Theater on the Lake: The Chicago Summer Theater Festival | Schedule

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6/19 - 6/22
The Yard and Jackalope Theatre’s Blood at the Root

Written by Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Joel Ewing and Will Kiley

at Theater on the Lake, 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive

Admission: $20

Blood at the Root is a striking new drama based on the Jena Six; six Black students are charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. This bold play examines the miscarriage of justice, racial double standards, and the crises in relations between men and women of all classes-resulting into the shattering state of Black family life.

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6/26 - 6/29
Akvavit Theatre’s Hitler on the Roof (a play for 2 clowns)

Written by Rhea Leman
Directed by Kirstin Franklin & Amber Robinson

at Theater on the Lake, 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive

Admission: $20

A play for two clowns, this Danish play finds the Nazi propagandist Dr. Joseph Goebbels and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl doomed to an afterlife in which they are forced to confront their pasts. Locked deep down inside the present day Führerbunker, the two find themselves engaging in denial, manipulation, and pure slapstick. It’s a reminder of the consequences of selling lies as truth and propaganda as art. Did we mention it’s a play for two clowns?

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7/10 - 7/13
UrbanTheater Company's Ashes of Light

Written by Marco Antonio Rodriguez
Directed by Miranda Gonzalez

at Theater on the Lake, 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive

Admission: $20

A mother’s love knows no boundaries… Over the course of two evenings mother and son, two estranged generations of Dominicans living on the north side of Chicago, attempt to rekindle the love and appreciation for each other and their roots; but unexpectedly revealed intimate secrets threaten to destroy an already thin bond.

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7/24 - 7/28

Please note there will be no matinee on Thursday 7/26, instead there will be a 2pm matinee on Saturday 7/28

Theater on the Lake: In the Works in collaboration with Chicago Dramatists presents Felons and Familias

A play in progress by Sandra Delgado

at Hamlin Park, 3035 N. Hoyne Ave.

Admission is FREE. *Advance reservations are strongly encouraged.

In 2014 President Obama announced that in his new immigration policy "felons, not families" would be the target of deportation efforts. But what happens when these two identities intersect? A dark comedy with heightened movement, Felons and Familias is the story of a Chicago woman caught in the black hole of criminal immigration courts as she fights to remain mother and daughter in the city she calls home.

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8/7 - 8/10
Red Theater’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity 

Written by Kristoffer Diaz
Directed by Jeremy Aluma

at South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive

Admission is FREE. *Advance reservations are strongly encouraged.

How does one pursue the “American Dream” in a country that refuses to offer opportunity indiscriminately? A flashy American satire set in the professional entertainment wrestling world, we follow Puerto Rican wrestler Macedonio Guerra as he rises from the bottom of the pecking order. In this interactive physical comedy, Mace talks directly to the audience as fans in his arena. The play dissects race, xenophobia, ego, and our moral compass – topics some might say are more relevant now than when it premiered eight years ago.

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8/21 - 8/24
The New Colony’s The Light

Written by Loy Webb
Directed by Toma Langston

at Theater on the Lake, 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive

Admission: $20

A surprise proposal takes an unexpected turn that upends the world of Genesis and Rashad, forcing them to confront a devastating secret from the past and putting the future of their relationship at risk. Featuring two of Chicago’s most dynamic actors, The Light is a 70-minute rollercoaster journey of laughter, romance and despair that uncovers how the power of radical love can be a healing beacon of light.

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8/28 - 8/31
Stage Left Theatre’s Insurrection: Holding History

Written by Robert O’Hara
Directed by Wardell Julius Clark

at Theater on the Lake, 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive

Admission: $20

Ron, a young, gay African-American graduate student, completing his thesis on Nat Turner’s slave rebellion, feels lost in his life and alienated from his family. When his 189-year-old great, great grandfather TJ takes him back in time to meet Turner, both men find answers they never expected. Insurrection deals with racial identity and sexuality, as Ron faces his ancestors’ history and his own identity. A wrenching story, Insurrection: Holding History will change how you see the past-and just maybe yourself as well.