#1 Angels in America, Parts 1 & 2 – Invictus

Invictus has received significant praise for its ambitious staging of Tony Kushner’s 1993 Pulitzer Prize winner, which will likely dominate the 2026 non-equity Jeff Awards. The script itself is one of American theater’s greatest masterpieces, melding the realism of 1980’s America with delusions involving ghosts and an angelic prophet. What I remember most is the perfect cast of eight performing more than 20 roles. If forced to name a standout, I would pick Michael D. Graham as Roy Cohn, who hints as Cohn’s self-hatred even as he brags about being the most powerful AIDS victim in America.

#2 Mr. Wolf – Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf might have experienced some difficulty promoting this play, which centers on a girl named Theresa (Emilie Maureen Hanson), who returns to her family as a teenager after being abducted as a child. I saw it twice to explore the dynamic characters and powerful dialogue created by playwright Rajiv Joseph. In particular, Theresa is a marvel of complexity – a 16-year-old whose narrow worldview has been shaped by interactions with just one person. Ensemble members Kate Arrington (Hana), Tim Hopper (Mr. Wolf), Caroline Neff (Julie), and Namir Smallwood (Michael) round out the stacked cast.

#3 An Iliad – Court

I love that Court regularly revives this one-actor showcase written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare with Timothy Edward Kane reprising his awe-inducing performance as The Poet. The buildup to the battle between Hector and Achilles presents each as epic heroes and ordinary men thrown into agonizing situations beyond their control. The list of wars (available on YouTube) remains the most powerful exploration of war I have seen in theater. For this production, I made a point of seeing both Kane and understudy Jason Huysman, who is also exceptional.

#4 – Paranormal Activity – Chicago Shakespeare

I was drawn to Paranormal Activity when I learned it was written by Levi Holloway, the author of the wonderful horror play Grey House. The twist-and-turn plot focuses on the young American couple James (Patrick Heusinger) and Lou (Cher Álvarez), who have just moved into an old, creaky house in London to outrun mistakes of their pasts. Tony winner Chris Fisher creates so much tension with his jump scares that I was hugging myself into a tight ball for much of the show.

#5 – Amadeus – Steppenwolf

Ian Barford is magnificent as Antonio Salieri in this exploration of obsession. Barford, under direction from Robert Falls, is driven not by a hatred of Mozart (David Darrow) but by a desire to defy God, who has taunted him by making Solieri the only person able to realize how superior Mozart is to himself. The staging is minimal in the round Ensemble Theater, but the music remains appropriately overpowering at all the right moments. Amadeus has extended its run through January 25.

#6 – Titus Andronicus – Redtwist

Titus had been the Shakespeare play I most wanted to see for about a decade, so I was excited to learn that Redtwist would be taking on this very bloody show. Anne Sheridan Smith is brilliant as the vengeful king, who is not completely underdeserving of empathy given the violence brought upon her family. The tight confines of Redtwist’s space mean that the entire audience is in the blood splash zone – fittingly, the recipe for their blood syrup (which did wash off my clothes) is posted on Redtwist’s website.

#7 – The Antiquities – Goodman

No other play this year, let alone a science fiction drama, can boast so many well-deserved laughs from showing a family wordlessly staring at a computer as their modem connects to the internet. Playwright Jordan Harrison utilizes a series of vignettes starting in the 1800s and carrying us many centuries into the future to explore the progression of artificial intelligence. The dystopian scenes are memorable and thought-provoking, but my favorites are the scenes from the past, which illustrate how we do not always recognize momentous innovations in real time.

#8 – Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley – Timeline

More of an event than a play, this staging featured Teagle F. Bougere (James Baldwin) and Eric T. Miller (William F. Buckley Jr.) recreating a 1965 debate over the question “Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?” Certainly the Chicago audience was more sympathetic to Baldwin’s views, and Baldwin did indeed win the debate in 1965 as judged by the Cambridge Union Society, but deconstructing both men’s arguments is a fascinating exercise. The debate itself is a model for how Americans can present differing viewpoints in a civilized manner. We can view snippets of both arguments: Baldwin excerpt   Buckley excerpt.

#9 – Berlin – Court

Set in the years 1928 to 1933, Berlin provides a collage of characters, who are struggling but also intermittently enjoying life at the time when the fall of the Weimar Republic was not yet a certainty. The impeccable cast of 12 earned a well deserved Jeff Award for Ensemble as they moved fluidity through complex stagings. Berlin, which is adapted from a graphic novel by Jason Lutes, reminds us that we must maintain freedom of speech and freedom of the press during times of political polarization.

#10 – Wish You Were Here – Remy Bumppo

Five friends begin this play in Iran, 1978, preparing for a wedding. Playwright Sanaz Toosi moves through 10 scenes occurring over 13 years, as four of the characters leave Iran under different circumstances. What impresses me most about Wish You Were Here is that the script does not foreshadow which character will be gone in the next scene. I left reflecting on the universal theme that sometimes our closest friendships unexpectedly evolve out of our lives.

Other Notable Plays from 2025

Art – Remy Bumppo
Big White Fog – Court
Glengarry Glen Ross – Parker Players
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – Chicago Shakespeare
Lobby Hero – Shattered Globe
Prayer for the French Republic – Northlight