Lookingglass Theatre Company announces dates for accessible performances for The Steadfast Tin Soldier, including a Sensory Friendly/ Relaxed performance on Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 1:30PM! Theatre is for everyone. The mission of Lookingglass is to interact with its audience, to fire the imagination with love, to celebrate the human capacity to taste and smell, weep and laugh, create and destroy, and wake up changed, charged and empowered. Throughout the run of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Lookingglass will offer a number of shows and services to accommodate our audience, including the sensory friendly/ relaxed performance, as well as touch tours, audio-described, and masked performances. Lookingglass also offers accessible seating, assistive listening guides, and large print programs.
Chicago’s beloved holiday tradition returns to the stage this holiday season, a classic the whole family will treasure! Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story about a little tin soldier who never gives up, Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman’s production is an entirely wordless, gorgeous spectacle of music and movement.
Get tickets
Online: lookingglasstheatre.org/event/steadfast-tin-soldier-2022
Phone: (312) 337-0665
In Person: 165 E Pearson, Chicago, IL 60611
The box office is open (phone and in-person) Tuesday-Friday, 12PM-6PM.
Now playing through January 8, 2023
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Accessible Show Dates
Audio-Described Performance Dates:
-
January 6, 7:00 PM
Sensory-Friendly/ Relaxed Performance Dates:
-
January 5, 1:30 PM
Mask Required Performance Dates:
-
December 27, 1:30 PM
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December 27, 7:00 PM
Please see the performance calendar on the website for a full calendar and details.
About Accessibility
Lookingglass Theatre Company’s mission is to make theatre exhilarating, inspirational, and accessible to all. Throughout the run of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, we will be offering a number of shows and services to accommodate our audience.
Lookingglass Theatre ground floor and balcony seats are accessible for all patrons who use a wheelchair or a scooter, or patrons who cannot walk stairs. Lightweight assistive listening devices are available for every performance at the box office free of charge. Large print programs are available in electronic form or hard copy at the box office. If you would like a copy in advance of your visit to the theatre, please call the box office.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Audio-Described Performances
Performance Dates: January 6 at 7PM
This service allows patrons with vision loss to hear a verbal description of the design elements, actor movements, and other elements not conveyed through sound. Please RSVP for the touch tour when you purchase your tickets by calling the box office or emailing HouseManager@Lookingglasstheate.org.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Touch Tours
Performance Dates: January 6 at 7PM
Available an hour before the audio-described performances, Touch Tours are tactile explorations of scenic, costume, and property design, led by our audience services staff. Please RSVP for the touch tour when you purchase your tickets by calling the box office or emailing us at HouseManager@Lookingglasstheate.org.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Sensory-Friendly/ Relaxed Performances
Performance Date: January 5 at 1:30PM
Sensory-Friendly/ Relaxed performances are designed to create a safe and welcoming experience for guests who may include (but are not limited to) individuals on the autism spectrum, as well as people with sensory sensitivities. Family members and companions are welcome, as is anyone who might enjoy this relaxed environment.
The production will feature a sound level capped at 90 decibels, reduced light focused at the audience, house lights will remain on during the show, and any unpredictable lights or sounds will be reduced as well as conveyed to the audience.
We will also offer a designated quiet space in the theatre for patrons to relax in during the show. Patrons will be free to exit and enter the theatre as they please. Tablets and smartphones will be permitted to help non-verbal audience members communicate. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own sensory toys.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Masked Performances
Performance Dates: Tuesday Matinee and Evening Performances
At every Tuesday performance (matinee and evening) of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Lookingglass will require patrons to wear masks. We look forward to welcoming all patrons to our theatre, including those who may feel more comfortable around others who are masked.
Accessible Seating
Lookingglass Theatre Company’s ground floor and balcony seats are accessible for all patrons who use a wheelchair or a scooter, or patrons who cannot walk stairs.
Assistive Listening Devices
Lightweight assistive listening devices are available for every mainstage performance at the box office free of charge. A form of ID is required as a deposit.
Large Print Programs
Large print programs are available in electronic form or hard copy at the box office. If you would like a copy in advance of your visit to the theatre, please call the box office.
Available an hour before the audio-described performances, Touch Tours are tactile explorations of scenic, costume, and property design, led by our audience services staff. Please RSVP for the touch tour when you purchase your tickets by calling the box office or emailing us at HouseManager@Lookingglasstheate.org.
Audio-Described Performance Date:
-
January 6, 7:00 PM
Sensory-Friendly/ Relaxed Performance Date:
-
January 5, 1:30 PM
Mask Required Performance Dates:
-
December 27, 1:30 PM
-
December 27, 7:00 PM
About the Artists
Mary Zimmerman (she/her/hers) (Creator and Director; Lookingglass Ensemble Member) is an Ensemble Member of Lookingglass Theater, an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre, and a professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Her work with Lookingglass includes Metamorphoses (for which she won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Direction), Argonautika, The Odyssey, The Arabian Nights, The Secret in the Wings, S/M: A Dream Biography, Treasure Island, and the site-specific Eleven Rooms of Proust. At the Goodman, her work includes directing and adapting The Journey to the West, Silk, Jungle Book, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Candide, Galileo, Galilei and directing Wonderful Town and The Music Man. These and other works have been performed at Berkeley Repertory, Second Stage, The Princeton and McCarter Theaters, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and many other regional theaters; and they have been produced and directed by others nationally and internationally. She also directs opera, including five productions at the Metropolitan in New York and La Scala in Milan. She is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. This season her Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci is touring to The Shakespeare Theater of DC and The Old Globe in San Diego. Among all the shows she has been involved with, The Steadfast Tin Soldier ranks high among her most favorite.
Become A gglasspass Member
See yourself here, Chicago. In the Lookingglass.
A partnership with one of this city’s leading Black theatre companies. A homegrown holiday hearth warmer. Two original CHI-made works each featuring unconventional central characters. A twirl around five extraordinary homespun districts (from Englewood to Edgewater to Avalon Park and more). And a transcendent summer sunset ritual that draws us all back waterside.
Distinct. Unique. Reflecting is our function.
Become a member and come see yourself at Lookingglass.
The 3-play package includes the beloved holiday tradition, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and two World Premiere productions, Villette and Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon.; the 2-play package includes both World Premiere productions!
Members get direct access to the artistry, the best seats at the best prices, and enjoy a bounty of benefits including priority seating, no ticket fees, unlimited ticket exchanges, savings when purchasing additional tickets for friends or family, a discount at our online store, and more!
Visit lookingglasstheatre.org/flex-passes to learn how to book your 2022-23 membership!
Become A Scene Maker
Inside our 190-seat storycastle we work tirelessly to produce unique theatre that leaves YOU changed, charged, and empowered. Theatre making takes meticulous attention to detail and years of work, often unseen. We could not take that initial spark of an idea to the wonder we finally see on stage without you. While you might not be IN the room, you too are an artist and vital to the process. Through your support you play YOUR role in shaping a flourishing, arts-driven tomorrow. Become a Scene Maker, today.
Become a Scene Maker and support Lookingglass at lookingglasstheatre.org/scene-maker
Thank You to Our Season Sponsors
- Allstate Insurance Company
- BMO
- Hearn
- HMS Media
- Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
- Waldorf Astoria Chicago
Thank You to The Steadfast Tin Soldier Sponsor
- The National Endowment for the Arts
Thank You to The Steadfast Tin Soldier Celebration Night Sponsor
- Brass Tack at Waldorf Astoria Chicago
About Health and Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, artists, and staff are a top priority and we have invested our resources accordingly. As guidelines are constantly evolving, all policies are subject to change.
As of September 1, 2022, Lookingglass Theatre Company will no longer require audiences to provide proof of vaccination.
Facial coverings are currently recommended, but not required.*
*At every Tuesday performance (matinee and evening) of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Lookingglass will require patrons to wear masks. We look forward to welcoming all patrons to our theatre, including those who may feel more comfortable around others who are masked.
We encourage you to confirm our current protocols prior to your visit to the theatre. Please refer to the health and safety page for more information about our current policies and safety measures regarding COVID-19.
Groups of Ten or More
Bring a group to Lookingglass and save up to 25% off regular ticket prices.
A trip to Lookingglass is the perfect outing for your school group, office, in-town visit, retirement community, social group, book club, scout troop, religious group, or alumni organization! To book a group, email groups@lookingglasstheatre.org.
For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org/groups.
About Lookingglass Theatre Company
Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. Now in its 35th Season, Lookingglass is home to a multi-disciplined ensemble of artists who create story-centered theatrical work that is physical, aurally rich and visually metaphoric. The Company, located in Chicago’s landmark Water Tower Water Works, has staged 70 world premieres, received 161 Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations, and produced work all across the United States. In 2016, Lookingglass received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions and in 2017, was the recipient of the League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Achievement Award.
Lookingglass continues to expand its artistic, financial, and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, Executive Director Rachel L. Fink, a 29-member artistic ensemble, 22 artistic associates, an administrative staff, and a dedicated board of directors led by Chair Diane Whatton.
For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.
Engage with us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. #LookingglassTheatre
Event Listing for The Steadfast Tin Soldier
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
Created and Directed by Lookingglass Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman
From the Story by Hans Christian Andersen
Now Playing through January 8, 2023
Lookingglass Theatre in Water Tower Water Works
Chicago’s beloved holiday tradition The Steadfast Tin Soldier returns to the stage, adapted into a spellbinding spectacle of movement and music.
Now playing through January 8, 2023
- Tuesdays 1:30PM & 7PM*
- Wednesdays 1:30PM & 7PM
- Thursdays 1:30PM* & 7PM
- Fridays 1:30PM* & 7PM
- Saturdays 2PM & 7PM
- Sundays 1PM & 6PM
- Christmas Eve 10:30AM & 2PM
Audio-Described Performance Date:
January 6, 7:00 PM
ensory-Friendly/ Relaxed Performance Dates:
-
January 5, 1:30 PM
Mask Required Performance Dates:
-
December 27, 1:30 PM
-
December 27, 7:00 PM
*Tuesday Matinee December 27 only. Friday Matinees on December 23 and December 30 only. January 7 Matinee at 2PM. No evening performance on December 31.
No shows on Christmas or New Year's Day. Please see the performance calendar on the website for full calendar and details.
Tickets: lookingglasstheatre.org/event/steadfast-tin-soldier-2022