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AMERICAN BLUES THEATER

5627 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659

It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!


American Blues Theater celebrates its 24th Annual Production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! from Frank Capra’s film and directed by Executive Artistic ...



Cast Set for COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA at American Blues Theater


by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 18, 2025

American Blues Theater will continue its 40th anniversary season with the reimagined classic Come Back, Little Sheba by William Inge and directed by Associate Artistic Director Elyse Dolan....

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre and More to Take Part in Chicago Theatre Week


by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 16, 2025

Chicago Theatre Week, an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago during which visitors and residents can access value-priced tickets, will take place this winter....

Meet the Cast of BUG, Now in Previews on Broadway


by Stephi Wild - December 17, 2025

Performances are now underway for the Broadway premiere of Bug, written by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts and directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer. Meet the cast of Bug here!...

American Blues Theater Hosts IT'S A WONDERFUL PARTY! Holiday Benefit


by Stephi Wild - November 21, 2025

American Blues Theater invites the community to kick off the season at It's a Wonderful Party!, the company's annual holiday benefit supporting artists' wages during its milestone 40th Anniversary Season. ...

Cast Set for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: LIVE IN CHICAGO! at American Blues


by Chloe Rabinowitz - November 03, 2025

American Blues Theater will present its 24th Annual Production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! from Frank Capra’s film and directed by Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside....

Tony Award-Nominee Fina Strazza Joins Industry Reading of ONCE ON RUMSPRINGA


by Gillian Blum - November 02, 2025

Tony Award-nominee Fina Strazza joins an invite-only industry reading of Once on Rumspringa by Ellis Stump on November 10 at 4:00pm, at Ripley Grier Studios....

Reading of THE MACHINE Comes to Westport Country Playhouse


by Stephi Wild - October 31, 2025

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of a new play, “The Machine.' The plot focuses on a poet suffering writer’s block, artificial intelligence, and the tricky questions that arise when technology starts writing art.  ...

American Blues to Host Halloween Boo Bash to Benefit Artists


by Chloe Rabinowitz - October 09, 2025

American Blues Theater will present Halloween Boo Bash, its annual costumed fundraiser benefiting artists’ wages during Season 40. Learn more and see how to attend....

Chicago Theatre Leaders Join Richard Engling For Book Launch Panel At Bramble Arts Loft


by A.A. Cristi - September 23, 2025

A panel discussion and celebration titled Taking the Leap: A Conversation on Bold Moves in Chicago Theater will take place on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Bramble Arts Loft (5545 North Clark Street, 2nd Floor, Chicago). ...

Review: THINGS WITH FRIENDS at American Blues Theater


by Rachel Weinberg - September 08, 2025

Kristoffer Diaz’s THINGS WITH FRIENDS is one extremely chaotic, messy dinner party. This world premiere introduces a variety of different flavors that come together for an undercooked meal....

Past Shows

Things with Friends
Things with Friends
8/25 - 10/4/2025


World Premiere by Tony Award nominee & Artistic Affiliate Kristoffer Diaz, directed by Artistic Affiliate Dexter Bullard. Manhattan. Burt and Adele are hosting a dinner ...


American Blues Theater presents its 23rd annual production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, adapted from Frank Capra's classic film. Directed by Gwendolyn ...

The Lion
The Lion
1/15


American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, presents the live, online reading of The Lion written and performed by Ensemble ...

It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
11/14 - 1/4/2020


As the second longest holiday play in Chicago, the American Blues Ensemble has treated Chicago audiences to a live 1940s radio broadcast of holiday favorite ...

Five Presidents
Five Presidents
9/6 - 10/19/2019


Five Presidents features John Carter Brown (George H.W. Bush), Jim Leaming* (Ronald Reagan), Martin LHerault (Jimmy Carter), Tom McElroy (Gerald Ford), Stephen Spencer (Bill Clinton), ...

The Spitfire Grill
The Spitfire Grill
7/12 - 8/17/2019


A feisty parolee follows her dreams, based on a page from an old travel book, to a small town in Wisconsin and finds a place ...

The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey


Ensemble member Joe Foust portrays every character in a small Jersey Shore town as he unravels the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and ...

It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
11/16 - 1/5/2019


As the second longest holiday play in Chicago, the American Blues Ensemble has treated Chicago audiences to a live 1940s radio broadcast of holiday favorite ...

Flyin West
Flyin West
10/5 - 11/3/2018


Following the end of the Civil War, many former slaves took advantage of The Homestead Act and went West to build new lives for themselves ...

On Clover Roadd
On Clover Roadd
2/1 - 3/16/2018


At an abandoned motel on a desolate American road, a mother meets with a cult deprogrammer, believing she will be reunited with her runaway daughter. ...

It's A Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!


CHICAGO—Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago’s second oldest Equity ensemble, are proud to announce the return of the critically acclaimed It’s ...

The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
8/28 - 9/27/2015


CHICAGO – Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago’s second oldest Equity ensemble celebrating 30 years of presenting visceral theatrical works while ...

Collected Stories
4/19 - 5/19/2013


Ruth Steiner, a critically acclaimed, seasoned author, takes her student, Lisa, under her wing. What begins as a mentorship flourishes into a deeper maternal friendship. ...

Love Me Some Amnesia
4/13 - 5/13/2012

Waiting for Lefty
9/2 - 10/2/2011

Videos


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Amadeus in Chicago Amadeus
Steppenwolf Theatre Company (11/6 - 1/4) Tracker
Revelator: A Tribute to Tedeschi Trucks Band in Chicago Revelator: A Tribute to Tedeschi Trucks Band
Raue Center For The Arts (3/21 - 3/21)
The Outsiders in Chicago The Outsiders
Cadillac Palace Theater (2/10 - 2/22)
Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile: The Musical in Chicago Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile: The Musical
Studebaker Theater (1/29 - 2/21)
VIDEOS
Hadestown (Non-Equity) in Chicago Hadestown (Non-Equity)
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