Who are you to you? And how far are you willing to go to edit yourself into what you want people to see? For our 30th season, we introduce Chicago to three bold works that delve deep into what it means to determine one's own identity.
We're also big-time excited about this season's performance spaces. Our first show will take over Steppenwolf's new 1700 Stage, and then we'll officially take up residence at our new space at 1802 W Berenice!
A CHICAGO PREMIERE
DIRECTED BY DAMON KEILY
A modern American family uses a summer barbecue as a pretext to ambush sister Barbara with an intervention. If you think “all families are crazy” is just a cliché, you’ve not spent time under the influence of the O'Mallerys. An afternoon in the park with these raucous siblings and you'll be challenging your own assumptions about family, race, and reality. The Chicago premiere of Barbecue by Obie and Helen Hayes Award winner Robert O’Hara will have you laughing out loud and questioning how it’s true that in America, you sometimes taze the ones you love.
ADAPTED BY SAMUEL ADAMSON
FROM THE PLAY BY HENRIK IBSEN
DIRECTED BY ELLY GREEN
The return of a fugitive brother puts the future of wealthy businessman Karsten Bernick in peril. Details of a long-buried sex scandal and embezzlement come to the surface and force Bernick to face his family, his community and his demons. Adamson's version of Ibsen's 1877 moral drama was first produced at the National Theatre in 2005 to critical acclaim. Ensemble member Elly Green (After Miss Julie, The Night Season) directs our first production in the new Strawdog Theatre at 1802 W Berenice.
A WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTED BY CODY ESTLE
Hassan is a Somali-American airport shuttle driver in Minneapolis, struggling to make ends meet as more and more of his customers switch to Uber and Lyft. So when a stranded teenager at the airport pays Hassan to take him to Chicago, it seems like it’s worth the risk. Until it isn't. A claustrophobic thriller about privilege, paranoia, and the assumptions we make about one another.