Goodman Theatre NEW STAGES

A spokesperson describes the event as follows:

"...More than 100 plays have appeared in the New Stages Festival since its inception in 2004, the majority of which have gone on to premiere at the Goodman and its peer theaters across the country. Each year, the Festival’s final weekend draws national theater industry professionals to Chicago for the opportunity to view all of the plays..."

The 2022 New Play Festival Line-Up

This Happened Once at the Romance Depot off the I-87 in Westchester

By Gina Femia | Directed by Kimberly Senior
A Developmental Production; appears in repertory December 1–18

Kevin’s days are full of monotony, selling bondage gear and sex toys to ordinary customers.  But when schoolteacher Beth blows into Kevin's store in desperate search of a vibrator, it sparks an unlikely relationship that forces them both to confront what they think they know about love, romance and sex. Revealing that nothing, and no one, are what they seem, Gina Femia’s hilarious and intimate new play asks us to re-examine ourselves, our fears and our dreams.

Rust

By Nancy García Loza |Directed by Laura Alcalá Baker
A Developmental Production; appears in repertory December 4 – 17

Güera, a young pocha, is trying very hard to be a perfect Mexican daughter and contain her glaring imperfections. The hot Chicago summer has her climbing trees, fighting with her brothers, and melting like a paleta under her parents’ searing gaze. Suddenly, when Abuelo moves in, Güera begins to wonder if she really has to be perfect at all. Why be perfect when you can be free?

White Monkey

By Charlie Oh | Directed by Eric Ting
A Staged Reading; Saturday, December 17 at 10:30am

Li runs a "rent-a-foreigner" agency, loaning out white actors to Chinese businesses looking to boost their international prestige. She finally meets an assignment worthy of her creativity and ambition: populate an entire ghost city with white people in order to convince skeptical Chinese buyers to move in. It’s Li’s chance at the Chinese Dream — but what will this exorbitant lie cost her? A sweeping epic that takes us from the factories of Shenzen to the penthouses of the political elite, Charlie Oh's new play is an absurd, high-stakes tale of global hi-jinks with grave consequences.

Fever Dreams (of Animals on the Verge of Extinction)

By Jeffrey Lieber | Directed by Susan V. Booth
A Staged Reading: Saturday, December 17 at 2pm

For decades, Adele and Zachary have rendezvoused in a remote cabin in the woods to celebrate their passion and be together. This year, though, something has changed: the place is falling apart, a sense of loss pervades the air, they’re both keeping secrets, and Adele has brought a gun...her long-time husband Miller's gun. This new thriller from Jeffrey Lieber (co-creator of TV’s LOST) is equal parts romance, mystery and emotional reckoning.

Modern Women

By Omer Abbas Salem | Directed by Lavina Jadhwani
A Staged Reading: Sunday, December 18 at 10:30am

Would you like mehndi, threading or a blowout? In Dhruvy's beauty salon, nestled in a quiet Skokie strip mall, multiple generations of Arab and Indian friends find comfort and routine. When Dhruvy hires a new esthetician on a whim, they must all negotiate the changing world outside together. Omer Abbas Salem’s new play is a re-imagined American classic, spoken by immigrants and recolored by their love and supremely big feelings.

What Will Happen to All That Beauty?

By Donja R. Love | Directed by Malika Oyetimein
A Staged Reading: Sunday, December 18 at 1:30pm

It’s 1986. Max and her husband J.R. are living in Brooklyn, preparing for their first child. But as an epidemic rages, the couple's future is tested. Max spends her time fighting for her husband's life; before she realizes it, so much time has passed, and she now finds herself fighting for her son. Written as an offering to the community of Black people living with HIV/AIDS, Donja R. Love’s new epic explores questions of legacy, family and healing against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis of the 80s and its imprints today.

Read about more Chicago plays on stages now or coming soon.