Spotlight: Comedy classic ‘The Front Page’ heralds Northlight’s Evanston homecoming

Northlight inaugural

Northlight Theatre inaugurates its new home in Evanston with the premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of “The Front Page,” based on the play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the 1940 screwball comedy “His Girl Friday.” The story centers on reporter Hildy Johnson (Kate Fry) who’s quitting her job to remarry, and her editor and ex-husband Walter Burns (Timothy Edward Kane), who’s doing his best to prevent that from happening.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Sept. 9-11 and 15-17; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12-13 at 1012 Church St., Evanston. The show opens Sept. 18. Tickets start at $36. (847) 563-8400 or northlight.org.

Premieres and more premieres

• American Blues Theater opens its 41st season with the premiere of “Black Girl from a White Suburb,” a solo show by artistic affiliate Tania Richard inspired by her experience growing up in an all-white Chicago suburb. In the play, Richard examines a culture that “often relegates Black women to supporting characters.” J. Nicole Brooks directs.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-5; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6; 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at 5627 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 10. (773) 654-3103 or americanbluestheater.com.

• The Goodman Theatre, in collaboration with Montreal’s multidisciplinary collective The 7 Fingers, premieres “The Attic: Things I've Seen While Lying on My Back,” adapted from former trapeze artist and 7 Fingers co-founder Shana Carroll’s real life. Carroll directs and choreographs the circus-inspired show.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6 and 13; 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9-11; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 15. $34-$139. (312) 443-3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org/Attic.

• Black Ensemble Theater’s 50th anniversary season continues with the premiere of its original retrospective “You Can’t Fake the Funk: A Journey Through Funk Music,” written and directed by artistic director Daryl D. Brooks.

Previews at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, and Friday, Sept. 11; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6; 2 and 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 13. $69. (773) 769-4451 or blackensemble.org.

• After an extended hiatus, Victory Gardens Theater returns with the premiere of “The Humanities” by playwright Zayd Ayers Dohrn, who wrote the book for Tom Morello's funk/punk/hip-hop tuner “Revolution(s)” which premiered at Goodman Theatre last year. Written for mature audiences, “The Humanities” chronicles the fallout from a controversial speaker’s lecture at an elite university. Eddie Torres directs.

Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 10-11 and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 13. Tickets start at $55. victorygardens.org.

Notable remounts

• Writer/actor Pam Dickler brings her solo show “I Killed Andy Breitbart” to the Apollo Theater for a limited run. Inspired by a comment about a 2012 Terrapin Theatre show from conservative pundit Andrew Breitbart and posted after his untimely death, Dickler’s show premiered in Chicago in 2024. “At a time when some of our history is being whitewashed and books are being removed from libraries, it’s become more important than ever for us to share our stories before they’re rewritten by others,” said Dickler in a prepared statement. “And believe me, this story is a real doozy.”

8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, and through Sept. 27 at the Apollo Theater Studio, 2550 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $20-$30. (773) 935-6100 or pamdickler.com.

• Kokandy Productions’ sold-out, Joseph Jefferson Award-winning revival of the musical “Jekyll & Hyde” — Chicago's first production of the tuner adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novel in 15 years — gets a remount courtesy of Broadway in Chicago. Derek Van Barham directs, Nick Sula serves as music director and Lincolnshire native Brenda Didier choreographs.

Previews at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, Sept. 10, 11 and 15; 1 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12, and 1 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 16. $45-$100. BroadwayInChicago.com.

• A Red Orchid Theatre remounts its critically acclaimed, 2026 Chicago premiere of “Birds of North America,” Anna Ouyang Moench’s two-hander about a father and daughter trying to reconnect over their shared avian passion. Artistic director Kirsten Fitzgerald helms the production, which stars original cast members John Judd and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason.

7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 10-11; 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12; 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13 and through Oct. 4 at 1531 N. Wells St., Chicago. $61. (312) 943-8722 or aredorchidtheatre.org.

Dancing dirty

Broadway In Chicago presents the latest national tour of “Dirty Dancing: The Musical,” the stage adaptation of the 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze as a working-class dance instructor and Jennifer Grey as a college-bound young woman who overcome class prejudice to find romance.

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9 and Sept. 11; 1 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13, and through Sept. 20 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. $55.60-$150. BroadwayInChicago.com.

No sympathy for the devil

When a charming devil arrives to collect souls from a small town, he starts with the outcast Elizabeth, whom the townspeople have labeled a witch. But her soul is not easily sold, as old Scratch quickly learns in Jen Silverman's “Witch.” Idle Muse Theatre Company's revival features Mara Kovacevic as Elizabeth and Nathaniel Kohlmeier as Scratch.

Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 10-11 at The Edge Off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sept. 12. $20, $30 and a $50 pay-it-forward ticket that helps subsidize theatergoers unable to access the production. (773) 340-9438 or IdleMuse.org.

'Macbeth' reimagined

Newcomer Only 2 Theater Company teams up with Corn Productions for a comical twist on William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” This adaptation imagines the tragedy through the lens of a 1950s sitcom produced in front of a live studio audience.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-12 and 17-19, at 4210 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. $15-$25 suggested donation. cornservatory.org.