
With productions from national tours and dozens of local companies doing outstanding work, the Chicago theater scene is one of the nation’s best. Below, check out some of the plays we’re looking forward to seeing in Winter 2025. It includes Chicago-only productions, contemporary and classic musicals and one of opera’s most famous scores. Be sure to check HotTix to see if there are discounts available on these and many other shows in town.
The Devil Is in the Detours
Where: Second City
Dates: Ongoing
The 112th mainstage revue at Second City in Old Town bills itself as a “hilarious and unhinged descent into a dimension where chaos reigns.” The show combines sketches, music and Second City’s world-famous improv—including moments where audience members become part of the proceedings. The six-person cast consists of mainstage veterans and newcomers.
Teatro ZinZanni: Love, Chaos, and Dinner
Where: Cambria Hotel
Dates: Ongoing, Wednesdays – Sundays
Singular Experience: Found atop the Loop’s Cambria Hotel, Teatro ZinZanni (pictured above) is a modern cabaret. You’ll get a combination of live music, comedy and Cirque du Soleil-style performances. And it’s served with a gourmet four-course meal between sets. The performance is housed in a Belgian Spiegeltent, a beautiful hand-carved tent built in 1910 as a moveable dance hall for countryside fairs throughout Europe before being brought to Chicago.
Fun Home
Where: Ruth Page Center for the Arts
Dates: Jan. 16 – March 2
Powerful and Emotional: Winner of seven Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical, Fun Home is an adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel. It goes back-and-forth through three stages of her life as she recalls the discovery of her sexuality during college and the truth about her family. With music by Jeanine Tesori (Shrek the Musical, Kimberly Akimbo) and lyrics and book by Lisa Kron, this production is by Porchlight Music Theatre, one of the most acclaimed Chicago theater companies.
Come From Away
Where: CIBC Theatre
Dates: Jan. 21 – 26
Spirit-Lifting: Come From Away is based on the true stories of those whose planes were rerouted to remote Gander, Newfoundland, Canada on 9/11. The musical is a rollercoaster of emotions as the stranded passengers bond with the townspeople and each other while processing the event that brought them together. Told in 100 minutes with no intermission, Come From Away was nominated for seven Tony Awards in 2017.
Fool For Love
Where: Steppenwolf
Dates: Jan. 30 – March 16
Heavyweights Team Up: Sam Shepard’s 1984 play about a pair of ex-lovers reuniting in a desert motel is a masterpiece of American theater. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Lincoln Park is undoubtedly up to the task. Nationally known for its excellence, Steppenwolf’s alumni include notables like John Mahoney, Carrie Coon, co-founder Gary Sinise and original members John Malkovich and Laurie Metcalf.
Clue
Where: CIBC Theatre
Dates: Feb. 18 – March 2
Miss Scarlet in the Conservatory with the Lead Pipe?: The stage of the CIBC Theatre transforms into Boddy Manor in an adaptation of the 1985 movie Clue, which itself was based on the classic board game. Set in 1954, the 90-minute whodunnit features plenty of slapstick and plot twists, even as the corpses pile up.
Guys and Dolls
Where: North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Dates: March 6 – 30
The Great American Musical: Guys and Dolls gets a fresh coat of paint from Music Theater Works in Skokie. Even after 75 years, Abe Burrows’ script about lovable, two-bit New York hustlers and their women still crackles with wit. But it’s Frank Loesser’s score, including “Luck Be a Lady” and the title song, that keeps crowds coming back.
Beetlejuice
Where: Cadillac Palace Theatre
Dates: March 11 – 16
Day-O!: One of the zaniest musicals of the past decade, Beetlejuice returns to Chicago for a weeklong run in the Loop. Based on Tim Burton’s 1988 macabre comedy about a deceased couple who summon a demon to haunt the new inhabitants of their house, the Tony-nominated adaptation has plenty of laughs and heart.
La Bohème
Where: Lyric Opera
Dates: March 15 – April 12
Timeless: Puccini’s La Bohème returns to the Lyric Opera for its 20th iteration, and first since the 2018-19 season. Set in 1830s Paris, the story of bohemians centered around the romance of Mimi, a seamstress, and the poet Rodolfo has been beloved since it debuted in 1896. Sung in Italian, an English translation of the lyrics are projected above the stage.