The Goodman Theatre’s slate of shows for the 2026-27 season will include a new production of Kimberly Belflower’s Broadway hit “John Proctor is the Villain,” directed by Marti Lyons, shared with the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and opening in January 2027.
Other highlights include a fresh staging from artistic director Susan V. Booth of Green Day’s 2010 Broadway musical “American Idiot,” slated to open in June 2027; a new Broadway-aspiring production of Marsha Norman’s “‘night, Mother,” slated for late March 2027; and the world premiere of The 7 Fingers’ “The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying on My Back,” created and directed by former trapeze artist Shana Carroll and set to open the season and play from Sept. 5 to Oct. 4.
The Goodman, which has numerous producing partnerships this season, also said that Christopher Donahue will not return in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the theater’s decades-long run of “A Christmas Carol” (Nov. 13 to Dec. 31), and that Scrooge will be played this year by Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Tim Hopper under the direction of Malkia Stampley.
Meanwhile, the smaller Owen Theatre will host three productions. “Dead Girl’s Quinceañera” by Phanésia Pharel (Sept. 26 to Nov. 1) will be directed by Melia Bensussen and shared with both Barrington Stage Company of Massachusetts (which will premiere the show this summer) and Bensussen’s Hartford Stage in Connecticut. That’s followed by the world premiere of the Chicago writer Calamity West’s “FEAST!” (Feb. 27 to March 28, 2027), directed by Booth, and the first Chicago production of Kemp Powers’ “The XIXth (The Nineteenth),” directed by Carl Cofield and closing the Owen season April 17 to May 16, 2027.
West’s play is billed as “a dark collision of money and marriage,” par for the course from the quirky and accomplished Chicago scribe, while “The XIXth (The Nineteenth)” follows two Black American sprinters in Mexico City in 1968.
The Montreal-based 7 Fingers company, a multi-disciplinary circus collective that tours its work internationally, has appeared previously in Chicago, including at the Broadway Playhouse. This latest production, which is a departure from how the Goodman typically opens its season, is co-produced by Théâtre Saint-Denis of Montreal and will move there after its Goodman premiere. It’s based on Carroll’s own life.
“‘Night, Mother” (also currently on stage by Redtwist Theatre) will star the Emmy-winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson and will be helmed by Michael Pressman, the veteran director of the 2008 Broadway revival of “Come Back, Little Sheba,” which also starred Merkerson.
The Goodman’s other ongoing endeavors including David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar’s “Theater of the Mind,” Dennis Watkins’ Magic Parlour venue and some on- and off-site programming for very young audiences.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
