Tickets for the 14th annual Chicago Theater Week go on sale today for 75 shows across the city at a discounted rate.
“The biggest thing about Chicago Theater Week is access,” said Alexis Davis, director of marketing at the League of Chicago Theaters, the group organizing the popular annual sale.
“Sometimes ticket prices throughout the year can be expensive. For Chicago Theater Week, we’re offering tickets at $30, $15, or even less, depending on the participating show. This makes bigger name shows and theaters more accessible to our entire community.”
Theater Week runs from Feb. 5-15 and features discounts at some of the biggest theaters in town, including the Goodman Theatre’s “Holiday,” directed by former artistic director Robert Falls; Steppenwolf’s “The Dance of Death,” starring Kathryn Erbe (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”); and Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s “Hamnet,” which will likely be at the top of many ticket-to-buy lists because of the Paul Mescal-driven film of the same name.
But there’s also a menu of plays at Chicago storefront theaters that audiences curious about fresh new works can try.
The award winning Rivendell Theatre in Edgewater is offering a Theater Week discount on the world premiere play “Pivot.” Written by Jeff-Award winner Alex Lubischer, the dark comedy is about a wedding on a Midwestern farm that goes awry.
Artistic director Tara Mallen stars in the play alongside her husband, ensemble member Keith Kupferer. Mallen, who recently appeared opposite her husband and daughter in the movie “Ghostlight,” said Theater Week is a great opportunity for exposure.
“Theater Week brings in audiences from all over the city and the Chicagoland area, and it opens us up to audiences who wouldn’t necessarily know who we were if it were not for the League’s support in talking about these shows,” she said.
At the 50-seat Rivendell Theatre, viewers can see excellent actors in an intimate setting, Mallen added.
“You get to see the same artists that you would see on these big stages, but at Rivendell, it’s up close and personal,” she said.
On the South Side, Definition Theater will stage the Chicago premiere of “Black Cypress Bayou” in the company’s Hyde Park storefront. Definition partnered with Goodman to present the Pulitzer Prize winner “Fat Ham” last winter.
“Any type of awareness that these shows are happening is important,” said Tyrone Phillips, the founding artistic director of Definition. “We’re a Black-led, Black-founded organization with a multicultural ensemble that’s prioritizing equity on and off the stage. We’re excited for Chicago Theater Week, just to be on the map. We tell new stories that are aspiring and healing to our community that go way past the race questions or the problems. We’re a solution-based organization.”
Written by Kristen Adele Calhoun, “Black Cypress Bayou” follows a family of Black women in Texas with explosive secrets. Phillips says the entire cast, along with the writer and director, is made up of Black women.
“This play is dope because it’s a comedy,” he said. “It’s hilarious, but it still centers on a family with really high stakes, set in the smallest town you can think of. And it questions our past and how the ghosts of our past are still affecting our present day.”
Prospective ticket buyers using Theater Week discounts will notice one change this year: No discount code is needed to secure tickets online. The purchase links from Hottix.org automatically factor the discount. Davis said to be on the lookout for special Valentine’s Day and Black History Month performances great for date nights and family celebrations.
Mike Davis | WBEZ
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