zanni

Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Auditorium Theatre

Whirled News Tonight – iO Theater

The Infinite Wrench – The Neo-Futurists

Mr. Parker – Open Space Arts

Lobby Hero – Shattered Globe Theatre

The Devil’s is in the Detours – The Second City

Fun Home – Porchlight Music Theatre

The Cave – A Red Orchid Theatre

The Mannequins' Ball – Trap Door Theatre

League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Marissa Lynn Jones comments, “Chicago Theatre Week is a time for exploration and discovery. It is a pleasure to bring new audiences to our treasured stages that bring talent from across the globe. Chicago is the home of the best theatre artists in the world with stories for all ages and experiences.’ 

 “Chicago offers one of the most dynamic performing arts scenes in the world," said Choose Chicago Interim President and CEO Rich Gamble. "I am proud to support Theatre Week in partnership with the League of Chicago Theatres. Initiatives like this are critical to attracting new audiences to our venues and ensuring residents and visitors alike have the opportunity to experience the excitement and vibrancy of live theater in Chicago for generations to come."

Chicago Theatre Week is presented by the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. Subscribe to the Theatre Week email newsletter for updates and announcements.

The official hashtag for Chicago Theatre Week 2025 is #CTW25.

Check back with ChiILMama.com (family friendy/family themed) and ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. We have great ticket giveaways, arts and entertainment news, original reviews, original photo features, and more. 

About Chicago theatre 

Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theatres to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 7 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. Each year Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. For more information, visit www.chicagoplays.com. #ChiTheatre

The League of Chicago Theatres’ Mission Statement

Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens. The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres, which leverages its collective strength to support, promote and advocate for Chicago’s theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.

About Choose Chicago

Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city and its member business community.

Follow @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and tag #ChicaGOandKNOW. For more information, visit choosechicago.com. Support the theatre community this fall during Theater Season and explore more than 100 shows happening now through the end of the year at TheaterSeason.com.

Midwest Regional Premiere of Waitress To Play Paramount Theatre February 12-March 30, 2025

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

A slice of heaven: Paramount Theatre’s Midwest Regional Premiere of 

Broadway’s hit musical Waitress 

runs February 12-March 30, 2025

 

Paramount Theatre’s Midwest Regional premiere of Waitress, directed by (top, from left) Katie Spelman, features Michelle Lauto in her Paramount debut as as Jenna, with (bottom, from left) Teressa LaGamba as Becky, Kelly Felthous as Dawn, David Moreland as Dr. Pomatter, Ian Paul Custer as Earl, Ron E. Rains as Joe, Jonah D. Winston as Cal, Jackson Evans as Ogie (through March 16), and Nik Kmiecik as Ogie (March 19-30). I'll be out for the press opening February 21, reviewing for ChiIL Live Shows.

What’s more American than Apple Pie? A small-town waitress with a dream and the recipe for success. Catch that sweet smell of success at the largest subscription theater in the U.S., Aurora’s Paramount Theatre, when it greets 2025 with the Midwest Regional Premiere of Waitress. Music and lyrics are by Grammy Award winner and Tony nominee Sara Bareilles, with a book by Jessie Nelson.

Director Katie Spelman returns to Paramount to stage the first Chicago-area production of the hit Broadway musical, with Michelle Lauto making her Paramount debut as Jenna. Performances are February 12-March 30, 2025. 

Sugar, butter and flour aren’t the only ingredients Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker, uses to make her famous pies. Stuck in a small town, a loveless marriage, and a surprise pregnancy, Jenna hopes to bake her way out of trouble. Jenna puts her heart and soul into her delicious pies, winning over anyone who tastes them. But battling expectations and low self-esteem, Jenna’s pies reflect her state of mind with names like “I Hate My Husband Pie,” “Pregnant, Miserable, Self-Pitying Loser Pie” and “Baby Screaming it’s Head Off in the Middle of the Night and Ruining My Life Pie.

Full of romance and the joy of an uninhibited fling, Waitress challenges the stereotype of a pregnant woman trapped in a small town between the life she’s living and the life she wants. Her customers, co-workers, and the town’s handsome new doctor may all offer conflicting recipes for happiness, but only Jenna can do the soul-searching to decide what the right ingredients are for her own happiness. 

Want to know her secret recipe? Come get a taste of Paramount’s delicious new production of Waitress, nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and serving up terrific songs like “What’s Inside” “What Baking Can Do,” “Club Knocked Up” with a side of romantic tunes including “It Only Takes a Taste” and “When He Sees Me.”

Seeing Waitress at Paramount Theatre is easy as pie. Performance are February 12 through March 30, 2025: Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets are just $28-$85, a fraction of the cost to see a show in downtown Chicago. Plus Aurora’s live downtown theater district boasts easy, cheaper parking and an influx of great new restaurant options opening all around.

Paramount Theatre is located at 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora. For tickets and information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days. For group discounts, contact Melissa Striedl, melissas@paramountarts.com or (630) 723-2461. 

Note: Paramount will offer two Pay What You Can previews on Thursday, February 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, February 15 at 3 p.m. See ParamountAurora.com/Pay-What-You-Can for details. 

Access Services

Paramount will offer open captioning on Wednesday, March 26 at 1:30 p.m. and American Sign Language interpretation on Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m. 

Paramount always offers assistive listening devices free of charge at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a listening device. If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office at (630) 896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance.

Baked from the heart: Behind the scenes of Paramount’s Waitress

Katie Spelman

Katie Spelman (director and choreographer) is a Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based choreographer, director, and intimacy director who creates work with an emphasis on story, the feminine and collaboration. Her hometown directing credits include acclaimed productions of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at Writers Theatre, multi-Jeff-nominated productions of Once at Writers Theatre and The Music Man at Marriott Theatre, and Paramount’s Cabaret in 2018, also Jeff-nominated for best production. She made her Broadway choreographic debut in 2024 with The Notebook. Spelman was also associate choreographer on Moulin Rouge for the Boston, Broadway and Australian companies, a dance consultant on the West End and first U.S. national touring productions, and an associate on Amelie, American Psycho and Once on Broadway. She has received a Helen Hayes Award, the Agnes de Mille Commission from SDCF, and appeared on the Broadway Women's Fund Women to Watch List and the inaugural list of Theatrely’s 31. katiespelman.com

Michelle Lauto

Michelle Lauto, an award-winning New York-based actor, singer, director, and educator, makes her Paramount debut as Jenna. Lauto grew up in the Jersey suburbs before moving to Chicago in 2012 to study her love of comedy. She is a 2014 graduate of The Second City Training Center's Conservatory program. Since graduating, she has starred in more than a dozen musicals all over Chicagoland, won a 2017 Jeff Award for Best Actress in a Revue in the original Chicago cast of Spamilton: An American Parody, and has worked at several prominent regional theaters.

The principal cast also features Teressa LaGamba as Becky, Kelly Felthous as Dawn, David Moreland; Ian Paul Custer as Earl; Ron E. Rains as Joe, Jonah D. Winston as Cal, Jackson Evans as Ogie (through March 16), and Nik Kmiecik as Ogie (March 19-30). The ensemble includes Marta Bady, Logan Becker, Andrés Enriquez, Sophie Grimm, Devon Hayakawa, Laura Savage, Emma Ogea, David Stobbe and Anakin Jace White. Youth actors Julianna Velez 

and Reese Bella alternate performances as Lulu.

Paramount’s design and production team includes Katie Spelman, director and choreographer; Kory Danielson, music supervisor; Celia Villacres, music director and conductor; Scott Davis, scenic designer; Mieka van der Ploeg, costume designer; Eric Southern, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Katie Cordts, wig, hair and makeup designer; Ivy Thomas, properties designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Alyssa Vera Ramos, intimacy director; Susan Gosdick, dialect coach; Emily Ann Brooks, associate director and associate choreographer; Kailey Rockwell, associate music director and associate conductor; Bailey O’Neil, young performer supervisor; Jinni Pike, stage manager; and Lina Benich and Emma Franklin, assistant stage managers.

Waitress the musical is based on the hit 2007 indie film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, starring Keri Russell as Jenna. After a 2015 tryout at American Repertory Theater, Waitress premiered at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway in 2016, directed by Diane Paulus, starring Chicago’s own Jessie Mueller as Jenna, and earning four Tony nominations including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Following a London production, national and international tours, Waitress returned in 2021 to Broadway for a limited engagement starring Sara Bareilles as Jenna, resulting in the live stage recording of the show released in 2023.

Aurora Bank & Trust is the official show sponsor of Waitress. Paramount Theatre Broadway Season sponsors are the Dunham Foundation, BMO, ComEd, Illinois Arts Council and the City of Aurora. Waitress is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

Also playing in 2025 on Paramount’s three stages in downtown Aurora

Paramount has had a smash hit on its hands since last summer with its new, immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet, now extended all the way  through June 29, 2025 at Paramount’s new Stolp Island Theatre.

Right across the street from Paramount, in the sleek new Copley Theatre, study up for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, part of Paramount’s BOLD Series, March 12-April 27, 2025.

A stunning revival of Cats wraps Paramount’s 13th Broadway Series at Paramount Theatre, April 30-June 15, 2025. For tickets, information and the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com.

About Paramount Theatre

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction since 1931.

Since launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount has amassed more than 37,000 subscribers, making it the largest subscription house in the U.S.

For over 50 years, the Joseph Jefferson Awards has recognized excellence in Chicago area theater. Paramount has been honored to earn 124 Jeff nominations and 29 wins over the last eight years of eligibility, including six Jeff Awards in 2022 for Kinky Boots, including Best Musical-Large, Paramount’s fourth win in that category following Sweeney Todd (2017), West Side Story (2016) and Les Misérables (2015). 

Paramount Theatre is one of five live performance venues overseen by the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA) in downtown Aurora. ACCA also programs and manages the 165-seat Copley Theatre, home to Paramount’s BOLD Series, at 8 E. Galena in the North Island Center; Stolp Island Theatre, now open at 5 E. Downer Place, Suite G, with a critically acclaimed immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet, extended through June 2025; RiverEdge Park, downtown Aurora’s outdoor summer concert venue at 360 N. Broadway; and the Paramount School of the Arts.

Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.

For the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com or follow @paramountaurora on Facebook and Instagram, and Paramount Theatre on LinkedIn.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Presents Avaaz January 21 – February 9, 2025 in the Upstairs Studio

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents

Avaaz

Written and performed by Emmy Award nominee Michael Shayan

Celebrating the Iranian-Jewish immigrant experience in a heartfelt and hilarious tribute to the playwright’s mother 

January 21 – February 9 in the Upstairs Studio

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Olney Theatre Center’s production of Avaaz, a “powerful, defiant, celebratory” (Washington Post) exploration of family and the immigrant experience. The production is written and performed by Emmy Award nominee and Out Magazine OUT 100 honoree Michael Shayan and directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel, and runs January 21– February 9, 2025 in the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio.

In Avaaz, Michael Shayan—playing the role of his own larger-than-life Iranian-Jewish mother, Roya—welcomes audiences into her home to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. She’s preparing a feast, but the main attraction is the story of her great American journey from Tehran to “Tehran-geles,” California. What follows is a hilarious and touching tribute, exuberantly portrayed by the person who knows her best—her son. Hailed as “ingenious” and “masterful” by BroadwayWorld and DC Theater Arts, this radiantly queer celebration of resilience, rebirth, and joy is at once deeply personal and universal.

“It’s an honor to take Avaaz across the country with Moritz and this incredible team, particularly at a time of overwhelming anti-immigrant sentiment,” says Shayan. “Avaaz offers a different narrative and grapples with complex truths in a fabulous, decadent, larger-than life party on stage. I can’t wait to share the magic of ‘Tehrangeles’ with audiences in Chicago and beyond!”

“Michael’s story is enlightening, entertaining, and will fill even the darkest winter evening with light,” said CST’s artistic director Edward Hall. “It’s a unique perspective on the immigrant experience from a hugely talented performer and artist. I’m so happy to be sharing this with Chicago audiences and inviting you all to a thought-provoking celebration that discusses such complex issues with imagination and joy.”

Michael Shayan is a queer Iranian-American writer and performer from Los Angeles who was recently recognized by Out Magazine on the OUT100 list of the most "impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people." He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the Discovery+ series The Book of Queer and also worked on the Emmy Award-winning HBO series We're Here. A fellow with the Sundance Institute, Shayan is writing a new play commission for Audible, and his work has been seen and developed at theaters including La MaMa, New York Stage and Film, Rattlestick, The Lark, Project Y, Dixon Place and Art House, among others. He was a Lambda Literary LGBTQ Voices Fellow in Playwriting, and his work has been featured in The Advocate Magazine.

One of the most in-demand directors nationwide, Moritz von Stuelpnagel returns to Chicago Shakespeare after last season’s Judgment Day. His other credits include the Broadway productions Bernhardt/Hamlet, Present Laughter, Hand to God, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Director, and most recently, I Need That starring Danny DeVito. Off-Broadway credits include Seared, The Thanksgiving Play, Teenage Dick, Important Hats of the 20th Century, and Verité.

The design team for Avaaz includes scenic designer Beowulf Boritt, a two-time Tony Award winner (Act One, New York, New York) who returns to CST after Judgment Day; costume designer Joshua “Domino” Schwartz, a two-time Emmy Award winner for HBO’s We’re Here; lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker, a Tony Award nominee for Prayer for the French Republic who returns to CST after Judgment Day; and sound design by UptownWorks (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill at Baltimore Center Stage). They are joined on the creative team by associate director Aria Velz, tour manager Jerid Fox, and stage managers Allison Ann Bailey and Phillip Snider.

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Theater Upstairs as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Presents the Midwest Premiere ofJaja's African Hair Braiding January 14–February 2, 2025

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents

the Midwest Premiere of

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Direct from a Tony Award-winning Broadway run

A vibrant comedy about West African immigrant women who find community in a Harlem salon

Written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Chicago native Whitney White

January 14–February 2 in The Yard

Straight from a twice-extended Broadway run, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the Midwest premiere of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Hailed as “wickedly entertaining” by The Washington Post and nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding was written by award-winning, Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Nollywood Dreams) and is directed by Chicago native, Tony Award nominee, and Obie Award winner Whitney White (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, What to Send Up When It Goes Down). The production runs January 14–February 2, 2025 in The Yard. 

The cast includes Melanie Brezill, Leovina Charles, Victoire Charles, Yao Dogbe, Mia Ellis, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Jordan Rice, Awa Sal Secka, Aisha Sougou, and Bisserat Tseggai.

This vibrant comedic gem offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of West African immigrant women who find community in a bustling Harlem hair salon. Over the course of a sweltering summer day, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. Uncertainty simmers below the surface, and when it boils over, this tight-knit community is forced to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home. With humor as rich as its characters, this play weaves hilarious moments with profound insights to create “an overwhelmingly affectionate portrait of Black female joy” (TheaterMania). 

Jaja's African Hair Braiding is a co-production with Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and La Jolla Playhouse and is presented in association with Madison Wells Live and LaChanze. The play had its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club.

"It's such a joy to be able to give the gift of this whip smart, funny, and original comedy to Chicago audiences,” shared Artistic Director Edward Hall. “Like all great comedies, there is plenty to laugh about and reflect on as Whitney White has orchestrated Jocelyn Bioh's play with the kind of dramatic perfection that is as rare as it is supremely enjoyable.”

"I am thrilled and honored that audiences beyond Broadway will get to come to 'the shop' and meet the vibrant women of Jaja's African Hair Braiding,” says Playwright Jocelyn Bioh. “This play means so much to me as both a native New Yorker and as a first-generation Ghanaian American as it speaks to the heart of what makes our country so beautifully unique: its rich diversity of people and culture. There is a real universality to these women's experiences, and I can't wait for audiences to connect and fall in love with each of them." 

The cast features three performers returning to the Chicago Shakespeare stage: Melanie Brezill, whose CST credits include As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors, along with Broadway and National Tour credits in The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Mamma Mia!; Yao Dogbe, returning to CST after appearing in Richard III, Twelfth Night, and Short Shakespeare! Macbeth; and Tiffany Renee Johnson, who appeared in CST’s Red Velvet and whose other Chicago credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky at Remy Bumppo Theatre, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at Goodman Theatre, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Writers Theatre. 

Making CST debuts are Leovina Charles (The Lion King on Broadway, Lempicka at La Jolla Playhouse), Victoire Charles (Golden Age and Ruined at Manhattan Theatre Club), Mia Ellis (The Amen Corner at Shakespeare Theatre Company), Jordan Rice (Ava DuVernay’s film Selma), Awa Sal Secka (After Midnight at Paper Mill Playhouse, Goddess at Berkeley Repertory Theater), Aisha Sougou (Beehive and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre), and Bisserat Tseggai (The Jungle at St. Ann’s Warehouse, For All The Women Who Thought They Were Mad at Soho Repertory Theater).

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh is a Tony Award-nominated, Ghanian-American writer and performer from New York City. Her other work includes Merry Wives, which won the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Adaptation, Nollywood Dreams, Broadway-bound musical Goddess, and the multi-award-winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, which has been produced more than 65 times regionally and in the UK. She was a Tow Playwriting Fellow and has won several playwriting awards including the Drama Guild’s Hull-Warriner Prize, Steinberg Playwright Award, Lortel Award, and Drama Desk Award. Bioh has also written for TV series including Russian Doll, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, Tiny Beautiful Things, and The Acolyte, and is also writing the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical Once on This Island for Disney.

Director Whitney White is an Obie Award and Lilly Award-winning, as well as a Tony Award-nominated, director, writer, and musician from Chicago. Jaja’s African Hair Braiding marks her CST debut, but it is also a homecoming; she fondly remembers field trips to CST productions as a high school student and credits a Shakespeare workshop at CST as an impactful early-career experience. Her Chicago credits include directing The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington at Steppenwolf Theatre, and other directing credits include the upcoming Broadway production of The Last Five Years starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren, What To Send Up When It Goes Down (NYT Critic’s Pick) and Jordans at The Public Theater, The Secret Life of Bees at The Almeida in the UK, and Soft at MCC Theatre (NYT Critic’s Pick). Original works include Semblance (New York Theatre Workshop), Definition (Bushwick Starr), and Macbeth in Stride (American Repertory Theater, Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater), for which she won an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Performance. Her four-part cycle deconstructing Shakespeare’s women is currently in development with American Repertory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

White is joined by the creative team from the Broadway production, including three-time Tony-winning scenic designer David Zinn (Stereophonic, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, The Humans), returning to CST after designing the set for The Notebook; costume designer Dede Ayite, the first Black woman to win a Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding); Tony Award-nominated lighting designer Jiyoun Chang (Stereophonic, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Slave Play); Tony-nominated original music and sound designer Justin Ellington (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf); Tony-nominated video designer Stefania Bulbarella (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding); and Tony Award-winning hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding). The company also includes associate director Manna-Symone Middlebrooks, dialect and vocal coach Yetunde Felix-Ukwu, intimacy consultant Sierra Young, associate sound designer Dwaine Potts, stage manager Melanie J. Lisby, and assistant stage manager Brillian Qi-Bell. Casting is by Caparelliotis Casting, Kelly Gillespie and Erica A. Hart.

There will be a student matinee performance during the run which will host nearly 600 students, 90% of whom are from Chicago Public Schools. This is one of many live performance opportunities for students offered in the 2024/2025 season, including student matinees of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles this fall and 40 performances of Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the spring.

I'll be out for the press opening for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding on January 17th, so check back shortly after for my full review. 

More information at chicagoshakes.com/jaja or on social media at @chicagoshakes.  

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (no matinee on January 15)

Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.

Fridays at 7:00 p.m.

Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons. Accessible seating, assistive listening devices, large-print and Braille programs, and sensory tools are available at every performance. Enhanced performances include:

Audio-described performance with optional touch tour – Sunday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m.

A program that provides spoken narration of a play’s key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production’s design elements.

Open captioned performances – Wednesday, January 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.

ASL interpreted performance – Thursday, January 30 at 7:00 p.m.

All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters

CREATIVE TEAM

Jocelyn Bioh - Playwright

Whitney White - Director 

David Zinn - Set Designer

Dede Ayite - Costume Designer

Jiyoun Chang - Lighting Designer 

Justin Ellington - Original Music and Sound Designer

Stefania Bulbarella - Video Designer

Nikiya Mathis - Hair and Wig Designer

Manna-Symone Middlebrooks - Associate Director

Yetunde Felix-Ukwu - Dialect and Vocal Coach

Erica A. Hart, CSA - Casting

Kelly Gillespie, CSA - Casting

David Caparelliotis, CSA - Casting

Sierra Young - Intimacy Consultant

Dwaine Potts - Associate Sound Designer

Melanie J. Lisby - Stage Manager

Brillian Qi-Bell - Assistant Stage Manager

CAST

Melanie Brezill - Michelle, Chrissy, LaNiece

Leovina Charles - Vanessa, Sheila, Radia

Victoire Charles - Jaja

Yao Dogbe - James, Franklin, Olu, Eric

Mia Ellis - Jennifer

Tiffany Renee Johnson - Aminata

Jordan Rice - Marie

Awa Sal Secka - Bea

Aisha Sougou - Ndidi

Bisserat Tseggai - Miriam

Onye Eme-Akwari - Nollywood Dreams Actor

Morgan Scott - Nollywood Dreams Actor

Kevin Medesse Aousso - Understudy

Renea S. Brown - Understudy

Debora Crabbe - Understudy

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com

World Premiere of Ayn Rand's "It's a Wonderful Life" as Performed by the Conspirators December 20 - 22, 2024

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

THE CONSPIRATORS ANNOUNCE THE WORLD PREMIERE-ISH OF: 

AYN RAND’S “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” 

AS PERFORMED BY THE CONSPIRATORS, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PRESIDENT BIDEN—NO WAIT, LIZ CHENEY 

DECEMBER 20 - 22, AT OTHERWORLD THEATRE

CONTENT WARNING: MAY CONTAIN VARIETY ACTS AND HOLIDAY-THEMED SONG AND DANCE.

The running time is 80 minutes with no intermission.

The Conspirators are proud to present the world premiere of Ayn Rand's "It's a Wonderful Life" as Performed by the Conspirators Under the Direction of President Biden NO WAIT, Liz Cheney (RAND/CHENEY) written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St, in a very limited run, December 20 - 22. The performance schedule is Friday - Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the door or online at www.conspirewithus.org. 

The Conspirators bring RAND/CHENEY, their “was-going-to-be-annual-until-the-pandemic” holiday tradition back for THREE NIGHTS ONLY! A traditional TV holiday special goes awry when progressive factions demand better content; a series of sensible patriots led by President Biden—NO WAIT, Liz Cheney try to keep back the chaos. The centerpiece is a hilarious retelling of "It's a Wonderful Life" through the eyes of libertarian goddess Ayn Rand.

The cast of RAND/CHENEY includes: Eva Andrews (she/her), Elena Avila (she/they), Meaghan Morris (they/them), Wm. Bullion (in he/his triumphant return), Olivia Anton (she/they), Sarah Franzel (she/her), AL SMART! (they/them), Evan Richter (he/him), Sam Erwin (they/them), Zach Foley (he/him), Brian Rohde (he/him), Demitri Magas (he/him), Andrew Bosworth (he/him), Donaldson Cardenas (he/him), Kate Akerboom (they/she) and Aimee Bass (she/her) on percussion.

Crew includes: Matt Bonaccorso (he/him, stage manager), Wm. Bullion (he/him, director), Sid Feldman (he/him, playwright, style coach, technical director), Mike McShane (he/him, lights), Sebby Woldt (they/them, sound) and Madison Rivers (she/they, music director).

ABOUT WM. BULLION (Director, Artistic Director)

Wm. Bullion is a veteran tragicomedian, director, and actor on the fringe of the Chicago theater fringe. Bullion is an Emeritus member of The Factory Theater, for whom he directed Prophet$ and Born Ready. He started Sliced Bread Productions in 1988 and put up some solid work before it folded in 2008. He co-founded The Conspirators in 2016 (and has proudly directed all their big pieces: Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That; Viva La Mort; The Conspirators 125th Anniversary Jubilee, Feat. “The Ineptidemic”; Accidental Death of a Black Motorist; The Deckchairs, or Make the Titanic Great Again; and The Resistible Rise of Herr Helmut Drumpf) but he was a fool to think starting another theater group in Chicago is a viable, sustainable idea. Yet, here we are, getting grants and making stuff for YOU.

ABOUT SID FELDMAN (Author/Style Coach/Producing Director)

Sid Feldman co-founded The Conspirators and has written plays, adaptations, screenplays, reviews and essays. He has produced plays, concerts and events for numerous organizations including New Crime and Sliced Bread Productions (also with Wm. Bullion).

ABOUT THE CONSPIRATORS

The Conspirators are a (still relatively new) theater and performance collective in Chicago dedicated to provoking thought and action through dynamic, immediate theater art. The Conspirators work exclusively in a style of neo-Commedia called “The Style”—a highly theatrical performance mode developed by movie stars Tim Robbins and John Cusack from the techniques of Ariane Mnouchkine, Commedia dell’Arte, Bugs Bunny cartoons and punk rock, as historically performed by New Crime Prod. (R.I.P.) and The Actors’ Gang. The company also offers Style workshops to interested performers of all calibers.

The Conspirators are proud to present the world premiere of Ayn Rand's "It's a Wonderful Life" as Performed by the Conspirators, Under the Direction of President Biden NO WAIT, Liz Cheney (RAND/CHENEY) written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St, in a very limited run, December 20 - 17. The performance schedule is Friday - Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the door or online at www.conspirewithus.org.

For more show info, go to www.conspirewithus.org and follow The Conspirators on Facebook and Instagram.

SAVE THE DATE: Three-time Jeff Award winner Ron OJ Parson to direct Hymn at Chicago Shakespeare Theater April 29–May 25

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Three-time Jeff Award winner Ron OJ Parson to direct 

Hymn

Olivier Award winner Lolita Chakrabarti  re-sets her acclaimed play in Chicago

April 29–May 25 in the Courtyard Theater

Three-time Jeff Award winner, Ron OJ Parson and Hymn, Olivier Award winner, Lolita Chakrabarti

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces renowned Chicago director Ron OJ Parson will helm the North American premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn, making his CST directorial debut. Chakrabarti has re-imagined her play in the South Side of Chicago, following an acclaimed premiere at London’s Almeida Theatre. The creative team also includes scenic and projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, costume designer Yvonne Miranda, lighting designer Jason Lynch, and sound designer and composer Willow James. The production runs April 29–May 25, 2025 in the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater. 

Hymn charts the lives of two middle-aged Black men as they form a deep bond in an intimate exploration of the loyalties and betrayals of brothers, fathers, and sons. The play received five-star reviews in its UK premiere from The Observer, The Daily Mail, and WhatsOnStage, which hailed it as “mind-blowingly excellent.”

“I wanted to write a story of two Black men who find love with each other—a familial, platonic love,” says Chakrabarti. “My own male friends have often surprised me with their sensitivity, femininity, fussiness, insecurities, fun, kindness, and warmth—the list goes on. Hymn was born out of my desire to tell a different story. To reframe this play for Chicago is very exciting indeed, and I believe it will lend itself beautifully to this city’s rich culture.”

CST artistic director Edward Hall said, "In my brief time in Chicago it has not taken me long to get acquainted with the work of the brilliant Ron OJ Parson. Both Lolita and I felt he was the missing piece in this delicate jigsaw, and I am deeply happy that the play resonated so powerfully with him. This will be Ron’s Chicago Shakespeare debut, and I am delighted to be welcoming the director of such a huge and important body of work into our company."

“I’ve long admired the work at Chicago Shakespeare, during my theater journey here in Chicago,” said Parson. “I am truly honored to be working on Hymn by world-renowned playwright Lolita Chakrabarti. As my journey continues, what better play than a play about brothers, family, love, faith, and hope. What the world needs a lot of. Peace.”

Lolita Chakrabarti won the Olivier Award for Best New Play for her adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi, which later went on to a Tony Award-winning Broadway run and a national tour. Her adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West End last year. Chakrabarti’s debut play Red Velvet enjoyed an acclaimed run at CST in 2017.

Ron OJ Parson is the co-founder and former artistic director of Onyx Theatre Ensemble, a resident artist at Court Theatre, and an ensemble member at TimeLine Theatre. In 2022, he received the Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and was recognized as the Chicago Tribune’s Chicagoan of the Year for Theater. He has won three Jeff Awards for directing for Relentless at TimeLine Theatre, and Blues for an Alabama Sky and Fences at Court Theatre. Other credits include East Texas Hot Links, The Lion In Winter, Arsenic and Old Lace, Two Trains Running, King Hedley II, Radio Golf, Five Guys Named Moe, Gem of the Ocean, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and The Piano Lesson at Court Theatre, Trouble in Mind, Too Heavy For Your Pocket, and A Raisin in the Sun at TimeLine Theatre Company, Toni Stone and Sweat at Goodman Theatre, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and East Texas Hot Links at Writers Theatre.

Parson is joined on the creative team by scenic and projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, a two-time Jeff Award winner returning to Chicago Shakespeare after Measure for Measure and It Came From Outer Space, with other recent credits including Romeo and Juliet at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lucha Teotl at Goodman Theatre, and Her Honor Jane Byrne at Lookingglass Theatre; costume designer Yvonne Miranda, who makes her CST debut with recent credits including Leroy & Lucy at Steppenwolf Theatre, Primary Trust at Goodman Theatre, and The Hot Wing King at Writers Theatre; lighting designer Jason Lynch, a Jeff Award winner returning to CST after Beauty and the Beast, with other credits including Layalina and the ripple, the wave that carried me home at Goodman Theatre and Choir Boy at Steppenwolf Theatre; and sound designer and composer Willow James, who returns to CST after Twelfth Night, with other credits including A Christmas Carol, The Penelopiad, and The Nacirema Society at Goodman Theatre.

More information at chicagoshakes.com/hymn or on social media at @chicagoshakes.  

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com