Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth announces a change in the line-up for The Goodman’s 100th anniversary season. Blood Memory by Goodman Affiliated Writer Dael Orlandersmith, previously announced for a May 2026 debut, is rescheduled to the following season, directed by Neel Keller while York Walker’s Covenant, directed by Goodman Artistic Producer Malkia Stampley, will make its Chicago debut. Originally announced as part of Paramount Theatre Company’s upcoming season, Covenant was among that theater’s series of productions cancelled recently. Cast and creative team will be announced in the months to come. Covenant appears May 2 – 31, 2026 in the 380-seat flexible Owen Theatre. Tickets are currently available on Goodman Membership only; individual tickets will go on sale February 20. Members holding tickets to Blood Memory will experience Covenant as part of their package.
“We’re delighted to offer a home for the Chicago premiere of York Walker’s thrilling Covenant, directed by Malkia Stampley—and am grateful to Dael Orlandersmith, our longtime creative collaborator, and director Neel Keller for their compassion and grace in rescheduling Blood Memory to help enable this shift,” said Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “The plays of the Centennial Season and beyond are works that embody The Goodman’s artistic priorities—including our theater’s (literal) life-long commitment to new plays, and working together with our creative community and peer theaters to support living artists’ work as fully as possible. And I’m most excited for our audience to have the opportunity to experience both of these provocative, dynamic works.”
"I am so grateful that Covenant will have a new life at The Goodman!” said playwright York Walker. “Bringing this play to my hometown has always been a big dream of mine, and I'm so thankful to everyone at Paramount Theatre and The Goodman for making this happen. I can't wait for Chicago audiences to experience this story."
“Talking with Susan Booth about the prospect of Covenant continuing at The Goodman made my heart soar!” said Jim Corti, Artistic Director of Paramount Theatre. “Everyone at Paramount is looking forward to Malkia’s and York’s continued collaboration on his suspense thriller that audiences do not want to miss.”
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.
The Goodman is grateful for the support of The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust (Lead Sponsor of IDEAA Programming).
York Walker is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter from Chicago. His Off-Broadway play Covenant premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company to critical acclaim, earning a New York Times Critic’s Pick. He is the inaugural recipient of both the Vineyard Theatre's Colman Domingo Award and the John Singleton Screenwriting Award. His work includes Holcomb & Hart (Victory Garden's New Plays For A New Year Festival), The Séance (Winner of the John Singleton Screenwriting Competition, 48 Hours... in Harlem), Covenant (Colman Domingo Award, Roundabout Underground, South Coast Repertory's Pacific Playwrights Festival, Fire This Time Festival) and Soul Records (workshops with Manhattan Theatre Club, the Vineyard Theatre, and Roundabout Theatre Company). Walker is currently developing new works with Roundabout Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory Theatre, The Geffen Playhouse, and The Goodman. His contributions extend to the realm of television, having served as Story Editor and Staff Writer for two seasons on Dick Wolf's hit series, FBI. Walker is a graduate of the MFA Acting program from the American Conservatory Theatre.
Malkia Stampley is from Milwaukee and has been Goodman’s BOLD Artistic Producer since 2021. Goodman directing credits: Primary Trust, In My Granny's Garden, A Christmas Carol (upcoming). Chicago directing credits: No Such Thing (Rivendell); Exit Strategy (Northwestern University); The October Storm (Raven Theatre); Boulevard of Bold Dreams (Timeline Theatre); STEW (Shattered Globe); Shakesfest (Chicago Shakespeare.) Additional directing: Nina Simone: Four Women (KC Rep, Milwaukee Rep); Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Farmer’s Alley); The Gift of the Magi (American Players); Black Nativity (Black Arts MKE); STEW (Milwaukee Chamber); Nunsense (Milwaukee Rep); Five Guys Named Moe (Skylight Music). She served as the founding Artistic Producer for the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival and is co-founder of Bronzeville Arts Ensemble. Malkia is a BOLD theater artist, an LORT EDI Mentorship alum, Theatre Producers of Color alum, and University of Chicago & Court Theatre’s Civic Actors Studio alum and facilitator.
ABOUT THE GOODMAN
Since 1925, The Goodman has been more than a stage. A theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community, it’s where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves.
Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection and change through new plays, reimagined classics and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” In addition, the theater frequently serves as a production partner—with national and international companies to Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify theatrical voices.
But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time, and counts as its greatest legacy the community it’s built. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime; from Theater for the Very Young (plays designed for ages 0-5) to the long-running annual A Christmas Carol, which has introduced new generations to theater over five decades, The Goodman is committed to being an asset for all of Chicago. Education and Engagement programs led by Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot and housed in the Alice Rapoport Center use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging. Each year, these programs reach thousands of people (85% from underserved communities) as well as educators, artists and lifelong learners across the city.
The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.
The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago’s early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today. In 2000, through the commitment of Mr. Goodman’s descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—The Goodman opened the doors to its current home in the heart of the Loop.