PrideArts has announced its 2026-27 season of six productions of plays and special showcases, to be performed in the company’s resident space – the Hoover Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted. In a change from previous seasons, all evening performances will have a curtain time of 7:00 pm. The season will open in August with the world premiere of Chicago-based playwright Matt Schutz’s WINDOWS, a comedy of LGBT Gen Z-ers finding their ways through career and relationship challenges. WINDOWS was developed through PrideArts’ Queery Playwrights Lab, in which 33 scripts with an LGBTQ focus were submitted for consideration. Six scripts were selected for further development in subsequent sessions with the Festival Director Taylor Pasche and Artistic Director Jay Españo. Scenes from the six scripts were performed publicly, and with the audience’s help, WINDOWS was selected for this full production. WINDOWS will open to the press on Monday, August 10 at 7:00 pm, following previews on Friday, August 7 and Sunday, August 9; and will play through August 23.
L-R: Taylor Pasche, Jay Espano, Matt Schutz, Nick Payne.
Coming right on the heels of the WINDOWS world premiere will the first of the season’s special showcases: The Queer Sketch Show, to be directed by Katie Mae Ryan. This program of scripted sketches finding the humor in queer life will play one weekend only, from Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30.
In October and November, Jay Españo will employ a new casting approach to the thought-provoking CONSTELLATIONS, by British playwright Nick Payne. CONSTELLATIONS, which premiered in London in 2012 and was presented on Broadway in 2015, explores the relationship between a physicist and a beekeeper through a series of fragmented, nonlinear scenes that reflect the concept of the multiverse—the idea that multiple versions of reality exist simultaneously. It presents different variations of their interactions, showing how small choices can lead to vastly different outcomes. Some versions of their relationship are filled with love and happiness, while others are marked by heartbreak and tragedy. While CONSTELLATIONS was originally written with its characters being a man and a woman, a London revival in 2021 performed it with a cast of two men, alternating with a cast of a man and a woman. For this production, PrideArts will take this concept a step further, performing it with a female-female cast as well as with a male-male cast. The two casts will alternate performances. CONSTELLATIONS will open to the press on Monday, October 26 at 7:00 pm, following previews on Friday, October 23 and Sunday, October 25, and will play through Sunday, November 22.
PrideArts will celebrate the season with a Christmas Cabaret featuring some of Chicago’s favorite musical theater and cabaret performers for two weekends in December. The Christmas Cabaret will be performed from Thursday December 10 through Sunday, December 13 and Thursday, December 17 through Sunday, December 20.
In February 2027, PrideArts will present SAPPHIC SHOWCASE, a series of 10-minute plays interspersed with standup and spoken word performers. SAPPHIC SHOWCASE will be performed two weekends : from Thursday, February 26 to Sunday, February 28; and from Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 7.
A fourth production to be announced will play from Friday, April 23 through Sunday, May 23.
LISTING INFORMATION
WINDOWS
By Matt Schutz
WORLD PREMIERE
Directed by Taylor Pasche
August 7 - 23, 2026
Previews Friday, August 7 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, August 9 at 3:00 pm
Press Opening Monday, August 10 at 7:00 pm
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
Olivia is a former soccer player still recovering from a career-ending injury. Her girlfriend, Natalie, is stuck in a job she’s not passionate about, caught between finding her own happiness and caring for Olivia’s. Meanwhile, Natalie’s roommate Clay is trying to take the next step in his life – towards a new promotion, away from a past relationship, and into his own power. As all three maneuver through the ever-present reality of Olivia’s injury, they find escape however they can.
QUEER SKETCH SHOW
Directed by Katie Mae Ryan
August 28-30, 2026
Friday and Saturday August 28 and 29 at 7:00 pm, Sunday, August 30 at 3:00 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
Program of scripted sketches finding the humor in queer life.
CONSTELLATIONS
By Nick Payne
Directed by Jay Españo
October 26 – November 22, 2026
Previews Friday, October 23 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 pm
Press Opening Monday, October 26 at 7:00 pm
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Additional performances Wednesday, November 11 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, November 14 at 3 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
One relationship. Infinite possibilities. In how many universes would you love someone? Nick Payne’s Olivier award-winning CONSTELLATIONS is a play about free will and friendship; it’s about quantum multiverse theory, love and honey. Roland is a beekeeper. Marianne is a quantum physicist. What are their odds of falling in love? With infinite moments that can change the trajectory of a life, it’s anyone’s guess how cosmic collision is possible. This play moves from the question of “what if,” to a poignant picture of “what is.”
CHRISTMAS CABARET
December 10-20, 2026
Press Opening Thursday, December 10 at 7:00 pm
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
SAPPHIC SHOWCASE
February 26 – March 7, 2027
Press Opening Friday, February 26, 2027
Fridays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
A series of 10-minute plays dealing with women’s themes interspersed with standup and spoken word performers.
PLAY TO BE ANNOUNCED
April 26 – May 23, 2027
Previews Friday, April 23 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 25 at 3:00 pm
Press Opening Monday, April 26, 2027, at 7:00 pm
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
BIOS
Matt Schutz (Playwright, WINDOWS) Matt Schutz is a playwright and actor currently based in Chicago. His play .PDF Preferred was included in PlayGround-Chicago's Best of Chicago production. His play WINDOWS was selected as the winner of PrideArts’ Queery Workshop and will receive its world premiere in 2026. He has developed plays with the University of Iowa, Intrinsic Theatre and Inkwell Theater.
Nick Payne (Playwright, CONSTELLATIONS) Nick Payne’s plays include IF THERE IS I HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET (Bush Theatre and Roundabout Theatre Company, New York), WANDERLUST (Royal Court Theatre), Sophocles’ ELECTRA (Gate Theatre), ONE DAY WHEN WE WERE YOUNG (Paines Plough/Sheffield Theatres and Shoreditch Town Hall), LAY DOWN YOUR CROSS (Hampstead Theatre), CONSTELLATIONS (Royal Court Theatre and Duke of York’s) and THE SAME DEEP WATER AS ME (Donmar Warehouse). He is the recipient of the 2009 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright, the 2012 Harold Pinter Playwright’s Award, and the 2012 LondonEvening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play, for CONSTELLATIONS.
Taylor Pasche (she/her, Director WINDOWS) is a Chicago-based Director and Dramaturg experienced in new works, musical theatre, and mental health coordination. She is a graduate of Texas State University's Performance and Production Department with a degree specializing in Directing. Taylor pulls from her experience as a queer, neurodivergent, female artist, and always looks to challenge preconceived stigmas and beliefs. Recent credits include THROBBIN’ WOOD, QUEERY WORKSHOP, and [TITLE OF SHOW] (PrideArts), DIE HARD 4 YOUR LUV (The Factory Theater), A CHRISTMAS STORY (JPAC), as well as collaborations with Fat Theatre Project, Rhinofest, and Red Theatre.
Jay Españo (Artistic Director, Director CONSTELLATIONS). Born in Manila, The Philippines, he joined the prestigious Tanghalang Pilipino’s Actors Company in 1998, where he trained with acclaimed Filipino director Nonon Padilla. He acted in several commercials, television series and films.
Since moving to the Chicago area, Jay has worked with storefront theater companies such as Silk Road Rising, Prologue, Ghostlight, Halcyon, and PrideArts, where he has directed A NEW BRAIN, [TITLE OF SHOW], GIRLFRIEND, GAY CARD, TOMMY ON TOP and the THINGS I NEVER COULD TELL STEVEN. At City Lit Theater, he directed the world premiere musical AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE. He has played the role of the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I with various theater companies in the US and in Canada.
ABOUT PRIDEARTS
PrideArts tells queer stories on a variety of platforms, including both live and virtual performances. Since its founding in 2010, PrideArts has had several chapters, including operating as an itinerant theater for their first six seasons, the developer and primary tenant in the Pride Arts Center from 2016 to 2024, and its current residency in the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted.
The company produces full seasons of plays and musicals, as well as events including cabaret, and more. The company has earned 50 Jeff Awards and nominations, and six nominations in the 2019 ALTA Awards from the Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago. Programming has reflected the diversity of queer communities by including work made by and illuminating the experiences of women, gay men, transgender people, and BIPOC.
PrideArts is supported by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Alphawood Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Driehaus Foundation, The Saints.
PrideArts is a member of Northalsted Merchants Association, League of Chicago Theaters, Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, Lakeview East Merchants Association.
For more information and to donate, visit www.pridearts.org or call 773-661-0770