Hack for Accessibility is back—and this year, we’re bringing together an incredible community at the Global McDonald’s Headquarters in Chicago!
Join Code Your Dreams, Deaf Kids Code, AIxDisability, and McDonald’s for a one-of-a-kind event centered on accessibility, disability inclusion, creativity, and technology.
Participants will collaborate in teams to develop ideas and solutions addressing real-world accessibility challenges. Throughout the event, teams will learn directly from disability advocates, community organizations, accessibility experts, and technology professionals.
No matter your level of technical experience, you belong here. You do not need to know how to code to participate. We need people with many different skills, perspectives, and lived experiences—including designers, storytellers, problem-solvers, researchers, advocates, educators, technologists, and community leaders.
Event Details
📅 Saturday, October 3, 2026
⏰ 8AM-6PM
📍 Global McDonald’s Headquarters
Hack for Accessibility includes dedicated participation tracks for:
🎓 High school students
🌱 Adult learners
💼 College students, professionals, and community members
Whether this is your first hackathon or your tenth, you are welcome. Teams will receive support throughout the experience, and no previous coding or hackathon experience is required.
What to Expect
✨ Collaborative, accessibility-focused challenges
✨ Opportunities to learn directly from disability leaders and organizations
✨ Mentorship from professionals across technology, design, accessibility, and other fields
✨ A creative and welcoming environment where every skill set can contribute
✨ Awards and prizes—including Grimace Crocs, gift cards, and more
✨ Opportunities to connect with people committed to building a more accessible future
Keynote Speaker: Clara Woods
We are honored to welcome globally recognized artist and disability advocate Clara Woods as our keynote speaker.
After experiencing a perinatal stroke, Clara was initially given a devastating prognosis. Although she cannot speak, read, or write, she understands three languages and communicates through vibrant, expressive artwork. Clara has shared her work and story around the world, inspiring others to recognize the creativity, intelligence, and potential of people with disabilities.
Why Hack for Accessibility Matters
Accessibility cannot be an afterthought—and disability communities must be included in shaping the technologies, products, and experiences that affect their lives.
Hack for Accessibility creates opportunities to expose and prepare new talent, showcase the brilliance and innovation of disability communities, and help participants understand how accessibility can lead to better solutions for everyone.
Over the past three years, Hack for Accessibility has welcomed more than 1,000 participants. People travel from across the United States to participate because there is nothing else quite like it.
WORLD PREMIERE
SEPTEMBER 4 – OCTOBER 4, 2026
BLACK GIRL FROM A WHITE SUBURB
written & performed by artistic affiliate Tania Richard
directed by J. Nicole Brooks
Adapted from her memoir, Black Girl from a White Suburb: Finding My Light, Using My Voice. Signed copies will be available for purchase at the box office.
Tour-de-force solo show by Tania Richard. Growing up in an all-white Chicago suburb, she spent her days dodging microaggressions, striving to fit in, and yearning to see herself reflected. Her transformation began when cast as The Caterpillar in “Alice in Wonderland.” Blending cautionary tales, social commentary, and humor, Tania takes the leading role in a culture that often relegates Black women to supporting characters.
Touch Tour begins 1:30pm
Audio Described Performance begins 2:30pm
SPECIAL ACCESS EVENTS: $34.50 – call Box Office at 773-654-3103 to reserve
(Email boxoffice@americanbluestheater.com or call 773-654-3103 for more info about our accessibility programming, including our Pay-What-You-Can initiatives.)
Accessibility: Touch Tour, Audio Described
Website: https://americanbluestheater.com/black-girl-from-a-white-suburb/
TOPDOG UNDERDOG by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Kenny Leon
Brothers Lincoln and Booth, named in jest, are two Black men living in America just trying to get by. Lincoln dresses like his namesake, reenacting his assassination for money and laughs. Booth stays stuck in their apartment, working tirelessly on his three-card hustle. Sibling rivalry and a lifetime of resentment come to a head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride from Suzan-Lori Parks. The deck is stacked with a Tony Award-winning director, a Pulitzer Prize-winning script and a tour-de-force showdown for ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood.
$25 tickets available for those using the service!
Touch Tour begins at 1:30pm with the performance beginning at 3pm.
Visit https://www.steppenwolf.org/whats-on/accessible-performances for more!
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour
Website: https://www.steppenwolf.org/events/topdog-underdog-ad
From the Off-Broadway Production Lookingglass Theatre presents KOWALSKI
Limited Engagement
Starring Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Johnny Galecki
Gregg Ostrin’s Acclaimed New Play imagines the pivotal first meeting between Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando at Lookingglass Theatre Company
Set over one pivotal evening in Provincetown in 1947, Kowalski imagines the first meeting between Tennessee Williams and a young Marlon Brando as Williams searches for the actor who would redefine the role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blending historical events with theatrical imagination, the play explores ambition, artistry and the creative collaboration behind one of the most influential works in American theater. Johnny Galecki, an acclaimed actor spanning television, film and Broadway, began performing on local stages as a child, and returns home to Chicago for this special presentation by Lookingglass Theatre.
Touch Tour at 1PM
Curtain at 2PM
Use the code AUDIO for $35 tickets to our Audio Described performance. Limit 2 tickets.
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour
Finding Our Way Into the Unknown
Friday, August 21st at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 22nd at 3:00 pm
2853 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
Black box opens 30 minutes before showtime.
Estimated Run time: 70 minutes
Masks are suggested for the audience and will be available at the event.
Tickets are required and run from $15-$30. Please email if this is a barrier.
The evening will include works by Choreographers Sydney Erlikh and Deb Goodman with dancers, and by UDF member Bradford Chin.Black box opens 30 minutes before showtime.
Estimated Run time: 70 minutes
And Yet We Are Here, a dance calling for an end to violence by Deb Goodman and Sydney Erlikh in collaboration with their dancers. Disabled bodyminds are often among those most deeply impacted by violence, conflict, and systemic injustice. The piece considers and expands on the themes of war and rebuilding while embodying the resources of the disability community’s collective care and access, even in the face of bullets, bombs, and brutality. This piece takes us through the events of lives marked by tragedy and how communities come together to move forward and build a better world.
UDF member Bradford Chin presents a selection of three small group works. The kaleidoscopic play of The Vertiginous Thrill of a Flop / PLAY (2026), originally created at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, flits between the extremes of its incoherence to teeter on the edge where we flop, fly, or flop into flight—the experimental spirit necessary for our artistic explorations. SOLO Trio (premiere) continues Chin’s SOLO series that explores disability-centered inclusive choreographic practices and challenges how we recognize and conceptualize unison across diverse bodies in motion. The third work, To be far and close (work in progress), gently contemplates the life of shared relationships and how they grow or contract across time and distance.
Masks are suggested for the audience and will be available at the event. Event will have Air purifiers sponsored by the Clean Air Club. Venue is fully wheelchair accessible. It will be a relaxed performance with various seating options. Audio Descriptions and ASL are available. Email Unfoldingdisabilityfutures@gmail.com or see the website https://www.unfoldingdisabilityfutures.com/finding-our-way-into-the-unknown for more access information.
Accessibility: ASL Interpreted, Audio Description, Wheelchair Accessible
Website: https://www.unfoldingdisabilityfutures.com/finding-our-way-into-the-unknown
Relaxed Performance on Wednesday, July 15 at 7 pm
Created by David Byrne & Mala Gaonkar
Directed by Andrew Scoville
Produced in Special Arrangement with Arbutus
IT’S ALL INSIDE YOUR HEAD.
BUT IS ANY OF IT REAL?
Co-created by Academy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning artist David Byrne* and writer Mala Gaonkar, Theater of the Mind is a new theatrical experience you’ll see, feel, taste and hear. Inspired by both historical and current neuroscience research, the show takes you on an immersive journey inside how we see and create our worlds. Peer behind the curtain of the physical realm and marvel at the wonders of your mind. Follow your Guide as they revisit key moments in their life in a surreal, 15,000-square-foot installation with a group of just 16 audience members.
Over 75 minutes, you’ll move through a series of rooms where you’ll participate in thought-provoking neuroscience experiences. You’ll learn how easily your own senses can deceive you. If perception and memory are both malleable, then perhaps even your identity is less fixed than you think… You may not be who you think you are. But we’re all in it together.
Visit TheateroftheMindChicago.com for general dates, times, and tickets
The Relaxed Performance is open to those who prefer a more flexible experience — but it is not a Sensory-Friendly (SF) performance. Theater of the Mind is an immersive, high-sensory show that uses occasionally intense visual stimulation, music, noise, taste, and smell as you move through different spaces during your 75-minute journey.
To decide if the Relaxed Performance is right for you, please feel free to visit our online sensory guide (https://www.theaterofthemindchicago.com/user/pages/faqs/Theater%20of%20the%20Mind%20Sensory%20Guide_updated.pdf) for more details on this show’s multiple sensory elements, and email Access@goodmantheatre.org for more information.
Location: Reid Murdoch Building, 333 N LaSalle (about a 10-min walk from The Goodman)
Accessibility: Relaxed Performance
Website: https://www.goodmantheatre.org/show/theater-of-the-mind/
ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE
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directed by Harmony France,
music direction by ensemble member Michael Mahler
This musical play, complete with down-home country humor and big-hearted emotion, includes hits Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Sweet Dreams, Walkin’ After Midnight and more! Starring ensemble member Liz Chidester as Patsy Cline with guest artist Molly Hernández as her forever friend Louise.
There will be a digital backstage guide and audio program.
1:30 Touch Tour/2:30 Audio Described Show
SPECIAL ACCESS EVENTS – $34.50 ticket – call (773) 654-3103
Address: 5627 N Lincoln Ave.Chicago 60659
info@AmericanBlues.com
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour
Website: https://americanbluestheater.com/always-patsy-cline/
MUSIC BY MARK HOLLMANN
LYRICS BY MARK HOLLMANN AND JAY REISS
BOOK BY ERIN QUINN PURCELL AND JAY REISS
DIRECTED BY MARC BRUNI
CHOREOGRAPHED BY JOANN M. HUNTER
STARRING MEGAN MULLALLY AND NICK OFFERMAN
A musical 40,000 years in the making.
Broadway’s brightest star of 1938, Vera Vimm (Megan Mullally/Will & Grace), is at the top of her game. But when she adopts a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal discovered frozen in the Arctic, the spotlight begins to shift. As Iceboy thaws, he unexpectedly becomes a theatrical sensation, inspiring the “father of the American drama” Eugene O’Neill (Nick Offerman/Parks and Recreation) and challenging his legendary mother for center stage. It’s All About Eve….if only Eve was a caveman.
Casting note: Shawn Pfautsch will appear as Eugene O’Neill, the role typically played by Nick Offerman, at the June 20, 21, 23 and 24 performances.
Saturday, July 18
12:30pm Touch Tour & 2:00pm Audio-Described Performance
Use code AUDIO for $44 ($35 ticket plus $9 handling fee)
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour
CATCH AS CATCH CAN
Written by Mia Chung
Directed by ensemble member Amy Morton
When a prodigal son returns to blue collar New England, his homecoming sets off a spiraling crisis for two families, threatening not only their relationships but their very identities. In Mia Chung’s wildly inventive Catch as Catch Can, three actors take on six roles, bridging generation and gender, in a theatrical tour-de-force that upends the kitchen sink drama and asks what happens when we refuse to play the roles we’re prescribed. Spanning hilarity, stunning virtuosity and outright horror, this ferocious Chicago premiere—featuring an all-ensemble cast—must be witnessed to be believed.
CATCH AS CATCH CAN WILL BE PERFORMED IN THE DOWNSTAIRS THEATER.
Show Runs from June 04 – July 12, 2026
Open Captions will available for the June 25th performance at 7:30pm.
Visit https://www.steppenwolf.org/plan-your-visit/accessibility/ for more!
ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE
created by Ted Swindley
band & vocal orchestrations by August Eriksmoen & Tony Migliore
directed by Harmony France
music direction by ensemble member Michael Mahler
This musical play, complete with down-home country humor and big-hearted emotion, includes hits Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Sweet Dreams, Walkin’ After Midnight and more! Starring ensemble member Liz Chidester as Patsy Cline with guest artist Molly Hernández as her forever friend Louise.
PERFORMANCE INFO
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER
5627 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60659
Box Office: (773) 654-3103
Runs 1 hour & 50 minutes, including a 10-minute intermission
Recommended for ages 14+
Runs May 1 – June 7, 2026
Touch tour – Sunday, May 31 @ 1:30 PM
Audio-described performance – Sunday, May 31 @ 2:30 PM
$34.50 ticket – call (773) 654-3103
ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE
created by Ted Swindley
band & vocal orchestrations by August Eriksmoen & Tony Migliore
directed by Harmony France
music direction by ensemble member Michael Mahler
This musical play, complete with down-home country humor and big-hearted emotion, includes hits Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Sweet Dreams, Walkin’ After Midnight and more! Starring ensemble member Liz Chidester as Patsy Cline with guest artist Molly Hernández as her forever friend Louise.
A touch tour will begin at 1:30pm before the performance at 2:30pm.
American Blues Theater
5627 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60659
Box Office: (773) 654-3103
Runs 1 hour & 50 minutes, including a 10-minute intermission
Recommended for ages 14+
SPECIAL ACCESS EVENTS – $34.50 ticket – call (773) 654-3103
~ Touch tour – Sunday, May 31 @ 1:30 PM
~ Audio-described performance – Sunday, May 31 @ 2:30 PM
WINDFALL
Written by ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Awoye Timpo
This is a story about money. Don’t let them fool you otherwise. When a father loses his child in a clash with the police, he is visited by three strangers who advise him to take the city’s cash settlement, relocate and forget his grief–or else remain, haunted by memories of the world his child fought so hard to protect. This lyrical world premiere from Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney is a vital and timely look at the spirit of activism set against the most indifferent system of them all: the almighty dollar.
Show Runs from April 09 – May 31, 2026
Audio Description available for the May 24th performance. The Touch Tour begins at 1:30pm with curtain at 3pm.
Visit https://www.steppenwolf.org/plan-your-visit/accessibility/ for more!
MUSIC BY MARK HOLLMANN
LYRICS BY MARK HOLLMANN AND JAY REISS
BOOK BY ERIN QUINN PURCELL AND JAY REISS
DIRECTED BY MARC BRUNI
STARRING MEGAN MULLALLY AND NICK OFFERMAN
A musical 40,000 years in the making.
Broadway’s brightest star of 1938, Vera Vimm (Megan Mullally/Will & Grace), is at the top of her game. But when she adopts a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal discovered frozen in the Arctic, the spotlight begins to shift. As Iceboy thaws, he unexpectedly becomes a theatrical sensation, inspiring the “father of the American drama” Eugene O’Neill (Nick Offerman/Parks and Recreation) and challenging his legendary mother for center stage. It’s All About Eve…if only Eve was a caveman.
Sven Svensen and Ole Olsen have been best buds since kindergarten, but all that changes on the morning of Ole’s ice-fishing bachelor party. Could they be something more than friends, or is Sven destined for something even more wild and strange. This fantasia on Midwestern masculinity invites us to consider the limits of Queerness. Dream ballet included.
Friday, May 22nd at 7:30 pm (6:15 pm touch tour, 7:30 pm curtain)
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour
BY YORK WALKER
DIRECTED BY MALKIA STAMPLEY
“Everybody got a secret.”
Expect one devilish twist after another in Covenant, a mythic and suspenseful new play hailed as “blackout-and-blood-curdling-scream deliciousness” (New York Magazine), “undeniably spooky (and) absolutely enjoyable” (TheaterMania). He left the small Georgia town a struggling guitarist—and returned a blues star. As rumors of a darker deal abound, it becomes clear that he’s not the only one with a secret….or seeking salvation. This “striking Southern gothic work” (New York Times) explores the power of belief and the thin line between rumor and truth.
12:30pm Touch Tour & 2:00pm Performance
Use code AUDIO for $34 tickets ($25 tickets plus $9 handling fee)
Accessibility: Touch Tour, Audio Description
Life happens outside of your comfort zone. Out Here is a courageous new musical, developed through a dynamic collaboration with the University of Chicago. Audiences will have the rare opportunity to be the first to experience this fresh and intimate look at a family reconfiguring itself and rediscovering joy.
Dawn has a house, a husband, and a family, but she wants more. She wants her ex-girlfriend, Robin. She wants nothing to change and she wants everything to change, and she wants to control all the terms. As she’s caught between what’s been and what’s next, Dawn must learn to reimagine her expectations, harmonize with loved ones, and trust the process. If she can do all that, she might just learn a new song. Strikingly original, Out Here explores the unexpected freedom in relinquishing control, and how, sometimes, you have to break something apart to create something better.
Led by acclaimed director Chay Yew, making his Court debut, Out Here arrives as a bold, innovative work that invites Chicago audiences to be among the very first to witness its evolution—bringing the 2025/26 season to a joyous conclusion.
Touch Tour: Saturday, May 2 at 12:30pm
Audio Description and ASL Interpretation: Saturday, May 2 at 2:00pm
Accessibility: Touch Tour, ASL Interpretation, Audio Description
Website: https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2025-2026-season/out-here/
This spring, ABLE will mark our 10th anniversary as a 501c3 and we are celebrating in a big way with a weekend-long festival April 30-May 3rd at The Edge Theater. 78 performers – including 40 actors with intellectual and developmental disabilities – will appear across 5 performances.
It’s the year 2126. While searching the deserted remains of planet earth, a team of humanitarians discover something buried in the dirt. What they find is not as simple as it first appears…In this world-premiere original play, a neurodiverse cast of 11 performers with disabilities will use movement, object work, music, and personal reflections to share this original story about the memories we hold onto and the connections we keep.
This performance of The Time Capsule features Audio Description by Jason Harrington.
Accessibility: Audio Description, Open Captioning, Sensory Friendly, Masks Required, Wheelchair Accessible
This Inclusive Dance class is a community-led gathering of movers of all kinds. Each session, different facilitators and guest artists lead the group through an exploration of dancemaking tools, dance techniques, and improvisational exercises from ballet to modern. The goal of our workshops is to intentionally build a dance space grounded in disability culture, where bodies and minds of all types feel welcomed and valued.
Co-taught by Synapse Arts and Unfolding Disability Futures.
Once you have registered for class, you will receive a link to join the class virtually; you are welcome to come in person or attend virtually for any class.
Regular prices
$10 per class to drop in – drop in to your first class for FREE!
$135 for Winter/Spring session (18 weeks), $90 for Fall session (12 weeks)
Discounted prices
These prices are subsidized and intended for anyone who needs a discounted rate. We do not ask for any proof or explanation.
$3 per class to drop in
$50 for Winter/Spring session (18 weeks)
$35 for Fall session (12 weeks)
Health, safety, and access:
Social distancing and mask wearing is highly encouraged. Masks will be provided.
All workshops will be held hybrid via Zoom. AI captioning will be available for all workshops. We kindly ask you to send us your request for ASL at least 3 weeks in advance by emailing jyoung@accessliving.org.
In-person classes take place in the Clarendon Park Dance Room (2nd floor, accessible via elevator). Wayfinding information here: Clarendon Community Center Park Wayfinding
For additional access service requests or onsite accessibility assistance, please contact UnfoldingDisabilityFutures@gmail.com or text the Synapse access request line at 947-2CREATE (947-227-3283) in advance.
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ASL services for the Inclusive Dance Workshop Series are supported by Unfolding Disability Futures’ artist residency with the Art & Culture Project at Access Living of Metro Chicago. This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, and Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture. Bodies of Work is a part of the Department of Disability and Human Development within the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois-Chicago. The contents of this workshop were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this workshop do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Accessibility: Captioning, Hybrid Program
Website: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-inclusive-dance
This Inclusive Dance class is a community-led gathering of movers of all kinds. Each session, different facilitators and guest artists lead the group through an exploration of dancemaking tools, dance techniques, and improvisational exercises from ballet to modern. The goal of our workshops is to intentionally build a dance space grounded in disability culture, where bodies and minds of all types feel welcomed and valued.
Co-taught by Synapse Arts and Unfolding Disability Futures.
Once you have registered for class, you will receive a link to join the class virtually; you are welcome to come in person or attend virtually for any class.
All workshops will be held hybrid via Zoom. AI captioning will be available for all workshops. We kindly ask you to send us your request for ASL at least 3 weeks in advance by emailing jyoung@accessliving.org.
In-person classes take place in the Clarendon Park Dance Room (2nd floor, accessible via elevator).
Accessibility: Captioning, Hybrid Program
Website: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-inclusive-dance
Hubbard Street returns to our Chicago home at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance to present a thrilling Winter Series program of works that probe the depths of human experience, choreographed by some of the most prolific voices in contemporary dance.
Like “an exuberant burst of fresh air” (The Boston Globe), Amy Hall Garner’s effervescent full company piece ‘As the Wind Blows’ (2022) returns to Chicago on the heels of Garner’s recent New York City Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater commissions. New to the repertoire, the high-energy ‘Touch & Agree’ by Juel D. Lane explores the nuances of modern relationships over a soundtrack featuring Sam Cooke, James Blake, H.E.R., and Byrell the Great. The sweeping ‘Gnawa’ by Nacho Duato closes the program, a beloved full company work originally created for Hubbard Street in 2005 that Dance Magazine called an “almost religious experience.”
The Sunday, March 1, 2pm matinee performance of Winter Series includes the following accessibility services:
– American Sign Language interpretation (Interpreter located Stage Right/House Left)
– Audio Description
Use promo code ACCESS for $22 tickets (plus handling fee) in any seat in the house! Limit 9 tickets per order. Discount applied at checkout.
Accessibility: ASL Interpretation, Audio Description
COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA by William Inge
Midwest town. Forced into marriage due to an unexpected pregnancy, former beauty queen Lola and recovering alcoholic Doc live a quiet life of heartbreak and regret until Marie, a young college student, becomes their border.
Don’t miss this in-your-face, intimate staging in the Studio, starring award-winning actors Philip Earl Johnson* & Gwendolyn Whiteside*.
American Blues Theater
5627 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60659
Box Office: (773) 654-3103
Runs 80 minutes with no intermission
TOUCH TOUR
Sunday, Feb 22, 2026 @ 1:30 PM
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Sunday, Feb 22, 2026 @ 2:30 PM
BOX OFFICE HOURS
You can purchase tickets online, by phone, or in person at our venue 1 hour before the show.
$34.50
Code word access.
Accessibility: Touch Tour, Audio Description
Website: https://americanbluestheater.com/come-back-little-sheba/
August Strindberg’s Miss Julie is a confrontation of class, gender, and desire at the turn of the twentieth century that’s as relevant today as when it was first written.
Miss Julie wants to abandon her upper-class, aristocratic life and escape the expectations that trap her. Jean, her servant, wants to climb the social ladder and rise through the ranks of society. Over the course of a wine-soaked evening, the two jockey for position, using sex, status, and strategy to collide and combust.
Associate Artistic Director Gabrielle Randle-Bent (A Raisin in the Sun) directs one of Strindberg’s most celebrated works, interrogating the limitations of politics and position, and the tension between who we are and who we want to be.
Touch Tour: Saturday, February 28 at 12:30 pm
Audio Description and ASL Interpretation: Saturday, February 28 at 2:00 pm
Accessibility: Touch Tour, Audio Description, ASL Interpretation
Website: https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2025-2026-season/miss-julie/
“I have heard from a reliable source that no Dominican male has ever died a virgin. I shall be the first.”
Oscar knows that a nerdy Dominican college freshman isn’t anyone’s idea of a romantic hero. But with the encouragement of Yunior, his new roommate, he is determined to give love another chance. As Oscar sets out from New Jersey to Santo Domingo to prove his undeniable hope, can he shake the dark “fukú” that has haunted his family for generations? Junot Díaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel comes to vivid life in this world-premiere English stage adaption—a celebration of risk and the power of perseverance against all odds.
Use code AUDIO for $44 ($35 ticket plus $9 handling fee)
12:30pm Touch Tour & 2:00pm Performance
Accessibility: Touch Tour, Audio Description
Website: https://www.goodmantheatre.org/show/the-brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao/
Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore Shedd Aquarium’s exhibits and experiences in a comfortable and accepting environment. Family members and companions are welcome.
Modifications for this event will include limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration.
Modifications for Calm Waters Include:
Limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration
A low-sensory animal spotlight with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation
An animal encounter opportunity
Accessibility: Sensory Friendly, Low Lighting, ASL Interpretation
Website: https://www.sheddaquarium.org/plan-a-visit/accessibility/calm-waters
Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore Shedd Aquarium’s exhibits and experiences in a comfortable and accepting environment. Family members and companions are welcome.
Modifications for this event will include limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration.
Modifications for Calm Waters Include:
Limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration
A low-sensory animal spotlight with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation
An animal encounter opportunity
Accessibility: Sensory Friendly, Low Lighting, ASL Interpretation
Website: https://www.sheddaquarium.org/plan-a-visit/accessibility/calm-waters
Nasty, Brutish, & Short (NBS) is an evening of contemporary short-form puppet and object-based theater for adult audiences. This special late-night edition of NBS, presented as part of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, brings together out-of-town guests and esteemed local for an evening of performance unlike any other.
The performance on Friday, January 23rd at 10:30pm will be live-described via individual headset. Patrons making use of AD should plan to arrive at 10:00pm for pre-show notes, touch-tour, and early seating. Email info [at] roughhousetheater [dot] com or message @RoughPuppets on Instagram for more information and to let us know you’re coming!
Accessibility: Audio Description provided by Claire Saxe, trained audio describer, and Chicago puppetry artist.
Website: https://chicagopuppetfest.org/event/nasty-brutish-short-wknd-1-3/
Four adorable Beatrix Potter favorites come to life in this mesmerizing, interactive trunk and puppet show, complete with original music. Storytellers weave Potter’s classic narration with gentle interactive moments, recruiting young watchers to join the adventure. After the show, head to the lobby to play with the puppets, take pictures with the cast, and join fellow Chicago families for a communal holiday party featuring a festive spread of holiday treats! Our stories this year will include a brand new tale, “The Tale of Pickles and Ginger,” with “The Tale of Tom Kitten,” “The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin,” and of course, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.”
For guests who are blind or have low vision, we offer guided pre-show touch tours of the production’s props, scenery, puppets, and costumes. Guests will also have a chance to listen to the performers describe their characters and appearance. During the show, audience members listen through an earpiece to an Audio Describer, who provides in-depth descriptions of performer characterizations, actions, and staging.
Please email boxoffice@chicagochildrenstheatre.org with no less than 3 weeks notice before the scheduled AD performance to request these services.
Accessibility: Audio Description and Touch Tour
https://chicagochildrenstheatre.org/event/the-beatrix-potter-holiday-party/
Audio Described performance of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Just in time for the holiday season, Shakespeare’s wittiest rom-com is “as merry as the day is long!”
Beatrice is living it up as a fiercely independent woman who answers to no man. Benedick is an avowed bachelor with no plans to settle down. But when these stubborn singles finally meet their match under the sultry Sicilian sun, who can resist romance? Linguistic fireworks and a hilarious battle of wits dazzle in the original “enemies-to-lovers” rom-com. Staged by famed director Selina Cadell, you’ll be transported on holiday to the warm embrace of the Italian countryside with an exceptionally talented ensemble cast in CST’s Courtyard Theater, considered one of the finest spaces to experience Shakespeare’s stories live in performance. This is Shakespeare at his very best.
Access Pay What You Can tickets starting at $39. Use code: MUCHAUDIO
Email access@chicagoshakes.com for more information.
Accessibility: Audio Description
https://www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/2526-much-ado-about-nothing/
UNTITLED VAMPIRE PLAY
World Premiere
Written by Kevin Douglas
Directed by Devon DeMayo
Hilarity (and tragedy) ensue in the World Premiere of UNTITLED VAMPIRE PLAY when Val, a vampire, is in a new relationship with a mortal, Dom, each having different ideas about where their relationship should go. Rose, Val’s progeny, wants Val to consider leaving the country, and on top of that, Val’s estranged brother has returned, coincidentally, as a serial killer terrorizes the streets of Chicago. UNTITLED VAMPIRE PLAY explores love, codependency, unwavering convictions and vampires.
June 4 – July 12, 2026, accessible performance July 9, 2026.
Unlock $35 tickets using the code AUDIO online, over the phone, or in-person.
The Touch Tour will begin at 1PM and curtain is at 2PM. Visit Lookingglasstheatre.org/accessibility or contact us for more!
Accessibility: Touch tour, Audio Description, Assistive Listening Devices, Wheelchair accessible, and All Gender restrooms.
https://lookingglasstheatre.org/event/untitled-vampire-play/
by William Shakespeare
Adapted and Directed by Marti Lyons
Nov 14, 2025 — Dec 14, 2025
Welcome to a tale of deception, disguise, and desire.
The richest man in town has two daughters and one big problem: he refuses to marry the youngest, Bianca, until the eldest, Katherina, is married first. Much to her family’s dismay, Katherina repeatedly – and violently – rejects the men interested in her and her wealth, and refuses to sacrifice her independence. When a mysterious gentleman enters the mix, suddenly Kate sees that surrender is no sacrifice. Perhaps there is strength in submission.
Artistic Director of Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Marti Lyons (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) turns William Shakespeare’s classic inside out, with a fresh interpretation focused on feminine desire. This is not your standard Shrew.
Please Note: This adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew engages with mature themes—including desire, sexuality, and power dynamics.
Accessible Performances:
ASL Interpretation: Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm
Touch Tour: Sunday, December 7 at 12:30pm
Audio Description and Open Captioning: Sunday, December 7 at 2:00pm
Gazelle Screening
DIRECTED BY Nadir Sarıbacak, Samy Pioneer
COUNTRIES U.S., Turkey RUN TIME 103 minutes
SYNOPSIS
In this tense, timely, and poignant drama, Yakup, a beloved music teacher and Turkish dissident, has fled his country for fear of political persecution and is seeking asylum in the U.S. While working in the kitchen of a New York City restaurant, he struggles desperately to find a way to bring his wife and daughter into the country to live with him. Finding legal immigration channels a dead end, he reluctantly engages with a dodgy smuggler, a decision that only intensifies his concern for his family’s safety, sending the kindly Yakup into a downward spiral.
First-time feature filmmakers Nadir Sarıbacak (known for his role in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep) and Samy Pioneer deftly capture the details of Turkish American and migrant life in the big city, while also expressively conveying their protagonist’s troubled state of mind. Gazelle isn’t just an urgent tale about our immigration crisis—it’s a touching story about displacement and its deep psychological and physical toll.
GENRES Drama, Family Affairs, Social Commentary
LANGUAGE English, Turkish with subtitles
RENTAL FAMILY SCREENING AND AWARDS EVENT
DIRECTED BY HIKARI
COUNTRIES U.S., Japan RUN TIME 103 minutes
SYNOPSIS
Set in modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.
GENRES Comedy, Drama, Family Affairs
LANGUAGE English, Japanese
*Open Captions For Spoken Elements of the Program (Intro/Q&A/Award/Etc.)
AWARDS EVENT
At this screening, director HIKARI will receive the Festival’s Spotlight Award.
HIKARI is an award-winning writer, director, and producer whose debut feature, 37 Seconds, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won accolades globally. She’s directed episodes of the Emmy-winning series Beef, as well as Tokyo Vice and acclaimed shorts like Tsuyako.
FRANKENSTEIN SCREENING
DIRECTED BY Guillermo del Toro
COUNTRIES U.S. RUN TIME 149 minutes
SYNOPSIS
Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. A retelling of the classic novel about what it means to be human, to crave love, and seek understanding.
GENRES Drama, Fantasy, Literary Adaptation
LANGUAGE English
Daniel’s Music Foundation proudly presents the 6th Annual Danny Awards, an annual, global award show that recognizes the incredible contributions of artists with disabilities to the world of music.
Enjoy powerful performances by the top ten award recipients, selected by a panel of judges comprised of musicians and industry professionals. Talented vocalists, instrumentalists, bands and solo artists from across the country and around the globe will take the stage to share their musical gifts and extraordinary stories with the world. For those unable to attend in person, the event will also be live streamed on October 25th, from 4-6 PM ET. We hope to see you there!
Live stream registration available here.
Accessibility: ASL Interpreted, live captioning, Braille programs, audio description, wheelchair accessible
Following a sold-out run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater this spring, A.B.L.E.—Artists Breaking Limits & Expectations is thrilled to bring their acclaimed adaptation of Frankenstein back to life this fall at Theater Wit for a strictly limited engagement.
Music journalist Roberta Walton (Ryan Foley) has journeyed to derelict punk club The Arctic to cover its demise, but instead finds a disoriented Victor Frankenstein (Marissa Bloodgood and Andrew Kosnik) and a much more interesting story! The neurodiverse ensemble – composed of 9 actors with varying disabilities and a team of facilitators – play multiple characters as they bring Frankenstein and his Creature’s memories to life. This original adaptation blends music, movement, and scenes devised by the group into a provocative and personal exploration of ambition, isolation, and the balance between the head and the heart.
Schedule
Friday October 24th at 7pm
Saturday October 25 at 1pm (Audio Described)
Sunday October 26 at 1pm (ASL Interpreted)
Running time
Approximately 90mins no intermission
Sensory and Content Advisory
Frankenstein includes scenes that depict bullying, threats of violence, and death. The show design incorporates projected animations, some low pulsing light, and loud music. To learn more about what to expect at the show, please refer to our Sensory Advisory Guide.
Accessibility at Frankenstein
All performances are open captioned
All performances are relaxed – you can leave the theatre at any time if you need a break and sensory support tools will be available.
Wheelchair Access
Masks are required for all attendees out of consideration for our immunocompromised community members
The performance on Saturday October 25 will be audio described
The performance on Sunday October 26th will be dual-ASL interpreted
Ticket Tiers:
All tickets are general admission.
A.B.L.E. is committed to removing barriers, and that includes ensuring our work is financially accessible for everyone who wants to attend. Pick the pricing tier that works for you:
$15 – I am ABLE to connect – this level represents ABLE’s commitment to making the arts accessible for all.
$30 – I am ABLE to contribute – this level helps offset crucial production costs like props, costumes, and rehearsal space.
$45 – I am ABLE to create – this level represents the true cost of A.B.L.E.’s programming, and helps to provide access to the arts for those in need.
Cast and Crew:
Co-Directed by: Lawrence Kern & Katie Yohe
The Ensemble: Colleen Altman, Marissa Bloodgood, Rachel Buchanan, Benjamin Collins, Ryan Foley, Erin Harvey, Paige Henderson, Andrew Kosnik, Matthew LaChapelle, Kate McDuffie, Jenna Rapisarda, Haley Schroeck, and Zachary Wandel
Stage Manager: Grecia Bahena
Lighting Design: Billy Murphy
Projection Design: Brock Alter & Alex Sokol
Original Sound Design: Nicholas Pope & Katie Yohe
Makeup Design: MK Papadatos
Prop Supervisor: Anna Katharine Mantz
Audio Description (on October 25th): Jason Harrington
ASL Interpreters (on October 26th): Sabrina Cienfuegos and Mark Motyka
Director of ASL: Peter Wujcik
Key Art Photographer: Joe Mazza/Brave Lux
Production Photography: Vashon Jordan, Jr.
Frankenstein was originally co-produced in partnership with the staff at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
A.B.L.E.’s 2025-2026 Season is partially supported by The Andrew E. Barrer Trust on behalf of The Chicago Lighthouse, The Chicago Community Trust, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, FunFund, Fs Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and generous individuals like you!
Accessibility: Audio description, wheelchair accessible, and open captions.
Get ready for high-energy fun as Disney’s five-time Academy Award®-winning film comes to life on the big screen! Meet Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews), a magical English nanny who flies out of the breezy London skies and into the home of two mischievous children and the hearts of their family. With the help of a carefree chimney sweep Bert (Dick Van Dyke), the spirited nanny turns chores into games and every day into a “Jolly Holiday.” Featuring favorites like “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” and the unforgettable “Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious” – you’ll hear the Sherman Brothers’ complete score performed live in all of its splendor.
The late creative visionary Virgil Abloh upended a century’s worth of ideas about luxury and taste, fundamentally reshaping how we see creativity and the world around us. Join us at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Abloh’s alma mater, as Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic and fashion editor Robin Givhan illuminates Abloh’s impact on fashion, race, and exclusivity. Givhan is joined in conversation by curator Michael Darling, whose close collaborative relationship with Abloh at the Museum of Contemporary Art helps to further unfold the story of a young man from Rockford with no formal training in patternmaking or tailoring who came to symbolize the industry’s way forward.
Award-winning Russian-American novelist Gary Shteyngart offers an entirely original literary perspective, merging memoir and satire to create contemporary characters informed by his upbringing in Soviet Leningrad, his Jewish heritage, and his marriage and child with a woman of Korean descent. Join us for a conversation featuring Shteyngart’s signature blend of psyche and style as he discusses his new book Vera, or Faith: a poignant, sharp-eyed, and bitterly funny tale of a family struggling to stay together in a country rapidly coming apart.
Join us for a powerful musical performance inspired by Angela Davis’s pioneering activism interspersed with readings by — and a post-performance conversation with — Davis herself. Award-winning composer, Guggenheim fellow, and creative flutist Nicole Mitchell, who emerged from Chicago’s music scene in the late 90s, will be joined by her Black Earth Ensemble to present Radical Transformation, a musical celebration of Davis’s courage and resilience.
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
Rediscover a Dickens’ classic with an adaptation that “makes you believe kindness can win” (Chicago Tribune). Follow Ebenezer Scrooge, a businessman whose disdain for the holidays is transformed on Christmas Eve. Malkia Stampley takes the reins as director, with Christopher Donahue returning as Scrooge after a “historical standout” performance in his 2024 debut (WGNRadio.com). Featuring a “first-rate cast and marvelous staging” (Chicago Sun-Times), this tale remains “the best Christmas story ever told” (Time Out Chicago).
Touch Tour takes place at 12:30pm prior to the performance.
A tale of infidelity & revenge like no other.
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour, Sound Shirt
https://www.lyricopera.org/ace-configuration/smartseat-reserve/?itemNumber=18957#/
Theodore Ward’s Big White Fog is the big shoulders on which A Raisin in the Sun stands. First completed in 1938, funded by the Federal Theatre Project, and influenced by the South Side Writers Group that cultivated such iconic talents as Richard Wright and Margaret Walker, Big White Fog drove American realism forward by contending with discontent.
The United States is on the cusp of the Great Depression and, like many, the Mason family is struggling. Between the precarious economy and racial violence on Chicago’s segregated South Side, something’s got to give. As different generations strive to secure the Mason family’s future, catastrophic decisions are made, leading to a heartbreaking twist and a blistering condemnation of America’s Big White Fog.
Resident Artist and the nation’s preeminent director of August Wilson Ron OJ Parson (East Texas Hot Links) opens the 2025/26 season with this rich portrayal of Black life on Chicago’s South Side.
Performance:
Touch Tour: Saturday, October 4 at 12:30pm
Audio Description and ASL Interpretation: Saturday, October 4 at 2:00pm
Accessibility: Touch tour, ASL interpreted, and audio description.
https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2025-2026-season/big-white-fog/
Sundance-award winning documentary LIFE AFTER, directed by Reid Davenport, is coming to Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center on July 27 at 3:00PM!
The screening, in partnership with FWD-Doc, is followed by a talkback with Reid Davenport and Keidra Chaney of the Disability Culture Lab, moderated by FWD-Doc’s executive director Cassidy Dimon. If you can’t attend the in-person event, you can catch the film virtually in the days following.
From Multitude Films, LIFE AFTER is a gripping personal investigation that exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. Director Reid Davenport asks a probing question, why is it acceptable to give disabled people the means to die, before supporting them in the chance to live?
Find tickets and more at lifeafterfilm.com/screenings.
Accessibility: Open Captions, Audio Description, and Q&A ASL interpreter provided. See venue website for more accessibility information.
“You gotta start living your life right now. Because someday you’ll wake up and it’s over.”
Pete’s TV and Video has served Chicagoland for 40+ years, its plucky owner famous for his legendary commercials and customer care. But it’s a new era, and Pete’s last store location is struggling while Sam—his daughter and family business heir apparent—has different dreams. Starring Chicago’s Francis Guinan (The Cherry Orchard) and Emmy Award-nominee Jenna Fischer (The Office), this stunning new play asks what happens when we stop looking after our aging parents and start looking after ourselves?
A New Adaptation by Mickle Maher
Based on the graphic novel by Jason Lutes
Directed by Charles Newell
Development and Dramaturgy by David J. Levin
Berlin is an unforgettable mosaic of intersecting narratives set amidst the decline of Weimar Germany. This original commission brings Jason Lutes’s exhilarating and acclaimed graphic novel to life.
Fascism is taking hold; revolutionaries are organizing; creatives are trying to capture the ineffable nature of their changing city; and – as everything falls apart – everyone is faced with a choice: abandon Berlin or fight to survive.
May 10, 2025 at 2:00pm (ASL-Interpreted and Audio Description Performance). Touch Tour at 12:00 PM
Twenty years since its Broadway musical debut, The Color Purple is reborn in Lili-Anne Brown’s revelatory production—“perfection on every level!” (Chicago Sun-Times).
It’s a celebration of life, hope and the healing power of love! The musical stage adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning novel is a heart-rending, yet ultimately joyous, story of a young woman’s perilous journey of personal awakening in the American South. Come ready to shout in church, stomp at the juke joint, laugh and cry with unforgettable “come-to-glory gospel hymns, down-and-dirty bump-and-grinds, jazz that stutters, dips and dives, and gorgeous alto arias” (Chicago Sun-Times).
What happened since Chicago closed 50 public schools in 2013? Join us for a screening and panel discussion on the documentary Beyond Closure, created by Borderless Studio and On the Real Film, which retraces the history of the largest mass school closures in U.S. history, highlighting the intertwined issues of inequity, racism, and injustice. Through the voices of community members leading the repurposing of three closed schools, this film reflects on community impact, their setbacks, and wins towards redevelopment. Join us as we dig into the work of Creative Grounds, the initiative focused on the community and urban role of Chicago’s school grounds, and ask the question: How might art, design, and architecture create a more inclusive process for repurposing these schools?
Journalist Jonathan Capehart is one of the most recognizable faces in cable news. Join us as the award-winning writer, editor, and TV host takes us on his journey from learning to embrace his identity as a gay, Black man; to his decision to come out to his family; and finally his move to New York City, where time and again he stumbles and picks himself up as he blazes a path to become the familiar face in news we know today.
A “brilliantly imagined drama” (Wall Street Journal) for anyone whose computer has asked them to prove that they’re a human. Which is to say, everyone.
At the Museum of Late Human Antiquities, the curators are fiercely committed to bringing a lost civilization to life again: What were humans really like? What did they wear, what did they eat, how did they die out? By casting us into the far future, Jordan Harrison’s “compelling” and “beautifully drawn” (New York Times) new play gives us an uncanny view of the present moment, as we straddle the analog world that was and the post-human world to come.
A Co-Production with Playwrights Horizons and Vineyard Theatre
Touch Tour begins at 12:30 PM before the performance.
Accessibility: audio description, touch tour, braille program
A Tale of Two Cities
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Brendan Pelsue
Directed by Mikael Burke
It’s still the best of times and the worst of times. In a society where the gap between the rich and poor widens, and the cries for revolution grow louder, one can relate. This bold reimagining of Charles Dickens’s classic tale of revolution shows us that while a story may be 165 years old, some things never change. Or, can they?
Audio-Described and Touch Tour:
Friday, May 23rd at 7:30 pm
(6:15 pm touch tour, 7:30 pm curtain)
Accessibility: audio-described and touch tour
https://www.theaterwit.org/tickets/productions/530/performances
It’s not only hell that breaks loose in this ground-breaking, form-defying, laugh-out-loud new drama from Pulitzer-Prize finalist playwright Zora Howard.
Retta and Reggie are enjoying their usual evening on the porch when a longtime neighbor is pulled over by the police just before turning into his driveway. Everything goes as expected—until the unexpected happens. Tensions escalate, and eventually erupt, transporting us to a startling conclusion in Ms. Howard’s powerful new work. Lileana Blain-Cruz, a “master of curating chaos” (The New York Times), directs.
Touch tour begins at 12:30 pm. Performance starts at 2 pm.
This touch tour will include the opportunity to touch fabric swatches and accessories created to match the pieces on display, which will give tour-goers additional sensory information about select objects in the Dressed in History: A Costume Collection Retrospective exhibition. While this tour can be especially meaningful for visitors who are blind or have low vision, any Museum visitor will enjoy the experience.
DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM) is dedicated to being an accessible, inclusive environment for children to thrive through extraordinary learning experiences. Adaptive Play Time provides a modified environment for families with disabilities and/or those who may need a calmer experience to enjoy the Museum.
At DCM, kids are inspired to be curious, creative, and full of wonder. Designed for children ages 0-10 years, the Museum invites families to explore hands-on exhibits where learning happens through play.
Imagine building towering structures with giant blocks, experimenting with gravity, discovering the properties of air and water, and so much more. From babies crawling through soft play spaces to young inventors problem-solving in engineering exhibits, there’s something to captivate and engage every age.
Plan your visit: dupagechildrens.org/adaptive-play-time/
A boisterous Southern cookout sets the scene for a Black, queer discovery of self and resilience in this Pulitzer Prize-winning, five-time Tony nominated “uproarious reimagining of Hamlet” (The New Yorker).
“This is what I was raised in: pig guts and bad choices.” As Juicy grapples with his identity and his family at a backyard barbecue, his father’s ghost shows up asking for revenge—on Juicy’s uncle, who has married his widowed mom—bringing his quest for joy and liberation to a screeching halt. James Ijames has reinvented Shakespeare’s masterpiece, creating what the New York Times hails as “a hilarious yet profound tragedy, smothered in comedy,” where the only death is the patriarchy. Tyrone Phillips, Founding Artistic Director of Chicago’s famed Definition Theatre, directs.
Accessibility: audio description
Written by Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Nate Santana
It’s the graveyard shift at a high-rise, apartment lobby in Manhattan. A rudderless security guard, his demanding supervisor, a rookie cop, and her self-assured partner are forced to navigate the question of whether doing the wrong thing for the right reason can ever be justified. When they look in the mirror what will they see, and what will they accept about themselves as they figure out what kind of person they want to be in their quest for truth? Charm, romance, and humor abound in this darkly comedic drama by the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Manchester by the Sea.
Running Time: 2 hours 25 minutes with intermission
Theater Wit is wheelchair accessible, and all patrons with disability needs are invited to purchase access tickets with the code “ACCESS20”* at Theater Wit’s checkout page. Please also email boxoffice@theaterwit.org to make sure we can reserve the right seat for your access needs!
SGT is happy to have both Touch Tour/Audio Description performances as well as Open Caption performances. Please see the individual show pages for more information.
Theater Wit has Assistive Listening devices available. Please see the box office for more details.
Accessibility: Audio Description, Assistive Listening Devices, and Wheelchair Accessible.
https://www.theaterwit.org/tickets/productions/529/performances
The full moon over the highway. A pay phone call in the middle of the night. And a terrible act of violence that forever changes the trajectory of eight people’s lives. Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind follows two families, connected by marriage, as they grapple with the pain and fear of loving and living. Famous for his imagery, language, and tour-de-force roles for actors, Shepard’s plays dig deep into the ideas of family, destiny, and American idealism. Raven’s production, directed by Azar Kazemi, deepens the questions at the heart of the play by layering an Immigrant story on top of the already searing critique of the American Dream at the heart of this American Classic.
Our Touch Tour is a pre-show event where patrons can hear a description of the visual elements of the production, hear from the actors about their characters, and interact with a few props. The Touch Tour will begin at 1:30pm before the 3:00pm performance.
Patrons can also reserve an Audio Description headset to wear during the performance and hear verbal descriptions of actions, costumes, scenery, and other visual elements of a performance.
Lastly, we will have trained Sighted Guides available to assist blind and low-vision patrons throughout the building.
Devices and space may be limited, so please contact our Box Office when you make your reservation. Use code LIEACCESS for $30 tickets
KLII exorcizes the ghost of King Leopold II, the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908, in a mytho-biographical performance by theater-maker Kaneza Schaal. By exploring the invisible historic roots of society’s demons—racism, misogyny, and misinformation—Schaal searches for ways of handling these everyday threats in the present.
Designed and co-directed by Christopher Myers, KLII draws on Mark Twain’s King Leopold’s Soliloquy published in 1905, a fictional monologue written after Twain’s visit to Congo Free State, and Patrice Lumumba’s 1960 independence speech in Congo. Working with East African musicians and African American opera singers, the hybrid, operatic, and intensifying sound design takes inspiration from La Muette de Portici, the opera that played a role in Belgium’s 1830 revolution. Together, both the visual and sound design combine to consider the residue of colonialism in our everyday lives.
A reclamation of history and canon, Schaal and Myers propose an exorcism in theater, starring one of the villains of the 19th century whose actions resonate through the present day. KLII explores the nature of evil and what is required to unroot legacies of catastrophic events.
Following critically acclaimed runs in New York City and London, TimeLine will create a site-specific, immersive Chicago premiere of the american vicarious’ imagining of the historic debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr., on the occasion of the event’s 60th anniversary.
“Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?” This was the topic on February 18, 1965 when an overflow crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to bear witness to a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America’s most influential conservative intellectual. The stage was set for an epic confrontation that pitted Baldwin’s call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley’s unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy. This historic clash reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of racial conflict that continues to haunt America.
Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley will feature Teagle F. Bougere as Baldwin and Eric T. Miller as Buckley in the cast. Additional casting and production team members are to be announced.
This performance features narration about visual elements of the production around the dialogue, available for individual patrons via headphones.
Please note: Touch Tours can be arranged for patrons attending the audio described performance of Debate. Please reach out to Kellyn Henthorn at kellyn@timelinetheatre.com to request a Touch Tour.
Artist and composer Elisa Harkins (Cherokee/Muscogee) created Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ as an expression of Indigenous Futurism, blending electronic dance music with Indigenous languages to revitalize and celebrate them through live performance. Presented in partnership with the Center for Native Futures, this innovative performance features Harkins singing in a combination of Cherokee, English, and Muscogee (Creek). Back-up dancers move rhythmically to electronic dance tracks inspired by Indigenous music. Both dreamy and intense, the evening fuses tradition with the contemporary to transform how pop music looks and sounds.
The evening begins with a short opening set by interdisciplinary singer/songwriter Kalyn Fay (Cherokee/Muscogee). Known for her “quintessentially Oklahoma” sound driven by folk, rock, and country, Fay’s music explores her relationship with place, home, her home-state and its values, people, and the land.
Accessibility: To request additional accessibility services like ASL interpretation or audio description, please contact us via email at Accessibility@mcachicago.org or call 312-397-4076.
Stage and screen stars Helen Hunt (Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe Awards), Robert Sean Leonard (Tony Award) and Ian Barford (Tony Award nominee) form the “eternal triangle” in Susan V. Booth’s major revival of Pinter’s famed masterwork.
Emma, Robert and Jerry have history. As her marriage to Robert comes to an end, Emma reconnects with Jerry, her former lover—and her husband’s best friend—as the action unspools backward in time in an inventive retelling by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright. At once utterly domestic and dangerous, uncovering hidden truths and revealing how little we know about those we think we know so much about, it’s an “elegy about time and memory (where) the greatest dramatic weight lies in what’s unspoken” (New York Times).
Touch Tour: 12:30pm
Performance: 2pm
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour
Paramount Theatre in Aurora presents the regional premiere of this beloved movie brought to the stage! WGN-TV’s Dean Richards named if a holiday must-see, and Chicago Tribune said, “Paramount Theatre has created winter world that’s simply spectacular.”
• Audio Described: Jan. 4 at 2pm (please call 630-896-6666 for tickets and to reserve a headset)
https://paramountaurora.com/events/frozen-the-broadway-musical/
Touch Tour at 12:30
Audio Described performance begins at 2 pm.
The “perfect Chicago holiday tradition” (Chicago Parent).
Rediscover the magic of Dickens’ classic with a fresh, heartwarming adaptation that “makes you believe kindness can win” (Chicago Tribune). Follow Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy businessman whose disdain for the holidays is transformed on a fateful Christmas Eve. Directed by Jessica Thebus and featuring a “first-rate cast and marvelous staging” (Chicago Sun-Times), this beloved tale remains “the best Christmas story ever told” (Time Out Chicago).
Join us for an evening that brings the soul of Chicago’s neighborhoods to the big screen! Experience the powerful stories of our community through the lens of three talented Chicago residents from the 2023-24 Community Storytellers program:
Alexie Young
Take 290 (15:53; North Lawndale, Westside)
Directed by Sanicole
Written by George Ellzey Jr.
A defeated artist from the Westside of Chicago finds inspiration in the common ground she discovers through a spontaneous interaction with an art curator from the Southside.
Laura Sáenz
Artista (11:23; Little Village)
Directed by Juan Linares
Written by Christian Mejia
An immigrant child uncovers a world of magic and possibility through the arts at their school.
Brian Herrera
Ask A Punk (15:28; Little Village)
Directed by Kevin Contento
Written by Teri Carson
A non-binary queer teen cultivates community, individuality, and resilience through the subculture of the DIY punk scene in Little Village.
From the spirited journey of an artist finding connection in the city, to the magical exploration of a young immigrant’s discovery of art, and the vibrant resilience within the DIY punk scene, these shorts illuminate the unique experiences and voices that shape our communities.
This event not only showcases these compelling narratives but also fosters a sense of belonging and community connection. Join us for a moderated conversation following the screening, featuring all three Storytellers and key members from their film’s respective casts and crews, including:
Sanicole Young (Director, Take 290)
Dayeliz Richardson (Lead Actor, Artista)
Teri Carson (Screenwriter, Ask A Punk)
Together, we’ll dive deeper into the creative process and the importance of telling stories that reflect our neighborhoods.
Please note: Registration does not guarantee entry. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to arrive early for prime seating and to engage with fellow attendees, as we celebrate and honor the vibrant narratives that define our community!
Accessibility: The venue entrance has push-button doors. The theater features 3 accessible seats which are paired with companion seats, if needed, and have been set aside next to each wheelchair-accessible area. CART captioning, live English audio description, and Spanish interpretation will be available. For additional accommodation requests, we encourage you to complete your registration at least 72 hours before the event to help ensure we can accommodate them.
MISERY
by William Goldman
based on the novel by Stephen King
directed by Artistic Affiliate Halena Kays
Thursday October 3rd
Touch Tour @6:30
Audio Described performance @7:30pm
Use code word ACCESS for $25 tickets.
American Blues Theater
5627 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60659
Box Office: (773) 654-3103
Runs 90 minutes with no intermission
https://americanbluestheater.com/misery/
CAST: Steve Key* (Paul), Cisco Lopez* (Buster), & Wandachristine* (Annie).
Edgar Arceneaux is a contemporary artist working in Los Angeles, whose primary materials are histories and memories marred by gaps in logic, clichés, and erasures. Working within these gaps, Arceneaux applies a surreal, dream-like lens to pry open the messy contents of history, and pull what we think we already know into new shapes.
Arceneaux’s live performance Until, Until, Until . . . restages Broadway legend Ben Vereen’s infamous 1981 blackface performance at Ronald Reagan’s inaugural gala, and its aftermath. As an homage to vaudevillian Bert Williams, one of America’s first mainstream Black entertainers, Ben Vereen performed a moving tribute to Williams on national television, donned in blackface make up, as was required of Black vaudevillian performers in the early 20th century. In the first half of his performance, Vereen performed a song and dance routine in the vaudevillian style. The second half of his show contained biting commentary about the history of Black performance in the US, assimilation into white norms, and white supremacy, but woefully, that section was edited out of the national broadcast, leading to a national outrage and Vereen’s career derailment. Vereen was never allowed to tell his side of the story . . . until now.
A multilayered, abstract fever dream of a play, Arceneaux’s Until, Until, Until . . . invites audiences to directly experience Vereen’s censored performance, deemed too dangerous to air on national television.
Edgar Arceneaux’s Until, Until, Until . . . was commissioned by Performa and MIT’s Vera List Visual Arts Center for the Performa 15 Biennial. Now, 10 years since its debut, this restaging is an opportunity to reflect on what’s changed in the years since.
The MCA presentation is organized by Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator of Performance.
Note: This performance begins with a cocktail hour inside the theater.
Immerse yourself in the world of the performance while listening to a vaudeville-era playlist. Audience members are welcome to arrive up until the performance officially kicks off at 8:30 pm. Light snacks and drinks for audiences age 21 and over are available for purchase. The performance has a run time of 50 minutes.
Accessibility includes: CART caption and audio description for October 19th performance.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/edgar-arceneaux-until-until-until/
The Midwest premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem, a new dark comedy by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Polly Noonan, promises to bewitch Chicago audiences as the opening production of Shattered Globe Theatre’s 34th season.
Gaze into any crystal ball and it’s clear, Shattered Globe’s Becky Nurse of Salem is sure to cast a spell on Chicago audiences during the fall theater season. Previews start date October 4. Press opening is Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. Becky Nurse of Salem runs through November 16 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets are $10-$52, and on sale now. Purchase tickets online at SGTheatre.org, call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchase in person at Theater Wit.
Meet Becky Nurse, an outspoken, quick-witted tour guide at the Salem Museum of Witchcraft, where she’s straining to navigate life in post-Obama America. As a descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was executed for witchcraft in 1692, Becky questions whether things have truly changed for women. As her struggles grow, she turns to a local witch for help. One spell leads to another, spiraling Becky’s life into chaos. In today’s “lock her up” era, this darkly comic play delves into a woman grappling with her family’s past while finding her own voice.
Access: Theater Wit is wheelchair accessible, and all patrons with disability needs are invited to purchase $20 access tickets with the code “ACCESS20” at Theater Wit’s checkout page. Please email boxoffice@theaterwit.org to ensure we can reserve the right seat for your access needs. Please do not use this code if you do not require these services. Go to SGTheatre.org and see the Accessible Ticketing info to find out about our Waived Ticket Program.
Assisted Listening Devices are available for all performances.
Open Captions will be provided at the 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, November 10.
MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD is a musical odyssey of imagination. Through vibrant song, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes us through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is. A journey from house to home, this play is a real ride!
Adapted for the stage by Terry Guest
Music by Christian Albright & Christian Magby
Based on the book by Newbery-winning children’s author Matt de la Peña & illustrator Christian Robinson
Directed by Mikael Burke
MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD runs 65 minutes and is recommended for ages 6 & up.
Accessibility includes Audio Description and a Touch Tour.
https://chicagochildrenstheatre.org/event/milo-imagines-the-world/
Halloween meets Spring Awakening in this original horror rock musical. Lia feels out of place when her college roommate, Trish, makes her tag along for a cabin weekend with her old high school friends. Their fun-filled weekend becomes blood-soaked when a menacing killer starts slaughtering teens left and right. Navigating through young love, toxic relationships, and the connections that last a lifetime, Lia must face a gaslighting killer and her own anxiety while trying to save her new friends.
This Performance includes a Touch Tour and Audio Description upon request.
https://thefactorytheater1.thundertix.com/orders/new?performance_id=3079596
Acclaimed author Jesmyn Ward is a MacArthur Genius Grant winner and the first woman and Black American to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. Join moderator Natalie Moore for an evening with this literary powerhouse as she dives into her latest novel, Let Us Descend. Set in the antebellum South during the early 1800s, the story describes a haunting journey of a young slave girl from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans. Landing on Oprah’s Book Club and several best book of 2023 lists, Ward’s lyrical prose and unflinching narrative confront the brutal realities of enslavement. Join a rigorous discussion on Ward’s contribution to the African American literary canon.
Accessibility: Assistive Listening Devices, Open Captions, Audio Description
A three-time Tony Award-winning masterwork and “cultural landmark that only seems to grow with relevance” (Los Angeles Times).
Science and religion go head-to-head in this iconic courtroom showdown. A small-town educator’s trial for teaching the theory of evolution becomes a battle royal of wits, wisdom and will for two of the country’s most powerful lawyers. In a bold retelling for today, Goodman Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez directs an all-new production of one of the greatest dramas of the 20th century, based on the real-life Scopes “Monkey” Trial of 1925—an “explosive episode in American culture” (New York Times).
La ciencia y la religión se enfrentan en este icónico duelo judicial. El juicio de un educador de un pequeño pueblo por enseñar la teoría de la evolución se convierte en una batalla real de ingenio, sabiduría y voluntad entre dos de los abogados más poderosos del país. En una audaz reinterpretación para el presente, Henry Godinez, asociado artístico residente del Goodman, dirige la nueva producción de uno de los mayores dramas del siglo XX, basada en el juicio real de Scopes “Monkey” de 1925, un “episodio explosivo en la cultura estadounidense” (New York Times).
This event offers multiple accessible performances. Please see their website for dates and times. Accessibility includes an ASL interpreted performance, a Touch Tour and Audio-described performance, a Spanish captioned performance, and an open-captioned performance. See more about their accessibility here.
An open-hearted, “utterly absorbing, very funny, darn near perfect play” (The Daily Beast) about leaving your comfort zone to find fulfillment.
Meet Kenneth, a 38-year-old longtime bookstore worker, who is perfectly content with his after-work routine: a mai tai (or two) at the local tiki bar. But when his employer decides to close the store, Kenneth must also turn the page and choose a new direction—including some daring steps into a world he has evaded. BOLD Producer Malkia Stampley makes her Goodman directing debut with this “tender, delicately detailed portrait” (The New York Times) about new beginnings.
Una obra de buen corazón, “completamente absorbente, muy divertida y casi perfecta” (The Daily Beast) sobre salir de tu zona de confort para encontrar plenitud.
Les presento a Kenneth, un trabajador de librería de 38 años, que está perfectamente contento con su rutina después del trabajo: un mai tai (o dos) en el bar tiki local. Pero cuando su jefe decide cerrar la tienda, Kenneth también debe pasar la página y elegir una nueva dirección, incluyendo algunos temerarios pasos hacia un mundo que ha estado evitando. La osada productora Malkia Stampley, hace su debut como directora en el Goodman con este “tierno y delicadamente detallado retrato” (The New York Times) sobre los nuevos comienzos.
This event offers multiple accessible performances. Please see their website for dates and times. Accessibility includes an ASL interpreted performance, a Touch Tour and Audio-described performance, a Spanish captioned performance, and an open-captioned performance. See more about their accessibility here.
Millennium Park Summer Music Series features a wide variety of music from established and emerging artists at the iconic Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
Corinne Bailey Rae
English singer/songwriter/musician Corinne Bailey Rae shot to stardom with her self- titled #1 U.K. debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star.” Over the course of her career she has released four critically acclaimed studio albums—Corinne Bailey Rae, The Sea, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, and Black Rainbows—and earned two Grammy Awards, two MOBOS, and has been nominated for multiple awards including the BRIT Awards, Mercury Music Prize and BET Awards. Her work for film and television includes the theme to Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (SKY1), “The Scientist” for Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker opening title and soundtrack which charted globally, and in 2020 her song “New to Me” was performed in the film The High Note by Tracee Ellis Ross. Bailey Rae has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Mary J. Blige, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, KING, Paul McCartney, Kele Okereke, Eric Benet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Questlove, Salaam Rami, RZA, Tyler The Creator, Paul Weller, Richard Hawley, Stevie Wonder, Tracey Thorn, Pharrell, Logic, Mick Jenkins and many more.
Terrace Martin
A five-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist from LA’s Crenshaw District, Terrace Martin is renowned as one of the world’s leading jazz musicians AND hip-hop producers. This singular standing is captured on his countless influential collaborations including Kendrick Lamar (good kid, M.A.A.D. city & To Pimp a Butterfly), Stevie Wonder, Travis Scott, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Herbie Hancock, and Leon Bridges’ “Sweeter” (performed at the DNC). From his own acclaimed releases like the protest anthem “PIG FEET”, and his GRAMMY-nominated, star studded album, DRONES (featuring Kendrick, YG, Leon Bridges, Cordae, and more) to the GRAMMY-nominated Dinner Party (The musical supergroup of Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder), and his most recent single “Chucks (feat. Channel Tres)”. Among the most versatile creatives in a generation, Terrace’s path is leading him in parallel with the greats like Quincy Jones or Dr. Dre, while also launching his vibrant, progressive, genre-crossing record label record label Sounds of Crenshaw.
This event includes ASL interpretation, wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices, audio description, digital programs, and large print programs.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park9.html
The Chicago Air and Water Show presented by the City of Chicago is the largest FREE show of its kind in the United States. The show can be viewed along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point.
This event includes audio description and wheelchair accessibility.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_air_and_watershow.html
It’s NYE 1999. A group of sinister mercenaries are holding the world’s most popular boy band hostage! Unless the nations of the world hand over their vital Y2K codes by midnight, the Boyz Will B Boyz will be Boyz Will B Dead! Will the non-talented boy band member save the day? Or will the mercenaries escape to their all-inclusive resort with the water ski package?
Accessibility: audio description, touch tour
Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, the renowned composer/librettist team, tell the story of Claire, who is driven nearly mad by an unending, low-frequency hum that she hears. In desperation, she joins a community organization, “The Listeners,” formed to discover the origin of the noise and destroy it. The group becomes frighteningly cult-like, ultimately leading to catastrophic consequences.
Audio Description and Sound Shirts will be available.
Touch tour will begin at 12:00pm before the performance at 2:00pm.
https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/the-listeners/
Puccini brings unique beauty and sensitivity to this tale of young lovers in 19th-century Paris. With the famous arias of the ardent poet Rodolfo, the fragile seamstress Mimì, and the good-hearted party-girl Musetta, matched perfectly to the romance and heartbreak of this universal story.
This event will include audio description, soundshirt, and a touch tour starting at 12:00pm for a performance at 2:00-5:00pm.
https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/la-boheme/
In the setting of Count Almaviva’s castle, his servants, Figaro and Susanna, conspire to get the better of their willful employer, joined by his long-suffering wife, the Countess. Also on hand is opera’s most lovable pageboy, Cherubino.
Audio Description will be available at this performance and a touch tour will begin at 12:00pm before the performance at 2:00pm.
Sound shirt will also be available at this performance.
For more information go to lyricopera.org.
https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/the-marriage-of-figaro/
Rigoletto, tragically obsessed with avenging his daughter Gilda’s dishonor. The score’s highlights are unforgettable, from Rigoletto’s hair-raising denunciation of the Duke of Mantua’s courtiers, “Cortigiani,” to the immoral, philandering Duke’s “La donna è mobile,” to Gilda’s ecstatic “Caro nome.”
Audio Description & Sound Shirts are available at the performance – more information at lyricopera.org.
Touch tour will begin at 12:00pm before the event at 2:00pm.
https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/rigoletto/
Co-produced by Lyric, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Washington National Opera, the opera presents the moving story of a Black middle-class family in Harlem whose hopes and dreams for their teenage son are shattered when he is shot by a white police officer.
Audio Description will be available and a touch tour will begin at 12:00pm before the event at 2:00pm.
Sound Shirt will also be offered on this date.
Please visit lyricopera.org for further information.
Leonore, who disguises herself as a young man in order to work in the prison, hoping to rescue her husband.
Accessibility: SoundShirt, audio description, and touch tour.
Touch tour starting at 12:00pm before the performance at 2:00pm
A multi-genre storytelling project about the life journey of a lyricist, Prophet: The Order of the Lyricist illuminates the distinctive practices, systems, philosophies, and political ideologies that have shaped hip-hop’s emcees and lyricists. Combining craft, prose, oration, and exposé, the work presents the coming-of-age story of an emcee, immersing audiences in a world of courage, self-determination, and devotion. Using text, sound, film, and performance, Prophet stands as a critical and embodied offering to the scholarly, civic, and ancient bodies of radical Black expression.
The MCA’s presentation of Prophet, represents the culmination of a year of relationship-building with organizations, artists, and archives. It features audio clips from the Sun Ra Archive within the Experimental Sound Studio.
This performance is part of On Stage: Resonance, organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former Curator in Performance, with Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator of Performance.
Run time: 60 min.
Stay after the May 11 performance for a conversation and Q&A with the artists, moderated by Tara Aisha Willis, Former MCA Curator of Performance.
The Saturday, May 11, performance features Audio Description and CART captioning.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/prophet-the-order-of-the-lyricist/
Love is a universal language; it transcends identity and culture. Love is more than a feeling; it is a tough invitation that encourages sacrifice and commitment. Love is a never-ending journey that is always beginning. But what is love in the absence of compassion and wonder?
#OTVTonight, your favorite intersectional Late Show, returns to MCA Chicago for an intimate evening filled with care and admiration for the stories that help us to cultivate a bond that is strong enough to heal, prepare, and transform unstable foundations.
Join us in the Edlis Neeson Theater for the premiere of handpicked titles inviting us to open a window into love, interspersed with artist interviews, live DJ sets, pop-up performances and more — all hosted by OTV’s Co-Founder and Executive Diva, Elijah McKinnon. Remember, the future of television is intersectional. If you don’t believe it, let OTV show you.
For live updates on #OTVTonight: A Window Into Love, visit bit.ly/otvtonight.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/otvtonight-a-window-into-love/
Join us to celebrate the last Family Day of the season!
Sueños Music Festival will be raffling two pairs of tickets for the Sueños Music Festival event.
Join us as we bring together incredible local artists for a day of workshops and interactive experiences.
Salvador Andrade will be leading a collaborative workshop using found objects that draw inspiration from Mexican textiles.
Mr. Pintamuro, known for his captivating artwork that merges Aztec and Mayan storytelling with Japanese anime, will share his expertise and creativity with families.
Printmaker Atlan Arceo will guide participants of all ages through a workshop on various print techniques for all ages.
The Mexican Consulate of Chicago is collaborating with us to share two stories from Home is Somewhere Else, directed by Carlos Hagerman and Jorge Villalobos, which is a unique and timely animated documentary that tells stories of immigrant youth, exploring each character’s inner world alongside their colorful hopes, and dreams for a better future.
Don’t miss our family workshop, Tell Me About Your Wings, to learn more about the traditional techniques of indigenous cultures in Mexico, such as the Wixárika, in commemoration of Jorge Marín’s sculpture Wings of Mexico.
Last but not least, Borderless Magazine will be conducting family interviews for all ages to highlight stories that will be published in the near future!
Designed and led by Chicago artists, Family Day is a monthly program that allows families and youth to connect and engage with contemporary art through activities and performances for all-ages. Enjoy FREE admission while taking part in workshops, open studio sessions, gallery tours, performances, and more.
Activities are facilitated in English and Spanish with ASL interpretation provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/family-day-migration-stories/
A journey of self-discovery leads to salvation in this major revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winner’s masterwork.
On the heels of Gem of the Ocean (2022), expert August Wilson interpreter Chuck Smith revives the second work in the famed American Century Cycle—one of Wilson’s best-loved, most compelling plays. Herald Loomis searches the country with his young daughter to find his estranged wife. But first, he must regain a sense of his own heritage and identity in this story of spiritual and emotional resurrection.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is recommended for ages 14+
Accessibility: ASL, audio description
https://www.goodmantheatre.org/show/joe-turners-come-and-gone/
Gardening, not Architecture
Throughout the year, the MCA hosts high-quality professional development programming, open to teachers of all subjects, grade levels, and disciplines. These events are educator-specific, skills-based, training on contemporary art integration. Programs are designed in connection with the cultural assets of the MCA and the needs of the Chicago area educators. In keeping with addressing issues of relevance, the 2023-24 Learning Series is a four-part series exploring on “The Impact of Food Apartheid in Education”.
The term “apartheid” is used as it acknowledges the existence of economic and racial segregation systems. And as history has shown us, apartheid systems can be dismantled through collective action.
For Session Three, Eric “Manny” Von Haynes and Ramon “Radius” Norwood, core organizers of Love Fridge Chicago, conduct a workshop titled “Gardening, not Architecture,” which delves into the impactful work of Love Fridge. Love Fridge Chicago is a mutual aid network that aims to combat food apartheid and provide essential resources to the Chicago community.
The workshop covers the strategies and practices this mutual aid network uses to address systemic challenges and addresses initiatives to create sustainable systems that empower individuals and communities. This interactive session include group discussions, hands-on activities, and a creative writing exercise to promote collaboration and understanding.
ASL is available upon request, email BoxOffice@mcachicago.org
Renowned composer and multi-instrumentalist Laura Ortman performs two evenings of live, solo, multimedia concerts. Informed by her practice as a sculptor and installation artist, Ortman bridges the gap between music and fine art in her performances, describing her musical approach as “sculpting sound.” An accomplished violinist, her work encompasses a variety of textures and atmospheres created with the Apache violin, effects pedals, piano, guitar, and voice. In the MCA’s Edlis Neeson Theater, Ortman’s original music is presented alongside her video work.
This performance is part of On Stage: Resonance, organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former Curator in Performance, with Laura Paige Kyber, Curatorial Associate.
Runtime: approx. 45–60 min
Content Warning:
This performance includes the use of theatrical haze, moving images, and loud, sometimes abrupt, sounds.
Assess Information:
Ear plugs are available upon request for all performances. If you need wheelchair seating or have limited mobility, staff members are available to assist you.
The performance on Saturday, April 27, features ASL interpretation and Audio Description.
Tremor is artist and composer Samita Sinha’s latest performance work. In the piece, Sinha explores what she describes as “the practice of attuning oneself to the raw material of vibration and its emergence in space, as well as unfolding the possibilities that arise from encounters between this sonic material and other individuals.” Tremor is born from Sinha’s practice of decomposing, distilling, and transforming Indian vocal traditions through the body, employing sound as a vessel that harnesses and liberates energy through oneself. Through this practice, what emerges is a new language with the potential to challenge our thinking, reconfigure our relationships, and open new forms of collaboration. In Tremor, Sinha asks how we might reactivate our relationship to life itself through our sense of vibration, despite the numbing and distorting effects of coloniality and modernity. How can our voices be vessels to repair the fabric of our interconnection and open generative possibilities? How can we relearn to listen?
Performed in relationship to a live sonic environment created by composer Ash Fure, and within a space designed by architect Sunil Bald, Sinha is joined on stage each night by a rotating cast of sound-and movement-based collaborators. The casting schedule will be announced in the coming months.
Tremor was co-commissioned by Western Front (Vancouver, CA) and Danspace Project (New York).
This performance is part of On Stage: Resonance, organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former Curator in Performance, with Laura Paige Kyber, Curatorial Associate.
Run time: 60-75 min
Content Warning:
Seating for this performance is general admission and on stage. A limited number of cushions are available for sitting on the floor, and provide the closest proximity to the performance. If you require a chair, please speak with a staff member who can assist you. The performance includes the use of theatrical haze. Some loud sounds may occur throughout. There will be intervals of very low light, including complete darkness at times.
Ear plugs are available upon request for all performances. If you need wheelchair seating or have limited mobility, staff members are available to assist you.
The performance on Saturday, April 20, features Audio Description.
This is an opera, but what is an opera? If opera is defined simply as “big work,” what could be blacker? FORCE! features a live band that blends gospel, folk, pop, and jazz, with experimental dance, song, and the spoken word. As the work unfolds, characters reveal layered interiors creating a strange sisterhood with the power to disintegrate walls that blooms in the shadows of the prison industrial complex. As the artists manifest the free worlds of which they dream on stage, their voices resound with collective power. A meditation on often-overlooked spaces—prison waiting rooms—FORCE! travels through silence, sound, and rhythm to dissipate borders between performers and audience members and question who truly controls how their time is spent.
Comprised of a Chicago-based cast, FORCE! is created by Anna Martine Whitehead alongside co-music directors, Ayanna Woods and Teiana Davis; co-composers, Phillip Armstrong and Angel Bat Dawid; and is devised in collaboration with performers Zachary Nicol, Jenn Freeman, Rahila Coats, Eva Supreme, Nexus J, Daniella Hope, Brittany Brown, Kai Black, and Wyatt Wadell; with extra help from Tramaine Parker and Jasmine Mendoza.
Since late 2019, FORCE! has developed as an iterative re-imagining of performance practice, constantly re-centering care, consent, queer divergence, and rest. The creative team re-imagines rehearsal protocols and releases disciplinary categories to build an abolitionist feminist theater practice. This project gathers lessons from lichens and other emergent strategies, direct actions, and mutual aid societies and leverages sound and movement as vectors for processing state violence and racial capitalism. Using the prison as a particular prism through which we can bear witness to the ways carceral systems replicate themselves. FORCE! is also an attempt to abolish the Prison Industrial Complex in the audience and artist’s heads, hearts, and houses.
Libretto by Anna Martine Whitehead. Composed by Ayanna Woods, Anna Martine Whitehead, Angel Bat Dawid, and Philip Armstrong.
This performance is part of On Stage: Resonance, organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former Curator in Performance, with Laura Paige Kyber, Curatorial Associate.
Run time: 90-100 min
Content Warning:
This performance begins in the theater lobby. Audiences will take a behind the-scenes route to their seats with the performers as their guides. All seating for this performance is on stage. A live band plays in close proximity to the audience. The performance includes the use of theatrical haze. It also features loud sounds and bright, moving lights throughout.
Ear plugs are available upon request for all performances. If you need wheelchair seating or have limited mobility, staff members are available to assist you.
The performance on Saturday, March 30, includes CART captioning and Audio Description.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/anna-martine-whitehead-force-an-opera-in-three-acts/
Ensemble Member Laurie Metcalf comes home to Steppenwolf to star in Little Bear Ridge Road, a comic, cosmic and intimate world premiere, penned by MacArthur Fellow Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello.
In the outer limits of rural Idaho, the last two members of the Fernsby family tree, an estranged aunt and nephew, reunite to sort the mess left behind after a troubled father’s passing. They now face an uncomfortable and universal question: how do we deal with other people? And is connection more trouble than it’s worth? As their relationship begins anew, the two reluctant Fernsby’s—separated by age and experience—start to understand the joys and perils of letting someone else into your own story, even if only for a moment.
Little Bear Ridge Road will be performed in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater.
ASL Interpretation, Audio Description, Open Captions, and Touch Tour will be available.
For tickets: https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets–events/seasons-/202324/Little-Bear-Ridge-Road/
Children’s author and illustrator Arnold Lobel’s beloved characters hop from the page to the stage in the Tony-nominated musical A Year With Frog And Toad, based on his popular children’s book that follows two best friends – the cheerful, popular Frog and grumpy, but lovable Toad – through four fun-filled seasons.
A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD was originally presented on Broadway by Bob Boyett, Adrianne Lobel, Michael Gardner, Lawrence Horowitz and Roy Furman. The play had its world Premiere at The Children’s Theatre Company Minneapolis, Minnesota.
ACCESS Weekend |Sat, April 27th (9:30am: Sensory Friendly, 11:30am: ASL & Open Captions) and Sun, April 28th (9:30am: Sensory Friendly, 11:30am: Audio Description & Touch Tour – must confirm attendance two weeks prior to performance)
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on the plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. Cady and her friends devise a “revenge party” to end Regina’s reign with Cady going undercover as an aspiring plastic. When the lines between the real Cady and her plastic-self get blurred, she must find her way back to herself and her true friends.
Audio-described performance on Saturday, March 16 at 2 pm, preceded by a Touch Tour at 1 pm. Admission to this performance is free for visually impaired patrons and their parties with code AUDIO.
Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $15.00 for students.
Book by Tina Fey, Lyrics by Nell Benjamin, Music by Jeff Richmond
Directed by De Haddad
Choreography by Amanda Vinson
Music Direction by Meghan Kessel
Stage Management by JJ O’Connell
Copresented with the Steppenwolf LookOut Series
The Next Cup of Tea is a solo dance-theater performance by Anjal Chande that investigates how to make sense of the never-ending impulses that run through our hearts, our everyday moments, and our contradictory experiences. Through improvisational dance and storytelling, Chande reflects on money, her grandfather, the politics of art, and more. Zigzagging between the gnawing inner world and daily physical routine, The Next Cup of Tea traverses through all that is ordinary, appalling, and enchanting.
This performance was originally scheduled as a part of the MCA’s 2023 Chicago Performs series, organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former curator, with Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator.
Special Thanks from the Artist
Gratitude to all the collaborators who have contributed to previous iterations of this work across seven years of process. Shout out to the following individuals who shaped recent versions during the pandemic (2021) and a live showing at Tanztage in Berlin (2019): Gina Hoch-Stall (dramaturg), Jesse Hunter (musician), Karl Olson (musician), Josh Anderson (cinematographer), Emese Csornai (lighting design), David Ofori-Amoah (material design), Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos Jr. (dramaturg), and Sophia New (mentor).
Accessibility: ASL interpretation and audio description
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/the-next-cup-of-tea/
Witness the powerful stories of 19 individuals fighting to overcome and transform America’s education and criminal justice systems.
THIS STRIKINGLY INTIMATE PIECE presents snapshots from a variety of real people, documenting their intersections with the American dream and the obstacles that work to block them from it. Utilizing verbatim dialogue pulled from more than 250 accounts from students, faculty, prisoners, activists, politicians, and victims’ families, Notes from the Field takes audiences on an emotional journey through the faults and injustices of an American criminal justice system that seems more focused on incarceration over education. Deeply human, profoundly moving, and full of moments of humor, compassion, and resilience, it’s a masterful work that asks you to observe, be present, and join the call for urgent and necessary change.
Originally performed by creator Anna Deavere Smith as a one-woman show, in TimeLine’s Chicago premiere, three actors weave together narratives of change makers, activists, and those caught within the system for an evening of theatre unlike anything you’ve experienced before.
CONTENT ADVISORY: Notes from the Field contains frank descriptions and depictions of racial violence, police brutality, and incarceration, as well as some instances of insensitive language.
If there are certain themes or topics you know may cause you distress, please reach out to the Box Office at 773.281.8463 x6 for more specific information.
Accessibility: audio description
Three moms, a stay-at-home dad, and a nanny watch their kids play at Mommy-Baby Meetup. One mom is the queen bee and one is here to shake things up. The dad just wants to fit in, and the nanny doesn’t say a word. When catastrophe comes, the five of them have to figure out how to survive a war and each other. MOTHERS examines the primal heartache of raising children in a disintegrating world.
* This production may not be suitable for anyone under the age of 12.
WHAT TO EXPECT (physical notes of the Filament space/content info of the show)
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES (specific to this production)
This performance will include audio description with a touch tour before the show and captions.
https://thegifttheatre.org/event/mothers-by-anna-ouyang-moench-3-2/
Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore Shedd Aquarium’s exhibits and experiences in a comfortable and accepting environment. Modifications for this event will include limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration.
Modifications for Calm Waters Include:
-Limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration
-A sensory friendly app
-A low-sensory animal spotlight
-An animal encounter opportunity
-Complimentary 4D experiences during the event
-Family members and companions are welcome.
-Audio description for the Animal Spotlight
Cost
Adults (12+)
Chicago Residents – $19.95
Non-Residents – $39.95
Children (Ages 3-11)
Chicago Residents – $14.95
Non-Residents – $29.95
Transportation to Shedd
Take CTA’s 146 Museum Campus bus to our door, or parking will be available for $30 in the surface lot between Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum.
Drop-off is available at Shedd’s bus loop on the south side of the building.
Be sure to check for traffic and parking alerts.
Accommodation Requests?
Please contact us (312-939-2438) at least one week before the event.
Visitors with severe disabilities may be accompanied by paid personal care attendants (PCA). Please call 312-939-2438 to request complimentary companion tickets for a paid PCA.
Additional information available at: https://www.sheddaquarium.org/plan-a-visit/accessibility/calm-waters
An unexpected remix of Homer’s The Odyssey, told by the celebrated and subversive author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale).
It’s her turn. Penelope has waited 20 years for her husband to return from the Trojan War. Now, as authorial control shifts to Odysseus’ long-suffering wife—and the 12 faithful maids who have long tended to her—we discover a new perspective on the domestic vigil. This ancient tale told anew by “one of the most admired authors in North America” (NPR) gives voice to those left behind.
Recommended for ages 14+
Audio Description will be provided at this event.
“What’s Yours Like” is inspired by a theme developed by the audience at the start of each show. Then, improvisers with and without disabilities leap into action and develop humorous and unpredictable narratives in real time. This time stand-up comics with and without disabilities open for us! Sponsored by Bodies of Work.
Accessibility: audio description
The Harris Theater’s 2006 presentation of New York City Ballet (NYCB), one of the foremost ballet companies in the world, marked the beginning of Harris Theater Presents. Now under the leadership of Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, NYCB returns to Chicago as part of its 75th anniversary season in two distinct programs celebrating past, present, and future. NYCB highlights a new generation of iconic choreographers in 21st Century Choreography: Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon, Pam Tanowitz, and Kyle Abraham.
21st Century Choreography Program
Caroline Shaw / Justin Peck — Partita
Arvo Pärt / Christopher Wheeldon — Liturgy
Caroline Shaw / Pam Tanowitz — Gustave le Gray No. 1
James Blake / Kyle Abraham — Love Letter (on shuffle)
Audio Description will be available for this performance.
https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/performance/21st-century-choreography
About the Event
In MOBY DICK; or, The Whale, award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Wu Tsang embarks upon a feature-length, silent-film telling of Herman Melville’s great American novel. The film features original orchestral music composed by Caroline Shaw and Andrew Yee with Asma Maroof, which is performed live by the Chicago Sinfonietta.
This adaptation, written by Sophia Al Maria and directed by Tsang, follows the white whale above and below the surface of the water, developing a visual cosmology that resists the exploration and exploitation of the earth under imperial colonialism. Tsang’s approach pairs the classic story of the whaler’s ”floating factory” with the beginnings of the film industry. MOBY DICK; or, The Whale was shot entirely on a soundstage combining silent-era filmmaking techniques with Virtual Production, a virtual reality game engine projecting surreal ocean environments.
The narrative is interwoven with extracts by the Sub-Sub-Librarian, a character played by acclaimed poet Fred Moten, and tackles the novel’s subterranean currents, encountering the resistance of the ship’s hydrarchy, or organizational structure, and collectives of “mariners, renegades, and castaways,” as described by historian C.L.R. James. Exploring overlapping histories of industrialism, extractivism, colonialism, ecological and spiritual crisis, the film creates a multilayered surreal filmic adaptation of the 1851 novel.
The MCA’s presentation of MOBY DICK; or, The Whale is organized by Nolan Jimbo, Assistant Curator.
Accessibility: audio description, CART captioning
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/live-arts-moby-dick-or-the-whale/