Theater

Spotlight: Jenna Fischer, Francis Guinan star in ‘Ashland Avenue’ premiere at Goodman

Posted September 03, 2025 9:10 am

Jenna Fischer and Francis Guinan rehearse for Goodman Theatre's world premiere of the Chicago-set “Ashland Avenue” by Lee Kirk. Courtesy of Todd Rosenberg Photography

Premieres and more premieres

• Chicago favorite Francis Guinan plays a plucky TV and video store owner whose last location is struggling and “The Office” veteran Jenna Fischer plays his daughter and heir apparent who has different plans for her future in “Ashland Avenue,” a new Chicago-set dramedy by Lee Kirk (Fischer’s husband). Artistic director Susan V. Booth directs Goodman Theatre’s world premiere.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 10-12; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13; and 2 p.m. Sept. 14 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 15. $33-$148. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

Simmery Branch, left, LaKecia Harris, Felisha McNeal and Marcus D. Moore star in Lifeline Theatre’s premiere of “Rabbits in Their Pockets.”

• A pair of estranged siblings have one last chance to put grief behind them and create joy in “Rabbits in Their Pockets,” a new play by Chicago playwright Kimberly Dixon-Mays at Lifeline Theatre. Christopher Wayland directs the world premiere, which was developed through the company’s BIPOC developmental workshop program.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Sept. 5 and 12; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sept. 6 and 13; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 14. $30, $45. (773) 761-4477 or lifelinetheatre.com.

Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble members Tim Hopper, left, and Namir Smallwood rehearse for the Chicago premiere of fellow ensemble member Rajiv Joseph’s latest play, “Mr. Wolf.” Courtesy of Joel Moorman

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company launches its 50th season with the Chicago premiere of ensemble member Rajiv Joseph’s “Mr. Wolf,” about a family reuniting with the teenage daughter who was abducted from them 12 years earlier.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, Sept. 11-12 and 18-19; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 and 20; 3 p.m. Sept. 14; and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 and 17 at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. $20-$128.50. (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

• “TL; DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix,” a riff on the 1991 film “Thelma & Louise” by EllaRose Chary and Brandon James Gwinn, is described as a rock concert and examination of the queer experience. The show gets its Midwest premiere courtesy of Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sept. 6 and 13, and 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at 721 N. Howard St., Evanston. The show opens Sept. 14. $10-$40. (773) 939-4101 or theo-u.com.

· Idle Muse Theatre Company examines the origins of a legend in “The Blood Countess,” Michael Dalberg’s new play inspired by Erzsebet Bathory. She was a 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman and accused serial killer who reportedly bathed in the blood of her virgin victims and who some historians claim was the subject of a witch-hunt. Founding ensemble member Tristan Brandon directs the world premiere.

Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 11-12, at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 13. $20, $30. (773) 340-9438 or idlemuse.org.

Andrew Pond plays New Orleans crime boss Carlos Marcello in “Uncle Carlos Explains,” a new play by Leigh Johnson in its world premiere at Subtext Theater Company. Courtesy of Subtext Theater Company

· Andrew Pond plays New Orleans crime boss Carlos Marcello in “Uncle Carlos Explains,” a new play by Leigh Johnson in which Marcello recalls rising through the criminal underworld and running afoul of Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Subtext Theater Company stages the world premiere at St. Bonaventure Theater.

8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 11-13; 2 p.m. Sept. 14 and through Sept. 27, at 1625 W. Diversey Parkway, Chicago. $20-$30. subtextnfp.org.

‘Pippin’ revival

MadKap Productions revives “Pippin,” the 1972 musical by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and writer Roger O. Hirson about a young prince searching for life’s meaning who becomes disillusioned by war, distracted by sex and overwhelmed by the duties of a king.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5-6; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, and through Sept. 24, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie. $42, $48. (847) 677-7761 or skokietheatre.org.

Fighting Words Festival

Babes With Blades hosts its annual Fighting Words Festival, a showcase consisting of staged readings of in-development plays. The plays are: “Calvaria: A Play for Feral Girls,” about a girl who joins young females who communicate with gods; “Two Out of Three Falls,” about a daughter’s attempt to avenge her wrestler father’s death; and “yo ho.,” a campy tale about two female pirates.

2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sept. 6 and 13, and 2:30 p.m. Sundays, Sept. 7 and 14, at Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St., Chicago. $10 suggested ticket price. babeswithblades.org.

Going solo

Neo-Futurist ensemble member Abby Pajakowski examines how to prepare for the pending apocalypse in her solo show “Abby Paj Tries to Stay Alive.”

7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 11-13, and through Oct. 4 at the Neo Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. $20. neofuturists.org.

In other theater news

• Through Sept. 14, or while supplies last, the League of Chicago Theatres offers $20 tickets ($25.25 with fees) for select productions exclusively through Hot Tix at hottix.org.

• Stars & Garters, a new entertainment venue showcasing burlesque, improv and stand-up comedy, opened recently at 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. It’s inspired by the Star & Garter Theater, which opened as a burlesque theater in 1908 at 815 W. Madison St., Chicago, that was transformed into a vaudeville house and movie theater before closing in 1971. (773) 242-9929 or starsandgarters.club.