Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, continues its 2026-27 Season with the World Premiere of Lauren M. Gunderson’s new love story All the World, directed by Jessica Thebus. All the World runs November 11-December 20, 2026, at the company’s new home at 1012 Church Street in Downtown Evanston. The opening is Friday, November 20 at 7:30pm.
Tickets, starting at $36, are now available at northlight.org or 847.563.8400. Season subscriptions are also available at northlight.org/subscribe or 847.563.8400. With its wide range of ticket prices, discounted subscription packages and complimentary parking at the 1800 Maple Garage, Northlight remains of one of the best theatrical values in Chicagoland. Package options include traditional 4-Play Subscriptions and 4-Ticket Flex Passes.
‘Tis the season for a love story! Gunderson’s signature blend of romance, wit, and bittersweet beauty shines in this world premiere.
Featuring Alejandra Escalante (Ros) and Ryan Hallahan (Jake), two actors find themselves in an ever-shifting relationship during the most emotionally charged time of the year: the holidays. Set amidst the backstages and quick changes of beloved theatre classics, they try to keep the mess of their private lives offstage, whether they’re falling in love or falling apart. Surprising, heartbreaking, and hopeful, All the World reminds us why—time after time—we keep stepping into the light, telling the story, and leaving it all on the stage.
The creative team Jack Magaw (set design), Raquel Adorno (costume design), JR Lederle (lighting design), and Andre Pluess (sound design). The stage manager is Julie Jachym, resident properties supervisor is Nick Bartleson, and the resident violence and intimacy coordinator is Jyreika Guest. The assistant director is Sofia Ubilla.
"Northlight’s relationship with Lauren Gunderson goes back over a decade, beginning with the Christmas at Pemberley series that she co-authored with Margot Melcon. Lauren is one of the top 10 most produced living playwrights in the United States, and I hope we have contributed to that achievement. We could not imagine opening our new home without a Lauren Gunderson play because our audience has responded so well to her work,” comments BJ Jones. “All the World is a delicious celebration of our craft that takes place in a theater's green room. It’s our gift to the audiences who have supported us so generously over the years."
Northlight’s new state-of-the-art facility is a major component in the arts and cultural scene in Chicagoland and the North Shore and features approximately 285 comfortable seats with excellent sight lines, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, a dedicated box office and contemporary bar in the lobby, a second floor rehearsal and event space, and lounge and gathering areas on the first and second floors. Located in the heart of downtown Evanston, with easy, nearby access to parking and public transportation via CTA and Metra, Northlight will contribute to a vibrant local economy and will serve as an economic driver for downtown Evanston.
Convenient, free parking is available for all Northlight patrons at the 1800 Maple Self Park Garage. Details and locations, including ADA parking, are available at northlight.org/location.
The 2026-27 Season is sponsored in part by Paul Epner and Janet Gans Epner, Nan Greenough, and Tobi and Tiffany Laczkowski.
The Lead Sponsor for Northlight's production of All the World is Byline Bank.
Fact Sheet
The World Premiere of
All the World
By Lauren M. Gunderson
Directed by Jessica Thebus
Dates: November 11 - December 20, 2026
Press Opening: Friday, November 20 at 7:30pm
Cast: Alejandra Escalante (Ros), Ryan Hallahan (Jake)
Creative Team: Jack Magaw (set design), Raquel Adorno (costume design), JR Lederle (lighting design), Andre Pluess (sound design), Julie Jachym (stage manager), Nick Bartleson (resident properties supervisor), Jyreika Guest (resident violence and intimacy coordinator), Sofia Ubilla (assistant director)
Tickets:
Box Office: 1012 Church Street in Evanston, northlight.org, 847.563.8400
Previews (November 11-18): start at $36
Regular run (November 20-December 20): start at $50
Season-long discounts, subject to availability:
Student tickets: $20
Rush seats for evening performances available at 3pm daily: $20
Evanston resident discount: 10% off Friday performances
Schedule:
- Tuesdays: 7:30pm (November 24 only)
- Wednesdays: 2:00pm (except November 11) and 7:30pm
- Thursdays: 7:30pm (except November 19 and 26)
- Fridays: 7:30pm
- Saturdays: 2:00pm (except November 14) and 7:30pm
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Sundays: 2:00pm and 7:30pm (November 15 and 22 only)
Accessible Performances:
Audio Description/Touch Tour: Saturday, December 5 at 2:00pm
Open Captioning: Friday, December 4 at 7:30pm and Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm
Relaxed/Sensory-Friendly Performances: Thursday, December 10 at 7:30pm
Notes of Interest:
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All the World is Lauren Gunderson’s sixth play produced by Northlight, following Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (Rolling World Premiere - 2024/25), Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley (Rolling World Premiere 2022), The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley (2019), The Book of Will (Midwest Premiere – 2017), and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (World Premiere – 2016). Since 2017, she has been regularly at the top of the nationwide list of the world’s most produced playwrights.
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Jessica Thebus returns to Northlight where she previously directed Lauren Gunderson’s The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, The Book of Will and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, as well as Gaslight, Birthday Candles, Into the Breeches!, Shining Lives: A Musical, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Inherit the Wind and Red Herring.
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This is Alejandra Escalante’s first production at Northlight, having previously appeared at the Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, The Guthrie, Second Stage and others, as well as seven seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
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Ryan Hallahan previously appeared at Northlight in Dial ‘M’ for Murder. He was part of the first National Tour of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
- Northlight Theatre’s new theater, education, and community space is a major component in the arts and cultural scene in Chicagoland and the North Shore and features 287 comfortable seats with excellent sight lines, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, a dedicated box office and contemporary bar in the lobby, a second floor rehearsal and event space, and lounge and gathering areas on the first and second floors. Located in the heart of downtown, with easy, nearby access to parking and public transportation via CTA and Metra, Northlight will contribute to a vibrant local economy and will serve as an economic driver for downtown Evanston.
About the Artists
Jessica Thebus (Director) is a theatre artist, director, and educator. She holds a PhD in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently Director of the Northwestern MFA Program in Directing for the Stage. She has directed and adapted plays in Chicago and nationally for 20 years, and has long associations with the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and many other Chicago theaters. Nationally, she's collaborated with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Repertory, The Huntington Theatre in Boston, and The Kennedy Center.
Lauren M. Gunderson (Playwright) is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award, the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award; a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Weisberger Award, and John Gassner Award for Playwriting; and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s Residency with Marin Theatre Company. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Her play The Catastrophist, about her husband virologist Nathan Wolfe, premiered digitally in January 2021. She co-authored the Miss Bennet plays with Margot Melcon, and The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered off-Broadway and is now at Audible.com. Her work is published at Bloomsbury (Revolutionary Women: A Lauren Gunderson Anthology, anthropology, I and You), Playscripts (I and You; Exit Pursued By A Bear; The Taming and Toil And Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (The Revolutionists; The Book of Will; Silent Sky; Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams and Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie). Her picture book Dr Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is the book writer for musicals with Ari Afsar (Jeannette), Dave Stewart and Joss Stone (The Time Traveller’s Wife), Joriah Kwamé (Sinister), Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk (Justice and Earthrise), and Kira Stone (Built for This). She is a board member of The Playwrights Foundation.
Alejandra Escalante (Ros) Chicago credits include Holiday, The Cherry Orchard, 2666, The Upstairs Concierge, Measure for Measure and Song for the Disappeared (Goodman Theatre); Henry V, All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Off-Broadway: Dying City (Second Stage Theater). Regional: Simona’s Search, Romeo and Juliet (Hartford Stage); The Taming of the Shrew (American Players Theatre); The Odyssey, Othello (American Repertory Theater); Sense and Sensibility (Guthrie Theater); and Darwin in Malibu (Washington Stage Guild). In seven seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alejandra has been seen in Othello, Love's Labor's Lost, Henry IV, Part One, Henry IV, Part Two, The Tempest, A Wrinkle in Time, The Tenth Muse, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Measure for Measure. Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
Ryan Hallahan (Jake) Select Chicago credits include Pass Over, Straight White Men (Steppenwolf Theatre), The Last Match, Witch, The Real Thing, A Streetcar Named Desire (Writers Theatre), Dial M For Murder (Northlight Theatre), Pericles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cyrano De Bergerac (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), The Body Of An American (Stage Left; Jeff Award Nominee- Actor In A Principal Role), Posh (Steep), Octagon (Jackalope Theatre), and A Doll’s House (Definition Theatre), as well as work with The Goodman, Chicago Dramatists, Victory Gardens, and Broken Nose Theatre. National tour: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Regional work includes The Rainmaker, Write Me A Murder, and Ripcord (Peninsula Players.) Film and television include Pass Over (dir. Spike Lee), Working Man, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med. He is the author of the plays Off The 77, The Grand Opening of the Chino Valley Death House, and Anna Lee.
Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions from BMO; Bulley & Andrews; Byline Bank; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, Inc.; Evanston Community Foundation; Franklin Square Foundation; Full Circle Foundation; Grumman Butkus Associates; Hagerty Consulting; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; John R Halligan Charitable Fund; Kirkland & Ellis; LionBird; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Mabadi Realty; Mammel Family Foundation; Modestus Bauer Foundation; Northwestern University; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; The Revada Foundation of the Logan Family; Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation; The Schubert Foundation, Inc.; SLOAN; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; The Sullivan Family Foundation; Tom Stringer Design Partners.
Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.
Founded in 1974 with its inaugural season in 1975-76, the organization has mounted over 250 productions, including more than 45 world premieres. Northlight has earned 238 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 37 Awards, as well as 11 Edgerton Foundation for New Play Awards. As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.