Chicago’s Goodman Theatre will resume live, in-person performances this July with Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. The show was originally slated to open days before the COVID-19 shutdown.
The 2021–2022 season will include eight plays—four world-premieres, including a major musical adaptation, a Chicago premiere, two classic revivals, and one play to be announced. One previously announced project—Hershey Felder’s A Paris Love Story—will not appear due to shifting commitments.
In advance of reopening, Goodman Theatre has overhauled its air ventilation systems with MERV 13 filters and bipolar ionizers. As performances begin, COVID-19 protocols include socially distant seating, face mask requirements, and enhanced cleaning and sanitization measures, with changes made in accordance with state and local guidance.
Following School Girls (July 30–August 29), directed by Lili-Anne Brown at the 850-seat Albert Theatre, the Goodman presents American Mariachi (September 18–October 24) by José Cruz González. The Dallas Theater Center co-production is directed by Henry Godinez. Tom Creamer’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (November 20–December 31, 2021) will return for the holiday season with Larry Yando as Ebenezer Scrooge.
In 2022, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean (January 22–February 27) is directed at the Albert by Chuck Smith. Up next, Will & Grace Emmy winner Sean Hayes stars in Good Night, Oscar (March 12–April 17) by Doug Wright, directed by Lisa Peterson. The musical adaptation of The Outsiders (May 27–July 10) closes out the season, with a book by Adam Rapp and music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and Francis Ford Coppola’s film. Liesl Tommy directs with choreography by Lorin Latarro.
The 400-seat Owen Theatre will begin its new roster of programming with Cheryll L. West’s Fannie, The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer (October 15–November 14, 2021), directed by Henry Godinez. Next is a Berkeley Repertory Theatre co-production with the ripple, the wave that carried me home (February 11–March 13, 2022) written by Christina Anderson and directed by Miranda Haymon. Rounding out the season is The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (May 1–April 1), adapted and directed by Manilow Resident Director Mary Zimmerman.
Additional programming, both virtual and in-person around Chicago, is also planned for the season. For full details, visit GoodmanTheatre.org.
