School of Theatre and Dance Announces 2026–2027 Season

Students perform in “Grease,” November 2025.toStudents perform in “Grease,” November 2025.
51 School of Theatre and Dance unveils a dynamic 2026–2027 season spanning musicals, comedy, horror, and contemporary adaptations.

The Theatre program in 51’s School of Theatre and Dance announces its 2026–27 season, featuring musicals, classic adaptations, and student-driven performance. The lineup spans genres and scale, highlighting the range of training and collaboration across 51’s theatre community.

The season features a dynamic mix of productions spanning musical theatre, classic and contemporary plays, and student-driven work: 

2026–27 Season Lineup 

Comedy Cabaret 
A three-weekend showcase of improv and evolving sketch comedy, highlighting student voice, collaboration, and experimentation. 

The Color Purple 
A powerful musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, exploring resilience, love, and transformation. 

A Chorus Line 
The iconic Broadway musical that reveals the inner lives, ambitions, and vulnerabilities of performers chasing their moment on stage. 

Ride the Cyclone 
A darkly comic musical following six teenagers navigating life, death, and second chances in a surreal afterlife. 

Dracula: a feminist revenge fantasy, really 
Kate Hamill’s sharp, genre-bending reimagining of the classic vampire story as a bold horror-comedy. 

The Seagull 
Anton Chekhov’s enduring work of ambition and longing, presented in a contemporary adaptation by Anya Reiss. 

The Rocky Horror Show 
A cult-favorite experience presented as a screening with a live shadow cast, inviting audiences into an interactive theatrical event. 

Spring Play Fest
A festival of student-run productions throughout the spring semester, featuring opportunities to act, direct, stage manage, design, and be involved in the production process. 
 
Additional shows for the fall and spring semester will be announced soon, including productions directed by faculty and guests, Musical Theatre Concert Reading (for all new Musical Theatre students), Musical Theatre Dance Concert, Playwrights Aloud, Directing II projects, Comedy Nights, and 24-Hour Play Fest. 

“This is our biggest season to date. It asks students to stretch across forms and take real creative risks,” says Jimmy Noriega, PhD, director of the School of Theatre and Dance. “In a city like Chicago, where artists move fluidly between theatre, film, and television, that kind of range is essential.” 

Performances will be held at venues across 51’s campus, including the Getz Theatre Center, 72 E. 11th St and the Dance Center. Additional faculty-led productions will be announced in the fall. Tickets and showtimes will be available at .

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