Readings on Ravenswood 2025 at Remy Bumppo

CHICAGO – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company is proud to announce the 2025 dates for the return of its Readings on Ravenswood series, curated by Artistic Director Marti Lyons and Creative Producer Christina Casano. The series is happening now and continues through February 24, 2025 on Monday nights at Remy Bumppo’s rehearsal space, 1751 W. Grace. This reading series introduces audiences to relevant plays, both old and new, that would facilitate further inclusive conversation around current events. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and readings will begin at 7 p.m. Readings on Ravenswood are free to attend with a suggested donation. New to this season is the six reading VIP Package for $125 and includes one reserved seat at each reading, recognition in Remy Bumppo’s program and on its website and a commemorative Readings on Ravenswood VIP pin. Reservations and VIP Packages for the winter 2025 readings are now available RemyBumppo.org. All Readings on Ravenswood take place at Remy Bumppo’s rehearsal space at 1751 W. Grace. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and readings begin at 7 p.m. The 2025 winter series includes:

Monday, Jan. 27 

Wish You Were Here 

by Sanaz Toossi

Directed by Azar Kazemi

Set in Iran from 1978 to 1991, this breathtaking and unabashed comedy-drama explores the evolving relationships among a group of five women during the escalation, height and aftermath of the Iranian Revolution.

Monday, Feb. 3

The Virgin Queen Entertains Her Fool 

by Michael Hollinger

Directed by Keira Fromm

featuring Core Ensemble Members Eduardo Curley, Linda Gillum and Chiké Johnson

Adahlia, Virgin Queen of the Realm and Mother of Us All, is dying, and must name her successor before it’s too late. But she’d rather spend her final hours enjoying the company of her Fool, whose repertoire includes bloody French ballads, bawdy puppets and fart jokes. Meanwhile, her nephew and niece have both assembled armies to storm the castle, each hoping to grab the crown as it falls. Clearly, the clock is ticking -- What’s a woman to do?

Monday, Feb. 10

The Comeuppance

by Branden Jacobs Jenkins

Directed by Creative Producer Christina Casano

featuring Core Ensemble Member Terry Bell 

When a group of old classmates meet to pre-game their 20th high school reunion, everyone is nervous for the night ahead. As alcohol and pot help the self-declared “Multi-Ethnic Reject Group,” let their guards down, they begin to reminisce about their teenage selves and reveal how their lives have unfolded since graduation. Did their friendships stand the test of time, or will they realize they don’t have as much in common as they thought they did? Brilliantly witty, theatrical and moving, The Comeuppance focuses on millennials and their reckoning with the world they will soon inherit.

Monday, Feb. 17

She Talks to Beethoven

by Adrienne Kennedy 

Directed by Gabby Randle Bent 

featuring Core Ensemble Members Tiffany Renee Johnson and Chiké Johnson

Set in Ghana, Suzanne waits in her room listening to radio broadcasts about her husband who has mysteriously disappeared while she attempts to write about and communicate with composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Her world is infiltrated by snatches of Ghanaian string music, the revolutionary words of Frantz Fanon and strains of Beethoven's Fidelio. Suzanne, recovering from an unspecified illness, hovers in displaced time and space fluctuating between Vienna, Austria, in 1803, and Accra, Ghana, in 1961.

Monday, Feb. 24

People, Places and Things

by Duncan Macmillan

Directed by Marti Lyons

featuring Core Ensemble Members Charín Álvarez, Annabel Armour, Aurora Real de Asua, Eduardo Curley, Chiké Johnson and Tiffany Renee Johnson

Emma was having the time of her life. Now she’s in rehab. Her first step is to admit that she has a problem. But the problem isn’t with Emma, it’s with everything else. She needs to tell the truth. But she’s smart enough to know that there’s no such thing. When intoxication feels like the only way to survive the modern world, how can she ever sober up?