Although year-round theater has made the idea of a \u201cseason\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Here are some September openings we’re eagerly anticipating. Call ahead to confirm details.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBig White Fog\u201d<\/strong> at Court Theatre<\/p>\n Sept. 12-Oct. 12, courttheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n Fresh from its success with \u201cA Raisin in the Sun\u201d last January, Court Theatre delves further into its local community and finds Theodore Ward’s seldom-staged \u201cBig White Fog.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAshland Avenue\u201d<\/strong> at Goodman Albert Theatre<\/p>\n Sept. 6-Oct. 5, GoodmanTheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n Goodman Theatre kicks off its centennial year with the world premiere of Lee Kirk’s \u201cAshland Avenue\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Wolf\u201d<\/strong> at Steppenwolf Downstairs Theater<\/p>\n Sept. 11-Nov. 2, steppenwolf.org<\/a><\/p>\n Steppenwolf has assembled an all-star team for the Chicago premiere of\u00a0 \u201cMr. Wolf,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cAmadeus\u201d in the Ensemble Theater.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRome Sweet Rome\u201d<\/strong> at Chicago Shakespeare Courtyard Theater<\/p>\n Sept. 23-Oct. 19, chicagoshakes.com<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u201cadd-rap-tation.\u201d This time they’re taking on Shakespeare’s \u201cJulius Caesar\u201d and infusing the political intrigue with razor-sharp wit and electrifying beats. If you’ve never seen their style, don’t miss it.<\/p>\n \u201cWish You Were Here\u201d<\/strong> Remy Bumppo at Theater Wit<\/p>\n Sept. 18-Oct. 19, remybumppo.org<\/a><\/p>\n If you saw Sanaz Toossi’s \u201cEnglish\u201d at Goodman last year, you know how moving and thought-provoking her work can be. In \u201cWish You Were Here,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAVA: The Secret Conversations\u201d<\/strong> at the Studebaker Theater<\/p>\n Sept. 24-Oct. 12, avagardnerplay.com<\/a><\/p>\n Celebrated actor (and Evanston native) Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora in \u201cDownton Abbey\u201d among many others) wrote and stars in \u201cAVA: The Secret Conversations,\u201d 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.\u00a0 Moritz Von Stuelpnagel directs, and Aaron Costa Ganis plays Evans and all the men in Ava’s life, among them her three husbands \u2014 Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra \u2014 and Howard Hughes.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can also catch McGovern talking about \u201cLife on Stage and Screen: A Conversation with Chicago Tribune Critic Chris Jones\u201d on Sept. 22 at the Driehaus Museum.<\/p>\n \u201cBlue Heaven\u201d<\/strong> at Black Ensemble Theater<\/p>\n Sept. 6-Oct. 26, blackensembletheater.org<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u00a0 classics by legends like B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters and Howlin\u2019 Wolf.<\/p>\n \u201cVeal\u201d<\/strong> at A Red Orchid Theatre\u00a0<\/p>\n Sept. 25-Nov. 2, aredorchidtheatre.org<\/a><\/p>\n A Red Orchid revels in its taste for the unusual with the world premiere of Jojo Jones’ \u201cVeal.\u201d 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\u2019s intent on making them revisit their shared friendship \u2014 and its terrible end.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Blood Countess\u201d<\/strong> the Idle Muse Theatre Company at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater<\/p>\n Sept. 11-Oct. 11, IdleMuse.org<\/a><\/p>\n The world premiere of \u201cThe Blood Countess\u201d by Idle Muse resident playwright\u00a0 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\u2014a female Bluebeard\u2014as the accounts suggest, or was it all a political frame-up perpetrated by those with more power?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGangsta Baby\u201d<\/strong> at Open Space Arts<\/p>\n