EUREKA DAY, THE GLASS MENAGERIE & More Set for 2026-27 Season
The Lake Forest company's lineup includes ORDINARY DAYS, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY, and more.
Lake Forest's Citadel Theatre has announced its 2026-27 mainstage season, which will include two favorites and two acclaimed recent pieces that may be new to north shore audiences.
The season will commence with the satirical comedy EUREKA DAY, which examines the frequently contradictory practices of a fictional, highly progressive private school located in Berkeley, California. The play, which premiered in Berkeley in 2018, deals with topical subjects like vaccinations, privilege, and communication, utilizing sharp wit, farce, and intense dialogue to create laughter.
It was produced on Broadway in the 2024-25 season and won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of Play. Scott Westerman, the director of such Citadel hits as MISERY, A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN, THE MOUSETRAP, and SEX WITH STRANGERS, will direct. EUREKA DAY will open to the press on Friday, September 11 at 7:30 pm, following a preview on September 9, and play through October 11.
In November and December, Citadel will be visited by Clarence the Angel and the beleaguered George Bailey when the company presents IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: THE LIVE RADIO PLAY, based on the perennial favorite holiday film that starred James Stewart and Donna Reed. When the film premiered in 1946, before the television era, it was a common practice for popular films to be performed as live radio plays, and IT'S WONDERFUL LIFE was performed live on THE LUX RADIO THEATRE with Stewart recreating his role as George Bailey on December 23, 1947. This radio play adaptation by playwright Joe Landry not only brings the film's beloved story to the stage, but it also recreates the magic of the heyday of radio dramas. Landry has added original pastiches of commercial jingles that run throughout the play and created characters of the radio actors who are playing the characters of the film.
Jack Hickey, the former Artistic Director of Oak Park Festival Theatre, who directed Citadel's THE COTTAGE in 2024, will return to Citadel to direct. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY will open on Friday, November 13 after previews on November 11 and 12, and play through December 13.
Citadel will follow IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE with another story from the 1940's that has never faded in popularity: Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE. In depression-era St. Louis, Amanda Wingfield dreams of her past as an attractive, sought-after southern belle and wants to believe her painfully shy daughter can enjoy the same sort of popularity. Amanda's adult son Tom spends his days working in a shoe warehouse and his nights at the movies, dreaming of a way to find a more exciting life. THE GLASS MENAGERIE premiered in Chicago on December 26, 1944, and was an instant sensation, establishing Williams as a major American playwright. This poetic and emotional work exploring the tension between reality and illusion, will be directed by Scott Shallenbarger, who helmed Citadel's I AND YOU and MIRACLE ON SOUTH DIVISION STREET. Citadel co-founder Ellen Phelps will take on the iconic role of Amanda Wingfield. THE GLASS MENAGERIE will open on Friday, February 12, following previews on February 10 and 11 and play through March 14.
Closing Citadel's 2026-27 season will be ORDINARY DAYS, a musical about four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love and cabs. This sung-through musical featuring 21 songs has been an international hit since it premiered in 2008 in a production at Penn State University. Over the next ten years, it was produced in London (six times), Paris, Barcelona, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Wellington, New Zealand before finally making its off-Broadway premiere in 2018. It has enjoyed continued popularity around the world since then, and its ballad, “I'll Be Here” has been recorded by such artists as Audra McDonald and Liz Callaway. ORDINARY DAYS will be directed for Citadel by Christina Ramirez, who directed RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL for Citadel Theatre in April and May 2026. ORDINARY DAYS will open to the press on Friday, April 16, following previews on April 14 and 15, and play through May 16.
Season subscriptions are available for the full four-show season at $140.00, or as flex passes that can be used for the patron's choice of either three shows for $115.00 or two shows for $80.00. Preview flex passes are also available for $45 (two shows), $55 (three shows), or $65 (four shows). Subscriptions and single tickets priced at $50 (plus ticketing. Fees) are now on sale at www.citadeltheatre.org.
EUREKA DAY
By Jonathan Spector
Directed by Scott Westerman
Friday, September 11 – Sunday, October 11, 2026
(Preview September 9 at 7:30 pm)
Preview ticket prices $27.15 including ticketing fee. Regular run prices $53.40 including ticketing fee. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest, IL.
In this hilarious 2025 Tony Award-winning satire, an elite private school is thrown into crisis when a mumps outbreak divides parents and board members over vaccines. As debates intensify and facts grow slippery, every solution only deepens the conflict. EUREKA DAY asks us to fully recognize the humanity of those we disagree with.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY
By Joe Landry
Directed by Jack Hickey
Friday, November 13 – Sunday, December 13, 2026
(Previews November 11 and 12 at 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Thursdays*, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on November 18 and December 2
No show on Thursday, November 26 (Thanksgiving Day)
Preview ticket prices $27.15 including ticketing fee. Regular run prices $53.40 including ticketing fee. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest, IL.
On one fateful Christmas Eve, George Bailey teeters on the edge of despair, until an unexpected visitor reveals the extraordinary impact of his life. The immortal story of the classic film is told as a lively 1940s radio broadcast. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY blends humor, nostalgia and heart into a timeless reminder that the choices we make can change everything.
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Scott Shallenbarger
Friday, February 12 – Sunday, March 14, 2027
(Previews February 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm)
Thursdays*, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on February 17 and March 3.
Preview ticket prices $27.15 including ticketing fee. Regular run prices $53.40 including ticketing fee. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
The classic play that made Tennessee Williams a household name follows Amanda Wingfield as she struggles to recreate the happier past of her youth for her adult children in their cramped St. Louis apartment. While Amanda clings to memories, Laura retreats into her glass collection and Tom escapes into movies and literature. This poetic, emotional work explores the tension between reality and illusion.
ORDINARY DAYS
A musical by Adam Gwon
Directed by Christina Ramirez
Friday, April 16 – Sunday, May 16, 2027
(Previews April 14-15 at 7:30 pm)
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on April 21 and May 5.
Preview ticket prices $27.15 including ticketing fee. Regular run prices $53.40 including ticketing fee. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
ORDINARY DAYS is a musical about four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love and cabs. Through 21 vibrant, memorable songs, it celebrates life's everyday moments and the small choices that bring strangers together. Since premiering in London and New York City, it has won over audiences around the world.
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