City Lit Theater’s 45th season will open in July with Stephen Adly Guirgis’s JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN, an explosive contemporary drama about a young Latino charged with murder who is incarcerated in New York City’s infamous Riker’s Island prison. The play helped to establish Guirgis as one of the current century’s leading American dramatists and in 2018, THE NEW YORK TIMES ranked it as the 14th best American play of the previous 25 years. Chicago-based director and actor Esteban Andres Cruz (they/them), who won a Jeff Award in 2009 for their portrayal of the play’s leading character Angel Cruz, is directing. JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN will open to the press on Saturday, August 2 at 7:30 pm, following previews from July 25, and playing through September 7.
For this City Lit production, the leading role of Angel will be played by 2024 University of Michigan graduate Lenin Izquierdo, who in his first year in Chicago has performed with the Goodman (NEW WORKS FEST), understudied at Chicago Shakespeare (SHORT SHAKESPEARE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM) and appeared on CHICAGO FIRE. Maria Stephens has been cast as Angel’s public defender, Mary Jane Hanrahan. Stephens was a member of the Jeff award-winning ensemble of RIGHT NOW in 2023 at Facility Theatre, for which she earned an individual Jeff nomination for performer in a supporting role. Bradford Stevens, seen recently in THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER at Raven Theatre, will appear as Lucius Jenkins, a charismatic serial killer who has found religion in prison. Chicago storefront theater veteran Manny Tamayo, who has performed with such companies as The Hypocrites, Stage Left and Lifeline Theatre, will play the ruthless Rikers correction officer Valdez. Michael Dailey, a company member with Strawdog Theatre, has been cast as corrections officer D’Amico.
Top Row L-R: Lenin Izquierdo, Maria Stephens, Bradford Stevens.
Lower Row L-R: Manny Tamayo, Michael Dailey.
Director Cruz has a long history with playwright Guirgis, including originating the role of Venus Ramirez in Guirgis’s HALFWAY BITCHES GO STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN at Atlantic Theatre Company in New York City. Cruz has been collaborating with Guirgis on new plays since 2018 and is currently working on a stage adaptation of the Warner Brothers / Al Pacino film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Cruz’s production team for JESUS HOPPED THE’A’ TRAIN will include Tianxuan Chen (Scenic Design), Josiah Croegaert (Lighting Design), Jazmin Aurora Medina (Costume Design), Warren Levon (Sound Design), Andres Fiz (Projection Design), and Meghann Tabor (Assistant Director). Charlotte Davies will serve as stage manager.
JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN premiered Off-Broadway at the East 13th Street Theatre in New York City on November 29, 2000, in a production by LAByrinth Theater Company, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Following its New York debut, the play was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August 2001 and later staged at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2002, where it was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2003. In 2017, the play returned to New York City as part of playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis' residency at Signature Theatre Company. Jesse Green of THE NEW YORK TIMES listed that production as one of the best plays of 2017, saying “Where is God — where is good — in the criminal justice system? The questions don’t so much hover over Stephen Adly Guirgis’s play as yank at it with gale force.”
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, with an additional performance on Monday, August 25 at 7:30 pm. Single tickets for JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN and City Lit’s other individual Season 45 productions are priced at $30 for previews and $38 for regular performances.. Senior prices are $5.00 off regular prices. Students and military are $15.00 for all performances. City Lit Season 45 subscriptions are available at $110.00, good for all performances in the regular season, or $85, good for preview performances only. The holiday production SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CHRISTMAS CLOWNS may be added to subscriptions for an additional $20 per subscriber. Individual show tickets and subscriptions may be ordered online at www.citylit.org or purchased over the phone by calling 773-293-3682.
LISTING INFORMATION
JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN
By Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Esteban Andres Cruz
July 25 - September 7, 2025
Previews: July 25 - August 1
Press Opening: Saturday, August 2 at 7:30 pm
Regular Run: August 2 -September 7
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Monday, August 25, at 7:30 pm
Tickets $30 for previews and $38 for regular performances. Senior prices $5.00 off regular prices. Students and military are $15.00 for all performances.
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.
A cage-rattling prison drama from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY) that boldly examines faith, dignity, and our system of justice. Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting cult leader Reverend Kim. When the Reverend dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. His only companions at Rikers Island are Lucius Jenkins, a serial killer turned born-again Christian, and Valdez, a sadistic corrections officer.
BIOS
Stephen Adly Guirgis (Playwright, JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN) Stephen Adly Guirgis is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City, attending school in Harlem. Guirgis studied at the University of Albany, SUNY, graduating in 1992. Some of his most famous works include JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN (2000), THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT (2005), and BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY (2015) for which he won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Guirgis has had his plays be produced both off and on Broadway as well as in the UK. He is also a member and the former co-artistic director of the New York City LAByrinth Theatre Company.
Esteban Andres Cruz (they/them, Director, JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN). Born in Berwyn and raised in Cicero, Esteban is an ensemble member with A Red Orchid Theater, where they will be seen in SIX MEN DRESSED LIKE JOSEPH STALIN this Spring. Esteban has worked as an actor on many stages in Chicago (Steppenwolf, Writers Theater, Victory Gardens), regionally (La Jolla Playhouse, St Louis Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Miami New Drama) and with some great directors like David Cromer, Neil Pepe, Chay Yew, Will Davis and John Ortiz. Off Broadway; HALFWAY BITCHES GO STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Drama Desk Award Nomination), the musical CORNELIA STREET by Tony winner Simon Stephens and the Yale Drama Prize winner BATHHOUSE.PPTx by Jesus I Valles, all three world premieres with Esteban originating the roles. They have been collaborating with Guirgis on new plays since 2018, currently on a stage adaptation of the Warner Brothers / Al Pacino film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. This Spring, Esteban will be making their Lincoln Center debut in a musical about the Greensboro Massacre called THE POTLUCK. Select Film: SPA NIGHT (Cassavetes Award), RATTLED, VALLEY OF BONES, A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D XMAS SELECT TV: SOUTH SIDE, EASY, CHICAGO FIRE, IDDIOTSITTER, THE BRIDGE, YOU’RE THE WORST, AWKWARD. Esteban is a Jeff Award winner for their portrayal of Angel Cruz in JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN, the 2018 Theatre Communications Group’s prestigious Fox Fellow Award recipient and also won an After Dark Award for Choreography. Esteban founded the Queer Writers Artistic Collectivé in Chicago and is a member of the Latinx Playwrights Circle in NYC.
Brian Pastor (they/them, Executive Artistic Director) Brian Pastor 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. 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 Bo Lists 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, and GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE (all Broadway World Award Nominated- Best Director), as well as 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 Sideshow Theatre and the former Executive Director of 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, its 44th , it operates with a budget slightly over $200,000. 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.