Chicago is known across the world for its innovative and vibrant live theatre scene. Add a performance (or two!) to your itinerary – plus, experience many shows on a budget with half-price theater tickets from Hot Tix!
Want to find out what else is playing this summer? View the League of Chicago Theatres 2023 Summer Theatre Guide.
The Spongebob Musical
Musical
Kokandy Productions at Chopin Theatre
Now playing – Sept. 3
An exciting new musical featuring irresistible characters and magical music, this deep-sea pearl of a show is set to make a splash with audiences young and old. The future is bright, the future is bold, the future is The SpongeBob Musical. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon
Musical
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Now playing – July 16
Hooray! Lucy and Charlie just got hitched…and they’re embracing the worst of the American dream. They do what they want. Take what they want. They’re First Generation Asian American Renegades. In love. And on the run. Featuring original country western and folk songs, directed by Amanda Dehnert (Peter Pan (A Play), Eastland), Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon tracks a young couple as they rev it down quintessentially American highways and across stereotypic borders, fleeing expectation and trawling up trouble along the way. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
PERSONALITY: The Lloyd Price Musical
Musical
The Studebaker Theater
June 2 – Sept. 3
From humble beginnings in his hometown of Kenner, Louisiana, Lloyd Price overcame incredible obstacles on his way to a revolutionary musical career. He became the first Black man to open a nightclub below Harlem in New York City, and the first recording artist of any color to create his own record label, generating more hits like “Stagger Lee” and “Personality,” and spreading the New Orleans R&B sound throughout the world. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
The Who’s Tommy
Musical
Goodman Theatre
Playing June 13 – August 6
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. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Musical
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
July 14 – Aug. 20
This summer, fall under the spell of this “tale as old as time” based on the Academy Award-winning Disney film. Dazzling production numbers, including the beloved title song and “Be Our Guest,” will fill the Courtyard Theater, making your heart soar. The beloved fairytale recounts the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If those lessons aren’t learned soon, the Beast and his household will be doomed for all eternity. Share the wonder and delight of live theater with the young people in your life! Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
No Man’s Land
Drama
Steppenwolf Theatre Company at Downstairs Theater
July 13 – Aug. 20
In the drawing room of his stately Hampstead mansion, the wealthy, aging Hirst hosts his newfound acquaintance, the enigmatic Spooner, for an evening of endless beer, scotch and vodka. The night winds on, the drinks keep pouring and the ground keeps shifting—until two sinister younger men arrive and interrupt the bacchanal. Steppenwolf returns to Harold Pinter’s modern masterpiece: a generational power struggle, a tug of war between expert wordsmiths, a maze of murky meaning. Or perhaps it’s just two old English sots waxing nostalgic and waiting for the sun to rise. In No Man’s Land, you can never be certain, and nothing is as it seems. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Merrily We Roll Along
Musical
Blank Theatre Company at Invictus Theatre
Now playing – July 23
The beloved classic musical Merrily We Roll Along moves backwards in time to tell the story of three friends as they face critical choices that change the trajectory of their lives. Blank Theatre Company is excited to bring Chicago audiences this moving story, featuring one of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest scores! Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Lane Call: A Night of Closing
Comedy
The Factory Theater
Now Playing – July 22
“Attention Venture Shoppers, the time is now 9:25 and your Venture store will be closing in 5 minutes.” Becky and Billy hear that several times a week. This time is different. The Store has to be ready for a big inspection, there’s a huge party happening after work, and they just might have to figure out their future! Can this be done while facing end caps of Speed Stick?!?! Oh, and let’s get those carts collected! Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Magical Life!
Magic
Rhapsody Theater
June 1 – 11
Experience the astonishing, meaningful magic of Dr. Larry Hass! Originally premiering to great acclaim at Orpheum Theater Group in Memphis in 2019, Larry explores themes of life, hope, and transformation while performing an array of original magic — from eye-boggling mysteries to storytelling and grand illusion. Larry Hass, Ph.D. is a magician, philosopher of magic, and the Dean of McBride’s Magic & Mystery School in Las Vegas — what the BBC calls “the most prestigious magic school in the world.” For twenty-five years, Larry has performed on stages around the world, performing regularly in Las Vegas and at the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Passing Strange
Musical
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Now playing – July 30
From singer-songwriter and performance artist Stew comes Passing Strange, a daring musical that takes you on a journey across boundaries of place, identity and theatrical convention. Stew brings us the story of a young bohemian who charts a course for “the real” through sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Loaded with soulful lyrics and overflowing with passion, the show takes us from Black middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond on a journey towards personal and artistic authenticity. Check for half-price tickets at Hot Tix!
Note that the schedules included above are subject to change; visit the Hot Tix website for exact dates and half-price ticket availability. Visit ChicagoPlays.com to find other exciting productions on stage, and find insider guides to all things performing arts and the Chicago theatre scene to create your Chicago itinerary.
