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AMERICAN BLUES THEATER

5627 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659

Upcoming Shows

Come Back, Little Sheba
Come Back, Little Sheba
Feb 6 – Mar 22, 2026

American Blues Theater, under the ongoing leadership of Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, continues its 40th anniversary season with the reimagined classic Come Back, Little...

Always...Patsy Cline
Always...Patsy Cline
May 1 – Jun 7, 2026

American Blues Theater presents the hit jukebox musical, Always…Patsy Cline, created by Ted Swindley with band & vocal orchestrations by August Eriksmoen and Tony Migliore. The American...



Review: JOFFREY BALLET AMERICAN ICONS at Lyric Opera Of Chicago


by Tina St. Angelo - February 23, 2026

The Joffrey Ballet is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The current offering is called Icons. What a gift to the audience. I don’t know if Robert Joffrey had any idea what his company has become. Icons recreate 4 different ballets from different decades over the 20th Century....

Review: THE DANCE OF DEATH at Steppenwolf Theatre Company


by Rachel Weinberg - February 19, 2026

When I think of Steppenwolf, I often think of family members crying, screaming at one another, or some combination of the two. So the sparring between spouses Alice and Captain Edgar in August Strindberg’s 1900 play THE DANCE OF DEATH feels right at home. In a surprisingly funny and sharp version ...

Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Paramount Theatre


by Tina St. Angelo - February 17, 2026

What did our critic think of DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Paramount Theatre Aurora IL?...

Review: HAMNET at Chicago Shakespeare Theater


by Rachel Weinberg - February 14, 2026

Royal Shakespeare Company’s HAMNET is a dramatic and languid stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 buzzy novel of the same name....

Review: THE OUTSIDERS First National Tour Presented by Broadway in Chicago


by Rachel Weinberg - February 13, 2026

THE OUTSIDERS presents an original and vibrant stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s classic 1967 novel about the conflict between Tulsa teen gangs the Greasers and the Socs (short for socialites). The musical — and particularly director Danya Taymor’s inventive and visually dynamic staging — pu...

Review: ON YOUR FEET! at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL


by Tina St. Angelo - February 12, 2026

What did our critic think of ON YOUR FEET! at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL?...

Review: HOLIDAY at Goodman Theatre


by Rachel Weinberg - February 10, 2026

Goodman Theatre continues its centennial season with the endearing and lively romantic comedy HOLIDAY....

Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL


by Tina St. Angelo - February 07, 2026

What did our critic think of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL?...

Review: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Lazy Susan Theatre Co.


by Misha Davenport - February 07, 2026

What did our critic think of DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Lazy Susan Theatre Co.?...

Review: STEREOPHONIC National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago


by Rachel Weinberg - January 29, 2026

David Adjmi’s STEREOPHONIC pulls back the curtain on making a rock album — with all of the minute details, inane band member conversations, and painstaking, spirited artistic conversations that come with it. It centers on an unnamed Fleetwood Mac-esque band in the late 1970s as they record (and ...

Past Shows

It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
Nov 21 – Dec 28, 2025

American Blues Theater celebrates its 24th Annual Production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! from Frank Capra’s film and directed by Executive Artistic...

Things with Friends
Things with Friends
Aug 25 – Oct 4, 2025

World Premiere by Tony Award nominee & Artistic Affiliate Kristoffer Diaz, directed by Artistic Affiliate Dexter Bullard.Manhattan. Burt and Adele are hosting a dinner party....

It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
Nov 29 – Dec 22, 2024

American Blues Theater presents its 23rd annual production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, adapted from Frank Capra's classic film. Directed by Gwendolyn...

The Lion
The Lion
Jan 15

American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, presents the live, online reading of The Lion written and performed by Ensemble...

It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Nov 14 – Jan 4, 2020

As the second longest holiday play in Chicago, the American Blues Ensemble has treated Chicago audiences to a live 1940s radio broadcast of holiday favorite...

Five Presidents
Five Presidents
Sep 6 – Oct 19, 2019

Five Presidents features John Carter Brown (George H.W. Bush), Jim Leaming* (Ronald Reagan), Martin LHerault (Jimmy Carter), Tom McElroy (Gerald Ford), Stephen Spencer (Bill Clinton),...

The Spitfire Grill
The Spitfire Grill
Jul 12 – Aug 17, 2019

A feisty parolee follows her dreams, based on a page from an old travel book, to a small town in Wisconsin and finds a place...

The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
Mar 29 – Apr 27, 2019

Ensemble member Joe Foust portrays every character in a small Jersey Shore town as he unravels the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and...

It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Nov 16 – Jan 5, 2019

As the second longest holiday play in Chicago, the American Blues Ensemble has treated Chicago audiences to a live 1940s radio broadcast of holiday favorite...

Flyin West
Flyin West
Oct 5 – Nov 3, 2018

Following the end of the Civil War, many former slaves took advantage of The Homestead Act and went West to build new lives for themselves...

On Clover Roadd
On Clover Roadd
Feb 1 – Mar 16, 2018

At an abandoned motel on a desolate American road, a mother meets with a cult deprogrammer, believing she will be reunited with her runaway daughter....

It's A Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
It's A Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
Nov 20 – Dec 27, 2015

CHICAGO—Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago’s second oldest Equity ensemble, are proud to announce the return of the critically acclaimed It’s...

The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
Aug 28 – Sep 27, 2015

CHICAGO – Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago’s second oldest Equity ensemble celebrating 30 years of presenting visceral theatrical works while...

Collected Stories
Apr 19 – May 19, 2013

Ruth Steiner, a critically acclaimed, seasoned author, takes her student, Lisa, under her wing. What begins as a mentorship flourishes into a deeper maternal friendship....

Love Me Some Amnesia
Apr 13 – May 13, 2012
Waiting for Lefty
Sep 2 – Oct 2, 2011

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