The Goodman announces a change in directors for its Centennial 25/26 Season’s summer 2026 musical. Marc Bruni (Broadway’s The Great Gatsby and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) will helm the world premiere of Iceboy! Or The Completely Untrue Story of How Eugene O’Neill Came to Write The Iceman Cometh, featuring music by Mark Hollman, lyrics by Mark Hollman and Jay Reiss and book by Erin Quinn Purcell and Jay Reiss—the Tony Award-winning creators behind Urinetown (Hollmann, with Greg Kotis) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Reiss, with Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn). Bruni, who returns to Chicago following his world-premiere production of Billie Jean (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), replaces previously announced director Kathleen Marshall due to scheduling reasons. Iceboy! Or The Completely Untrue Story of How Eugene O’Neill Came to Write The Iceman Cometh appears in the 856-seat Albert Theatre June 9 – July 19, 2026 (opening night is June 22). Tickets are available now for Groups and by Goodman Membership; call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org/100. Individual tickets will go on sale Friday, February 27. Cast and creative team will be announced in the new year. The Goodman is grateful for the support of Edgerton Foundation (New Play Award), Mayer Brown (Lead Corporate Sponsor) and Athletico (Physical Therapy Provider).
"After spending last summer on Navy Pier, I can't wait to return to Chicago this year and collaborate with the incomparable Megan Mullally in sharing this hilarious brand new musical with O'Neill-savvy Goodman audiences,” said Marc Bruni, whose other Chicago directing credits include The Sound of Music (Lyric Opera), Trevor (Writers Theatre) and Old Jews Telling Jokes (Royal George).
It’s a new musical comedy that will melt your heart! In New York City, 1938, Broadway’s brightest star, Vera Vimm (Megan Mullally), is at the top of her game. But when she adopts a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal discovered frozen in the Arctic, the spotlight begins to shift. As Iceboy thaws, he unexpectedly becomes a theatrical sensation, inspiring the “father of the American drama” and challenging his legendary mother for center stage. It’s All About Eve...if only Eve was a caveman.
Marc Bruni directed The Great Gatsby (Broadway, West End, Korea) as well as the Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award-winning Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Broadway, West End, US and UK Tours, and in Australia- Helpmann Award Best Director). Other credits include Bull Durham (Paper Mill), A Little Night Music (Geffen Hall), Trevor: The Musical (Stage 42, Disney+), Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, How to Succeed in Business..., 50 Years of Broadway (Kennedy Center), and Hey, Look Me Over!, Paint Your Wagon, Pipe Dream and Fanny (City Center Encores!), Tale of Despereaux (Old Globe, Berkeley), Love All (La Jolla), The Explorers Club (MTC), Ordinary Days (Roundabout), 9 shows for the St. Louis MUNY.
ABOUT THE GOODMAN
Since 1925, The Goodman has been more than a stage. A theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community, it’s where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves.
Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection and change through new plays, reimagined classics and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” In addition, the theater frequently serves as a production partner—with national and international companies to Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify theatrical voices.
But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time, and counts as its greatest legacy the community it’s built. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime; from Theater for the Very Young (plays designed for ages 0-5) to the long-running annual A Christmas Carol, which has introduced new generations to theater over five decades, The Goodman is committed to being an asset for all of Chicago. Education and Engagement programs led by Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot and housed in the Alice Rapoport Center use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging. Each year, these programs reach thousands of people (85% from underserved communities) as well as educators, artists and lifelong learners across the city.
The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.
The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago’s early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today. In 2000, through the commitment of Mr. Goodman’s descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—The Goodman opened the doors to its current home in the heart of the Loop.
Marsha Cruzan is Chair of the Goodman Theatre Board of Trustees; Diane Landgren is Women’s Board President; and Kelli Garcia is president of the Scenemakers Board for Young Professionals.