Women’s History Month Programming

Radial Gradient at Shattered Globe Theatre 

Runs Jan 27 – Mar 11, 2023

Three women enter a research study hoping to create positive change after a hate crime takes place at a liberal university in America. Post-show event on Sunday, March 5. This performance features a short spoken word and dance performance by Global Girls following our 3:00pm matinee performance. https://chicagoplays.com/event/radial-gradient/

Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill at Mercury Theater

Runs Jan 27 – Mar 26, 2023

Turn back the clock to 1956 for an intimate cabaret performance with the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, Billie Holiday. More than a dozen musical numbers are interlaced with salty, often humorous reminiscences revealing a portrait of the lady and her music. https://chicagoplays.com/event/lady-day-at-emersons-bar-and-grill/

Boulevard of Bold Dreams at TimeLine Theatre

Runs Feb 01 – Mar 19, 2023

Set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood. https://chicagoplays.com/event/boulevard-of-bold-dreams/

Anna in the Tropics at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company

Runs Feb 08 – Mar 19, 2023

In a Cuban American cigar factory just outside Ybor City in 1929, a charismatic lector reads Anna Karenina aloud to pass the hours. As Anna’s passions are enunciated, the workers’ hidden desires bubble to the surface, becoming a powderkeg that must eventually explode in the Florida heat. Nilo Cruz’s passionate classic shines an unrelenting light on the search for identity in the American landscape. https://chicagoplays.com/event/anna-in-the-tropics/

Villette at Lookingglass Theatre Company

Runs Feb 08 – Apr 23, 2023

You’ve never met a heroine like Lucy Snow. Suddenly bereft of family, friends, and funds, young Lucy journeys unaccompanied to France an unfamiliar land as a vain debutante, quarrelsome teacher, and mysterious ghost draw her into a complicated maze. Will tenacious Lucy, and her wry wit, emerge intact? https://chicagoplays.com/event/villette/

Fen at Court Theatre

Runs Feb 10 – Mar 05, 2023

Employing astonishing theatrical imagery, Churchill’s Fen shows with grace and sly humor how the intricate pressures of gender and class both shape and distort the characters of women. https://chicagoplays.com/event/fen

The Kelly Girls at The Factory Theater

Runs February 17 – April 1

Belfast, 1960s: as conflicts between various political factions threaten to tear Ireland apart from the inside, sisters Fianna and Regan Kelly feel compelled to engage in the fight for their homeland. But when they join the ranks of The Provisionals and find themselves committing acts of brutal terrorism and guerrilla warfare, both young women are forced to question how much they’re willing to destroy in the name of unity. Playwright Shannon O’Neill follows her critically acclaimed May the Road Rise Up with this story of political upheaval and taking a stand. https://chicagoplays.com/event/the-kelly-girls/

Layalina at Goodman Theatre

Runs Mar 03 – Apr 02, 2023

In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Don’t miss this moving, powerful new play’s world premiere on the Owen Stage—fresh from Goodman’s New Stages and Future Labs programs. https://chicagoplays.com/event/layalina-2/

Bold Voices/Bold Women at The Beverly Arts Center

Saturday, March 4, 2023 

The first of these “un-gala” events, titled, will provide the opportunity for the Arts Center to honor a group of community members who have championed the arts and arts education on the South Side. The evening is also a celebration of Women’s History Month and will include a staged-production of V’s (formerly Eve Ensler’s) the Vagina Monologues. Funds raised by the event will support BAC programs that benefit women and girls. https://chicagoplays.com/event/bold-voices-bold-women/

The Shadow of a Doubt at Ghostlight Theatre

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

A staged reading of the recently rediscovered play, The Shadow of A Doubt, by novelist Edith Wharton, performed at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum. The play is part of our For Your (Re)Consideration series that explores the works of historically overlooked female writers.

Set at the turn of the twentieth century, The Shadow of a Doubt, explores the issues surrounding social position, remarriage, the roles of women and euthanasia. A brief talkback will follow. https://chicagoplays.com/event/the-shadow-of-a-doubt/

For Your (Re)Consideration explores the works of historically overlooked female writers. Featuring a variety of distinct voices and styles from different historical periods, the readings seek to bring attention to these remarkable women who have been sidelined by history for reasons that had nothing to do with their talent and everything to do with their gender and, in many cases, their race.

The Revolutionists at Oil Lamp Theater 

Runs Mar 16 – Apr 30, 2023

Imagine if four badass, very real women, who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror had met and exchanged ideas before losing their heads? What if former queen Marie Antoinette, playwright Olympe De Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle–uncensored and full of ideas–grappled together with how to change the world? Oh…and it’s a comedy! https://chicagoplays.com/event/the-revolutionists/

Happy Days at City Lit

Runs Mar 17 – Apr 02, 2023

Samuel Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece centers on Winnie, a woman who is trapped in a large mound which is slowly consuming her. While a relentless sun burns above, Winnie will not budge until some change occurs, buoyed by determined optimism in the face of oblivion. https://chicagoplays.com/event/happy-days/

The Last Queen of Camelot at Idle Muse Theatre Company

Runs March 23 – April 23

At the twilight of a legendary age, Guinevere and Morgan, the two most powerful women in Camelot, each seek to claim control of their destiny. In a kingdom defined by magic, intrigue and adventure, both women walk a dangerous path to overcome the other. As Arthur’s final battle approaches, romance and reality collide in a fight to determine who will shape the future. https://chicagoplays.com/event/the-last-queen-of-camelot/

Jacqueline Goldfingers Babel at Redtwist Theatre 

Runs March 23 – April 30

Jacqueline Goldfinger’s Babel paints a dystopian society in the not-so-distant future. Provocative and unsettling, Babel follows two couples as they try to get pregnant in a world in which eugenics is the reality. This dark comedy explores the value society places on a child, our own free will, and the future generations of the human race. Goldfinger dares to ask questions that press the audience to think deeply about what is really important: our imperfect humanity or the progression of a perfect society? How far are we willing to go and what is the cost of perfection? https://chicagoplays.com/event/babel/

Motherhouse at Rivendell Theatre 

March 24 – May 6, 2023

In Tuckie White’s Motherhouse, a young woman, Annie, enlists the help of her four Aunts to create an authentic eulogy for her recently deceased Mother. What begins as a small act of family solidarity quickly spirals into darkly comic chaos as they attempt to capture the spirit of the departed. Motherhouse  is a wickedly funny, wickedly human story about the painful, messy momentum of grief. https://chicagoplays.com/event/motherhouse/