Season 34, 2026-2027
World on Fire
There is very little I am certain of these days other than the importance of live theatre. The world is on fire. From the intensely personal to the whole big earth and the ethereal beyond, it is imperative that we challenge ourselves and each other to remain curious in the face of the flames and burning embers. To hold each other up while holding our feet to the fire is the task at hand with every creative endeavor at A Red Orchid Theatre.
When Shade Murray and Steve Haggard shared their curiosity about the challenge of adapting Ibsen anew, the ensemble responded with a resounding “tell us more!” To be in collaboration with long-admired new-to-us artists such as Will Arbery, Keiko Green, and Terry Guest is a huge honor. That each of these artists trusts us with their stories and vision fills me with immense gratitude and pride.
This season you are cordially invited to gather face to face (or shoulder to shoulder), breathe together, experience your own humanity and that of others near and far, interrogate your fears, find joy, stoke your curiosity, and rekindle wonder.
– Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald
Season 34 includes:
Heroes of the Fourth Turning
Written by Will Arbery
Directed by Ensemble Member dado
Previews: October 29 – November 7, 2026
Regular Run: November 12 – December 6, 2026
No performance November 26 (Thanksgiving)
Chicago Premiere
It’s nearing midnight in Wyoming, where four recent graduates have gathered to celebrate their beloved mentor and professor Gina, newly inducted as president of their tiny Catholic liberal arts college. The reunion spirals into spiritual chaos, clashing generational politics, and a vicious fight to be understood. Offering grace and disarming clarity, this haunting play speaks to the torn heart of a country at war with itself.
You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!
Written by Keiko Green
Directed by Terry Guest
Featuring Ensemble Members dado and Sadieh Rifai
Previews: February 4 – 13, 2027
Regular Run: February 18 – March 14, 2027
Chicago Premiere
Since Greg’s terminal diagnosis, he’s felt a deep connection to the Earth—and to save himself, he’ll need to save the planet. Viv desperately wants to savor every last minute with her husband. Meanwhile M, our emcee, searches desperately to find meaning in the chaos of their final year with Dad. A heartfelt family story and joyful theatrical event, as magical as the world itself.
Rosmersholm
Written by Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by Ensemble Member Steve Haggard & Shade Murray
Directed by Ensemble Member Shade Murray
Featuring Ensemble Members Sherman Edwards, Steve Haggard, Travis A. Knight, and Natalie West
Previews: May 6 – 15, 2027
Regular Run: May 20 – June 13, 2027
World Premiere Adaptation
A reimagining of Ibsen’s masterpiece in which hard truths, wild rumors and the supernatural slowly become indistinguishable from one another.
Former pastor John Rosmer is wrestling with the cryptic circumstances of his wife’s death, a fractured political climate fueled by toxic rumors churned by a tabloid press, and his own reckoning with God. By his side is the idealistic, young graduate student Rebecca West, who shall prove to be either his salvation or his mortal undoing…And we haven’t even gotten to all the ghosts.
Limited Return Engagement Add-On:
Birds of North America Return Engagement
Written by Anna Ouyang Moench
Directed by Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald
Featuring Ensemble Member John Judd and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason
The hit production soars back for a limited return engagement!
★★★★ “Gorgeous” – Chicago Tribune
★★★1/2 “Complex and resonant…a gripping generational dialogue” – Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ
September 10 – October 4, 2026
This return production is only available as an add-on to 2026-2027 Season Subscriptions at this time. CLICK HERE to subscribe now and add the show at a discounted rate.
Single tickets will be available to the public starting August 4, 2026.
John and his daughter Caitlyn are birders. As they scan the skies over their backyard in suburban Maryland looking for elusive birds, years go by. Relationships begin and end. Children grow up and parents age. The climate and the world change in small and vast ways. BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA takes a close look at the relationship of a father and daughter over the course of a decade as they struggle to understand the parts of one another that defy understanding.
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