New Stages Festival 2024. White background with black paint splattered across.

A Free Celebration of New Work

DECEMBER 11 – December 15, 2024
Goodman’s Owen Theatre

Goodman Theatre’s New Stages Festival is in its 20th year! This annual celebration of innovative, risky new drama showcases works in progress by some of the country’s most singular and ambitious writers.

Since New Stages’ 2004 inception, over 100 plays have been produced as developmental productions and staged readings. Full line-up below.

If your desired performance is sold out, a handful of standby tickets may be available. Call the box office (312.443.3800, 12noon – 5pm) to inquire about availability. Please note, a standby reservation does not guarantee seats; standby patrons are sat after ticketed guests if availability exists, just before the performance time. 

Most offerings in this year’s Festival contain mature themes. Please email literary@goodmantheatre.org for questions.

 

BOX OFFICE HOURS

Phone: 312.443.3800
Email: BoxOffice@GoodmanTheatre.org
TTY/TDD: 312.443.3829
Group Sales: 312.443.3815

Open Daily, 12noon – 5pm.

On days with performances, the Box Office walk-up window is open one half-hour after curtain time.

Staged Readings

Blood Memory

Written by Dael Orlandersmith
Directed by Neel Keller
Goodman’s Owen Theatre

What are you scared to say? What does free speech mean when what you say can cost you your reputation, your livelihood, and your place in the world?

In her brand-new piece, Blood Memory, Goodman favorite and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith wrestles with whether it is possible to speak truth in a world in which people are unwilling to examine their own beliefs and where a speaker’s intent counts for less than the hearer’s perception. In her signature poetic style, playwright and performer Orlandersmith asks us to reconsider the ideas we’re reluctant to engage with, and why that matters.

Tickets are Free; reservations are required.

Limited Availability

Thursday, December 12 at 7:30pm

RESERVE TICKETS


Limited Availability

Sunday, December 15 at 11:30am

SOLD OUT!

 

Ashland Avenue

Written by Lee Kirk
Directed by Susan V. Booth
Goodman’s Owen Theatre

“Sometimes I sit here, store’s empty, and I think, how is this the same place where there used to be a line around the corner? I’m busy taking care of my customers, same routine, day by day, year by year… until suddenly one day I’m drowning.”

Pete was never a Chicago legend… but as the owner of an iconic local chain of TV shops, he was the next best thing. Now there’s just one store left, and he’s struggling to keep it afloat. Playwright and screenwriter Lee Kirk presents Ashland Avenue, a stunning new play that explores dying dreams, new beginnings, and the inevitability of change.

Tickets are Free; reservations are required.

Limited Availability

Saturday, December 14 at 10am

SOLD OUT!

 

George Washington’s Mexican Birthday

Written by Dolores Díaz
Directed by Gabrielle Randle-Bent
Goodman’s Owen Theatre

“American Indian or Alaskan Native. Asian. Black or African American. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. White.” These are the five categories U.S inhabitants must navigate on the U.S. census. How does the box you check inform your national identity?

Playwright Dolores Díaz explores the intersection of identity for Latine-Americans for whom checking the “right” demographic box can make all the difference. Viewed through the month-long George Washington’s Birthday Celebration in Laredo, Texas, the play explores community, radicalization, and the past, present, and future of fluid identities in the United States.

Tickets are Free; reservations are required.

Limited Availability

Saturday, December 14 at 2pm

SOLD OUT!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Written by Marco Antonio Rodriguez
Based on the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Directed by Wendy Mateo
Goodman’s Owen Theatre

“I have heard from a reliable source that no Dominican male has ever died a virgin. I shall be the first.”

Oscar knows that a nerdy Dominican college freshman isn’t anyone’s idea of a romantic hero. But with the encouragement of his new roommate, Yunior, Oscar is going to give love another chance… and then another… and then another. There’s just one problem: a dark “fukú” has haunted his family for generations, following their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. A vivid new stage adaptation based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Junot Díaz. 

Tickets are Free; reservations are required.

Limited Availability

Saturday, December 14 at 7:30pm

SOLD OUT!

Developmental Musical Reading

Broken Eggs

Book/Lyrics by Eduardo Machado and Music by Jacinta Clusellas
Directed by Henry Godinez
Based on Fabiola and Broken Eggs by Eduardo Machado
Goodman’s Owen Theatre

You can’t make an omelet without shattering a few cherished family illusions… especially when your family won’t let go of their idyllic memories of pre-Revolutionary Cuba.

It’s 29 years after Sonia’s fairy tale wedding in Havana, and now it’s her turn to be the Mother of the Bride. But her husband has left her for a younger woman, her son is perpetually high, and her daughter just wants to be American. In Broken Eggs, composer Jacinta Clusellas teams up with legendary Cuban playwright Eduardo Machado to adapt his 1984 hit play into a new musical about love, loss, and learning to let go.

Tickets are Free; reservations are required.

Limited Availability

Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30pm

SOLD OUT!


Limited Availability

Friday, December 13 at 7:30pm

SOLD OUT!

 

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