Posted 13 months ago in Trending, Theatre, Arts & Culture
7 MIN READ – Goodman Theatre has announce their inaugural season for new Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. The 2023/2024 season begins September 2023 and continues through August 2024. Memberships, including flexible packages, are now available for purchase. Catch the shows here in the Loop.
The complete 2023/2024 Season line-up:
IN THE ALBERT THEATRE (856-SEAT PROSCENIUM STAGE)
The Nacirema SocietyRequests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred YearsBy Pearl CleageDirected by Lili-Anne BrownSeptember 16 – October 15, 2023 | A Chicago Premiere
Susan Booth launches her first season as Artistic Director with this “laugh-out-loud” (BroadwayWorld.com) “hilarious comedy” (ArtsATL.com) by Pearl Cleage—nationally renowned playwright, poet and New York Times best-selling author.
Every year since Emancipation, The Nacirema Society of Montgomery, Alabama introduces six elegant African American debutantes to a world of wealth, privilege and social responsibility. For these young ladies, bus boycotts and freedom marches are less interesting than making a perfect entrance—or, plotting the perfect blackmail. As the Society celebrates its centennial…with young love brewing, old flames simmering and national media attention abounding…what would dare go awry? This Chicago premiere marks 25 years since playwright, poet, activist and novelist Pearl Cleage’s work has appeared on the Goodman stage (1998’s Blues for an Alabama Sky, directed by Chuck Smith). The Nacirema Society will be the centerpiece of a citywide celebration of Ms. Cleage, produced with partnering organizations—including Congo Square, Definition Theatre, ETA Creative Arts Foundation, MPAACT, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and more—who offer other entry points to the award-winner’s body of work.
Highway PatrolText Arranged and Curated by Jen SilvermanBased on the Digital Archives of Dana DelanyCreated by Dana Delany, Mike Donahue, Dane Laffrey and Jen SilvermanDirected by Mike DonahueJanuary 20 – February 18, 2024 | A World Premiere
Emmy Award-winner Dana Delany (China Beach, Desperate Housewives) stars in this new thriller—part love story, part ghost story—crafted from hundreds of tweets and DMs.
TIMESTAMP: October, 2012: “@DanaDelany, Are you married? If not, I’d marry you.” When Cam, a 13-year-old fan in a desperate medical situation captures actress Dana Delany's attention on Twitter, she’s quickly swept into an intense, around-the-clock online friendship. But when Cam starts receiving messages from beyond, Dana is thrust into a world where unexpected revelations raise the question of how far we go to love and be loved.
The PenelopiadBy Margaret AtwoodDirected by Susan V. BoothMarch 2 – 31, 2024 | A Chicago Premiere
For her first production as Goodman Theatre Artistic Director, Susan Booth directs an unexpected remix of Homer’s The Odyssey—“stunning theater…satanically witty, profoundly moving” (Toronto Star)—told by the celebrated and subversive author of The Handmaid’s Tale.
It’s her turn. Penelope has waited 20 years for her husband to return from the Trojan War. Now, as authorial control of the famous story shifts to Odysseus’ long-suffering wife—and the 12 faithful maids who have long tended to her—we discover a new perspective on the domestic vigil. This ancient tale told anew by “one of the most admired authors in North America” (NPR) gives voice to those left behind.
August Wilson's
Joe Turner’s Come and GoneDirected by Chuck SmithApril 13 – May 19, 2024 | A Major Revival
A journey of self-discovery leads to salvation in this major revival of the Pulitzer prize-winner’s masterwork.
On the heels of Gem of the Ocean (2022), expert August Wilson interpreter Chuck Smith revives the second work in the Pulitzer Prize winner’s famed cycle—one of his best-loved, most compelling plays. Herald Loomis searches the country with his young daughter to find his estranged wife. But first, he must regain a sense of his own heritage and identity in this story of spiritual and emotional resurrection.
Female TroublesA Period PieceMusic by Curtis Moore, Lyrics by Amanda GreenWritten by Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer CrittendenJune 25 – August 4, 2024 | A World Premiere
An original musical comedy from the head writers for Seinfeld and Veep.
Elinor Benton finds herself surprisingly and undeniably knocked up—and, since she's unmarried and this is 19th century England, she has a very big problem. Facing devastating ruin, Elinor and her girlfriends set off on a raucous carriage trip to London seeking the services of Madame Restell, an infamous midwife who advertises cures for women with “female troubles.” Through the lens of the past, this original musical comedy comments on the present, asking the trenchant question, “Can You Believe This Sh*t's Still Happening in 1810?”
IN THE OWEN THEATRE (350-SEAT FLEXIBLE STAGE)
Goodman Theatre and Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) presentLucha TeotlWritten and Directed by Christopher Llewyn Ramirez and Jeff ColangeloOriginally Developed by Prism Movement TheaterSeptember 29 – October 29, 2023 | A Chicago Premiere
Pro wrestling bursts onto the stage in a high-octane, immersive, 90-minute thrill ride.
It’s a night in the theater that you’ll never forget. Experience the heart-pumping action ringside, as the Goodman transforms into a professional wrestling arena—a perfect backdrop for the high drama and rich cultural history of lucha libre. Originally developed with Prism Movement Theater and produced in partnership with CLATA as part of 2023 Destinos Festival, actors and luchadores (wrestlers) in masks representative of Aztec gods play out an exciting wrestling story about family, honor, tradition and redemption.
The Matchbox Magic FluteAdapted and Directed by Mary ZimmermanFebruary 10 – March 10, 2024 | A World Premiere
In her acclaimed signature style, Mary Zimmerman conceives a brand new theatrical adaptation of Mozart’s beloved opera.
Big music in a small space, this “matchbox” presentation of The Magic Flute features a cast of 10 and orchestra of five—following the fantastic adventures of Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina. With dragons, a man who is a bird, trials by fire and water and underground corridors, Day and Night do battle.
EnglishBy Sanaz ToossiDirected by Hamid DehghaniMay 10 – June 9, 2024 | A Chicago Premiere Co-Production with Guthrie Theater
This smash Off-Broadway hit and Obie Award-winning “rich new play, contemplative and comic” (New York Times Critics’ Pick) makes its Chicago premiere.
“English Only.” Four adult students in Karaj, Iran are studying for the Test of English as a Foreign Language—the key to their green card, medical school admission or family reunification. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half.
46th Annual A Christmas CarolBy Charles Dickens In the Albert TheatreAdapted by Tom CreamerDirected by Jessica ThebusStarring Larry Yando as ScroogeNovember 18 – December 31, 2023
More than 1.5 million theatergoers have attended “the crown jewel of the holiday season” (Daily Herald) since the Goodman established it as an annual offering in 1978—a time when only a handful of U.S. theaters mounted the production. Dickens’ holiday classic is the iconic tale of greedy businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, whose sizable bank account is only matched by his disdain for the holidays. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who take him on a spectacular adventure through his past, present and future, helping him rediscover the joys of life, love and friendship.
New Stages Festival November and December 2023 (Dates TBA)FREE In the Owen Theatre
The 19th annual New Stages Festival of new plays includes developmental productions and staged readings. Founded in 2004, the New Stages Festival is a celebration of innovative new plays designed to give playwrights an opportunity to take risks and experiment. New Stages offers Chicago theatergoers a first look at dozens of plays, many of which have gone on to become successful full productions—including Noah Haidle’s Smokefall, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined and more.
