Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group combines music, technology, and comedy to create a form of entertainment that defies categorization and appeals to people of all ages. Their shows have been described by critics as “innovative,” “energetic” and “wildly entertaining.” But the only way to truly understand Blue Man Group‘s global popularity is to see the show for yourself.
Corduroy
In this sweet adaptation of Don Freeman’s classic book, a small bear’s quest for a missing button leads to the friendship of a lifetime. After the lights are dimmed and the doors locked, the department store comes to life with circus elements and physical comedy. It’s up to Corduroy to outsmart the Night Watchman as he waits for his new pal Lisa to return with her mother. Along with exciting scenes of clowning and mischief, the story teaches the importance of empathy and unconditional love. Recommended for ages 3 and up.
Drunk Shakespeare
One professional actor downs 5 shots of whiskey and then attempts to perform…in a Shakespearean play. Hilarity and mayhem ensues while the four sober actors try and keep the script on track. Every show is different depending on who is drinking… and what they’re drinking! The stage is set in a hidden speakeasy located behind The Chicago Theater. Guests enter through a locksmith’s shop to find a glam cocktail bar and library with over 10,000 books. Craft cocktails are available throughout the show. Entry is strictly 21+.
The First Deep Breath
The First Deep Breath tells the story of Pastor Albert Jones and his family as they plan a special church service to honor their late daughter Diane on the sixth anniversary of her passing. But when Abdul-Malik, the eldest son he blames for her death returns home from prison, the entire Jones family is forced to confront a hornet’s nest of long-buried family secrets. Old skeletons claw their way to the dinner table, picking at the scraps of Mother Bethel Baptist’s First Family. Written with a ferocious passion by Lee Edward Colston II and directed by Steve Broadnax III, The First Deep Breath finds each member of the Jones family desperately fighting to stay afloat, sometimes the family that stays together drowns together.
Grinning from Fear to Fear
Dive into the e.t.c.’s latest comedy onslaught that will leave you laughing like you’re high on life–or maybe just copious amounts of Lexapro. From psycho killers to big pharma, coming out to your family to coming undone in your nightmares, The Second City’s fearless force of comedy commandos takes on everything that makes us all unfalteringly unique. Rated R.
It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
This is the second longest-running holiday play in Chicago! For 18 years, the American Blues Ensemble has treated Chicago audiences to a live 1940s radio broadcast. The incredible cast recreates the entire town of Bedford Falls with Foley sound effects, an original score, and holiday carols. Critics call this “perfect Christmas theater” and “first-class holiday fare.” After each performance, milk and cookies are served by the cast.
Q Brothers Christmas Carol
Chicago hip hop sensations, the Q Brothers Collective, heat up the holiday season with a wildly entertaining ad-rap-tation of Charles Dickens’ classic. The crew mashes up hip hop with contemporary musical styles, ranging from reggae to dancehall music, dubstep, and epic rock ballads—all underscored with beats spun live by a DJ. Brighten your festivities with some cheeky spirit and a whole lot of heart—complete with visits from a Jamaican Jacob Marley and that youngest of Cratchits, Lil’ Tim.
Romeo and Juliet
A city, two households, and a hatred so old that no one remembers its cause. Defying the barriers forged from their families’ enmity, Romeo and Juliet risk everything for love. Shakespeare sets his immortal tale against a community uprooted by conflict—as resonant today as it was 400 years ago. Armed only with their extraordinary capacity for love and imagination, Romeo and Juliet dare to inhabit a world where hearts are not ruled by hatred. In the uniquely personal setting of CST’s Courtyard Theater, Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and her 25-person cast will make you feel every spark of emotion as tempers flare, families brawl, and love blazes.
Spamalot
Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, featuring ridiculous men in tight pants – not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. Spamalot is an irreverent musical of the legend of King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail. Spurred on by a plague with a 50% chance of pestilence and famine, Arthur recruits knights to accompany him on his quest in pursuit of the salvation of Camelot, and their own destinies. Along the way they encounter crazy shenanigans including the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls, flatulent Frenchmen with flying cows, and blood thirsty, killer rabbits.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
True to his loyal and resolute nature, The Steadfast Tin Soldier returns! The Chicago Tribune calls Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman’s gorgeous spectacle of music and movement “a four-star treat for all ages.” Hans Christian Andersen’s story about a little tin soldier who never gives up comes back to Lookingglass for a winter-time curtain call. The Chicago Reader trumpets this marvel of invention, beauty, and magical storytelling as “an absolute GIFT.”
Teatro ZinZanni presents Love, Chaos, & Dinner
Enter a realm where reality and dreams converge; an experience unlike any other! Teatro ZinZanni is a three-hour whirlwind of international cirque, comedy, and cabaret served with a multi-course feast. Described as the “Kit Kat Klub on acid,” the fast-paced action unfolds around, above, and alongside guests as world-class acrobats, musicians, divas, illusionists, madmen, and aerialists fill the intimate Spiegeltent ZaZou, a unique jewel box mirror tent located in the heart of Chicago’s Downtown Theater District
Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them
The hilarious Why Torture Is Wrong and the People Who Love Them is a play which turns political humor upside down in a raucous and provocative satire about America’s growing homeland “insecurity.” It is the story of a young woman suddenly in crisis: Is her new husband, whom she married when drunk, a terrorist? Or just crazy? Or both? Is her father’s hobby of butterfly collecting really a cover for his involvement in a shadow government? Honing in on our private terrors both at home and abroad, Christopher Durang oddly relieves our fears in this black comedy for an era of yellow, orange and red alerts.
For more information and to see a full list of shows, visit hottix.org.
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