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Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences
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Founded as the Goodman Children's Theatre in 1925 and recognized as a pioneer of theatre for families, Chicago Playworks welcomes more than 30,000 students and families to our highly celebrated productions each season. Today we are dedicated to reflecting our audience's experience in an urban, contemporary, and multi-racial environment.
The 2025-26 Chicago Playworks for Families and
Young Audiences Series
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed:
The Rock Experience
based on Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed book by Mo Willems
script and lyrics by Mo Willems
music by Deborah Wicks LaPuma
directed by Ali-Reza Mirsajadi
October 23-November 8, 2025
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Mirror of Most Value:
A Ms. Marvel Play
by Masi Asare
based on the Marvel Comics by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona & Sana Amanat
directed by Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke
May 14- 30, 2026
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DePaul's Historic Merle Reskin Theatre
Located at 60 East Balbo Drive, this Beaux-Arts style theatre was built as the Blackstone Theatre in 1910 and designed by Chicago architects Benjamin Howard Marshall and Charles Eli Fox. To learn more about the theatre, visit
this page.
Public Transportation
The theatre is easily accessible by public transportation. The Red, Blue, Brown, Pink, Green, Orange, and Purple lines have stops nearby, and multiple bus routes serve the theatre.
Parking
There are several parking lots near the theatre, including LAZ Public Parking at 1 E. 8th Street, and Multipark at 635 S. Wabash Avenue. For parking rates and additional information, visit our
Parking & Directions page.
The Cunningham Commission for Youth Theatre
The Cunningham Commission for Youth Theatre was created at The Theatre School to honor the memory of the Rev. Donald Cunningham, a Chicago priest, playwright, and lover of theatre. The Cunningham Commission was established by an endowment gift from the Cunningham family and is presented biannually. The purpose of the commission is to encourage the writing of dramatic works for young audiences that affirm the centrality of religion, broadly defined, and the human quest for meaning, truth, and community. The Theatre School intends to produce the plays created through this commission in its award-winning Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences series.
Past recipients have included: Ike Holter, Isaac Gomez, Caro Macon, Gloria Bond Clunie, Ricardo Gamboa, Omer Abbas Salem, Lavina Jadhwani, Jeremy Ohringer, and Alvaro Saar Rios.