Date Night at the Theater
Experience plots and trysts at Chicago Shakespeare Theater with world-class theatrical events playing across two stages and breathtaking views from the Theater’s lobbies, Chicago Shakespeare Theater is raising the curtain on a perfect Valentine’s date night.
Shakespeare’s classic tale of power, greed, and ambition Richard III, stars Tony Award nominee and bilateral above-knee amputee Katy Sullivan, marking the first major U.S. production to feature a woman with a disability in the title role. In an off-beat “Bloody Valentine” stroke of casting, Sullivan will share the stage with her real-life husband Scott Aiello, plotting to kill him onstage every night in King Richard’s reign of tyranny. Directed by Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s new artistic director Edward Hall, Richard III opens February 2nd, with performances through March 3rd in the Courtyard Theater.
Illinoise, continuing its run in The Yard through February 18, is a wildly inventive theatrical adaptation of Grammy-nominated Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed, cult-status album. Directed and choreographed by Tony-winner Justin Peck with a narrative crafted by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies, this thrilling new theatrical event leads audiences on a journey through the places and people of Illinois in an ecstatic pageant of storytelling, theater, dance, and music. On Thursday, February at 7PM, the Theater will host a special Pride Night featuring pre-show music, resources from community partners, and a post-show talkback with members of the cast.
Short Shakespeare! returns February 24th with the tragic romance Romeo and Juliet. Verona burns under summer’s heat—and the division of two prominent families. Against a backdrop of violence and an endless cycle of vengeance, Shakespeare sets his tale of young love found—and tragically lost. This 75-minute adaptation, told in Shakespeare’s own words, poses a profound question—can true love survive in a divided community? The production combines Shakespeare’s original verse with dynamic staging to connect young audiences with the characters’ journeys.