One of many joys of writing about theatre in Chicago is attending to discover totally different neighborhoods on this metropolis of practically 2.7 million individuals. Chicago’s 77 municipally designated group areas—lots of that are subdivided into smaller, unofficial neighborhoods—mirror an excellent range of cultures, architectural types, cuisines, and leisure choices.
As the town prepares to welcome theatre practitioners from throughout the nation for TCG’s thirty third Nationwide Convention, offered in affiliation with the League of Chicago Theatres June 20-22, American Theatre has created this neighborhood information. With a mixture of enter from professionals throughout the town and suburbs in addition to my very own suggestions as an area critic, this information affords an introductory rundown of the town’s intensive theatre scene alongside different meals and leisure choices for these venturing round Chicago in the course of the sprawling three-day convention.
The Loop & Close to North
Get to know the theatres
Stroll by way of Chicago’s downtown—generally known as the Loop as a result of El trains that circle it—and also you’ll glimpse the marquees of historic theatres such because the Auditorium (opened in 1889), CIBC (1906), James M. Nederlander (1926), and Cadillac Palace (1926). At these venues, in addition to the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, Broadway in Chicago presents pre-Broadway productions, nationwide excursions, and the occasional long-running present akin to Hamilton or Depraved.
Additionally within the Loop is the Goodman Theatre, which can host convention programming on June 20. Chicago’s oldest and largest not-for-profit theatre, the Goodman is thought for premiering works by playwrights akin to Rebecca Gilman, David Mamet, August Wilson, and Mary Zimmerman. Its 2023 revival of The Who’s Tommy opened on Broadway in March 2024.
Maintain going north and also you’ll discover the host venue for the convention’s opening plenary, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a three-venue advanced with a surprising skyline view from its location on Navy Pier, the Midwest’s most visited vacationer attraction. Additional north nonetheless is the Second Metropolis comedy membership, a staple of the Previous City neighborhood, together with A Crimson Orchid Theatre, a scrappy storefront firm that lately welcomed again co-founding ensemble member Michael Shannon to star within the world premiere of Levi Holloway’s Turret. The Lincoln Park neighborhood is house to Steppenwolf Theatre, the corporate that has turn out to be the epitome of Chicago’s ensemble ethos because it was based in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise. Steppenwolf will host a lot of convention periods on Friday, June 21.
Get to know the neighborhoods
“I wish to assume that the neighborhood round Steppenwolf is an eclectic collision of energizing metropolis and timeless neighborhood,” mentioned Morgan Eklund, rental and occasions supervisor at Steppenwolf. “It feels very city, however on the similar time there are these lovely, shaded neighborhood streets that sprawl out from main intersections.”
Close by sights embrace the Chicago Historical past Museum, improv at iO Theater, Inexperienced Metropolis Market, Lincoln Park Zoo, and reside music at the Salt Shed. For eating, Eklund recommends the Italian restaurant Vinci: “The place is heat and rustic and has this very basic previous Chicago vibe. Their tiramisu can be pure bliss.” Lauren Katz, Steppenwolf’s training and engagement producer, names Pasta Palazzo and Cedar Palace as private favorites.
The Loop additionally boasts a wealth of sights for these keen on artwork varieties past theatre, such because the American Writers Museum, Artwork Institute of Chicago, Chicago Cultural Middle, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, High quality Arts Constructing, Grant Park Music Competition, Harold Washington Library Middle, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Joffrey Ballet, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Close by unbiased bookstores embrace after-words, Exile in Bookville, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, and Semicolon Books.
Eating choices within the Loop are equally wide-ranging. Revival Meals Corridor is a superb choose on weekdays, whereas the 126-year-old Berghoff affords a style of Chicago historical past. For a literal hidden gem, attempt Oasis Cafe, a Mediterranean restaurant tucked away at the back of a retailer on Wabash Avenue’s Jewelers Row. Different reasonably priced however tasty dine-in eating places embrace Nando’s and Flat High Grill. Eleven Metropolis Diner and Wildberry Café have scrumptious brunch meals, however be ready to attend for a desk.
South Facet
Get to know the theatres
Chicago’s South Facet is house to storied establishments and among the metropolis’s latest theatres. Nestled on the College of Chicago’s picturesque Hyde Park campus, Courtroom Theatre is finest identified for its interpretations of basic texts. Based in 1955, it grew to become the sixth Chicago theatre to win the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2022. Courtroom will host a lot of convention periods on Sat., June 22, together with a Theatre Futures panel dialogue taking a look at a brighter future for theatre, hosted by American Theatre.
At present primarily based just some blocks away from Courtroom, Definition Theatre was based in 2012 by Tyrone Phillips and Julian Parker, graduates of the College of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Modeled on the ensemble method of Chicago’s storefront theatres, Definition “celebrates tales created with, impressed by, and supposed for individuals and communities of shade,” in response to its web site. The corporate is at present constructing a everlasting theatre and group heart within the neighborhood of Woodlawn, simply south of Hyde Park.
Even newer to the world is Perceptions Theatre, based in 2020 by creative director Myesha-Tiara and government director Jerluane “Jae” Jenkins. Situated within the South Shore neighborhood, Perceptions states that its mission is “to strengthen the accessibility of theatre to the African American/Black communities of South Shore and to be an financial and creative useful resource for BIPOC artists.” In 2023, Chicago journal named Perceptions the “Greatest Storefront Theater on a Mission.”
Get to know the neighborhoods
“Hyde Park, like a lot of the neighborhoods in Chicago, is a small city,” mentioned Gabrielle Randle-Bent, affiliate creative director at Courtroom Theatre. “It’s a faculty city, and it’s the most alive place I’ve ever lived.”
For eating within the neighborhood, she recommends Advantage Restaurant & Bar (“the go to”), Roux (“an incredible brunch spot”), Rajun Cajun, and Café 53 (“staples”). Her favourite espresso store is Carver 47 in North Kenwood.
Randle-Bent enjoys buying on the Silver Room and spending time at Promontory Level, a peninsula that extends into Lake Michigan and was designated a Chicago landmark in 2023. One other of her favourite eating places is Pearl’s Place within the Bronzeville neighborhood. She additionally shared that spent Mom’s Day on the Japanese Backyard in Jackson Park, and “wouldn’t have needed to rejoice anyplace else.”
Personally, I stay up for visiting Name & Response the following time I’m in Hyde Park. The Black woman-owned bookstore opened in Might 2024 and hosts writer talks, e book golf equipment, trivia nights, and kids’s story instances.
When requested to explain South Shore, Perceptions Theatre creative director Myesha-Tiara mentioned it’s a pleasant, walkable neighborhood with a powerful sense of group. “You get to expertise quite a lot of the African American tradition within the space as nicely,” she added. She additionally enjoys South Shore’s proximity to Lake Michigan and the gorgeous art work painted on many buildings.
For eating, Myesha-Tiara recommends Maxwell Road Grill, L&G Household Restaurant, One Cease Jamaica Jerk, and the Retro Grill Stony Island. Two of her favourite espresso retailers are Bridgeport Coffeehouse and Strong Espresso Lounge, and her suggestions for navigating the world are CTA buses and Metra trains.
West Facet
Get to know the theatres
Situated within the West Loop, Chicago Youngsters’s Theatre has been a household favourite since 2005. With 22 world premieres in its manufacturing historical past, the theatre has gained a nationwide fame for brand new work. Additionally based in 2005, UrbanTheater Firm describes itself as “based by, led by, and for individuals of shade so as to protect the Puerto Rican and Humboldt Park group voice.” One other main Latino firm, Aguijón Theater, produces Spanish-language and bilingual works within the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. (Go to the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance to be taught in regards to the metropolis’s different Latine theatres, a few of that are itinerant corporations.)
Within the Wicker Park neighborhood, the Den Theatre, house to a handful of convention periods on Friday, June 21, presents comedy and cabaret on its mainstage whereas its 4 black field areas host productions by resident corporations About Face, the Creative House, First Flooring, and Haven. Simply down the street, the 106-year-old Chopin Theatre presents its personal Jap and Central European productions and rents its two phases to corporations such because the Chicago Worldwide Puppet Theater Competition, Hell in a Purse Productions, and Kokandy Productions.
North Lawndale is now house to Theatre Y, a former Lincoln Sq. firm that lately relocated to the far west neighborhood. In collaboration with native artists, Theatre Y holds full-length productions, salon-type showcases, and a youth program in its four-story venue. Little Carl, Theatre Y’s authentic work of puppet theatre about gun violence, has been carried out throughout Chicago and was developed with youth from Chicago’s west aspect, North Lawndale native Marvin Tate, puppetry artisan Michael Montenegro, and the Firehouse Neighborhood Arts Middle.
Get to know the neighborhoods
When I’ve additional time earlier than a present on the Den or the Chopin, I wish to cease by Myopic Books to browse its three flooring of used books, or sip a cup of tea whereas surrounded by bookish of us at Volumes Bookcafe. Falafel & Grill is an effective choose for a hearty pre-show meal. I haven’t had an opportunity to attempt Iron Age Korean Steak Home but, however I remorse that reality each time I catch a whiff of its meals whereas strolling by.
I reached out to a few leaders from UrbanTheater Firm—Ivan Vega (co-founder and government director), Miranda Gonzalez (creative director), and Tony Bruno (firm supervisor)—for his or her views on the neighborhood of Humboldt Park.
“Humboldt Park is the true expression of Puerto Rican-ness, finest expressed with the idea of magic urbanism,” they wrote. “The group is famend for its vibrant Puerto Rican historical past and tradition, celebrated by way of parades, music festivals, scrumptious meals, vivid public artwork and murals, and cultural landmarks just like the Nationwide Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Tradition and the long-lasting Flags of Metal that mark the entry factors to Paseo Boricua. Humboldt Park uniquely integrates cultural symbols, group practices, and conventional values into the very material of the neighborhood.”
For eating, they advocate Café Colao, Chucherías Tropical Creations, Janellie’s Kitchen, Papa’s Cache Sabroso, Bianca’s Burgers, Nellie’s Restaurant, La Bruquena, La Sandwichera Café, and Guerrero’s Tacos & Pizza. Different favourite native actions embrace strolling or working in Humboldt Park, visiting La Casita de Don Pedro, and taking a strolling tour of the neighborhood’s murals.
Far North & Northwest
Get to know the theatres
In an admittedly arbitrary designation for the sake of consolidation for this information, the far north theatre scene will be mentioned to start with the Belmont Theater District, a gaggle of theatres clustered across the Lakeview neighborhood. These embrace storefront corporations akin to Remy Bumppo, Shattered Globe, and Theater Wit, the midsize Mercury Theater, and the sci-fi and fantasy-themed Otherworld Theatre.
Additional north in Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, and Rogers Park, there’s an abundance of small to midsize theatres: Black Ensemble, Metropolis Lit, the Edge, the Manufacturing facility, Lifeline, Raven, Redtwist, Rivendell, and Steep, amongst others. Current additions to the world embrace Bramble Theatre Firm’s multi-venue efficiency heart and the Understudy, a theatre-themed bookstore and coffeeshop that presents play readings, writer talks, and staged productions. Past the town limits, the intensive northern suburbs theatre scene consists of Theo Ubique in Evanston, Northshore Middle for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Uptown Music Theater in Highland Park, and Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.
A staple of its northwest neighborhood, Albany Park Theater Venture develops new works primarily based on true tales of immigrants, Chicago teenagers, individuals dwelling in poverty, and others whose voices lack illustration onstage. With steerage from an grownup creative crew, an ensemble of teenagers—primarily individuals of shade from immigrant households—stars in these authentic productions, which regularly promote out and obtain rave evaluations.
Get to know the neighborhoods
Albany Park is certainly one of Chicago’s most numerous neighborhoods, house to generations of immigrants from around the globe. Maidenwena Alba, Carlos DeSantiago, Nely Gonzalez, and Maggie Popadiak—4 employees members at Albany Park Theater Venture who additionally grew up within the firm’s youth ensemble—share what makes the neighborhood so particular. “One among my favourite issues is the range of the group and the way shut all the pieces is,” mentioned DeSantiago. “I can actually stroll down the road, and I cross a Mexican restaurant, a Filipino restaurant, and a Center Jap restaurant.”
Their favourite native eating places embrace Mar Rojo (Mexican seafood), Tikal Chapin (Guatemalan), LD Pho (Vietnamese), La Michoacana (dessert store with a number of places), Lawrence Fish Market (cash-only sushi store), Lindo Michoacán (Mexican restaurant inside a grocery store), Kabobi (Persian and Mediterranean), Midday O Kabab (Persian), and Salam (Center Jap). Popadiak additionally loves the tamales that two road distributors named Glenda and Raul promote outdoors of Chicago Produce grocery retailer. For different issues to do on this walkable neighborhood, the APTP employees advocate exploring the varied choices of road distributors and enjoyable within the many native parks. Surge Billiards and Bokeh cocktail lounge are additionally widespread sights.
Writers Theatre government assistant Chris Sciortino offers his perspective on the northern suburb of Glencoe: “The very best a part of Glencoe is the small-town, communal power that you simply expertise whereas solely being a 30-minute practice journey from downtown Chicago. There’s a tradition of care and help throughout the group that makes it in contrast to anywhere I’ve labored earlier than.”
Sciortino recommends Honey Butter Fried Rooster, a brand new addition to the Glencoe eating scene that “completely stole my coronary heart.” “They’ve a mac and cheese with buffalo rooster that’s to die for,” he says. “Foodstuffs and Hometown are my favourite locations to get a lighter meal, espresso, smoothie, or candy deal with. I like to recommend the Monster Bites at Foodstuffs or the Shookies at Hometown.”
One information merely can’t do justice to the breadth and depth of Chicago’s theatre scene and the distinctive character of every neighborhood that theatremakers name house. To be taught extra, go to the League of Chicago Theatres’ web site and its sortable record of 200+ member theatres. Whether or not you’re a first-time customer to Chicago or an area on the lookout for a singular expertise, let a visit to the theatre be your excuse to discover a brand new neighborhood.
Emily McClanathan (she/her) is a Chicago-based author whose work has appeared within the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Playbill, TheaterMania, Theatrely, and extra. She is a 2020 Nationwide Critics Institute Fellow.
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