Improvised Murder Mystery and a Ton of News

Apologies for the unexpected hiatus! I was out of town for the last two issues of the newsletter and the one I set to autosend never did. I’m back now!

Improvising a Mysterious Murder

“I couldn’t look away. I was mesmerized; it was like a car accident with eggs.” This improvised line, spoken by one of the cast members, was the perfect way to describe the opening night of Where There’s a Will There’s a Way. Produced by High Stakes Productions, this latest show in their Clued In improvised murder mystery series was beyond a hoot.

Centered around the audience-provided prized parrot who must be bequeathed to one of the characters following the untimely passing of another character, the bird puns flew spectacularly. The art of improv and how actors run with a theme never fails to amaze me. For instance, Bri Fitzpatrick (as bird nanny Matilda) referring to the women in the room as “birds,” as a Brit may do. Together, this ensemble gracefully flits around the stage as they hurry to solve the murder of Dr. Sheila and decipher her will to make sure Arnie the parrot gets his proper home.

Set in the style of an Agatha Christie novel, the Clued In series has become a standard for the High Stakes Productions team. You can instantly tell. They’ve mastered this murder mystery style of improv, complete with hints and riddles the audience can figure out for themselves if they meander the lobby before the show. Along with one of the production’s specialty beverages, the task may be easier or more difficult. I know with a Great-Uncle Perry’s Smoking Pipe (mezcal, pear liqueur, lemon, and lime) in hand, the 90-minute show just flew by.

While each show is, inevitably, vastly different from the last based on the audience suggestion(s), I have little doubt you’ll have a fun time with this rotating cast of characters. Though I hope you get to see someone arguing with themselves, that might be the hit of the evening.

Where There’s a Will There’s a Way runs at The Second City’s UP! Comedy Club Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. from October 2 to October 26, culminating in a special Halloween performance on Friday, October 31 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available online.

Chicago A&E News

• Choose Chicago announced that the city had a record-breaking summer of travel, defying the national trend of decreased hotel demand with a 4.3% gain over 2024, filling more than 3.56 million hotel rooms and generating $949 million in revenue. This surge was primarily driven by leisure travelers, who accounted for 2.5 million room nights, representing an 11.2% increase over the previous year. To maintain this success through the colder months, Choose Chicago and its partners have launched the “All for the Love of Chicago” campaign to promote the city by encouraging people to share their authentic Chicago experiences.

• Music Theater Works will present the third production of its 2025 season, Godspell, running at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie from October 23 to November 16. This modern musical fable, featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, weaves together improvisation and infectious pop/rock songs, such as "Day by Day," to explore themes of forgiveness and radical love. Directed by Matthew Silar, this production takes place in a local coffee shop, where a fractured community discovers the transformative power of the musical's timeless message. Tickets are now available.

• Oil Lamp Theater is concluding its 2025 season with the final production, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, running from November 20 to December 28. Adapted by Joe Landry and directed by Lauren Katz, the show reimagines the beloved Frank Capra film as a captivating live radio broadcast, complete with authentic foley sound effects. Tickets are now on sale for the production at the Oil Lamp Theater, which features a cast that includes Rami Halabi, Corey L. Mills, and Halli Morgan.

• Redtwist Theatre has replaced its planned production with the world premiere of Chicago: Queerly Adapted From The Play You've Never Heard Of That Inspired The Musical You Can't Get Away From. This queer adaptation of Maurine Dallas Watkins's 1926 play, based initially on a Chicago Tribune journalist's reporting, is a satire about lawyers, journalists, and criminals in the Roaring '20s. The show, which follows Roxy Hart's desperation to escape jail and reach the Vaudeville stage, runs from October 16 to November 23, with tickets and performance details available on the Redtwist Theatre website.

• Season of Concern will be the beneficiary of a one-night-only performance titled Blacklisted: Songs McCarthy Didn’t Want You To Hear, written and directed by Carla Gordon with music direction by Beckie Menzie. This concert will feature some of Chicago’s finest cabaret talent, including Carla Gordon and Beckie Menzie, performing songs written or made famous by blacklisted artists such as Leonard Bernstein, Lena Horne, and Pete Seeger. The event, dedicated to raising funds for Chicagoland theater practitioners impacted by illness or injury, will be held on Thursday, November 6, at 7:30 pm at Columbia College Chicago’s Sherwood Recital Hall. Tickets are available online.

• The Balloon Museum is bringing its globally acclaimed immersive exhibition, EmotionAir: Art You Can Feel, to Chicago at The Fields Studios (2750 N. Karloff St.) this fall. Opening on Thursday, October 30, 2025, and running through April 6, 2026, the limited-time exhibition features 20 internationally renowned artists. The show invites visitors to rediscover their inner child and experience a sensory journey through large-scale inflatable installations that explore the profound connection between creativity and emotion. Tickets are available here.

• The Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago (BACA), founded in 1997 and rebranded in 2023, celebrates and uplifts the Black arts community through a full slate of activities and events. In Fall 2025, BACA launched the Black Arts Directory online hub, complementing key events such as the annual Black Excellence Awards on November 3, 2025, and November 2026, as well as the inaugural Black Arts Hall of Fame in November 2026. The organization also hosts the MLK Town Hall Networking Opportunity in January 2026, the Cookout In The Blackyard in August 2026, and the Black-to-Black Series, featuring workshops and panel discussions, in March, May, and October 2026.

• The Goodman Theatre is opening its Centennial 25/26 Season with the world-premiere musical, Revolution(s), a punk/metal/hip-hop fusion created by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Morello and Chicago’s Zayd Ayers Dohrn. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, the production features a top-flight cast of musical theater greats, including Jackie Burns and Jakeim Hart, with arrangements and orchestrations by Jason Michael Webb. Revolution(s) runs in the intimate Owen Theatre from October 4 to November 9, and tickets are available through the Goodman Theatre Box Office or online.

• The Goodman Theatre is holding a Costume Sale—a free, public event last offered in 2018—featuring dozens of modern and vintage items spanning over 60 years of the theater’s century-long history. Just in time for Halloween, the sale offers a variety of pieces from productions like The Matchbox Magic Flute and A Christmas Carol, with prices ranging from $0.50 to $300. The sale takes place on October 11 from 10am to 4pm at 170 N. Dearborn, accepting only credit/debit card payments, with all proceeds supporting Goodman Theatre programming.

• The Goodman Theatre announced that The Magic Parlour is celebrating two years of success at its custom theater, located at 50 W. Randolph in the Loop. The show is launching its third year with its most robust programming slate, including special performances and guest artists-in-residence to delight audiences. Performances are on sale through April 30, 2026, running Thursday through Sunday, and tickets—which include a complimentary beverage—can be purchased by phone or online.

• The Goodman Theatre has announced a second extension for the world-premiere production of Lee Kirk's play, Ashland Avenue, adding five performances through October 19. This show, which launched the Goodman's Centennial 2025/2026 season, stars Jenna Fischer (The Office) alongside Chicago favorite Francis Guinan. Tickets for the second extension, which runs in the Albert Theatre, are available for purchase online, by phone, or at the Box Office.

• The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) and Governor JB Pritzker announced they are awarding $16.2 million in grants to 1,123 artists, arts organizations, and communities across Illinois. This funding aims to empower the creative sector, bolster youth employment in the arts, and enhance regional arts initiatives, demonstrating the state's continued commitment to culture despite federal cuts to arts funding. The grants for the first quarter of FY26 include the Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF), General Operating Support (GOS) with Youth Employment in the Arts (YEA), and Regional Arts Partner (RAP) programs, all of which work to strengthen Illinois's vibrant cultural landscape.

• The League of Chicago Theatres is running a new promotion called "It’s Theatre Season!" from Thursday, October 2, through Monday, November 24, 2025, offering a buy one, get one half-price ticket deal on selected shows through Hot Tix. This offer, valid for performances in October, November, and December 2025 using the promo code SEASON, includes over 50 productions such as Death of a Salesman, Jekyll & Hyde, The Haunting of Hill House, and Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. For the complete list of participating shows, including Ugly Lies The Bone and Love, Chaos, and Dinner, patrons should visit the Hot Tix website.

• The Roald Dahl Story Company is bringing its first Chicago production, the family musical based on Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile, to the city this winter. Following smash-hit runs elsewhere, the wickedly funny show will run at the historic Studebaker Theater from January 29 to February 21, 2026, in partnership with the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Tickets for the Chicago premiere go on sale to the public on October 6, 2025, with the first week's performances available through the Puppet Festival box office and later dates available online at enormouscrocodilemusical.com/chicago.

• The Second City announced a brand-new production, Thank You, Goodnight, offering a fast, funny, one-of-a-kind night of comedy running at Donny’s Skybox Theater from October 3–24. The show, created and directed by former Mainstage director Rob Wilson, uniquely combines stand-up comedy from acclaimed comics like Sam Birru, Kristen Toomey, and Kellye Howard with world-class improvisation. After the stand-up sets, The Second City's improvisers take the stage to spin the material into new, high-energy scenes, ensuring the show is fresh and different every night. Tickets are available online.

• The Second City is ready to celebrate the season with two hilarious new holiday shows running from late November through December 31, 2025. For adults, Holidazed and Amused: Naughty, Nice, and Everything In-Between offers an irreverent night of songs, sketches, and improv that turns holiday chaos into comedy. Families can enjoy the interactive kids' comedy show, Rudolph Runs Wild!, which features fun, festive music, and mischief. Tickets are available online.

• Writers Theatre is continuing its 2025/26 Season with a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, running from October 30 to December 14. This adaptation features music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, and is directed by Artistic Director Braden Abraham, with music direction by Michael Mahler. The production, which follows characters like Orlando and Rosalind who face exile, will be performed in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre in Glencoe, with tickets currently on sale.

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