“Ava: The Secret Conversations,” with Aaron Costa Ganis/Photo: Jeff Lorch

1
Mr. Wolf
(Steppenwolf Theatre)
Steppenwolf’s exceptional year continues with the launch of the theater’s fiftieth season, which begins with this work by ensemble member Rajiv Joseph.
Opens September 11

2
Ashland Avenue
(Goodman Theatre)
The Goodman kicks off its centennial season with this Chicago-set story by Lee Kirk, directed by Susan V. Booth and starring Jenna Fischer and Francis Guinan.
Opens September 6

3
GglassFest
(Lookingglass Theatre)
The reinvigorated institution peels back the curtain on its new-play-development program, gglassworks, for the first time.
Opens September 5

4
Ava: The Secret Conversations
(Studebaker Theater)
Elizabeth McGovern’s new play stages the sensational interviews between Golden Age Hollywood star Ava Gardner and writer Peter Evans, which were only published decades later.
Opens September 24

5
Big White Fog
(Court Theatre)
Ron OJ Parson directs Theodore Ward’s play about a South Side family during the 1920s and early thirties. It’s the first production with Avery Willis Hoffman as artistic director, succeeding Court mainstay Charles Newell.
Opens September 12