It is Margaret Sanger’s dream to create a contraceptive pill. She teams up with philanthropist Katharine McCormick to make this a reality. Upon learning about hormone treatments, they hire scientist Gregory Pincus to develop the drug. Afterwards, they hire gynecologist John Rock to test it on his patients. To further the scope of their testing, they do clinical trials in Puerto Rico. 

This is a very informative play. It explores the interesting scientific progress and also the compromises that must be made to achieve a big dream. The focus is more informational than emotional. 

The cast includes Janet Ulrich Brooks (Tiny Beautiful Things, Native Gardens) as Sanger, Mitchell J Fain as Pincus, Rammel Chan as the second scientist, Mary Beth Fisher (Swing State) as McCormick, Maria Victoria Martinez as the narrator, and David Parkes (Campaigns, Inc.) as Rock.

Overall, the play is a bit too focused on pointing out the faults of the characters instead of celebrating their victories. 

Cost of a ticket: $76

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for The Birth of the Pill through October 11. 

Quinn Delaney

A daughter visits her father every fall. Together, they bird watch from the deck and talk about life. They discuss careers, family, birds, and climate change. As the years pass, it gets warmer and warmer and the topics of conversation evolve. 

The father has many great ideas including ways to improve sports. He says soccer and hockey should have bigger goals to increase the amount of scoring. I think they should also remove the goalies. He also says basketball should have a smaller and higher hoop to decrease the amount of points. I think they should also play the best of five short games, instead of just one long game. 

Anna Ouyang Moench (In Quietness, Severance) has written a very funny and touching play that will have you calling your father afterwards. The characters are very well developed. 

The sound design by Ethan Korvne is very impressive. It feels like birds are flying right by you! Korvne won the Jeff Awards for Sound Design and Original Music. 

At 90 minutes, it would be nice to have an intermission. There are plenty of scene changes where it can be easily added.  Join the Pro-Intermission movement here. 

Cassidy Slaughter-Mason (KISS) is superb as the daughter, who is doing her best to make a living and start a family. John Judd (The Cave, A View From the Bridge) is excellent as the father, who is better with facts than emotions, but he always wants the best for his daughter. 

Usually when the Jeff Awards are announced, the productions are no longer running. This is rare chance to see a production after it has won Best Director (Kirsten Fitzgerald) and Outstanding Production in the Midsize category. Don’t miss out! 

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $61

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Birds of North America through October 4th! 

Quinn Delaney

A woman named Vy moves to Harlem to become a songwriter. Her uncle convinces her to pretend to be a man because women aren’t accepted as writers. She agrees and he introduces her to Duke Ellington, to whom Vy is instantly attracted to. Duke hires her to help him write songs to win over Lady Liv. While delivering these songs, Lady Liv is attracted to Vy. It’s quite the love triangle!

It’s a very fun and classy musical full of love mishaps. The music by Duke Ellington is expertly woven into the story.

Krystal Joy Brown is great as Lady Liv, the star of The Cotton Club. Alan H Green is excellent as her assistant, who has a big crush on her. James Harkness is slick as Vy’s uncle, who is full of bad advice. Hailee Kaleem Wright is solid as Vy, who goes by Vyman when dressed as a man. James Earl Jones II (Memphis) is hilarious as the charming Sweets. Kaylah Janssen, Alanna Lovely, and Edred Utomi are solid as well. 

Overall, it’s a great show that makes for a fantastic night out! 

Cost of a ticket: $94 (Lower Gallery)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Play On! through October 18th. 

Quinn Delaney

The novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was released in 1886. The musical first premiered at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas in May of 1990. It first opened on Broadway in 1997. Last winter, Kokandy Productions ran a sold out run at the Chopin Theatre. Now, in September 2026, it opens at the Broadway Playhouse.

Dr. Hyde is working on a formula that will separate the good and evil within a person. Then, the good part would be isolated. He needs to find his first test subject. He can’t find anyone, so he decides to test it on himself, only things don’t go quite as he planned. 

This is a thrilling production that is perfect for the Halloween season. The book and lyrics are by Leslie Bricusee and the music is by Frank Wildhorn.

David Moreland (American Psycho [with music and lyrics by the late Duncan Sheik]) , Cruel Intentions) is spectacular as Jekyll and Hyde, switching between them with ease. Ava Lane Stovall (Rock of Ages) is superb as Lucy, his love interest. Emily McCormick (Rock of Ages) is great as his wife, whom he deserts to run his experiment. The rest of the cast is solid as well.

Overall, it’s a must see receiving a much deserved encore, just like Octet did.

Cost of a ticket: $124 (Standard Ticket)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value – 

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Jekyll & Hyde though November 8th! 

Also check out the other musical by Kokandy Productions currently running: Sunday In The Park With George.

Fastball are from Austin, Texas. Tonight they playing at Park West, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Spacehog were expected to open, but they had to cancel at the last minute.

Tony Scalzo, the bassist and vocalist, says to the crowd that they may recognize the next one. It was recently featured in a Ted Lasso episode! They go on to play “Out of My Head” from their 1998 album, All The Pain Money Can Buy. “Don’t matter what I say, only what I do / I never mean to do bad things to you / So quiet, but I finally woke up / If you’re sad, then it’s time you spoke up, too”. It’s such a great song with an excellent guitar solo halfway through by Miles Zuniga! Also, Joey Shuffield is solid on drums all night.  

They follow this with “The Way” from the same album. It is their most popular song on Spotify with over 151 million streams. “It’s always summer, they’ll never get cold / They’ll never hungry, they’ll never get old and gray / You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere / They won’t make it home but they really don’t care / They wanted the highway, they’re happier there today”. The lyrics are based on a true story about an elderly couple that left their home in Texas and went missing. Scalzo imagined a happy ending for them and wrote this before they were discovered dead in a ditch 400 miles away. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $48

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

The film version of Dirty Dancing was released in 1987 starring Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, and Jerry Orbach. The musical first premiered in Brisbane, Australia in 2004. And now, in September 2026, it stops in Chicago on its North American tour. 

In the story, Frances “Baby” Houseman is spending the summer at a resort in the Catskill Mountains with her family. She agrees to fill in for a dancer who has to miss an upcoming performance. While preparing, she starts to fall in love with the dance instructor. 

Annalese Starzec is excellent as Baby, and looks just like Grey in the movie. Blake Zelesnikar and Olivia Cece are very impressive as the dance instructors. The entire cast is filled with superb dancers. 

Overall, it’s a fun feel-good romance with a Broadway worthy production. 

Cost of a ticket: $92 (Orchestra)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Dirty Dancing: The Musical through September 20th!

Quinn Delaney

Looking for another feel-good romance? Check out this new show: Off Campus. 

A pregnant woman is flying home to New York City from Los Angeles. She passes out and the plane makes an emergency landing in Dallas, Texas and takes her to the hospital. According to Texas law about pregnancy, she needs to get legal approval to leave with her condition, regardless of the risk to her life. 

Arlene Hutton has written a very compelling and timely play about a very possible application of Texas law. It’s both a legal and a medical drama. 

Fun Fact: The painting on the set is similar to the one used in Art at Theatre Wit. 

Kirsten D’Aurelio is superb as the lawyer, who is cold and focused on the law. Heather Dennis is excellent as the woman who is furious about this situation and is pleading for her life. Instead of having understudies, they have an alternate cast that performs at the Friday and Sunday performances (Delia Ford & Meghann Tabor). 

Overall, it’s a gripping production that leaves the audience stunned and talking about the issues. 

Get tickets now for Blood of the Lamb through October 3rd! 

Cost of a ticket: $42

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

A new couple decides to go on a double date. They met via the Jewish dating app, J-date. They both bring their friends who have just recently got out of long-term relationships. None of them are looking for something serious, but things get serious despite their best efforts. 

Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham have written a very funny and charming musical about looking for love in NYC. The songs are fantastic and similar in style to the music in Rent. Instead of being all singing, there is a great amount of dialog which sets up the songs very nicely.  

Aiden McCoy is great as the nerdy guy who struggles to get over his ex. Maxwell J DeTogne is so funny as his brother who teaches him that the best way to win her back is to not care. Hannah Kipp is so good as the gal getting out of relationship and just looking for a fun rebound. Kristin Brintnall is solid as her best friend, who does her best to stay in the friends with benefits zone. Daria Koon and Tommy Rothwells are excellent as the bartenders who clearly see what is going on among the couples. 

Cost of a ticket: $55

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for I Love You Because through September 13th! 

Quinn Delaney

Fox Royale is an indie rock band from Joplin, Missouri, which has a population of about 53,000. On stage tonight are brothers Nathan and Caleb, and their friend Josh. The guitarist, Nathan, says he is married to a woman from Costa Rica, so he is trying to learn Spanish. He is very proud to have a 900 day streak on DuoLingo. 

To start the night, they play “Don’t Call Me When You’re Lonely”. This is their most popular track on Spotify with over 2.3 million streams. “Mary, pick up the phone, I’ll listen closely / Won’t you call me when you’re lonely? / Don’t lie and tell me I’m the only / One you call”. It’s a great song, but with these lyrics, maybe it should have been called “Won’t you call me when you’re lonely?” 

In some of the songs, Nathan overshares. The following song is a good example of that. It’s the 2023 single, “So Different”. “I like you / I like sex / Even though I know I’m not the best in bed”.

Nathan asks the crowd “Who is divorced?” A surprisingly large amount of people shout out. “Well, this song is about that”. This leads perfectly into “Blow This Up”. “Pretend like we got time for each other / Seems like we’re all fine / Someone’s always asking when I’ll blow this up / Just a matter of time”. It truly captures the end of a marriage with great lyrics.

Nathan talks about when he was younger, he had a crush on this girl that never wanted to hang alone. She would always invite her friends along. At the time, he thought she just wasn’t ready yet. But now he realizes she wasn’t interested in him. They go on to sing “Carnival Gods” about this. “I hate your friends, hate the way they talk / Thought tonight was only gonna be us”. 

Overall, it was a great 40 minutes that left the audience wanting more. Expect them to be back soon and continue to grow their audience. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $22

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Dance for Life is an inspiring event that merges talent and philanthropy into one spectacular evening. It brings together the best Chicago dance companies and all proceeds go toward the Chicago Dance Health Fund; a resource which provides financial assistance to professional dancers in their time of need, including covering medical expenses. It is one of the many ways our vibrant dance community joins forces to care for its own.

As dance enthusiasts entered the Auditorium Theatre this year, one could immediately feel the infectious joy that carried through the evening with each performance. The joy and support from the audience radiated to the dancers who in turn delivered a magical evening filled with grace, beauty, precision, and undeniable talent.

This infectious energy carried on to the after party at Venue SIX10. It’s a sophisticated affair with an impeccable ambiance thanks to the decor executed by Kehoe Designs and Black Oak Technical Productions with lead caterer J&L Catering. It also included beverages by Breakthru Beverage and table settings by Tablescapes.

See the full program here.

Below you will find a photo along with information for upcoming shows by the dance companies that participated in this year’s Dance for Life.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

Next Performance: TBD

Giordano Dance Chicago

Next Performance: Chicago Live at Navy Pier

Spring Home Season Performance – April 2-3, 2027 – Harris Theater

The Joffrey Ballet

Next Performance: Liliom – September 17-27 at the Lyric Opera

Chicago Dance Crash

Next Performance: The Keeper of the Floor at Navy Pier

Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theatre

Next Performance: Chicago Live at Navy Pier

Ballet 5:8

Next Performance: Women on Fire at the Harris Theatre – April 17, 2027

Visceral Dance Chicago

Next Performance: Chicago Live at Navy Pier

Trinity Irish Dance Company

Next Performance: Chicago Live at Navy Pier

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Next Performance: Fall Series – November 13-22 at Steppenwolf

Robyn Mineko Williams

Next Performance: To Leave You at the Three Top Lounge

Quinn Delaney