Lookingglass Theatre Company today unveils its highly anticipated 2026/2027 season. The upcoming lineup features two signature Lookingglass world premieres—a captivating new adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' The Yearling by Ensemble Member and Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman and Prince Hal, an arresting new play by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks about Mayor Harold Washington, alongside Lookingglass’s special presentation of the high-profile production of Kowalski, with its sights firmly set on Broadway.
Subscriptions and memberships are now available at www.lookingglasstheatre.org and 312.337.0665.
The season kicks off this fall with the production of Gregg Ostrin’s Kowalski, September 15 – October 25, 2026, directed by Colin Hanlon. The gripping play uncovers the true story of the night Marlon Brando hitchhiked to Tennessee Williams' Cape Cod home to audition for A Streetcar Named Desire, blurring the lines between art and reality as the evening unfolds. The production stars the Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, Chicago native Johnny Galecki. The full cast will be announced soon.
The momentum continues with a stunning new adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning classic novel The Yearling, May 27 – July 11, 2027, adapted and directed by Ensemble Member and Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman. The Yearling is an unflinching and heartbreaking story about a rural boy, his family, and a fawn the boy befriends. A family-friendly show, this moving journey about hunger, hardship, and love will use the beauty and danger of the natural world to carve its path to audiences’ hearts.
Closing out the mainstage lineup is the World Premiere of Prince Hal, written and directed by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks. This powerful production traces the journey of Harold Washington, a pioneering politician, and lawyer who finds himself a reluctant candidate answering the call to become Chicago's first Black mayor. Once the nomination is accepted, the storied politician doesn’t rely on the usual political stomping grounds for votes. Instead, he makes deep connections with everyday Chicagoans including an unlikely group of regulars at a local West Side tavern.
From the writer/director of Lookingglass’ hit production of Her Honor, Jane Byrne, Prince Hal is the second in a planned trilogy about Chicago mayors and will premiere in late summer 2027.
Artistic Director Kasey Foster comments, "These are stories that have shaped our culture, our city, and our imaginations, and each one offers an opportunity to discover something new. That's the Lookingglass approach: honoring what endures while bringing it to life with the imagination, invention, and sense of wonder that define our work."
Membership and Subscription Series
Subscription and Memberships are available now for purchase at lookingglasstheatre.org or by phone at 312.337.0665. The Lookingglass box office is located at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E Pearson St at Michigan Ave.
Subscribers unlock special discounted tickets, priority seating, and a range of additional benefits. Lookingglass three show Subscription Series pricing starts at $224.00.
Lookingglass Memberships offer exclusive perks, including access to Premium Center Seats, VIP ticketing, priority access to limited-run experiences, invitations to exclusive rehearsal events as well as many other benefits.
Pricing and details of benefits for both Members and Subscribers can be found at https://lookingglasstheatre.org/join-us/membership/.
About Lookingglass Theatre Company
Founded in 1988 by graduates of Northwestern University, Lookingglass Theatre Company is a nationwide leader in the creation and presentation of new, cutting-edge theatrical works and in sharing its ensemble-based theatrical techniques with Chicago-area students, teachers and organizations through Education and Community Programs. Guided by an artistic vision centered on the core values of collaboration, transformation and invention, Lookingglass seeks to capture audiences’ imaginations leaving them changed, charged and empowered.
Recipient of the 2011 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Lookingglass has built a national reputation for artistic excellence and ensemble-based theatrical innovation. Notable world premieres include Mary Zimmerman’s Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses and The Odyssey, J. Nicole Brooks' Her Honor Jane Byrne, David Schwimmer’s adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Studs Terkel’s Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession, Matthew C. Yee's Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon, Heidi Stillman’s Cascabel, created in collaboration with renowned Chef Rick Bayless, David Catlin’s Moby Dick and Lookingglass Alice, which was captured by HMS Media and reached 1.6 million PBS viewers. Looking Alice is now available to more than four million students worldwide through Digital Theatre+. Work created by Lookingglass artists has been produced in Australia, Europe, and dozens of cities throughout the United States.