Loop favorites during Chicago Theatre Week

5 MIN READ – Chicago Theatre Week (CTW) has become a staple in the city, especially in the Loop's theatre district, and returns for its 13th year, February 6-16, 2025.

Chicago Cultural center

Explore the vibrant world of theater at the Chicago Cultural Center during Chicago Theatre Week. From February 15-16 and February 22-23, 2025, the center's Studio Theatre will host a special series of free performances. The selected works will also feature four exciting works-in-progress from talented Chicago Cultural Center Dance Studio Residency artists. It's a great chance to see some unique and thought-provoking productions!

Here’s the lineup of readings you won’t want to miss:

• The Last Senior Home in Bronzeville (Nikki Carpenter, produced by Quenna Lené Barrett) – A compelling comedy/drama about gentrification and the fight of senior citizens to preserve their community. (February 22 at 10 a.m. & February 23 at 3 p.m.)

• Las Fantasmas y Frida Kahlo (Spencer Diaz Tootle, produced by The Story Theatre) – A dark comedy that delves into the historical legacy and identity of Frida Kahlo’s haunted home. (February15 at 10 a.m. & February 22 at 2 p.m.)

• frikiNation (Krystal Ortiz, produced by UrbanTheater Company) – A bilingual jukebox musical that takes you to 90s Cuba, where rebellious youth challenge political oppression. (February 15 at 7 p.m. & February 23 at 11 a.m.)

• Your Hands Are Like Mine (Kiara Rivera, produced by Victor Hugo Jaimes) – A magical realism play exploring eating disorders and body dysmorphia as generational coping mechanisms. (February 15 at 2 p.m. & February 16 at 11 a.m.)

Check out the full schedule here.

Fat Ham

Are you a Shakespeare fan? Check out Fat Ham playing at the Goodman Theatre, where "a boisterous Southern cookout sets the scene for a Black, queer discovery of self and resilience in this Pulitzer Prize-winning, five-time Tony nominated “uproarious reimagining of Hamlet” (The New Yorker). See show times and purchase tickets here.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Salonen Conducts Bluebeard's Castle, a suspenseful and gripping one-act opera by Bartók. The story follows Duke Bluebeard and his new wife Judith as she unlocks the seven doors of his castle, each revealing more disturbing secrets. Opera stars Christian Van Horn and Ekaterina Gubanova breathe life into these tragic characters. To contrast the dark tale, Beethoven’s vibrant Second Symphony offers a bright and lively counterpoint. View more details here.

Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert

Spend an evening at the Civic Opera House and see Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert: The Puccini Heroines. After her triumph in works by Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, the American diva will display her vocal brilliance in arias from Tosca, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, and more, accompanied by the Lyric Opera Orchestra under Enrique Mazzola. Don’t miss this passionate celebration of Puccini’s timeless music. Learn more here.