Teller and Aaron Posner to Create New Macbeth for Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago Shakespeare Theater has announced nine productions set for its 2017-18 season. The season also marks the introduction of the company's third performance venue, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare.

Madagascar — A Musical Adventure (July 13-August 27), based on the DreamWorks Animation motion picture, will be the theater's summer family musical. The production is directed and choreographed by Matt Raftery with a book by Kevin Del Aguila and original music and lyrics by George Noriega and Joel Someillan.

Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks will then offer free performances of Romeo and Juliet happening in neighborhood parks across Chicago. Adapted and directed by Marti Lyons, performances will run July-August.

Next will be The Taming of the Shrew (September 16-November 12), adapted and directed by Barbara Gaines with additional dialogue by Ron West. Featuring an all-woman company, the production will frame Shakespeare's story as a performance by a group of Suffragettes in 1919 on the eve of the passing of the 19th Amendment.

James Thierrée's The Toad Knew (September 19-23) will be presented by his La Compagnie du Hanneton from France as part of CST’s World’s Stage series.

Chicago Shakespeare then partners with the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) in its inaugural International Latino Theater Festival in the fall with a Latin American production as part of the World’s Stage series to be announced.

The following production will be Lolita Chakrabarti's Red Velvet (December 1-January 21, 2018), staged by director Gary Griffin. The play tells the true story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who challenged convention by taking the London stage as the first black Othello in 1833.

Next in the Yard is an abridged version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (January 24-March 10, 2018).

Following in the Courtyard Theater is Mary Stuart (February 21-April 15, 2018), adapted by Peter Oswald and staged by Jenn Thompson.

Teller (of famous duo Penn & Teller) then joins with director and playwright Aaron Posner for a new production of Macbeth (April 25-June 24, 2018). They reprise the Jeff Award-winning partnership behind Chicago Shakespeare's 2015 production of The Tempest.

Closing out the season as part of Chicago Shakespeare's World's Stage series will be Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (May 23-June 3, 2018), presented by Ireland's Druid Theatre. Tony Award winner Garry Hynes directs.

For more information about Chicago Shakespeare Theater's 2017-18 season, click here.