and thou shalt be healed
American Blues Theater presents the 2026 Blue Ink Playwriting Festival in August, featuring staged readings of new works by playwright Nia Akilah Robinson, the 2026...
American Blues Theater
5627 N Lincoln AveChicago, IL 60659
Upcoming Shows
Overnight at the Museum
Overnight at the Museum, written by Nia Akilah Robinson, is the recipient of the 2026 Blue Ink Award for playwriting at American Blues Theater. The...
The Scouts of America Don't Sell Cookies, B*tch
The 2026 Blue Ink Playwriting Festival at American Blues Theater presents staged readings of new works, including the award-winning Overnight at the Museum by Nia...
Black Girl from a White Suburb
A tour-de-force solo show by artistic affiliate Tania Richard, directed by J. Nicole Brooks. Growing up in an all-white Chicago suburb, Richard spent her days...
It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
Based on the film by Frank Capra, this 25th anniversary production is directed by Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside with music direction by ensemble member...
UHURU
Written by Gloria Majule and directed by Mikael Burke, this Chicago Premiere is a sharp satire following an unlikely foursome ascending Mount Kilimanjaro. The dramedy...
The Conquered
Written by Ken Urban and directed by Jonathan Berry, this world premiere is the winner of the 2024 Blue Ink Award for playwriting. Jane is...
Review: Raven Theatre's OCTET at Goodman Theatre
I loved Dave Molloy’s inventive and captivating a cappella musical Octet at Raven Theatre so much that here I am, reviewing it a second time in short succession now that it’s moved to the Goodman’s Owen Theatre. Director Keira Fromm leads an ensemble of eight that shines just as brightly in th…
Review: 52 LOVERS at Chicago Magic Lounge
52 Lovers is a thoroughly entertaining, surprisingly introspective, and profoundly motivational show, complete with a dash of subtle absurdist humor, plenty of magical amazement, and all around simple fun.…
Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at Catalyst Ranch
Enter a freight elevator off the back alley of Randolph Street and step into the eclectic space that is the Catalyst Ranch Studio, a venue that perfectly sets the tone for JK Entertainment’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, directed by Arlo Kiss and text by John Cameron Mitchell.…
Review: THE WIZARD OF OZ at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre ends its 26th season with an all-time classic, bringing an impressive production of The Wizard of Oz to its stage.…
Review: Gwydion Theatre's DRY POWDER at Greenhouse Theater Center
Dry Powder gives us a bleak glance at the logic and operations that run the American economy and ruin American lives in this fast-paced allegory of how money can corrupt.…
Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at Oak Park Festival Theatre, Oak Park IL
Oak Park Festival Theatre continues its 51st Anniversary season with Oscar Wilde’s smashing comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. First produced in 1895, the play is memorable from Wilde’s fast wit and the farcical parody of the English upper class. Oak Park’s production of Earnest, directe…
Review: SUFFS Musical Tour at Broadway In Chicago
All in all, Suffs musical nails the intent and the tremendous hard work of the women involved in the suffrage movement, but it mainly lacks emotion. I wanted Suffs to be more emotionally evocative and less of a history lesson.…
Review: HAMLET at Oak Park Festival Theatre, Oak Park IL
The curtain rises on Oak Park Festival Theatre’s 51st Anniversary Season with the production of William Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy Hamlet. With over 50 years in Austen Gardens, the company presents the play with detail, intelligence, emotion and charm for the audience to enjoy.…
Review: REALITY DETOX: THE IMPROV EXPERIENCE at The Second City e.t.c.
The Second City e.t.c.’s 50th revue Reality Detox promises more improv than ever before. While originally billed as an all-improv piece, ensemble members Kennedy Baldwin, Anna Portnick, Chas Lilly, Max Thomas (appearing in his second e.t.c revue), Annie Sullivan, and Riley Woolen haven’t quite m…
Review: THEATRE EVOLVE'S NATIVE GARDENS at The Den Theatre
Theatre Evolve brings the beauty of nature and clash of comedy in their current production of Native Gardens at the Den Theatre. Premiering at the Cincinnati Playhouse on January 23, 2016, playwright Karen Zacarías has become one of the most produced Latina playwrights in the United States. While c…
Past Shows
Always...Patsy Cline
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...
Come Back, Little Sheba
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...
It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
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
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!
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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....
|
Disney's The Little Mermaid The Performing Arts Center (7/18-8/02) |
|
EWP presents Robbie Fulks & Griffin William Sherry Showcase Raue Center For The Arts (8/07-8/07) |
|
The Dave Matthews Tribute Band Raue Center For The Arts (9/25-9/25) |
|
Hedwig and the Angry Inch Catalyst Ranch (7/09-7/26) |
|
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical CIBC Theatre (9/29-10/11) |
|
O.A.R., Gavin DeGraw & KT Tunstall Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island (9/06-9/06) |
|
Rhythm World 36 Festival Showcase Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago (8/05-8/05) |
|
Annie The Little Theatre On The Square (7/16-7/26) |
|
Jingle Belles Comedy Raue Center For The Arts (12/10-12/10) |
|
Night Owl Bike Ride Raue Center For The Arts (8/08-8/08) |