PrideArts Unveils 2026-27 Season Featuring Six Productions at Hoover-Leppen Theatre

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The season will open in August with Matt Schutz’s WINDOWS.

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PrideArts has announced its 2026-27 season of six productions of plays and special showcases, to be performed in the company’s resident space – the Hoover Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted. In a change from previous seasons, all evening performances will have a curtain time of 7:00 pm.

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The season will open in August with the world premiere of Chicago-based playwright Matt Schutz’s WINDOWS, a comedy of LGBT Gen Z-ers finding their ways through career and relationship challenges. WINDOWS was developed through PrideArts’ Queery Playwrights Lab, in which 33 scripts with an LGBTQ focus were submitted for consideration. Six scripts were selected for further development in subsequent sessions with the Festival Director Taylor Pasche and Artistic Director Jay Españo. Scenes from the six scripts were performed publicly, and with the audience’s help, WINDOWS was selected for this full production. WINDOWS will open to the press on Monday, August 10 at 7:00 pm, following previews on Friday, August 7 and Sunday, August 9; and will play through August 23. Coming right on the heels of the WINDOWS world premiere will the first of the season’s special showcases: The Queer Sketch Show, to be directed by Katie Mae Ryan. This program of scripted sketches finding the humor in queer life will play one weekend only, from Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30. In October and November, Jay Españo will employ a new casting approach to the thought-provoking CONSTELLATIONS, by British playwright Nick Payne . CONSTELLATIONS, which premiered in London in 2012 and was presented on Broadway in 2015, explores the relationship between a physicist and a beekeeper through a series of fragmented, nonlinear scenes that reflect the concept of the multiverse—the idea that multiple versions of reality exist simultaneously. It presents different variations of their interactions, showing how small choices can lead to vastly different outcomes. Some versions of their relationship are filled with love and happiness, while others are marked by heartbreak and tragedy. While CONSTELLATIONS was originally written with its characters being a man and a woman, a London revival in 2021 performed it with a cast of two men, alternating with a cast of a man and a woman. For this production, PrideArts will take this concept a step further, performing it with a female-female cast as well as with a male-male cast. The two casts will alternate performances. CONSTELLATIONS will open to the press on Monday, October 26 at 7:00 pm, following previews on Friday, October 23 and Sunday, October 25, and will play through Sunday, November 22. PrideArts will celebrate the season with a Christmas Cabaret featuring some of Chicago’s favorite musical theater and cabaret performers for two weekends in December. The Christmas Cabaret will be performed from Thursday December 10 through Sunday, December 13 and Thursday, December 17 through Sunday, December 20. In February 2027, PrideArts will present SAPPHIC SHOWCASE, a series of 10-minute plays interspersed with standup and spoken word performers. SAPPHIC SHOWCASE will be performed two weekends : from Thursday, February 26 to Sunday, February 28; and from Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 7. A fourth production to be announced will play from Friday, April 23 through Sunday, May 23.

By Matt Schutz WORLD PREMIERE Directed by Taylor Pasche

August 7 - 23, 2026 Previews Friday, August 7 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, August 9 at 3:00 pm Press Opening Monday, August 10 at 7:00 pm Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613 Olivia is a former soccer player still recovering from a career-ending injury. Her girlfriend, Natalie, is stuck in a job she’s not passionate about, caught between finding her own happiness and caring for Olivia’s. Meanwhile, Natalie’s roommate Clay is trying to take the next step in his life – towards a new promotion, away from a past relationship, and into his own power. As all three maneuver through the ever-present reality of Olivia’s injury, they find escape however they can.

Directed by Katie Mae Ryan August 28-30, 2026 Friday and Saturday August 28 and 29 at 7:00 pm, Sunday, August 30 at 3:00 pm Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613 Program of scripted sketches finding the humor in queer life.

By Nick Payne Directed by Jay Españo October 26 – November 22, 2026 Previews Friday, October 23 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 pm Press Opening Monday, October 26 at 7:00 pm Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm Additional performances Wednesday, November 11 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, November 14 at 3 pm Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613 One relationship. Infinite possibilities. In how many universes would you love someone? Nick Payne ’s Olivier award-winning CONSTELLATIONS is a play about free will and friendship; it’s about quantum multiverse theory, love and honey. Roland is a beekeeper. Marianne is a quantum physicist. What are their odds of falling in love? With infinite moments that can change the trajectory of a life, it’s anyone’s guess how cosmic collision is possible. This play moves from the question of “what if,” to a poignant picture of “what is."

December 10-20, 2026 Press Opening Thursday, December 10 at 7:00 pm Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613

February 26 – March 7, 2027 Press Opening Friday, February 26, 2027 Fridays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613 A series of 10-minute plays dealing with women’s themes interspersed with standup and spoken word performers.

April 26 – May 23, 2027 Previews Friday, April 23 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 25 at 3:00 pm Press Opening Monday, April 26, 2027, at 7:00 pm Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613

Tickets are $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at the Pride Arts' website, or by calling 773-661-0770.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/PrideArts-Announces-New-Season-Programming-20260620)._