Three world-premiere productions and a reinvestigated classic, two triumphs from Broadway and off-Broadway and a Chicago premiere, and an epic rock musical sensation reimagined for today. Goodman Theatre announces its 2022/2023 Season—the final season line-up Robert Falls curates as Artistic Director before stepping down after 35 years at the creative helm of Chicago’s largest not-for-profit theater company. The nine-play season includes the 45th annual production of A Christmas Carol as well as the 18th annual New Stages Festival. One previously postponed project, a musical adaptation of The Outsiders, will not appear due to other artistic commitments. The 2022/2023 Season begins September 2022 and continues through August 2023. Memberships, including flexible packages, are now available for purchase. Five-play Albert Theatre packages start at just $100. Call 312.443.3800 or www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Iconic. Single tickets will be available for select productions beginning in August.
“When I became Artistic Director of Goodman Theatre, I set out to produce new plays that could enter the repertoire of classics and, at the same time, reinvestigate classic works as if they were new—with their authors by my side in the rehearsal room,” said Robert Falls. “This has been my guiding notion over the past 35 years, and I’m happy to announce a final season that maintains the integrity of that ambition. Our 2022/2023 Season offers a variety of plays that I feel is, in many ways, a signature collection, reflective of the breadth, diversity and scope I’ve hoped to offer our audiences.”
Continued Falls, “The new season begins in the Albert Theatre with Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage, directed by Kate Whoriskey—the latest Broadway triumph from the acclaimed playwright/director team who premiered the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined at the Goodman in 2008. We’re happy to welcome Lynn and Kate back to the Goodman, and to produce this razor-sharp comedy about a truck stop sandwich shop and its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff. Next, we’ll produce Toni Stone by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Ron OJ Parson in the Chicago premiere of the off-Broadway hit. This inspiring, moving new play is the remarkable true story about the first woman to beat the odds and play professional baseball. Taking the stage in the spring will be my production of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov—his final masterpiece and one I’ve long wanted to direct, following my previous productions of The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Seagull. Finally, I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that we’ll debut a 30th anniversary production of the epic rock musical The Who’s Tommy, music and lyrics by Pete Townshend, book by Mr. Townshend and Des McAnuff, directed by Mr. McAnuff, based on the towering 1969 concept album by The Who. We’re honored to host these Tony Award-winning artists as they reinvestigate this exhilarating piece for a new time and new audiences.”
Continued Falls, “In the Owen Theatre, we’re proud to produce four plays—three of which are world-premiere productions. First, I’ll direct the world-premiere of Swing State by Rebecca Gilman—marking our sixth collaboration over three decades. Next, the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christina Anderson, directed by Miranda Haymon, a world-premiere co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, is a stunning meditation on protest, legacy and reconciliation. Then, Layalina by Martin Yousif Zebari, directed Sivan Battat takes the stage—a play that began life in our Future Labs series, was further developed as a New Stages workshop production, and now appears in a full production in the Owen. Finally, we’re thrilled to present Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son by Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Edwards Suarez, directed by Mark Clements—the poetic journey of a dancer/artist/father questioning the balance of his passions.”
Concluded Falls, “No Goodman season would be complete without Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, directed by Jessica Thebus in its 45th annual production—and the 18th annual New Stages Festival of new plays in development.”
About the Productions in Goodman Theatre’s 2022/2023 Season
Plays are listed in chronological order by venue
The Goodman is grateful to its 2022/2023 Season sponsors. Leading Sponsors: Shubert Foundation, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Goodman Theatre Women's Board, the Julius N. Frankel Foundation, Northern Trust, ComEd, An Exelon Company, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Major Support of New Work Development: Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee Fund for New Work, The Joyce Foundation and Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation.
IN THE ALBERT THEATRE (856-SEAT PROSCENIUM STAGE)
Clyde’s
By Lynn Nottage | Directed by Kate Whoriskey
September 10 – October 9, 2022 (Albert Theatre)
Opening Night is September 19, 2022
“Feisty comedy is on the menu” (Washington Post) in two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage’s latest Broadway triumph. Creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde’s, a truck stop cafe. Even as the shop’s mischievous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staffers are given purpose and permission to dream—finding that “sometimes a hero is more than a sandwich” (New York Times). This stirring, masterful play from the team of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and director Kate Whoriskey (Ruined, Sweat) makes its Chicago premiere.
Toni Stone
By Lydia R. Diamond | Directed by Ron OJ Parson
January 28 – February 26, 2023 (Albert Theatre)
Opening Night is February 6, 2023
Play ball! The sensational true story of the first woman to play professional baseball knocks it out of the park as a can’t-miss theatrical event. Toni Stone is an encyclopedia of baseball stats. She’s got a great arm. And she doesn’t understand why she can't play with the boys. Rejected by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League because of her race, Toni sets out to become the first woman to play in baseball’s Negro Leagues. Challenges on and off the field—from hostile crowds to players who slide spikes-first—only steel her resolve to shatter racist and sexist barriers in the sport she’s loved since childhood. An original play inspired by the book Curveball, The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone by Martha Ackmann, this New York Times Critic’s Pick will have you cheering along.
The Cherry Orchard
By Anton Chekhov | Directed by Robert Falls
April 1 – April 30, 2023 (Albert Theatre)
Opening Night is April 10, 2023
A family verges on bankruptcy while their country stands on the brink of revolution. Endings and beginnings. Bittersweet departures. The comedy of life. When Madame Ranevskaya returns to her heavily-mortgaged estate on the eve of its auction, the aristocratic widow finds that the fate of much more than her beloved orchard hangs in the balance. Anton Chekhov’s canonical masterpiece is an exploration of loss, love and how to live in a society that’s changing fast. Following his critically-acclaimed productions of Three Sisters, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, director Robert Falls takes on the last of Chekhov’s four major plays.
The Who’s Tommy
Music and Lyrics by Pete Townshend
Book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Directed by Des McAnuff
June 13 – July 23, 2023 (Albert Theatre)
Opening Night is June 26, 2023
The groundbreaking pop-culture musical sensation is reimagined in a new production. Myth and spectacle combine in a fresh reinvention of The Who’s exhilarating 1969 rock concept album, Tommy—including the unforgettable anthems “I’m Free,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Sensation” and “Pinball Wizard.” After witnessing his father shoot his rival, the young Tommy Walker is lost in the universe, endlessly and obsessively staring into the mirror. An innate knack for pinball catapults him from reticent adolescent to celebrity savior. Tony Award-winning composer Pete Townshend and Tony Award-winning original director Des McAnuff find powerful resonance reexamining this classic story for today.
IN THE OWEN THEATRE (350-SEAT FLEXIBLE STAGE)
Swing State
By Rebecca Gilman | Directed by Robert Falls
October 7 – November 13, 2022 (Owen Theatre)
Opening Night is October 17, 2022
It's hard to know who your friends are in a world where politics are more polarized than ever. Tony Award-winner Robert Falls and his longtime collaborator, playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman, team up again for their sixth Goodman production—a contemporary portrait of America’s heartland in a time when it seems like everyone has a different idea of what it means to be an American.
the ripple, the wave that carried me home
By Christina Anderson | Directed by Miranda Haymon
A Co-Production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
January 13 – February 12, 2023 (Owen Theatre)
Opening Night is January 23, 2023
A family responds to injustice and a daughter reckons with her political inheritance in this new play by “a poet, a playwright to pay attention to” (Variety). Janice’s parents are prominent activists fighting for the integration of public swimming pools in 1960s Kansas. As injustice penetrates the warm bubble of her childhood, Janice grows apart from her family and starts a new life far away. When she receives a call asking her to speak at a ceremony honoring her father, she must decide whether she’s ready to reckon with her political inheritance—and a past she has tried to forget.
Layalina
By Martin Yousif Zebari | Directed by Sivan Battat
March 3 – April 2, 2023 (Owen Theatre)
Opening Night is March 13, 2023
A surprising new play about how families fall apart—and find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change.
In 2003, newlywed Layal and her family prepare to emigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her siblings explore queerness, face their grief, and discover what it takes to make home in a new place. 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.
Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of
Antonio’s Song / I Was Dreaming of a Son
By Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Edwards Suarez | Directed by Mark Clements
April 28 – May 28, 2023 (Owen Theatre)
Opening Night is May 8, 2023
A poetic journey of a dancer/artist/father questioning the balance of his passions—art, culture, family. From the streets of Brooklyn to Russia’s ballet training studios, Antonio struggles to reconcile multiple ethnic identities. He wrestles with the legacy of stereotypes of masculinity while discovering the beauty of becoming a father. Powerful poetry is intermixed with original movement, music and projected imagery to create an evocative, wholly unique performance.
New Stages Festival December 1 - 18
FREE In the Owen Theatre
The 18th annual New Stages Festival of new plays includes developmental productions and staged readings. Founded in 2004, the New Stages Festival is a celebration of innovative new plays designed to give playwrights an opportunity to take risks and experiment. New Stages offers Chicago theatergoers a first look at dozens of plays, many of which have gone on to become successful full productions—including Noah Haidle’s Smokefall, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined and more.
A Christmas Carol November 19 – December 31, 2022 By Charles Dickens In the Albert Theatre
Adapted by Tom Creamer
45th ANNUAL PRODUCTION
Directed by Jessica Thebus
More than 1.5 million theatergoers have attended “the crown jewel of the holiday season” (Daily Herald) since the Goodman established it as an annual offering in 1978—a time when only a handful of U.S. theaters mounted the production. Dickens’ holiday classic is the iconic tale of greedy businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, whose sizable bank account is only matched by his disdain for the holidays. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who take him on a spectacular adventure through his past, present and future, helping him rediscover the joys of life, love and friendship.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s off-Loop theaters.
As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. As of September 1, 2020, Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.