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Frank Ferrante to return as 'Groucho' for one night
Actor/director Frank Ferrante returns to his internationally heralded stage performance for one night only in "An Evening With Groucho" on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Spiegeltent ZaZou, on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel Chicago ...
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THEATER Out actor Dan Butler to be in 'When Harry Met Rehab'
Don Clark, a Chicago-based film/theater producer as well as co-owner of the Chicago Magic Lounge, will present the world premiere of When Harry Met Rehab—a comedy that takes sobriety seriously and is based loosely on the ...
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Students urged to apply for Musical Theatre Awards
Broadway in Chicago is inviting high schools across Illinois to participate in the 11th Annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards. These awards celebrate excellence in high school theater throughout the state. Beginning Thursday, Sept. 16, ...
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First Floor Theater announces 2021-22 season
--From a press release
CHICAGO, IL (Sept. 13, 2021) — First Floor Theater is excited to announce their ninth live-production season, featuring one world premiere and one Chicago premiere, along with a second round of The Blueprint Commission, it' new ...
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AstonRep Theatre Company announces 2021-22 season:
--From a press release
CHICAGO (Sept. 13, 2021) — AstonRep Theatre Company is pleased to welcome back live audiences this fall, kicking off with a revival of Yasmina Reza's frenetic dark comedy God of Carnage, translated by Christopher Hampton and ...
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THEATER 'Dear Mom, I'm Gay!' on Oct. 1-2
Dear Mom, I'm Gay!—a workshop of a new musical by David Dilsizian—is running at The Jarvis Square Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave. It will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1; and 2 and ...
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Saint Sebastian Players to perform four shows during 40th season
--From a press release
The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) announce the company is resuming live, in-person production with an expanded 40th Anniversary Season. The four-play lineup celebrates genres that have been popular with SSP ...
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Victory Gardens Theater announces plans for 2021-22 season
--From a press release
Chicago, IL— Victory Gardens Theater announces their 2021/2022 Season, which will be presented in-person at the Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park. The season will feature three mainstage productions: Queen of the Night by travis tate, the ...
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Broken Nose Theatre presenting Black LGBTQ drama 'Kingdom' Oct. 4-24
Broken Nose Theatre is launching its tenth season with an audio adaptation of its hit 2018 play Kingdom, written by resident playwright Michael Allen Harris and directed by Manny Buckley. Kingdom features ensemble members RjW Mays ...
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DANCE Ensemble Espanol to open Auditorium Theatre season Oct. 16
Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater, in residence at Northeastern Illinois University, will return to the Auditorium Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m. The company will mark the finale performance of its 45th-anniversary "Zafiro Flamenco ...
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'Close-Up with Carmen' Sept. 9 at Center on Halsted
'Close-Up with Carmen'—about the intersection of drag and opera—will take place Thursday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St. During this event, participants will discuss cross-dressi ...
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THEATER Neo-Futurists' 'The Infinite Wrench' returns to the stage Sept. 18
Chicago's longest-running late-night show, The Neo-Futurists' The Infinite Wrench, kicks off the company's 2021-22 season of programming with a return to weekly in-person performances on Saturday, Sept. 18. The signature ...
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THEATER 'American Mariachi' at Goodman on Sept. 18-Oct. 24
Goodman Theatre is running American Mariachi—a new comedy about the freedom to dream big, written by Jose Cruz Gonzalez, directed by Goodman Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez and presented as part of Chicago Latino Theater Alliance's ...
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MUSIC Upcoming 'Carmen' featuring queer lead, male drag
On Sept. 16 and 18 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago audiences will have the rare opportunity to hear two world-class dramatic mezzo-sopranos debut new roles opposite one another ...
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MUSICALS Highland Park Players to run 'Matilda' Sept. 24-Oct. 3
The Highland Park Players return to live theater with the Tony-winning musical Matilda The Musical! opening Sept. 24 and running through Oct. 3 at the Northbrook Theatre, 3323 Walters Ave., Northbrook. Performances are Sept. 24-25 and ...
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FALL THEATER PREVIEW All together In one room: Indoor theater returns
Expanded preview
Two years ago, September would have been greeted by a cluster of opening nights—sometimes as many as three overlapping the same evening—to signal the entrance of the bright-lights-and-glamour CHICAGO THEATER SEASON. This year is 2021, howeve ...
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MOVIES 'On Broadway' to open Sept. 10 in Highland Park
As theatergoers prepare for the return of Broadway after an unprecedented absence of 18 months, Kino Lorber is releasing Academy Award nominee Oren Jacoby's documentary On Broadway. The tribute to one of the most vibrant ...
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THEATER 'School Girls' serendipity for out performer & pageant contestant Ashley Crowe
Fact and fiction are intertwining for out performer Ashley Crowe. It's as if this moment in Crowe's life is being scripted by the late Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello, who is best known for Six Characters in ...
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THEATER REVIEW The Things I Could Never Tell Steven
The Things I Could Never Tell Steven. Playwright: Jye Bryant At: PrideArts Broadway. 4139 N. Broadway. Tickets: $30; PrideArts.org. Runs through: Sept. 19 Steven is missing, to begin with—not dead, like Marley; or imprisoned, like Edmond ...
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MUSICALS 'Beautiful' in Chicago on Nov. 2-7; tickets on sale Sept. 1
Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced that individual tickets for the Tony- and Gramm-winning Broadway hit Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of ...
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Writers Theatre announces 2021-22 season
--From a press release
Glencoe, IL—Writers Theatre Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Interim Artistic Director Bobby Kennedy announce the company's 2021/22 four-play season and are excited to welcome patrons back in-person in December ...
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Next OUTspoken show Sept. 7
An OUTspoken Storytelling Night taking place Tuesday, Sept. 7, will offer tales told by six people who will relate their stories of fun and fortune from a LGBTQ+ perspective. The entertainment will start at 7 p.m. ...
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Chicagoland performing arts venues, producers unify around vaccination, masks
--From a press release
Chicago, IL (August 17, 2021) — The League of Chicago Theatres shared today that a growing coalition of more than 65 performing arts venues and producers across Chicagoland have agreed upon Covid-19 Vaccination and Mask Requirements ...
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THEATER New iteration of 'The Golden Girls' Sept. 16-Oct. 23
Hell in a Handbag Productions will welcome back audiences this fall with the return of Chicago's favorite drag seniors in its long-running parody The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 5—SEX!, written by Artistic Director David ...
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Shattered Globe Theatre extends applications for Global Playwrite Series through Aug. 31
--From a press release
CHICAGO (August 16, 2021) — Shattered Globe Theatre has extended the application deadline for its Global Playwright Series (GPS) through Tuesday, August 31, 2021. GPS is a new play development ...
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THEATER 'Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992' running Sept. 11-26
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre will stage Anna Deavere Smith's award-winning one-woman play Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 on Sept. 11-26 at Evanston's Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St. "Twilight" will run Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at ...
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Congo Square Theatre Company announces 2021-22 season
--From a press release
CHICAGO—Congo Square Theatre Company (Congo Square), one of the nation's premier African American theater companies, is proud to announce its 2021-22 season, a robust and dynamic mix of online and in-person programming, running the gamut ...
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THEATER REVIEW Rent
Playwright: book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson At: Possibilities Theatre Company at NorthCenter Town Square, 4100 N. Damen Ave. Tickets: suggested donation $20; https://www.eventcombo.com/e/rent-43212 or ...
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Rent 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour Goes On Sale August 11
--From a press release
CHICAGO (August 5, 2021) — Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce tickets for The RENT 25TH Anniversary Farewell Tour will go on sale on Wednesday, August 11. The RENT 25TH Anniversary Farewell Tour is the ...
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Chenoweth and Menzel to co-host 'Wicked in Concert' PBS special
PBS's Wicked in Concert special on Aug. 29 will be co-hosted by the musical's original Broadway stars, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, Deadline reported. The event is slated to feature performances by Mario Cantone, Gavin Creel, ...
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THEATER REVIEW School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play
Don't be fooled by the title. If you arrive at the Goodman Theatre expecting a cross-ethnic copy of the seminal 2004 Hollywood film involving spoiled, shallow, WASP-y suburban teenagers and their clueless parents, you won't find ...
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THEATER TimeLine announces leadership changes, new venue
TimeLine Theatre Company announced that Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman will be transitioning her responsibilities away from day-to-day management of the company in order to focus exclusively on the project ...
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Neo-Futurists' The Infinite Wrench returns for weekly in-person shows
--From a press release
CHICAGO (August 3, 2021)—Chicago's longest running late-night show, The Neo-Futurists' The Infinite Wrench, returns for weekly in-person performances on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021 (opening night Monday, Sept. 20), 19 months ...
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THEATER 'Intimate Apparel' surfaces in Utah after delayed Northlight staging
Some Chicago-area theaters plan to welcome back live audiences with shows that were physically on their stages at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown last year. That's not the case with Intimate Apparel at Northlight ...
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First-ever managing artistic director of Fine Arts Building named
Following a comprehensive national search, theater director and producer Jacob Harvey has been named the first-ever managing artistic director of the historic theaters at Chicago's Fine Arts Building at 410 S. Michigan Ave. Harvey returns to ...
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THEATER Proof of vaccination required to attend 'Teatro Zinzanni'
Randolph Entertainment, presenting Teatro ZinZanni in Chicago, announced that it will be requiring all guests older than 12 to show proof of vaccination to attend its dinner and performance. This requirement will apply to all performances ...
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About Face Theatre's 27th season to be produced at The Den Theatre beginning March
--From a press release
CHICAGO (July 27, 2021) — About Face Theatre is excited to announce its return to live, in-person theatre with its 27th season. Dedicated to telling queer stories that advance dialogue about gender and sexuality, AFT will ...
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Winifred Haun & Dancers announces 2021-22 season, return to live performances
--From a press release
Chicago & Oak Park, IL — Winifred Haun & Dancers will return to in person theater events and live programming for the upcoming 2021|22 Season. The Company will be presented at the Pritzker Pavilion, Ruth Page ...
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THEATER Sideshow offers residency, announces digital house parties
Sideshow Theatre Company announced it will be offering a nine-month artistic residency to Chicago-based playwright Preston Choi. Through the residency, Sideshow will provide Choi with artistic and dramaturgical support as ...
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OUTspoken storytelling to host six takes from LGBTQ+ perspective
--From a press release
The month of August is hot - but OUTspoken at the Sidetrack will be even hotter on Aug. 3 when six storytellers will tell tales of fun and fortune from a LGBTQ+ perspective! The program will start at 7:00 pm at ...
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SHOWBIZ Script contest, LGBTQ film, Lady Gaga, Showtime, out sprinter
GLAAD and The Black List—the writer-centric entity whose work includes its annual list, screenplay marketplace, writer labs, and film and television productions—announced plans for The 2021 GLAAD List, the third ...
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DANCE Deeply Rooted named to INFLUENCERS Cohort
Chicago's Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is one of five dance companies (and the only Midwestern one) named to the International Association of Blacks in Dance's (IABD's) INFLUENCERS Cohort for the 2021 COHI/MOVE program. The five ...
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Ravinia to unveil 'Bernstein's Answer' immersive theater experience
--From a press release
HIGHLAND PARK, IL—On Saturday, August 7, the Ravinia Festival and Jeffrey P. Haydon, its President and CEO, will officially unveil the Ravinia Music Box (RMB) and its immersive theater experience, titled Bernstein's Answer, and fully open ...
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THEATER 2nd Story announces first half of 2021-22 season
One of Chicago's longest-running storytelling collectives, 2nd Story, announced the first half of its 23rd season of programming for 2021-22. The season will feature nearly 30 world-premiere stories and storyteller debuts, as well as 20 of ...
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THEATER Steppenwolf announces co-artistic directors
Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced a new model of leadership, naming ensemble members Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis as the incoming artistic directors of the storied Chicago company. The new appointment ...
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PERFORMANCE Gay performer Michael Cunio part of 'Teatro ZinZanni'
Teatro ZinZanni Chicago carved out its own niche on the 14th floor of Cambria Hotel back in 2019, with the premiere of Love, Chaos, & Dinner. Blending dinner with a show under the big top in a Belgium mirror tent called ...
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Suburban theater employees leave over perceived anti-LGBTQ policy
At least two employees of a Christian-oriented suburban theater company—Sophie Murk and Will Higgins—have resigned in recent weeks, citing its policy toward LGBTQ+ students, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The exits ...
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The Actors Gymnasium to hold community circus, celebrate 25th year
--From a press release
Evanston, IL, July 15, 2021 — Actors Gym is proud to announce Summer Salon 2021, an evening of circus under the stars in Tallmadge Park to celebrate the organization's 25th year. It will be a family-friendly ...
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THEATER Chicago ensemble presenting play on bisexuality
The Trance, a Chicago-based theater ensemble, returns to the stage with Riding the Bicycle. It will be performed at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway, on Friday-Saturday, July 30-31, at 8 p.m. According to an email ...
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Victory Gardens Theater to hold series of virtual Town Hall forums
--From a press release
Chicago, IL— Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin and Acting Managing Director Roxanna Conner, will hold a series of Town Halls to introduce Ken-Matt to the VG community and share news ...
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Goodman Theatre reopens with School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
--From a press release
(Chicago, IL) School is back in session! Goodman Theatre returns to the stage with the Chicago-premiere production of the Off-Broadway smash sensation, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Full casting is below. Written by ...
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Raven Theatre announces 2021-22 season
--From a press release
CHICAGO (July 12, 2021) — Raven Theatre is pleased to welcome back live audiences with the announcement of its 2021-22 season, featuring three productions previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new season also marks ...
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American Blues to present 'The Great American (and French) Songbook'
On Friday, July 16, American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, will present The Great American (and French) Songbook, performed by Suzy Petri and guests as part of its music series ...
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THEATER Playhouse, renowned chef to present 'Recipe for Disaster' Oct. 6
James Beard Award-winning chef Rick Bayless and Windy City Playhouse Artistic Director Amy Rubenstein announced they will present "A Recipe for Disaster" a farcical experience set in the world of restaurants starting Oct. 6. Bayless, Rubenstein ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Hedwig,' Oscars, Demi Lovato, GLAAD, Stevie Nicks
Following 2019's sold-out, three-night engagement at The Town Hall in New York City (and several postponements in 2020), Hedwig and the Angry Inch co-creators John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask are returning with a rock spectacle ...
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THEATER Goodman's 'I Hate It Here' to stream July 15-18
Goodman Theatre's streaming-in-real-time Live series will conclude with I Hate It Here, written by Ike Holter and directed by Lili-Anne Brown. I Hate It Here appears July 15, at 7:30 p.m.; July 16, at 7:30 p.m.; ...
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PrideArts 2021-22: "The Search for Identity Among Queer Communities"
CHICAGO — An Australian musical, a comedy-drama from the writer whose play was adapted as the hit movie JUDY, an Uptown holiday celebration, a new Ruth Bader Ginsberg bio, and a fifth play to be announced, ...
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DANCE Deeply Rooted to perform in person July 16-17
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater's Summer Dance Intensive (SDI)—which takes place in a hybrid format combining in-person and virtual instruction this year—will culminate with in-person performances of new works Friday and ...
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The Den Theatre set to reopen this fall
CHICAGO (June 25, 2021) — The Den Theatre (1331 N. Milwaukee Ave.) announced today it will welcome back audiences for live performances this fall. The line-up at Wicker Park's premier ...
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THEATER Lyric Opera opening with 'Macbeth' and 'Elixir' in Sept.
Lyric Opera of Chicago will welcome audiences once again to the Lyric Opera House for the start of the company's 67th season this fall, with two Italian works in repertory in September and October. Both operas ...
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THEATER The New Colony changes course, name
Longtime off-Loop Chicago theater company The New Colony announced it will change its name to The New Coordinates (TNC). The rebranding is part of a larger restructuring process to actively work towards being an anti-racist organization. ...
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MOVIES 'Truman & Tennessee' opening July 2 at Music Box
The film Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation will open Friday, July 2, in physical and virtual theater in Chicago at Music Box Theatre. Actors Zachary Quinto and Jim Parsons make voiceover contributions in the film ...
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Auditorium Theatre's 'Devil's Ball' on Aug. 27
The Auditorium Theatre Auxiliary Board is hosting its annual Devil's Ball on Friday, Aug. 27—the first public event at the venue since its closure in March 2020. This year's theme, Roaring Back, is a revival of ...
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Black Ensemble Theater receives $5M grant from MacKenzie Scott
Black Ensemble Theater founder, Executive Director and CEO Jackie Taylor announced that the theater has received a $5 million grant from MacKenzie Scott. Taylor said she hopes that this gift will motivate other philanthropists and funders ...
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Blue Man Group returning Aug. 18
Blue Man Group will return to Chicago's Briar Street Theatre on Wed., Aug. 18. A dynamic combination of art, music, comedy and technology, Blue Man Group encourages audiences to reconnect with their inner (and outer) child ...
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Wizard World Chicago returning Oct. 15-17
Wizard Brands, Inc. announced that its flagship event, Wizard World Chicago, will officially make its triumphant return Oct. 15-17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. All tickets purchased for the originally scheduled event ...
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Mercury Theater Chicago open house July 10-11; Honey West new Venus Cabaret director
--From a press release
Chicago (June 14, 2021)— Mercury Theater Chicago will celebrate its reopening plans at an Open House at the Venus Cabaret, 3745 N. Southport Ave, on July 10 and 11, 2021. The Open House will be a ...
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Mayor Lightfoot and DCASE announce more summer cultural events across Chicago
--From a press release
CHICAGO — Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) today announced even more returning, new and reimagined summer cultural events across Chicago — plus artist lineups and other details ...
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Dennis Watkins' The Magic Parlour reopens at Palmer House Hilton on Aug. 6
Third-generation magician and mind reader Dennis Watkins announced that Dennis Watkins' The Magic Parlour will return to Chicago's Palmer House Hilton for in-person performances beginning Friday, Aug. 6. Watkins will ...
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2021-22 Season at Goodman Theatre announced
--From a press release
(Chicago, IL) It's a summer "homecoming" for Goodman Theatre audiences! On July 30, Chicago's theater since 1925 resumes live, in-person performances following a 16-month COVID-19 pandemic period of darkened stages. ...
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About Face Theatre announces recipients of playwriting grants
--From a press release
CHICAGO (June 3, 2021) - About Face Theatre announced today that it is awarding grants to two local LGBTQ+ playwrights to support their creative work. Playwrights Hannah Ii-Epstein (she/her) and ...
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Actor/artist creates huge mural for new Steppenwolf center
Chicago-based artist/actor Tony Fitzpatrick has created a massive mural for the exterior of Steppenwolf Theatre Company's new Arts and Education Center, 1646 N. Halsted St. Commissioned by Steppenwolf as a highly visible public-art installation for th ...
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Jay Españo named Artistic Director of PrideArts, planning 2021-22 season
--From a press release
CHICAGO — Jay Espano, a Chicago actor, director, and filmmaker whose theater training includes education in The Philippines as well as an MFA from Chicago's Columbia College, has been named Artistic Director of PrideArts. Cheri Tatar, ...
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VIRTUAL CONCERT Lyric Opera airing 'The New Classics' on June 10
On Thursday, June 10, The Lyric Opera will air airtual cabaret featuring Broadway and Lyric artists in "The New Classics: Songs from the New Golden Age of Musical Theater." The event will start at 7 p.m ...
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Black Ensemble Theater, African American theater companies across country form new national alliance
--From a press release
[CHICAGO, IL] — In an effort to share knowledge, resources and strengthen the infrastructure of the Black theatre landscape in the United States, the country's independent Black theatre building owners ...
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