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Now Playing!
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)
by Bo List
freely adapted from the play by Karel Capek
"City Lit has once again put the polish on an old chestnut of a story that shouldn’t be lost to the past. Highly Recommended."
-Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
"Riots of laughter greeted the City Lit Theater world premiere of R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)...well directed by Brian Pastor."
-Bill Esler, Buzz Center Stage
"Highly Recommended...directed by Brian Pastor, the overall vibe of this production is lighthearted but with a sense of urgency."
Reno Lovison, Chicago Theater and Arts
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
directed by Esteban Andres Cruz
July 25 - September 7, 2025
A cage-rattling prison drama from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY) that boldly examines faith, dignity, and our system of justice. Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting cult leader Reverend Kim. When the Reverend dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. His only companions at Rikers Island are Lucius Jenkins, a serial killer turned born-again Christian, and Valdez, a sadistic corrections officer.
Strange Cargo:
The Doom of the Demeter
by Timothy Griffin
directed by Ed Rutherford
October 10 - November 23, 2025
Based on Chapter Seven of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, this gothic horror high seas adventure tells the shocking events aboard the cargo ship transporting Count Dracula’s belongings from Transylvania to England. Suspicion, paranoia, and madness infect the crew as the harried sailors disappear one by one. Full of creeping mystery, vibrant language, rich characters, sinister vanishings, violent sea storms, swashbuckling action, monstrous puppetry, and, of course, a boatload of terrors, this is the Dracula tale you’ve never seen.
World Premiere co-production with Black Button Eyes Productions.
Changing Channels
by John Reeger
directed by Kevin Theis
February 27 - April 12, 2026
Based on actual events, CHANGING CHANNELS is set backstage at the DuMont Television Network in New York City in 1952. It is the peak of the “Red Scare” and 151 actors, authors, and journalists are put on the Red Channels list, with alleged ties to communism. As Cold War hysteria sweeps the nation, actress Maggie Carlin finds herself accused just as her hit comedy show is taking off.
Chicago Premiere
Scaramouche:
A New Musical
music and lyrics by Kingsley Day
book by Kingsley Day and James Glossman
directed by Beth Wolf
May 1 - June 14, 2026
Based on the rip-roaring novel by Rafael Sabatini. Radicalized by his friend’s brutal murder on the eve of the French Revolution, a sardonic provincial lawyer repeatedly evades disaster by taking on a series of new identities—first an insurgent orator, then a traveling comic actor, and finally a master swordsman.
World Premiere
Now Playing
World Premiere Adaptation
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)
by Bo List
freely adapted from the play by Karel Capek
Directed by Artistic Director Brian Pastor
May 2, 2025 - June 15, 2025
(Previews May 2 - May 10)
In 1920, Karel Čapek’s early science fiction classic R.U.R. coined the term “robot” and looked ahead to the wonders and dangers of artificial intelligence decades before it was cool to worry about such things. “Rossum’s Universal Robots” (“R.U.R.” for short) is a mysterious island factory that manufactures artificial human beings, run by the eccentric scientist Harry Rossum. When Helena Glory arrives to advocate for the rights of these machines, a series of events is set into motion that sees Harry and Helena married against the backdrop of a global robot uprising.
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