My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Photo Flash: THE LAST DEFENDER Begins Extended Run Tonight at The House Theatre of Chicago

By:

After selling out more than 90 percent of the live action game times for The House Theater of Chicago's THE LAST DEFENDER, the show is extending four additional weeks (46 performances), running tonight, March 30, through April 23, 2016 at The Chopin Theater Downstairs, 1543 W. Division St. Plus, BroadwayWorld has a look at the cast in action below!

Artistic Director Nathan Allen and Company Member and D.C. Comics artist Chris Burnham, have teamed up with some of Chicago's best loved puzzle and game designers in this world premiere. Together, they created a wholly new experiment in immersive story and stagecraft call THE LAST DEFENDER. It's part performance, part puzzle hunt, and part live action game.

Set during the Cold War, THE LAST DEFENDER draws on the era's sense of paranoia, and fear of nuclear attack to give audiences a one-of-a-kind storytelling experience. Audience members become the heroes of the story in The Defenders' underground headquarters. The United States and The Soviet Union are still mired in the Cold War. Artificial intelligence has been deployed alongside 8 bit arcade-style computer technologies to control our nuclear weapons.

The game will present teams of players with a classic "trolley problem" resulting in three possible endings based on their choices and actions: Nuclear War, which is easy to achieve. Nuclear Peace, which is very difficult, and a costly compromise scenario for teams who fail to reach Nuclear Peace but wish to avoid Nuclear War. Players will navigate their own paranoia, as well as the stresses of Mutually Assured Destruction to do the job of The Defenders. Everyone will work as a team to gather information, solve puzzles, and make increasingly difficult decisions in real time. All to complete The Defenders' mission and save the world.

Photo Credit: Johnny Knight

Photo Flash: THE LAST DEFENDER Begins Extended Run Tonight at The House Theatre of Chicago Image
The cast of THE LAST DEFENDER

Photo Flash: THE LAST DEFENDER Begins Extended Run Tonight at The House Theatre of Chicago Image
The cast of THE LAST DEFENDER

Photo Flash: THE LAST DEFENDER Begins Extended Run Tonight at The House Theatre of Chicago Image
The cast of THE LAST DEFENDER

Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Direction of a Play - Top 3
1. Joe Mantello - Death of a Salesman
19.6% of votes
2. Duncan MacMillan, Jeremy Herrin - Every Brilliant Thing
17.4% of votes
3. Whitney White - Liberation
9.7% of votes

Don't Miss a Chicago News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...

Local Shows
Windfall in Chicago Windfall
Steppenwolf Theatre Company (4/09-5/31)
South Pacific in Chicago South Pacific
Paramount Arts Centre (4/29-6/14)
The Lifespan of a Fact in Chicago The Lifespan of a Fact
Parker Players Theater (4/24-5/17) PHOTOS VIDEOS
Annie in Chicago Annie
The Little Theatre On The Square (7/16-7/26)
Uncle Vanya in Chicago Uncle Vanya
Edge Off-Broadway (6/18-7/05)
Job in Chicago Job
Writers Theatre (4/09-6/14)
Very Verismo! in Chicago Very Verismo!
Opera Festival of Chicago (6/13-6/13)
The Three Little Pigs at Stahl Family Theatre in Chicago The Three Little Pigs at Stahl Family Theatre
Chicago Kids Company (5/06-7/31)
The Movement You Need: An Evening with Brendan Hunt in Chicago The Movement You Need: An Evening with Brendan Hunt
Steppenwolf Theatre Company (4/19-5/20)
Two Out of Three Falls in Chicago Two Out of Three Falls
The Factory Theater (6/04-7/18)


Videos