Goodman Theatre announces 2026-2027 season
Goodman Theatre embarks upon its second century with a 2026-2027 lineup that includes five world or Chicago-area premieres, one of them circus-based, a major rock musical revival and two new plays for children, along with perennial favorites “A Christmas Carol” and The New Stages Festival.
The Albert Theatre season begins Sept. 5 with the world premiere of “The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying on My Back” by The 7 Fingers, a Montreal circus collective. Written, directed and choreographed by former trapeze artist Shana Carroll, “The Attic” recounts her life story.
That’s followed by Goodman’s 49th annual production of “A Christmas Carol” (Nov. 13-Dec. 31).
The new year begins with the Chicago premiere (in collaboration with the Guthrie Theater) of “John Proctor is the Villain” (Jan. 23-Feb. 21, 2027). Kimberly Belflower’s acclaimed play is about Georgia high school students reexamining Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement.
Emmy Award-winner S. Epatha Merkerson (“Chicago Med,” “Law and Order”) stars in Goodman’s revival of Marsha Norman’s two-hander “’night, Mother” (March 27-April 25, 2027), about a troubled woman who confides her life-altering decision to her mother over the course of their last evening together.
The Albert season concludes with the latest in a series of hard rockin’ tuners at the Goodman. Artistic director Susan V. Booth helms a revival of Green Day’s “American Idiot” (June 18-July 25, 2027), adapted from the band’s Grammy Award-winning album of the same name about restless twentysomethings trying to comprehend and transform their lives.
The Owen Theatre season begins Sept. 26 with “Dead Girl’s Quinceañera,” Phanésia Pharel’s tale of three friends who get concerned when their bestie Maria does not respond to their messages in the 36 hours since an unknown emergency terminated her Quinceañera.
The 22nd free New Stages Festival, showcasing new and in-development plays, takes place Dec. 5-13.
Next up is Goodman’s world premiere of “FEAST!” (Feb. 27-March 28, 2027), a satire about power and privilege by Chicago playwright Calamity West. It centers on a recently fired woman who decides with her husband to host an expensive dinner they had planned “to prove they still have a place at the table.”
Then it’s the Chicago premiere of “The XIXth (The Nineteenth)” (April 17-May 16, 2027), Kemp Powers’ fictionalized account of African American Olympic champions Tommie Smith and John Carlos following their protest on the podium during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Children’s productions include the interactive “In the Loop” (Jan. 30-Feb. 28, 2027), a celebration of Chicago neighborhoods produced in cooperation with Northwestern University. The theater also will stage its first youth commission by playwright Marisa Carr in summer 2027.
Ongoing shows include David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar’s immersive “Theater of the Mind” at 333 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, and Dennis Watkins’ The Magic Parlour, produced in partnership with the restaurant Petterino’s, 50 W. Randolph St., Chicago.
Memberships, including flexible packages, start at $54 and are available at (312) 443-3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org/2627. Single tickets go on sale in June.