Spooky season has arrived, and the apparent theme this year in Chicago theater is old-school horror.
Otherworld Theatre’s world premiere “Midsummer Night Scream” is a new take on Shakespeare's most produced play. Written and directed by the company’s founding artistic director Tiffany Keane Schaefer, the idea for the production came to her in sixth grade when she read the Bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for the first time and was left terrified.
“These lovers are stuck in the woods, and these fae kept messing with them and changing who they were in love with, and then someone became a donkey in the middle of it. I was like, ‘This is so scary,’” Schaefer recalled, explaining how she gives her folk-horror slasher version a flair from the 80s — complete with campy blood, synths, and yes, there will be neon.
“Midsummer Night Scream” isn’t the only play of the season pulling from this time period on a local stage. The Broadway in Chicago remount of Kokandy’s hit musical “Jekyll & Hyde” is a gothic horror story fueled by a 15-piece orchestra backing 1980s power ballads. The set feels like a haunted house.
And while the 1990 Broadway show didn’t catch on, the local version has been a huge success, and director Derek Van Barham has an idea why that’s happened.
“We are able to capture the big huge gothic sound, but instead of playing in a huge 2,500 seat theater, it's like right on top of the audience,” he said. “I think something about that mix of the melodrama and the heightened style and just ballad after ballad being right there, and having the ability to just blow people's hair back — this is the perfect container for all that.”
Comic thriller, haunted puppets — fright takes many forms on Chicago stages this fall. Here are nine shows to revel in the season.
Where: The Edge Off Broadway, presented by Idle Muse Theatre Company
When: Through Oct. 10
The devil arrives in a small town offering to grant residents darkest wishes in exchange for their souls. But how bad can this be? This devil happens to be charming.
If you go: 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., tickets from $20
Where: Bramble Arts Loft
When: Through Oct. 17
Legend says Black Bear Island is haunted. A mysterious disappearance and a monstrous man-eating bear collide in this gothic thriller set on a spooky isolated island.
If you go: 5545 N Clark St 2nd Floor., tickets from $10
Where: The Den Theatre, presented by Refracted Theatre Company
When: Through Oct. 31
In this 2000s spin on Stephen King’s eerie superfan hostage-situation story “Misery,” a teenage girl kidnaps the actor who plays Spiderman.
If you go: 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., tickets from $36
Where: Goodman Theatre
When: Through Nov. 1
This whodunnit — inspired by the Nancy Drew book series beloved by playwright Phanésia Pharel — follows a group of adolescent girls searching for a friend who vanished hours after her quinceañera. Lucky for them, one of the teens is a true crime enthusiast.
The production is billed as a comic thriller, which Pharel says is accurate, because audiences will laugh while watching a group of teens solve the disappearance of their friend. The structure of part coming-of-age and part true-crime, come from the real life interests of Pharel. She loves the “Murder with my Husband” podcast, and also knows the importance of friendship in adolescent girls.
“I was interested in the ways young women save each other," she said. Her original inspiration came from her relationship with her best friend, and from there moved to a scary reality: “What is really behind this obsession with true crime? I know part of it for me is that I want to feel prepared when I'm in a situation, and so what are the anxieties that these young women expect? Why do young Black and brown girls really go missing? These are the questions I wanted to explore in a play.”
If you go: 170 N. Dearborn St., tickets from $29
Where: Oil Lamp Theatre
When: Through Nov. 1
This crime-thriller is most known for the 1950s film by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. This stage version maintains the heart-racing suspense from the film and adds a chilling twist.
If you go: 1723 Glenview Rd, Glenview, tickets from $30
Where: Broadway Playhouse At Water Tower Place, co-production with Kokandy
When: Through Nov. 8
The classic tale of the monster within. But this gothic horror story is fueled by a 15-piece orchestra pounding 1980s power ballads that'll blow your hair back.
If you go: 175 E. Chestnut St., tickets from $60
Where: Greenhouse Theater Center, presented by Otherworld Theatre Company
When: Through Nov. 1
A 1980’s folk-horror slasher take on the Bard's classic. There are still four lovers and creepy fairies — but also synths, neon, and the splatter of blood. “I think that “A Midsummer Night's Dream” is all about being taken over by your desire, and how your desires can literally transform you,” said Otherworld’s Tiffany Keane Schaefer. “We kind of took those fears of succumbing to desires and really turned it on its head and put that horror slasher mark on it.”
If you go: 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., tickets from $37
Where: The Merle at Steppenwolf, presented by Rough House Theater
When: Oct. 8-Nov. 1
The chilling annual puppet-horror show is back. This year the production features six unique exhibits, from six teams of Chicago artists, that will explore the terror underneath well-known childhood songs. With hyper realistic puppets and scenes of blood — these lullabies aren’t for babies.
If you go: 1624 N. Halsted., tickets from $22
Where: Studebaker Theater
When: Oct. 28-Nov. 1
The creative puppeteers at Manual Cinema are back with one of the most creative renditions of the classic gothic monster story. With clever puppetry, live acting, music and sound effects that also incorporate cameras, this show is truly one-of-a-kind. And you get to play with all the materials at the end.
If you go: 410 S. Michigan Ave., tickets from $31
