POSTPONED
New Dates:
August 28 - October 4, 2020
*Current ticket holders will be notified with options
World premiere adaptation of THIRTEEN DAYS by Robert F. Kennedy, his memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
On October 16, 1962, Soviet missiles carrying nuclear warheads aimed at the United States were discovered in Cuba. For thirteen days, President John Kennedy maneuvered his way through conflicting counsel from his advisers, some of whom urged military action likely to start World War III, ambiguous and sometimes deceitful information from the Soviet Union's representatives, and ever-shifting facts on the ground.
City Lit's script will include excerpts from now-public transcripts of JFK's strategy sessions during the two weeks the world came its closest to nuclear war. As with City Lit's acclaimed production of J.B., all the roles in THIRTEEN DAYS will be played by a diverse ensemble of women.
Announcing Season 41
1 Regular Subscription
Valid for any performance
$90
2 Regular Subscriptions
Valid for any performance
$180
2 Preview Subscriptions
Valid for preview performances only
$136.00
1 Preview Subscription
Valid for preview performances only
$68.00
The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains
by Owen Wister
adapted by L.C. Bernadine and Spencer Huffman
directed by Terry McCabe
October 16 - November 29, 2020
(Previews Oct. 16 - Oct. 24)
A world premiere adaptation of THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS by Owen Wister, the novel that originated the archetype of the American cowboy. Never named, rough-hewn but soft-spoken, living on the frontier between nature and civilization, the Virginian pursues his own singular code of honor. On a ranch near Sunk Creek, Wyoming, the cowpuncher from Virginia struggles to uphold this code in conflict with his deadly enemy, a former ranch hand turned rustler, as well as in his courting of the fiercely independent schoolmarm, whose own personal code is as strong as his. City Lit’s adaptation will feature giant puppets as the horses in the story, a few of whom are important minor characters.
The Playboy of the Western World
by John Millington Synge
directed by Brian Pastor
January 15 - February 28, 2021
(Previews Jan. 15 - 23, 2021)
Christy Mahon comes into Flaherty's tavern on the west coast of Ireland and claims to have killed his father with a shovel. The locals are charmed by his boldness and daring, and he becomes a local hero--until the old man shows up. The play's world premiere triggered three nights of riots in Dublin, and fistfights in the aisles when it transferred to New York. City Lit's audience is much better behaved.
Emma's Child
by Kristine Thatcher
directed by Terry McCabe
March 12 - April 25, 2021
(Previews March 12 - March 20)
One of the great Chicago plays. By City Lit's resident playwright, author of Voice of Good Hope and The Safe House, it won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a half-dozen other playwriting awards when Terry directed the Chicago premiere at Victory Gardens twenty-five years ago. A Rogers Park couple plans to adopt the child of Emma, a pregnant teenager. What follows threatens their marriage and reshapes what they think of parenthood.
Aztec Human Sacrifice
music & lyrics by Kingsley Day
book by Kingsley Day and Philip LaZebnik
directed by Terry McCabe
May 7 - June 20, 2021
(Previews May 7 - May 15)
It's the night before the beginning of the Aztec empire's new millennium, and the Chosen One--so named because he is to be sacrificed in order to make the sun rise next morning--has run off with the Emperor's daughter. If he is not found, the sun will not rise and the world will end. By the writers of the legendary Chicago musical comedy Summer Stock Murder.
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