Much Chicago theater this fall is focusing on the concerns of the moment: battles over school reading lists and old friends being ripped apart due to their standing on the opposite sides of the all-American political divide.
Some shows look at historical events to explore the reality of the present: the history of the contraceptive pill, a brilliant World War II prank from British intelligence, and one of the very few plays in the world that honors the mores of Chicago journalists, a weird crew in the 1920s and still bizarre today.
We’ve focused our list heavily on new work, of which there is much. But we also found room for “Jekyll & Hyde,” ground zero for throaty power ballads.
The season’s offerings range far beyond 10 shows, of course — there are more theater openings this fall than has been the case since the ravages of the pandemic. But here are 10 to try.
See you at the theater.
“Adirondack Chair Circle”
When you build a new theater-in-the-round, as did Steppenwolf Theatre, a title like “Adirondack Chair Circle” must look attractive. Actually, this is a show about suburban moms “armed with pickleball paddles and hard kombucha,” fighting over which books should or should not in their kids’ school library. So you expect a show about the culture wars that fill our feeds and also a continuation of the venerable Steppenwolf tradition of critiquing liberal elites, maybe sympathetically, maybe not. Happily, this is not only a world premiere by a Chicago playwright, Stephanie Alison Walker, but also marks the return to Chicago of the distinguished, Tony Award-winning director Pam MacKinnon, whose past Chicago work has included “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Downstate.” As a bonus, the stellar Steppenwolf ensemble member Caroline Neff is one of the stars. Oct. 22 to Dec. 6 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.; www.steppenwolf.org
“The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying on My Back”
This unusual but totally fascinating start to the Goodman Theatre’s 2026-27 season is the world premiere of a show created and directed by the former trapeze artist Shana Carroll, the cofounding artistic director of the Canadian circus company known as The 7 Fingers (which has worked previously in Chicago). Essentially the debut of an international tour, “The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying on My Back,” is said to be a memoir, springing from the “primal vista” of the Tony Award-winning Carroll’s childhood bedroom.” That is very on-brand for the world-class 7 Fingers, known for its fusion of very personal narrative with trapeze work and other forms of circus-infused physical theater. Several year ago, Carroll told me that she wanted to strike out differently from the Cirque du Soleil, in which the identities of original performers are subsumed into the broader concept, and allow circus performers to speak for themselves. Or, in this case, herself. Sept. 5 to Oct. 4 in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.; www.goodmantheatre.org
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“Kowalski”
One night in a beach house in Providence, Rhode Island, a 23-year-old Marlon Brando showed up at the behest of his director, Elia Kazan, to meet the famous playwright Tennessee Williams. As the story goes, Brando, who had hitchhiked his way to Cape Cod, first fixed Williams’ plumbing issues in his cottage and then proceeded to win him over as a potential star of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The rest, of course, is Broadway and Hollywood history. “Kowalski,” a commercial production that is eyeing a return to New York with this play by Gregg Ostrin, stars Johnny Galecki, well-known to audiences for his work on “The Big Bang Theory” and “Roseanne,” as Williams, and Jacob Moskovitz as Brando. So this is essentially a pre-Broadway tryout on Michigan Avenue. Sept. 15 to Oct. 25 at Lookingglass Theatre in the Water Tower Water Works, 163 E. Pearson St.; www.lookingglasstheatre.org
“The Birth of the Pill”
The Chicago author Jonathan Eig, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is the author of such works of biography as “Ali: A Life” (a book about the boxer Mohammad Ali) and “King: A Life” (a widely acclaimed exploration of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.). But he has also written about revolutionary events that go beyond individuals, including the 2014 work, “The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution.” That book has now been dramatized by playwright Jessica Huang, and the theatrical version will premiere at TimeLine Theatre this fall under the direction of Sandra Marquez, best known as a Chicago performer. TimeLine, of course, has a new theater in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, and this will be only the second show to take the stage there. The backstory of the birth-control revolution is not widely known and likely will draw many curious beneficiaries to this growing Chicago theater. Sept. 2 to Oct. 4 at TimeLine Theatre, 5035 N. Broadway; timelinetheatre.com
“The Front Page”
The long-lived Northlight Theatre bows its all-new Evanston theater this fall, built from the ground up to the tune of $33 million and an event long in the making. It’s a homecoming for this company, founded in the near north suburb in 1974 by Gregory Kandel, Mike Nussbaum and Frank Galati. The first show, aptly enough, is a fresh version of a beloved Chicago classic: “The Front Page,” as adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, from the comedic original by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. This is the world premiere of Hatcher’s new take (ace reporter Hildy Johnson will be played by Kate Fry, so there are some changes), although the original ode to the glories of Chicago journalism was first produced in 1928. Artistic director BJ Jones, who finally has the new theater he has sought for decades, will take the helm. With much-deserved relish, no doubt. Sept. 9 to Oct. 18 at Northlight Theatre, 1012 Church St., Evanston; www.northlight.org
“Hayward”
As an actress, Netta Walker made our “Hot New Faces” list soon after arriving in Chicago. But she’s also a linguistically rich playwright who impressed us this spring with the hip romantic dramedy “Keerah” at Definition Theatre. Walker is also an ensemble member at Gift Theatre, which is producing the world premiere of her next play, “Hayward,” in Steppenwolf’s intimate 1700 Theater. “Hayward” is a new work influenced by classical theater from “Electra” to “Hamlet” and, drawing from Walker’s own experience, explores a woman’s grief after the death of her father. AmBer Montgomery directs and the cast includes Gift ensemble members Shanesia Davis and Gregory Fenner. Oct. 14 to Nov. 22 by Gift Theatre in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St; thegifttheatre.org
“Heroes of the Fourth Turning”
Will Arbery’s 2019 play is set during a college reunion and explores the debate between a group of alumni who are unafraid to talk about both politics and religion. The off-Broadway work (which I have not yet seen) has been praised for its even-handedness and also for its inclusion of conservative characters rarely heard from in the nonprofit American theater of today. Aptly enough, it’s part of a season at the venerable A Red Orchid Theatre in Old Town that has been given the title, “World on Fire.” The theater artist Dado directs; the cast has yet to be announced, but these are juicy roles, and intense acting is a Red Orchid speciality. Oct. 29 to Dec. 6 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St.; aredorchidtheatre.org
“The Humanities”
This fall sees the renaissance of the long-dormant, Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater, a company important not just for the longevity of its commitment to new Chicago plays but for its ownership of the historic Biograph Theatre, a venerable venue in Lincoln Park that is crucial to the economic fortunes of Lincoln Avenue and beyond. Victory Gardens found itself mired in controversy over various personnel choices and a fraught relationship with its prior constituent artists, but it is now under new (interim) artistic leadership from Eddie Torres, a respected figure with a long Chicago history. “The Humanities” is a new play from Zayd Ayers Dohrn (“Revolution(s)” at Goodman Theatre), and its fictional plot draws from the headlines as it explores what happens when a controversial speaker is invited to lecture at an elite American university. Dohrn teaches at Northwestern University, so one might assume he is familiar with the issue. Sept. 10 to Oct. 4 at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.; www.victorygardens.org
“Jekyll & Hyde”
Only very rarely have hit off-Loop productions moved downtown for an extended run in collaboration with Broadway in Chicago. But Kokandy Productions’ “Jekyll & Hyde” was not only a feast of youthful creativity but a whole new take on a title that might not have ever been a critics’ favorite but sure has been beloved by audiences for decades. (I remember reviewing the first road tour eons ago in Texas and it was nuts!) As penned by Frank Wildhorn, Steve Cuden and Leslie Bricusse, “Jekyll & Hyde” is a campy blast and comes with more boffo power ballads (“This Is the Moment,” “Someone Like You” and “A New Life), even more than “Chess,” which is going some. We’ll have to see how the original Chopin Theatre staging translates to the bigger Broadway Playhouse, but neither the original cast nor the 15-piece live orchestra will have any problem filling the space. Bring it on! Sept. 8 to Nov. 8 at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 W. Chestnut St.; www.broadwayinchicago.com
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“Operation Mincemeat”
This unusual parody musical, now out on its first national tour, takes its cue from the real-life, highly successful 1943 caper (which involved planting a dead body) that was dreamed up by the British intelligence services. The idea was to create a decoy that would skedaddle thousands of Nazi soldiers from Sicily by making them think the Allied forces were headed to Sardinia instead. That might not sound like fodder for a musical, but this very funny five-character show from London’s West End offers, as I noted in my Broadway review, a “very British signature blend of Monty Python and ‘Goon Show’-like humor, ‘Billy Elliot’-like music, ‘Hamilton’-like rhythms and a hip, post-modern staging (that) will tickle the American fancy.” The tour now has an American cast, but that’s also true on Broadway, where “Operation Mincemeat” has managed to survive even as flashier, more expensive shows have tanked. Sept. 29 to Oct. 11 at CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.; www.broadwayinchicago.com
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.