One of the joys of writing about theatre in Chicago is getting to explore different neighborhoods in this city of nearly 2.7 million people. Chicago’s 77 municipally designated community areas—many of which are subdivided into smaller, unofficial neighborhoods—reflect a great diversity of cultures, architectural styles, cuisines, and recreational options.
As the city prepares to welcome theatre practitioners from across the country for TCG’s 33rd National Conference, presented in association with the League of Chicago Theatres June 20-22, American Theatre has created this neighborhood guide. With a mix of input from professionals across the city and suburbs as well as my own tips as a local critic, this guide offers an introductory rundown of the city’s extensive theatre scene alongside other food and entertainment options for those venturing around Chicago during the sprawling three-day conference.
The Loop & Near North
Get to know the theatres
Stroll through Chicago’s downtown—known as the Loop due to the El trains that circle it—and you’ll glimpse the marquees of historic theatres such as the Auditorium (opened in 1889), CIBC (1906), James M. Nederlander (1926), and Cadillac Palace (1926). At these venues, as well as the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, Broadway in Chicago presents pre-Broadway productions, national tours, and the occasional long-running show such as Hamilton or Wicked.
Also in the Loop is the Goodman Theatre, which will host conference programming on June 20. Chicago’s oldest and largest not-for-profit theatre, the Goodman is known for premiering works by playwrights such as Rebecca Gilman, David Mamet, August Wilson, and Mary Zimmerman. Its 2023 revival of The Who’s Tommy opened on Broadway in March 2024.
Keep going north and you’ll find the host venue for the conference’s opening plenary, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a three-venue complex with a stunning skyline view from its location on Navy Pier, the Midwest’s most visited tourist attraction. Further north still is the Second City comedy club, a staple of the Old Town neighborhood, along with A Red Orchid Theatre, a scrappy storefront company that recently welcomed back co-founding ensemble member Michael Shannon to star in the world premiere of Levi Holloway’s Turret. The Lincoln Park neighborhood is home to Steppenwolf Theatre, the company that has become the epitome of Chicago’s ensemble ethos since it was founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise. Steppenwolf will host a number of conference sessions on Friday, June 21.
Get to know the neighborhoods
“I like to think that the neighborhood around Steppenwolf is an eclectic collision of energizing city and timeless neighborhood,” said Morgan Eklund, rental and events manager at Steppenwolf. “It feels very urban, but at the same time there are these beautiful, shaded neighborhood streets that sprawl out from major intersections.”
Nearby attractions include the Chicago History Museum, improv at iO Theater, Green City Market, Lincoln Park Zoo, and live music at the Salt Shed. For dining, Eklund recommends the Italian restaurant Vinci: “The place is warm and rustic and has this very classic old Chicago vibe. Their tiramisu is also pure bliss.” Lauren Katz, Steppenwolf’s education and engagement producer, names Pasta Palazzo and Cedar Palace as personal favorites.
The Loop also boasts a wealth of attractions for those interested in art forms beyond theatre, such as the American Writers Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fine Arts Building, Grant Park Music Festival, Harold Washington Library Center, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Joffrey Ballet, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Nearby independent bookstores include after-words, Exile in Bookville, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, and Semicolon Books.
Dining options in the Loop are equally wide-ranging. Revival Food Hall is a great pick on weekdays, while the 126-year-old Berghoff offers a taste of Chicago history. For a literal hidden gem, try Oasis Cafe, a Mediterranean restaurant tucked away in the back of a store on Wabash Avenue’s Jewelers Row. Other affordable but tasty dine-in restaurants include Nando’s and Flat Top Grill. Eleven City Diner and Wildberry Café have delicious brunch food, but be prepared to wait for a table.
South Side
Get to know the theatres
Chicago’s South Side is home to storied institutions and some of the city’s newest theatres. Nestled on the University of Chicago’s picturesque Hyde Park campus, Court Theatre is best known for its interpretations of classic texts. Founded in 1955, it became the sixth Chicago theatre to win the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2022. Court will host a number of conference sessions on Sat., June 22, including a Theatre Futures panel discussion looking at a brighter future for theatre, hosted by American Theatre.
Currently based just a few blocks away from Court, Definition Theatre was founded in 2012 by Tyrone Phillips and Julian Parker, graduates of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Modeled on the ensemble approach of Chicago’s storefront theatres, Definition “celebrates stories created with, inspired by, and intended for people and communities of color,” according to its website. The company is currently building a permanent theatre and community center in the neighborhood of Woodlawn, just south of Hyde Park.
Even newer to the area is Perceptions Theatre, founded in 2020 by artistic director Myesha-Tiara and executive director Jerluane “Jae” Jenkins. Located in the South Shore neighborhood, Perceptions states that its mission is “to strengthen the accessibility of theatre to the African American/Black communities of South Shore and to be an economic and artistic resource for BIPOC artists.” In 2023, Chicago magazine named Perceptions the “Best Storefront Theater on a Mission.”
Get to know the neighborhoods
“Hyde Park, like most of the neighborhoods in Chicago, is a small town,” said Gabrielle Randle-Bent, associate artistic director at Court Theatre. “It is a college town, and it is the most alive place I have ever lived.”
For dining in the neighborhood, she recommends Virtue Restaurant & Bar (“the go to”), Roux (“an amazing brunch spot”), Rajun Cajun, and Café 53 (“staples”). Her favorite coffee shop is Carver 47 in North Kenwood.
Randle-Bent enjoys shopping at the Silver Room and spending time at Promontory Point, a peninsula that extends into Lake Michigan and was designated a Chicago landmark in 2023. Another of her favorite restaurants is Pearl’s Place in the Bronzeville neighborhood. She also shared that spent Mother’s Day at the Japanese Garden in Jackson Park, and “wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate anywhere else.”
Personally, I look forward to visiting Call & Response the next time I’m in Hyde Park. The Black woman-owned bookstore opened in May 2024 and hosts author talks, book clubs, trivia nights, and children’s story times.
When asked to describe South Shore, Perceptions Theatre artistic director Myesha-Tiara said it is a friendly, walkable neighborhood with a strong sense of community. “You get to experience a lot of the African American culture in the area as well,” she added. She also enjoys South Shore’s proximity to Lake Michigan and the beautiful artwork painted on many buildings.
For dining, Myesha-Tiara recommends Maxwell Street Grill, L&G Family Restaurant, One Stop Jamaica Jerk, and the Retro Grill Stony Island. Two of her favorite coffee shops are Bridgeport Coffeehouse and Robust Coffee Lounge, and her tips for navigating the area are CTA buses and Metra trains.
West Side
Get to know the theatres
Located in the West Loop, Chicago Children’s Theatre has been a family favorite since 2005. With 22 world premieres in its production history, the theatre has gained a national reputation for new work. Also founded in 2005, UrbanTheater Company describes itself as “founded by, led by, and for people of color in order to preserve the Puerto Rican and Humboldt Park community voice.” Another leading Latino company, Aguijón Theater, produces Spanish-language and bilingual works in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. (Visit the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance to learn about the city’s other Latine theatres, some of which are itinerant companies.)
In the Wicker Park neighborhood, the Den Theatre, home to a handful of conference sessions on Friday, June 21, presents comedy and cabaret on its mainstage while its four black box spaces host productions by resident companies About Face, the Artistic Home, First Floor, and Haven. Just down the road, the 106-year-old Chopin Theatre presents its own Eastern and Central European productions and rents its two stages to companies such as the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Hell in a Handbag Productions, and Kokandy Productions.
North Lawndale is now home to Theatre Y, a former Lincoln Square company that recently relocated to the far west neighborhood. In collaboration with local artists, Theatre Y holds full-length productions, salon-type showcases, and a youth program in its four-story venue. Little Carl, Theatre Y’s original work of puppet theatre about gun violence, has been performed across Chicago and was developed with youth from Chicago’s west side, North Lawndale local Marvin Tate, puppetry artisan Michael Montenegro, and the Firehouse Community Arts Center.
Get to know the neighborhoods
When I have extra time before a show at the Den or the Chopin, I like to stop by Myopic Books to browse its three floors of used books, or sip a cup of tea while surrounded by bookish folks at Volumes Bookcafe. Falafel & Grill is a good pick for a hearty pre-show meal. I haven’t had a chance to try Iron Age Korean Steak House yet, but I regret that fact every time I catch a whiff of its food while walking by.
I reached out to three leaders from UrbanTheater Company—Ivan Vega (co-founder and executive director), Miranda Gonzalez (artistic director), and Tony Bruno (company manager)—for their perspectives on the neighborhood of Humboldt Park.
“Humboldt Park is the true expression of Puerto Rican-ness, best expressed with the concept of magic urbanism,” they wrote. “The community is renowned for its vibrant Puerto Rican history and culture, celebrated through parades, music festivals, delicious food, vivid public art and murals, and cultural landmarks like the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture and the iconic Flags of Steel that mark the entry points to Paseo Boricua. Humboldt Park uniquely integrates cultural symbols, community practices, and traditional values into the very fabric of the neighborhood.”
For dining, they recommend Café Colao, Chucherías Tropical Creations, Janellie’s Kitchen, Papa’s Cache Sabroso, Bianca’s Burgers, Nellie’s Restaurant, La Bruquena, La Sandwichera Café, and Guerrero’s Tacos & Pizza. Other favorite local activities include walking or running in Humboldt Park, visiting La Casita de Don Pedro, and taking a walking tour of the neighborhood’s murals.
Far North & Northwest
Get to know the theatres
In an admittedly arbitrary designation for the sake of consolidation for this guide, the far north theatre scene can be said to begin with the Belmont Theater District, a group of theatres clustered around the Lakeview neighborhood. These include storefront companies such as Remy Bumppo, Shattered Globe, and Theater Wit, the midsize Mercury Theater, and the sci-fi and fantasy-themed Otherworld Theatre.
Further north in Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, and Rogers Park, there is an abundance of small to midsize theatres: Black Ensemble, City Lit, the Edge, the Factory, Lifeline, Raven, Redtwist, Rivendell, and Steep, among others. Recent additions to the area include Bramble Theatre Company’s multi-venue performance center and the Understudy, a theatre-themed bookstore and coffeeshop that presents play readings, author talks, and staged productions. Beyond the city limits, the extensive northern suburbs theatre scene includes Theo Ubique in Evanston, Northshore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Uptown Music Theater in Highland Park, and Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.
A staple of its northwest neighborhood, Albany Park Theater Project develops new works based on true stories of immigrants, Chicago teens, people living in poverty, and others whose voices lack representation onstage. With guidance from an adult artistic team, an ensemble of teens—primarily people of color from immigrant families—stars in these original productions, which often sell out and receive rave reviews.
Get to know the neighborhoods
Albany Park is one of Chicago’s most diverse neighborhoods, home to generations of immigrants from around the world. Maidenwena Alba, Carlos DeSantiago, Nely Gonzalez, and Maggie Popadiak—four staff members at Albany Park Theater Project who also grew up in the company’s youth ensemble—share what makes the neighborhood so special. “One of my favorite things is the diversity of the community and how close everything is,” said DeSantiago. “I can literally walk down the street, and I pass a Mexican restaurant, a Filipino restaurant, and a Middle Eastern restaurant.”
Their favorite local restaurants include Mar Rojo (Mexican seafood), Tikal Chapin (Guatemalan), LD Pho (Vietnamese), La Michoacana (dessert shop with several locations), Lawrence Fish Market (cash-only sushi shop), Lindo Michoacán (Mexican restaurant inside a supermarket), Kabobi (Persian and Mediterranean), Noon O Kabab (Persian), and Salam (Middle Eastern). Popadiak also loves the tamales that two street vendors named Glenda and Raul sell outside of Chicago Produce grocery store. For other things to do in this walkable neighborhood, the APTP staff recommend exploring the various offerings of street vendors and relaxing in the many local parks. Surge Billiards and Bokeh cocktail lounge are also popular attractions.
Writers Theatre executive assistant Chris Sciortino gives his perspective on the northern suburb of Glencoe: “The best part of Glencoe is the small-town, communal energy that you experience while only being a 30-minute train ride from downtown Chicago. There is a culture of care and support within the community that makes it unlike any place I’ve worked before.”
Sciortino recommends Honey Butter Fried Chicken, a new addition to the Glencoe dining scene that “totally stole my heart.” “They have a mac and cheese with buffalo chicken that is to die for,” he says. “Foodstuffs and Hometown are my favorite places to get a lighter meal, coffee, smoothie, or sweet treat. I recommend the Monster Bites at Foodstuffs or the Shookies at Hometown.”
One guide simply cannot do justice to the breadth and depth of Chicago’s theatre scene and the distinctive character of each neighborhood that theatremakers call home. To learn more, visit the League of Chicago Theatres’ website and its sortable list of 200+ member theatres. Whether you’re a first-time visitor to Chicago or a local looking for a unique experience, let a trip to the theatre be your excuse to explore a new neighborhood.
Emily McClanathan (she/her) is a Chicago-based writer whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Playbill, TheaterMania, Theatrely, and more. She is a 2020 National Critics Institute Fellow.
