Goodman Theatre resumes live, in-person performances July 30
Goodman Theatre marks the resumption of live, in-person performances next month with "School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play," whose Chicago premiere was suspended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic days before its 2020 opening.
Returning July 30, Jocelyn Bio's play about queen bees and wannabes at a Ghana boarding school is the first in Goodman's eight-play 2021-2022 season dubbed "Homecoming."
It's followed by a coproduction with Teatro Vista and Dallas Theater Center of "American Mariachi" (Sept. 18-Oct. 24), Jose Cruz Gonzalez's play about an all-female mariachi band.
The theater's 44th annual production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" returns Nov. 20. The new year brings a major revival of "Gem of the Ocean" (Jan. 22-Feb. 27, 2022), the drama that began August Wilson's 10-play century cycle chronicling African Americans' experience in America. Chuck Smith directs.
TV's Sean Hayes, a Glen Ellyn native, stars as composer/pianist and all-around wit Oscar Levant in Doug Wright's "Good Night, Oscar" (March 12-April 17, 2022). The Albert Theatre series concludes with the premiere of the musical "The Outsiders" (May 27-July 10, 2022) based on the S.E. Hinton novel and Francis Ford Coppola's film with a book by Adam Rapp and a score by Jamestown Revival.
The Owen Theatre series begins Oct. 15 with E. Faye Butler in "Fannie, The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer," Cheryl L. West's play about the civil rights activist, which toured Chicago parks last fall. That's followed by a coproduction with Berkeley Repertory Theatre of Christina Anderson's "the ripple, the wave that carried me home" (Feb. 11-March 13, 2022) about a woman coping with the legacy of her parents' activism. The Owen season concludes with director Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of "The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci" (April 1-May 1, 2022), an examination of the artist's ideas on philosophy, painting, love, engineering and other topics that premiered at Goodman nearly 30 years ago.
Also available are the livestreamed productions that make up Goodman's "Live" series. They include "Ohio State Murders" June 17 to 20; and Ike Holter's "I Hate It Here" livestreaming July 15 to 18. Beginning Aug. 5, Goodman partners with the Chicago Park District to present Sones de Mexico Ensemble's "Zulema."
Performances take place at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Tickets for "School Girls" range from $15 to $45. Season memberships start at $75. They're available online at goodmantheatre.org/homecoming or by phone (312) 443-3800.