Although year-round theater has made the idea of a “season” obsolete, this September brings a slew of openings. An unusual number are world premieres, and plays with Chicago roots also stand out. Besides dramas, comedies and musicals, there also are theater festivals and play-reading series to consider. And don’t forget shows that opened in August and run into September or those that begin in early October.
Here are some September openings we’re eagerly anticipating. Call ahead to confirm details.
“Big White Fog” at Court Theatre
Sept. 12-Oct. 12, courttheatre.org
Fresh from its success with “A Raisin in the Sun” last January, Court Theatre delves further into its local community and finds Theodore Ward’s seldom-staged “Big White Fog.” Originally produced in 1938 by the Negro Unit of the Chicago Federal Theatre Project, Ward’s first major drama follows the declining fortunes of three generations of the fictional Mason family as they contend with economic insecurity and racial violence on the segregated South Side from 1922 to 1933. Half of them favor a return to Africa and Garveyism, while the other half pursue the American Dream. Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson directs the large cast in this blistering indictment of America.
“Ashland Avenue” at Goodman Albert Theatre
Sept. 6-Oct. 5, GoodmanTheatre.org
Goodman Theatre kicks off its centennial year with the world premiere of Lee Kirk’s “Ashland Avenue” in the Albert Theatre. Artistic director Susan V. Booth directs the play featuring the inimitable Francis Guinan as the proprietor of struggling four-decade-old Pete’s TV and Video, famous for its legendary commercials and customer care, and Jenna Fischer as his daughter Sam, who has different ideas about the future of the family business.
“Mr. Wolf” at Steppenwolf Downstairs Theater
Sept. 11-Nov. 2, steppenwolf.org
Steppenwolf has assembled an all-star team for the Chicago premiere of “Mr. Wolf,” which begins the ensemble’s 50th anniversary season. K. Todd Freeman directs Rajiv Joseph’s dark drama about what happens when a girl, stolen from her parents as an infant, is rescued and returned 15 years later to a now-fractured family she neither recognizes nor understands. The cast includes ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, Caroline Neff and Namir Smallwood plus Emilie Maureen Hanson.
Also check out the schedule for the 2025 Fall LookOut Series in the 1700 Theater during October and November. Highlights include Tony Fitzpatrick with a multimedia performance celebrating the release of his latest book and the Black chamber music collective D-composed. And in Nov., Robert Falls comes to Steppenwolf to direct Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” in the Ensemble Theater.
“Rome Sweet Rome” at Chicago Shakespeare Courtyard Theater
Sept. 23-Oct. 19, chicagoshakes.com
After far too long, the Q Brothers Collective (GQ, JQ, JAX & POS) is back at Chicago Shakespeare Theater with the world premiere of their latest satirical “add-rap-tation.” This time they’re taking on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and infusing the political intrigue with razor-sharp wit and electrifying beats. If you’ve never seen their style, don’t miss it.
“Wish You Were Here” Remy Bumppo at Theater Wit
Sept. 18-Oct. 19, remybumppo.org
If you saw Sanaz Toossi’s “English” at Goodman last year, you know how moving and thought-provoking her work can be. In “Wish You Were Here,” directed by Azar Kazemi, she takes us back to Iran in 1978, when protests are breaking out all over the country, and shows us the impact of a decade of war on a tight-knit circle of suburban girlfriends who are trying to plan their lives and hang on to a sense of normalcy. As the revolution escalates, each woman is forced to join the wave of emigration or face an equally perilous future at home.
“AVA: The Secret Conversations” at the Studebaker Theater
Sept. 24-Oct. 12, avagardnerplay.com
Celebrated actor (and Evanston native) Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora in “Downton Abbey” among many others) wrote and stars in “AVA: The Secret Conversations,” a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood legend based on a series of interviews she gave to British writer Peter Evans for a book that wasn’t published until 25 years later. Moritz Von Stuelpnagel directs, and Aaron Costa Ganis plays Evans and all the men in Ava’s life, among them her three husbands — Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra — and Howard Hughes.
You can also catch McGovern talking about “Life on Stage and Screen: A Conversation with Chicago Tribune Critic Chris Jones” on Sept. 22 at the Driehaus Museum.
“Blue Heaven” at Black Ensemble Theater
Sept. 6-Oct. 26, blackensembletheater.org
The healing power of the blues is the focus of BET’s latest musical extravaganza, written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks. Expect powerhouse performances of classics by legends like B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
“Veal” at A Red Orchid Theatre
Sept. 25-Nov. 2, aredorchidtheatre.org
A Red Orchid revels in its taste for the unusual with the world premiere of Jojo Jones’ “Veal.” Dado directs the dystopian dark comedy about a woman named Chelsea who becomes Queen of North America after a violent coup. When three estranged friends from middle school come back into her life to ask for a big favor, before granting it, she’s intent on making them revisit their shared friendship — and its terrible end.
“The Blood Countess” the Idle Muse Theatre Company at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater
Sept. 11-Oct. 11, IdleMuse.org
The world premiere of “The Blood Countess” by Idle Muse resident playwright Michael Dalberg, directed by Idle Muse founding member Tristan Brandon, tells the blood-soaked story of 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman, Erzsebet Bathory, who was accused, along with several servants, of murdering more than 300 women and girls. Was she really a carnivorous monster—a female Bluebeard—as the accounts suggest, or was it all a political frame-up perpetrated by those with more power?
“Gangsta Baby” at Open Space Arts
Sept. 19-Oct. 5, openspacearts.org
London playwright Cameron Raasdal-Munro stars in the American premiere of “Gangsta Baby,” his gutsy drama about a queer sex worker with PTSD in Hastings, England, who has to contend with his homophobic gangster father showing up while he’s dealing with a new client. Directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair, the play explores the oppression faced by marginalized communities and how it can develop into internalized homophobia.
“The Book of Will” Promethean Theatre Ensemble at The Den Theatre
Sept. 19-Oct. 25, thedentheatre.com
According to prolific playwright Lauren Gunderson, we owe the preservation of much of Shakespeare’s work to fellow acting company members John Heminges and Henry Condell who heard a badly botched “Hamlet” at another theater a few years after his death and decided something had to be done about it. Commissioned and first produced by the Denver Center Theatre Company, “The Book of Will” follows their process of creating the First Folio in the face of a shady publisher, a drunken poet, shrinking resources and their own mortality. It’s directed by Beth Wolf, who has mounted close to a dozen Shakespeare plays for her company, Midsommer Flight. Promethean’s Artistic Director Jared Dennis and Ben Veatch head the cast as Heminges and Condell.
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