Dance Top 5: October 2026
Autumn provides a bounty of dance performances.
Autumn provides a bounty of dance performances.
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble celebrates the culmination of their thirtieth anniversary season with this world premiere by playwright Eliza Bent.
Featuring a riveting performance by Johnny Galecki, Lookingglass Theatre's "Kowalski" poses deep questions of identity, both onstage and for the company itself.
Prepare to have your sides split at this innovative rendition depicting the drama of an old Chicago newsroom.
Don't miss this ghoulish, campy romp now remounted at the Broadway Playhouse.
John Neumeier's ballet quickly pulls us into the colorful yet tawdry landscape of a Depression-era carnival with top-notch dancing from Joffrey.
Gwydion Theatre’s Chicago premiere of Lynn Nottage’s misguided 1995 play about a botched terrorist bombing ends up being a dramatic dud.
Broadway in Chicago brings this well-crafted show that delivers for those craving eighties nostalgia.
The adaptation of Jonathan Eig's book on the pill's invention struggles to express the complexity of a topic suited for a documentary.
Twenty years of comedy come together for Nick Thune's "three-parter" special.
Marriott Theatre's beautiful and highly relevant production celebrates the heroic efforts of everyday citizens who welcome and help heal those devastated by national events.
Rare and first-time visits by internationally renown companies land one night in the windy city.
Joey Chelius resurrects the hitmaker and teen heartthrob in “The Buddy Holly Story.”
Trap Door Theatre puts on a simple yet powerful play based on a short story by magical realist master Gabriel García Márquez that makes one wonder if there's anything humans won't exploit.
Chicago’s storefront company on the meaning of success.
Ahead of an appearance at Printers Row Lit Fest, the author and PBS Newshour co-anchor discusses his new book on the history of Black comedy in America, "Black Out Loud."
This fall, the Joffrey brings a dark tale envisioned by Neumeier to these shores. “Liliom,” the source material for the musical “Carousel,” runs September 17-27 at the Lyric Opera Ho…
Kokandy's intimate staging focuses less on the grandeur of Seurat’s pointillist magnum opus and more on the cerebral tortures of being an artist.
TimeLine begins its first full season at its new home, Kokandy brings "Jekyll & Hyde" to a bigger stage and more.
Mark Pracht's adaptation of the 1949 book rewrites masculinity in a Western setting, with a phenomenal performance by lead Michael B. Woods.
Chicago author Jonathan Eig discusses “The Birth of the Pill” with Jessica Huang, who adapted his book into a play staging its world premiere this month at TimeLine.
Ginger Krebs brings “Protected By Invisible Fence” to the MCA.
The Chicago premiere of Tim Venable's play starts as a Zoomer screwball and ends as an indictment of the way adults fail to protect their children.
On Sunday evening, the opera company performed selections from five of the six staged operas that will make up its 2026-27 season, among other works.
Jackalope's seventeenth edition of the festival turned five recent news stories into short plays, accompanied by filmed commentary from two news anchors.