Past Productions at Writers' Theatre
January 24 - March 18, 2012HESPERIA
Performed at 325 Tudor courtWhen Claudia left Ian and her old life in adult entertainment to return to her small-town roots, she found more than just a new start. In this honest exploration, playwright Randall Colburn brings an original voice to the complicated topics of love, sexuality and religion. LEARN MORE »
November 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012THE CARETAKER
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueAston brings Davies, a fast talking tramp, to his cramped home full of odds and ends-best characterized as junk-offering him a bed and a much needed place to get on his feet. Davies quickly realizes that Aston and his brother Mick have a different take on the world around them LEARN MORE »
September 13 - December 4, 2011THE REAL THING
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtA married playwright blurs the line between reality and his dramas on the stage as his personal life unravels before his very eyes LEARN MORE »
May 24 - August 14, 2011THE DETECTIVE'S WIFE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueAlice Conroy is the mother of two grown children, owner of a frame shop and wife of a Chicago homicide detective. When her husband is gunned down on the job, she sets out to find out who did it...and why. LEARN MORE »
April 19 - June 26, 2011HEARTBREAK HOUSE
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtIn the English countryside on the estate of Captain Shotover, an extraordinary assemblage of guests gather to reunite. Affairs begin, engagements end and hearts and minds become irreparably ensnared in a young woman's dilemma--whether to marry for love or for money. LEARN MORE »
January 25 - March 20, 2011DO THE HUSTLE
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtSam and Eddie Sisson are more than just father and son, they're a crack team of hustlers always looking for the next mark. LEARN MORE »
November 13, 2010 - April 10, 2011TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueHenry Pulling leads a quiet life and never strays too far from his Southwood, England home. But when his eccentric and outrageous Aunt Augusta suddenly appears in his life with mysterious information about his past, Henry is drawn into exotic international adventures! LEARN MORE »
September 14 - November 21, 2010SHE LOVES ME
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtSet in a 1930's European perfumery, we meet shop clerks Amalia and Georg, who more often than not, don't see eye to eye. After both respond to a "lonely hearts" advertisement in the newspaper, they now live for the love letters they exchange, but the identity of their admirers remains unknown. LEARN MORE »
May 4 - August 15, 2010A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtBlanche DuBois arrives unexpectedly on the doorstep of her sister Stella and her explosive brother-in-law Stanley. Over the course of one hot and steamy New Orleans summer, Blanche's fragile façade slowly crumbles, wreaking havoc on Stella and Stanley's already turbulent relationship. LEARN MORE »
February 2 - March 28, 2010THE OLD SETTLER
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtIt's Harlem in the spring of 1943. Elizabeth and Quilly are sisters of a certain age sharing their quiet lives together, but when they take in Husband Witherspoon, a handsome young boarder, their entire world changes abruptly. LEARN MORE »
November 17, 2009 - May 16, 2010OH COWARD!
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueNOW EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 16 BY POPULAR DEMAND! Oh Coward! celebrates one of the theatre's greatest entertainers—Noël Coward. His effervescent music and charming quips now combine for an unforgettable evening of the most memorable tunes of the 20th century. LEARN MORE »
September 29 - December 6, 2009ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtHamlet, Shakespeare's greatest drama, is retold from the perspective of his schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, in Tom Stoppard's comedic masterpiece. LEARN MORE »
May 19 - August 16, 2009A MINISTER'S WIFE
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtA poet, a preacher and his wife enter into a delicious conflict when a fantastical assumption turns an ordinary day topsy turvy. LEARN MORE »
February 3 - March 29, 2009OLD GLORY
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtShrouded in mystery, the circumstances surrounding six ordinary people grappling with the emotional casualties of war unfold in the latest work from one of Chicago�s hottest young playwrights. LEARN MORE »
December 13 - 23, 2008A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtArtistic Director Michael Halberstam masterfully recreates Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey over the course of one magical Christmas Eve. LEARN MORE »
November 18, 2008 - March 22, 2009THE MAIDS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueJimmy McDermott, one of the city’s most exciting young directors, brings his trademark edginess to this seminally rebellious play. LEARN MORE »
September 16 - November 30, 2008PICNIC
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtFrequently hilarious and profoundly moving, Inge’s masterpiece chronicles the hopes and despairs that lie between the realization of adulthood and the eternal optimism of youth. LEARN MORE »
August 19 - October 25, 2008NIXON'S NIXON
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueJust in time for the elections, we bring back our critically acclaimed, award-winning production of NIXON'S NIXON. LEARN MORE »
May 27 - August 17, 2008THE LION IN WINTER
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtIt is Christmas in England, 1183, and the aging monarch, Henry II, brings together his exiled wife Eleanor and his three sons to plan for his succession. LEARN MORE »
February 23 - March 30, 2008THE FROG PRINCE
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtAn arrogant prince, a doomed kingdom, a curse and a kiss all take stage in this story that asks the question: Can people truly change? LEARN MORE »
February 5 - April 20, 2008AS YOU LIKE IT
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtShakespeare brings to life some of the most romantic and charming scenes ever to be scribed in this most perfect of comedies. LEARN MORE »
December 19 - 23, 2007A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtAn elegant performance of a wondrous holiday classic. LEARN MORE »
November 13, 2007 - March 30, 2008THE TURN OF THE SCREW
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenuePart ghost story and part psychological thriller, this classic tale concerns an unsuspecting governess hired by a wealthy recluse to look after his orphaned niece and nephew - two seemingly innocent children who soon reveal terrifying secrets. LEARN MORE »
November 1 - December 2, 2007CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
59E59 Theaters, New YorkA brilliant young student, an unorthodox detective and a young woman forced into a life of prostitution are hurtled together by a brutal act of murder. Three actors bring one of the world's greatest psychological novels to life in this thrilling, award-winning 90-minute adaptation. LEARN MORE »
September 18 - November 25, 2007THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtTwo elderly sisters forget all about southern charm when a young door-to-door evangelist comes knocking. LEARN MORE »
May 15 - July 15, 2007OTHELLO
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtWhispers, secrets and lies unravel domestic bliss into shreds of insanity. LEARN MORE »
March 13 - July 15, 2007THE PUPPETMASTER OF LODZ
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueAfter escaping from Auschwitz, Finkelbaum, a once-revered puppetmaster, has barricaded himself in an attic and is not convinced the war is over. LEARN MORE »
January 23 - April 1, 2007BACH AT LEIPZIG
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtA wild and witty exploration of music, ambition and art. LEARN MORE »
September 26 - November 26, 2006ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtIt is 1880 and the Hubbard Family of Alabama is the envy of the South – wealthy, smart, funny, sexy and completely immoral. LEARN MORE »
May 16 - July 16, 2006THE DUCHESS OF MALFI
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtArtistic Director Michael Halberstam adapts this wonderfully outrageous tale with fresh and contemporary flavor, creating a riveting theatrical celebration. LEARN MORE »
March 14 - August 6, 2006THE CHOSEN
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueAdapted from Chaim Potok's classic novel, The Chosen follows the unlikely yet enduring friendship between two Jewish teenagers: one Orthodox and the other Hassidic. LEARN MORE »
January 24 - March 26, 2006BUS STOP
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtIn a real, visceral environment, the true passions, heartaches, struggles, dreams and realities of marvelously poetic characters intensely spring to life. LEARN MORE »
September 27 - November 27, 2005THE UNEASY CHAIR
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtThe familiar nature of marriage takes center stage in this witty and sparkling comedy that brilliantly pays homage to Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens. LEARN MORE »
May 17 - July 24, 2005ARMS AND THE MAN
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtFeaturing a delicious cast of characters, ARMS AND THE MAN offers an extraordinary love story filled with wit and wisdom, shifts and turns, moments of passion and a romantic ending. LEARN MORE »
March 1 - July 10, 2005THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis Pulitzer Prize-winning play offers a timeless story of the unspoken fears accompanying a child growing up and parents letting go, making them face the reality of their own situation. LEARN MORE »
January 25 - April 3, 2005TO THE GREEN FIELDS BEYOND
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtWith delicacy, perception and clarity, Nick Whitby’s new play powerfully illustrates the fragility of flesh and, ultimately, the resilience of the human spirit. LEARN MORE »
September 28 - December 5, 2004SEAGULL
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtCapturing the power of art, romance and family, Chekhov’s witty and soul-stirring masterpiece is a map of the human heart. LEARN MORE »
May 11 - July 18, 2004THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtArtistic Director Michael Halberstam returns to Shaw with this wicked satire on the medical profession. LEARN MORE »
March 2 - July 11, 2004BENEFACTORS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueWritten by the author of NOISES OFF and COPENHAGEN, BENEFACTORS explores the rise and fall of a friendship between two couples. LEARN MORE »
January 20 - March 28, 2004MY OWN STRANGER
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtThis astonishing and deeply moving biographical collection of poetic experiences will serve to draw you into a world of achingly familiar struggles. LEARN MORE »
September 30 - December 14, 2003OUR TOWN
Performed at 325 Tudor CourtA play that revels in the elegance of its own simplicity, this theatrical masterpiece paints an informal, intimate and compelling portrait of daily life in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. LEARN MORE »
May 6 - July 27, 2003CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA brilliant young student, an unorthodox detective and a young woman forced into a life of prostitution are hurtled together by a brutal act of murder. Three actors bring one of the world's greatest psychological novels to life in this thrilling, award-winning 90-minute adaptation. LEARN MORE »
January 21 - April 20, 2003ROUGH CROSSING
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA sophisticated romantic comedy set aboard an ocean liner in the golden thirties. LEARN MORE »
September 17 - December 15, 2002ROCKET TO THE MOON
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA searing tale of yearning and desire. LEARN MORE »
April 23 - July 14, 2002MISALLIANCE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueAn impending marriage between the powerful Tarelton and Summerhays families is endangered by the arrival of three uninvited houseguests: a cavalier pilot, his exotic female passenger, and a hotheaded youth bearing a Tarelton family secret. LEARN MORE »
January 8 - March 31, 2002THE PRICE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis 1968 masterpiece by Arthur Miller explores the plight of two brothers struggling in the wake of their father's death. LEARN MORE »
September 18 - December 9, 2001A PHOENIX TOO FREQUENT
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis comedy-drama is set in Ancient Greece. A grief-stricken maiden (and her wise-cracking servant) have elected to starve to death in the tomb of her recently deceased husband. When an unwitting soldier stumbles upon the two of them bearing food and wine and words of love, the excitement begins... LEARN MORE »
May 8 - July 1, 2001THE FATHER
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis taut psychological thriller takes a searing look at the age old battle of the sexes. LEARN MORE »
February 13 - April 1, 2001BUTLEY
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA bitingly funny tour de force drama of an alcoholic University professor in the midst of a mid-life crisis. LEARN MORE »
November 21, 2000 - January 7, 2001BOOTH
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA conflict between father and son, actors Junius and Edwin Booth, the one trying to live in the shadow of the other. LEARN MORE »
August 29 - October 15, 2000SPITE FOR SPITE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA delightful comedy with music and dance written in 1634 and presented here in a world premiere translation. LEARN MORE »
April 27 - June 11, 2000LOOT
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueMcLeavy has just lost his wife. He's a good Catholic and hopes for a beautiful funeral. But with a delinquent son, a killer nurse, a psychotic policeman, and a bank robbery, the day is poised to by anything but peaceful. LEARN MORE »
February 17 - April 2, 2000NIXON'S NIXON
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThe night before he resigned, Nixon summoned Kissinger to the Lincoln Sitting Room. What happened is the subject of much speculation. LEARN MORE »
December 2, 1999 - January 16, 2000FALLEN ANGELS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueJane and Julia are bored with their marriages. When an old lover announces his intentions to visit them, they get just the excuse they were looking for to spice things up a bit. LEARN MORE »
September 16 - October 31, 1999INCIDENT AT VICHY
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThe Germans occupy France, and a group of men have been taken from the streets to a holding cell for reasons unknown to them. Gradually they discover why. LEARN MORE »
April 29 - June 13, 1999EASTVILLE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA thrilling mystery set along the underground railroad: an escaped slave, two mysterious strangers, and a gripping encounter of wills. LEARN MORE »
February 18 - April 4, 1999DEAR MASTER: A DIALOGUE IN LETTERS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueBased on letters between George Sand and Gustave Flaubert, Bryant's play provides vivid portraits of these nineteenth century writers. LEARN MORE »
December 4, 1998 - January 18, 1999CANDIDA
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueOne of the world's great plays, this recounts the soulful love sickness of 18 year old Marchbanks for Candida, the parson's wife. LEARN MORE »
September 17 - November 1, 1998LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis powerful drama changed the face of contemporary theatre at its premiere. LEARN MORE »
April 23 - June 7, 1998PINTERACTS: THE DUMB WAITER & THE LOVER
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueTwo one acts by one of our foremost living playwrights, Harold Pinter. Two men await the arrival of a third in the expectation of completing a mysterious mission and a husband and wife are caught in a game of love. LEARN MORE »
February 12 - March 29, 1998THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis timeless classic brings you face to face with the poetic Tom, seeking escape from his warehouse job and confining home life, and his remarkable mother Amanda, lost in another time and place. LEARN MORE »
December 4, 1997 - January 18, 1998PRIVATE LIVES
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueFirst produced in 1930, we introduce you to Amanda and Elyot, recently divorced, in second marriages, but hopelessly in love with each other. An accidental meeting on their honeymoons send them into a spiral of witty bickering and passionate loving. LEARN MORE »
September 18 - November 2, 1997NIEDECKER
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA wonderful portrait of Wisconsin poet Lorine Niedecker. The poet, Cid Corman, described her as "...shy & gentle. Bright & true. Incapable of cruelty...a genuine voice and spirit." LEARN MORE »
April 24 - June 1, 1997THE BEATS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueExploring the early years of a group of poets, who with their poetry and prose, caused a minor revolution in American literature. LEARN MORE »
January 30 - March 9, 1997RICHARD II
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThe story of a Poet King whose inability to rule brings down his Kingdom, and the usurper who deposes him and incurs the wrath of God. LEARN MORE »
November 29 - December 24, 1996IN THE HEART OF WINTER '96
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA Holiday Reading of works by Truman Capote, Charles Dickens, O. Henry, H.L. Mencken, Jon Mozes, and Grace Paley. LEARN MORE »
September 26 - November 17, 1996MEMOIR
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueLegendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt races against the setting sun to complete her memoirs with the help of her private secretary in the summer of 1922. LEARN MORE »
May 10 - June 16, 1996DAMON, RING & F. SCOTT
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueRing Lardner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Damon Runyon meet on a train in the wake of The Black Sox scandal and explore a realm of American Dreams lost, found, and perhaps regained. LEARN MORE »
March 8 - April 14, 1996A VARIABLE PASSION
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA small Midwestern university professor, who, while in the his office preparing a small anthology of love poetry for his class, finds himself exploring his own thoughts through the words of other writers, and is forced to look much more closely at love than he initially intended. LEARN MORE »
January 1 - February 25, 1996BLAKE
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA monologue based on the life of the English poet and engraver, woven with poems from Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience." LEARN MORE »
December 1 - 23, 1995IN THE HEART OF WINTER '95
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA Holiday Reading featuring the works of David Meyer, Dylan Thomas, James Finn Garner, Marjorie Franco, Corrina Maurio, Michael Garcia, Hans Christian Anderson, and Leo Lionni. LEARN MORE »
September 15 - October 22, 1995DEAR LIAR
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA masterful compendium of badinage with Shaw and Mrs. Campbell in scenes of both confrontation and distancing. LEARN MORE »
April 21 - May 28, 1995MARRIAGE AND BEARS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueTwo of Chekhov's brilliant one-act plays, brought to life by one of the world's foremost dramatists. LEARN MORE »
January 20 - February 25, 1995OSCAR REMEMBERED
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueLord Alfred Douglas reflects on his love affair with, and his betrayal of, Oscar Wilde. LEARN MORE »
December 2 - 24, 1994IN THE HEART OF WINTER '94
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA Holiday Reading featuring the works of Dylan Thomas, Carol Adorjan, Ann Freeman, Angie Davidson Bass, Mark Twain, George Bernard Shaw, O. Henry, Grace Paley, W.H. Auden, and Washington Irving. LEARN MORE »
September 23 - October 31, 1994TWO BY SHAW: VILLAGE WOOING & MAN OF DESTINY
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueTwo of Shaw's wittiest one-act plays, paired for a perfect evening. LEARN MORE »
April 17 - June 12, 1994MY OWN STRANGER
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThis astonishing and deeply moving biographical collection of poetic experiences will serve to draw you into a world of achingly familiar struggles. LEARN MORE »
January 19 - February 20, 1994NOT ABOUT HEROES
Performed at Apple Tree TheatreThe story of the relationship between poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sasson, told in a series of flashbacks, narrated by Sasson. LEARN MORE »
January 1 - February 28, 1994DIARY OF A MADMAN
Performed at Cafe Voltaire"Diary of a Madman" recounts one man's struggle to be noticed by the woman he loved. His diary records his gradual slide into insanity, where he finally achieves the greatness that has eluded him in real life. LEARN MORE »
November 26 - December 24, 1993IN THE HEART OF WINTER '93
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueA Holiday Reading featuring the works of Dylan Thomas, Maeve Binchy, John Kendrick Banks, Moss Hart, William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, James Kirkwood, Hugh Johnson, Chaim Potok, Grace Paley, and O. Henry. LEARN MORE »
October 1 - November 1, 1993DEAR MASTER: A DIALOGUE IN LETTERS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueBased on letters between George Sand and Gustave Flaubert, Bryant's play provides vivid portraits of these nineteenth century writers. LEARN MORE »
July 21 - August 14, 1993A PLAY ON WORDS
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueAn evening of carefully crafted language spoken on the stage - composed of humorous works by Ring Lardner, Dorothy Parker, Todd McEwan, Stephen Leacock, and John Cheever. LEARN MORE »
March 20 - April 24, 1993LOVE & LUNACY
Performed at 664 Vernon AvenueThe Writers' Theatre inaugural production of LOVE & LUNACY, composed of three short stories by Chekhov ("He & She," "The Crooked Mirror," and "The Trick"), set alongside Gogol's "Diary of a Madman." LEARN MORE »
