City Lit Theater has announced programming for the 2026-27 season, with a lineup that honors its long traditions of adapting literary works for the stage, providing a platform for emerging playwrights, and revisiting classic plays. The four-play season will include one world premiere adaptation, two world premieres of new plays, and a new staging of August Wilson’s KING HEDLEY II. Of the 46th Season, Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor says, “City Lit is thrilled to add to its extensive history of supporting local artistic voices and developing new worlds for the stage. I’m proud to share a season of wide-ranging settings and disparate perspectives, focused on the struggle for progress and the richness of our shared humanity.”
City Lit will open the season with Pracht’s World Premiere adaptation of the classic Western novel, SHANE. Pracht, a Jeff Award-winning actor for his principal role in REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT with The Artistic Home, is one of City Lit’s first class of Artistic Associates. His FOUR-COLOR TRILOGY of plays about the comic book industry was produced by City Lit in three successive years from 2022-2024. Pracht will direct his adaptation of SHANE, which will open to the press on Saturday, August 29 at 7:30 pm, following previews from August 21. It will play through Sunday, October 4.
For its second production of the season, City Lit will revisit the same backyard in Pittsburgh’s Hill District seen in August Wilson’s SEVEN GUITARS (for which the company won the 2024 Jeff Award for Best Production of a Play) when they stage Wilson’s KING HEDLEY II. Set 37 years after the action of SEVEN GUITARS, KING HEDLEY II explores the lives of the children and neighbors of the characters introduced in the earlier play. City Lit’s KING HEDLEY II will be directed by City Lit Artistic Associate Manny Buckley, who earned a Jeff Award nomination for his direction of City Lit’s SEVEN GUITARS. KING HEDLEY II will open to the press on Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 pm, following previews from October 16. It will play through Sunday, November 29.
The season will continue in 2027 with the world premiere of SHADOWS OF TRUTH, by Chicago actor and playwright Jillian Leff, a company member with Babes with Blades. SHADOWS OF TRUTH is inspired by Lillian Hellman’s play THE CHILDREN’S HOUR, taking that play’s premise of two teachers facing an allegation of a Lesbian relationship between the two of them and viewing it through a contemporary lens. SHADOWS OF TRUTH will be directed by actor/director Morgan Manasa, a Babes with Blades company member whose recent directing credits include THE S PARADOX for Babes with Blades and JANE: ABORTION AND THE UNDERGROUND for Idle Muse Theatre. SHADOWS OF TRUTH will open to the press on Saturday, March 6, 2027, at 7:30 pm, following previews from February 26 and playing through April 11, 2027.
For its season closer, City Lit will present the World Premiere of DISILLUSIONED, by Chicagoan Brynne Frauenhoffer, whose play PRO-AM was produced in 2024 by First Floor Theatre and won the Jeff Award for New Work. City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor will direct this story of two female magicians, who met as teenagers and reconnect in their thirties after a long estrangement. DISILLUSIONED is a heart-warming story of ambition, pursuit of passion, and—dare we say it? —the magic of friendship. DISILLUSIONED was developed through the Goodman Theatre’s New Stages Residency. It will open to the press on Saturday, May 8, 2027, at 7:30 pm, following previews from April 30, and playing through June 13, 2027.
All performances will be at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago, on the second floor of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church. City Lit Season 46 subscriptions are available at $112.00, good for all performances, or $88.00 for preview performances. Subscriptions may be ordered online at www.citylit.org or purchased over the phone by calling 773-293-3682. Single tickets for the Season 46 are priced at $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances and will be on sale soon. Senior prices are $5 off the applicable ticket prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances.
LISTING INFORMATION
CITY LIT THEATER'S 2026-27 SEASON:
SHANE
Based on the novel by Jack Schaefer
Adapted and directed by Artistic Associate Mark Pracht
World Premiere Adaptation of the classic Western.
August 21 - October 4, 2026
Previews August 21 - 28, 2026
Press Opening August 29, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Regular run August 29 - October 4, 2026
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Tickets $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances. Seniors $5.00 off all prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances. Groups are $30 per person. Prices include all fees and taxes.
Tickets available online at www.citylit.org or by phone at 773-293-3682.
All performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.
In this World Premiere Adaptation of the classic western, Shane, a mysterious stranger, shows up at the Starrett homestead in the Wyoming Territory in 1889. Though he seems to be hiding a dangerous past, he’s offered a job as a farm hand and settles in with the Starretts: Joe, his wife Marian, and his son Bob, our narrator. When Joe refuses to sell his land to open range rancher Fletcher, it sets up a deadly showdown that alters the fates of everyone involved.
KING HEDLEY II
by August Wilson
Directed by Artistic Associate Manny Buckley
25th Anniversary of the Broadway Production
October 16 - November 29, 2026
Previews October 16 - 23
Press Opening Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 pm
Regular run October 24 - November 29, 2026
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Tickets $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances. Seniors $5.00 off all prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances. Groups are $30 per person Prices include all fees and taxes.
Tickets available online at www.citylit.org or by phone at 773-293-3682.
All performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.
Revisiting characters established in August Wilson’s SEVEN GUITARS, this play returns to Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1985. King Hedley, a man recently released from prison, attempts to rebuild his life by selling stolen refrigerators so he can buy a video store. Despite decades of generational trauma, can King break free from the crippling socio-economic struggles that have held him down? Amid the realities of rampant crime and drug use in the neighborhood community, he tries to carve out his own destiny.
SHADOWS OF TRUTH
by Jillian Leff
Directed by Morgan Manasa
World Premiere Play, inspired by the play THE CHILDREN’S HOUR by Lillian Hellman.
February 26 - April 11, 2027
Previews February 26 – March 5. 2027
Press Opening Saturday, March 6 at 7:30 pm
Regular run March 6 – April 11, 2027
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Tickets $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances. Seniors $5.00 off all prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances. Groups are $30 per person including all fees and taxes.
Tickets available online at www.citylit.org or by phone at 773-293-3682.
All performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.
After graduating from college in Chicago, Katie and Evey move back south to found a Christian day school for girls in their conservative hometown. After a troubled student alleges the women are in a sexual relationship, the young girl’s mother accuses the women publicly of homosexuality and tries to bring the school to ruin.
DISILLUSIONED
by Brynne Frauenhoffer
Directed by Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor
World Premiere Play, developed through Goodman Theatre’s New Stages Residency.
April 30 - June 13, 2027
Previews April 30 – May 7, 2027
Press Opening Saturday, May 8, 2027
Regular run May 8 – June 13, 2027
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Tickets $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances. Seniors $5.00 off all prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances. Groups are $30 per person. Prices include all fees and taxes.
Tickets available online at www.citylit.org or by phone at 773-293-3682.
All performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.
Jordan and Kelsey meet as teenagers at Magic Camp and become inseparable friends, but a moment of betrayal leads to a decades-long falling out. Now in their 30s, with Jordan an established, but struggling magician, and Kelsey a recent divorcee, they reunite in ways both tender and explosive. When the stakes are at their highest, this time-hopping, queer romance asks if old wounds can be healed with the help of a little Chicago stage magic?
BIOS
Jack Warner Schaefer (Author of the novel SHANE) was an American journalist and author, best known for writing the classic 1949 Western novel SHANE. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he worked as a reporter and editor before publishing his fiction debut. Despite never living in the West during his youth, his works are celebrated for their authentic, character-driven portrayals. His other notable novels included THE CANYON (1953), COMPANY OF COWARDS (1957), MONTE WALSH (1963), and STUBBY PRINGLE'S CHRISTMAS (1964).
Mark Pracht (Adapter and Director, SHANE) was raised near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and graduated from the University of Nebraska, Kearney. He has proudly worked in the Chicago theater community for over 20 years, mainly as an actor. At City Lit he has appeared as The Beast in GLASSHEART, Milt Shanks in THE COPPERHEAD, and The Creature in FRANKENSTEIN, among others. Elsewhere, he was Lanfield in BLIZZARD ’67 at 16th Street Theatre (2017 Equity Jeff Nomination for Best Ensemble), and “Mountain” McClintock in REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHTat The Artistic Home, for which he received a 2019 Non-Equity Jeff Award for Performance in a Principal Role.Most recently, you may have seen his Jeff Award nominated performance as John Proctor in THE CRUCIBLE at Invictus Theatre. He served as the Artistic Director of Brown Couch Theatre Company, where he directed Diana Son’s STOP KISS. His short plays have been produced by Chicago companies like Strangeloop Theatre, and his full length play NEON was presented by the Shelterbelt Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska. From 2022-2024, City Lit produced his “Four Color Trilogy” of plays about the history of the comic book industry — THE MARK OF KANE, THE INNOCENCE OF SEDUCTION, and THE HOUSE OF IDEAS (Jeff Nomination – New Work).
August Wilson (Playwright, KING HEDLEY II) was a renowned American playwright whose works are celebrated for their exploration of the African American experience throughout the 20th Century. Born Frederick August Kittel Jr. on April 27, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wilson grew up in the Hill District, a predominantly Black neighborhood that would later serve as the backdrop for nine of the ten plays referred to as the "Pittsburgh Cycle" or the "Century Cycle," each set in a different decade of the 20th century and exploring various aspects of the African American experience.
Wilson's first major play, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, premiered at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference in 1978 and was the only play of the “Pittsburgh Cycle” not to be set in Pittsburgh. Some of Wilson's most notable works include FENCES (1985), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, and THE PIANO LESSON (1987), which also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His plays are celebrated for their richly drawn characters, poetic language, and profound exploration of themes such as family, identity, and the legacy of slavery.
Manny Buckley (he/him, director KING HEDLEY II) is a Chicago based director, actor and writer. Manny last directed August Wilson’s SEVEN GUITARS at City Lit, which won the Jeff Award for Best Production – Play. Earlier, he directed DRIVING MISS DAISY at Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, where he also directed THE BAD SEED. Other directing credits include KINGDOM, an audio play (Broken Nose Theatre); UHURU, CANE, ORIGIN STORY, MOTHER OF PEARL, and THE REAPERS ON WOODBROOK AVENUE (BLUE INK FESTIVAL), multiple short plays in Playground Chicago's MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND, RIPPED: THE LIVING NEWSPAPER, #ENOUGH (PLAYS TO END GUN VIOLENCE) and THE ONE MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL. As an actor, he appeared in City Lit's world premiere COMRADES MINE; his other acting credits include work with Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Court, Victory Gardens, Chicago Dramatists, Next Theater, House Theatre, Shattered Globe Theater, Cincinnati Children's Theatre and Studio Theatre. Manny has numerous credits with American Blues Theater, where he is an ensemble member and turned in his critically acclaimed, award-winning solo performance in LOOKING OVER THE PRESIDENT’S SHOULDER. Film and TV credits: PROVEN INNOCENT, CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO PD, and commercials and industrial films for the US Navy, Northwestern University and THE ONION. He has received nominations for the Joseph Jefferson Award, the Helen Hayes Award and the 3Arts Award; he is the recipient of both a Black Theater Alliance Award and Black Excellence Award. Mr Buckley was last seen in THE RECLAMATION OF MADISON HEMINGS at American Blues Theater.
Jillian Leff (Playwright, SHADOWS OF TRUTH) is a Chicago based playwright, actor, and stage combat nerd. Her full-length plays MISSED OPPORTUNITIES, SMALL WORLD (co-written with Joe Lino), (NON)FICTION, THE S PARADOX, and THE MARK have had productions in Chicago and Los Angeles, with SMALL WORLD receiving a Jeff Award Nomination for New Work for its Chicago world premiere. Additionally, THE S PARADOX is a winner of Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s Joining Sword and Pen Competition, THE MARK is a Henley Rose Playwright Competition for Women Finalist. As an actor, she has worked around the city with companies such as Idle Muse Theatre Co. (JANE: ABORTION AND THE UNDERGROUND – Jeff Nomination for Ensemble – Play), Strawdog Theatre (HERSHEL AND THE HANUKKAH GOBLINS), Stage Left Theatre (THE DISTRIKT OF LAKE MICHIGUN), Babes With Blades (RICHARD III, WOMEN OF 4G, THE GOOD FIGHT), Factory Theater (LAST NIGHT IN KARAOKE TOWN), Midsommer Flight (CYMBELINE, TWELFTH NIGHT), Campfire Rep (FLUSH), and Runaways Lab Theater (GODDAMN GENIUSES). She has a BFA in Acting from Ball State University, is an Advanced Actor Combatant with The Society of American Fight Directors and is an Ensemble Member and Literary Manager of BWBTC. Find her on the internet @jilleleff.
Morgan Manasa (she/her, Director, SHADOWS OF TRUTH), a graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts and Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University, has been a theatremaker in Chicago for the past 25 years. Morgan is a company member at Babes With Blades Theatre Company where she’s been seen in their productions of HENRY V (Fluellen) and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Peter Quince). Morgan made her main stage directorial debut with Arthur M. Jolly’s THE LADY DEMANDS SATISFACTION (Jeff Recommended) with BWBTC. Other credits include IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY), THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE and JANE: ABORTION AND THE UNDERGROUND (Jeff Recommended) with Idle Muse Theatre Ensemble, WHY DOGS DON’T TALK with First Folio and the world premiere of THE S PARADOX with BWBTC. Thank you for supporting live theatre! www.morganmanasa.com
Brynne Frauenhoffer (Playwright, DISILLUSIONED) is a Chicago-based playwright. Past productions of her work include PRO-AM (First Floor Theater, 2025, winner of the Jeff Award for New Work; The Kilroy List, 2020), and BURY ME (Dandelion Theatre, 2019). DISILLUSIONED was developed through Goodman Theatre’s New Stages Residency in 2023. Other workshops and readings include UPLINE (Avalanche Theatre), SYNCHCRONICITY (Salt Lake Acting Company; 2018 Semi-Finalist for the O’Neill Center’s National Playwrights Conference), VAPE NAYSH (First Floor Theater), CHURCH HURT (Black Cat Theatre), and PIZZA HIT HEARTBREAKER (Commission Theatre Company). She is a proud company member with First Floor Theatre. www.brynnefrau.com.
Brian Pastor (they/them, Executive Artistic Director, Director DISILLUSIONED) is a trans/non-binary director, actor, playwright, and Jeff Award-winning producer (AUGUST WILSON’S SEVEN GUITARS), and the Executive Artistic Director of City Lit Theater. They were featured in Newcity Magazine’s Players 50 for 2026 in the category of “Rising Stars and Storefront Stalwarts.” Brian previously spent ten and a half years on staff at City Lit, including nine as Managing Director. From 2019 to 2024, Brian served as City Lit’s Resident Director, where they directed THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, ARMS AND THE MAN, J.B., and their own acclaimed adaptation of Robert Kennedy’s THIRTEEN DAYS. Most recently, Brian directed the World Premiere of SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CHIRSTMAS CLOWNS, Bo List’s R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) and the Chicago Premiere of Reina Hardy's GLASSHEART. Brian is a founder and Emeritus Artistic Director of Chicago’s Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where they directed THE LION IN WINTER, THE WINTER’S TALE, GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE, HENRY V and THE DARK SIDE OF THE BARD. Brian also directed the world premiere of THE BLACK KNIGHT by Angeli Primlani, the inaugural show for Lifeboat Productions. As an actor, Brian has worked with Strawdog, Raven, WildClaw, Promethean, Accomplice, and City Lit, among others. Brian is the former Executive Director of both Sideshow Theatre and Raven Theatre. They also served as a board and company member of The Mime Company and as a founding company member of Chicago dell’Arte. A Pittsburgh native, Brian has called Chicago home since their graduation from Northwestern University in 2003.
ABOUT CITY LIT THEATER COMPANY:
City Lit is the eighth oldest continuously operating theatre company in Chicago, behind only Goodman, Court, Northlight, Oak Park Festival, Black Ensemble Theatre, Steppenwolf, and Pegasus theatres. It was founded in 1979 with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill, David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt. For its current season, it's 45th, it operates with a budget slightly over $250,000. It was the first theatre in the nation devoted to stage adaptations of literary material. There were so few theatres in Chicago at the time of its founding that at City Lit’s launch event, the founders were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams.
For four decades and counting, City Lit has explored fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoirs, songs, essays and drama in performance. A theatre that specializes in literary work communicates a commitment to certain civilizing influences—tradition imaginatively explored, a life of the mind, trust in an audience’s intelligence—that not every cultural outlet shares.
City Lit is located in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. Its work is supported in part by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events CityArts program. An Illinois not-for-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organization, City Lit keeps ticket prices below the actual cost of producing plays and depends on the support of those who share its belief in the beauty and power of the spoken written word.