Newcity Stage

Theater, Dance, Comedy and Performance in Chicago

Players 50 2026: The Institutions

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by Newcity
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Text-heavy graphic with bold, colorful categories: The Music Makers, The Advocates + Changemakers, The Institutions, The Rising Stars + Storefront Stalwarts, The Producers + Places, over a black background.

Design: Dan Streeting

Players 50 2026: Introduction
Players 50 2026: The Music Makers
Players 50 2026: The Advocates and Changemakers
Players 50 2026: The Rising Stars and Storefront Stalwarts
Players 50 2026: The Producers and Places

Here are Chicago’s Institutions.

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Peter Blair and Peter Marston Sullivan/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Peter Blair and Peter Marston Sullivan
Executive Producer and Artistic Director, Marriott Theatre

The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire has reinvented classic musicals and produced Chicago premieres and new works for fifty years—but they’re not out of surprises. “Our favorite shows,” says Peter Sullivan, “are the ones that make people say, ‘How are they going to do that?’” But do them they do, earning Jeff Award nominations for “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Titanic” in 2025 alone. Peter Blair says what separates Marriott from the competition is their theater-in-the-round setup and their ability to reimagine gigantic shows to draw out the depth of the stories and characters. (Tristan Bruns)

Susan V. Booth, John Collins and Lewis Warrick
Artistic Director, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Goodman Theatre

The Goodman Theatre’s hundred-year reputation is one of prolific production, and John Collins, Susan Booth and Lewis Warrick intend to keep it that way. Warrick, through intense business acumen, bears the brunt of securing finances, vowing to do “everything in my power to take care of the backend so the artists can do their jobs.” Collins says what distinguishes Goodman is their “commitment to excellence and artistry on stage and in the community,” citing educational programming at their downtown campus and in neighborhoods across the city. Asked for a mission statement, Booth puts it simply, “We’re Chicago’s theater. That’s it.” (Tristan Bruns)

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Cody Chen/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Cody Chen
General Manager, Joffrey Ballet

As general manager of Joffrey Ballet, Cody Chen has the all-consuming job of balancing artistic quality and fiscal responsibility. “My personal mission,” says Chen, “is to plant trees where other people can enjoy the shade.” Fiscal responsibility does not mean cutting corners, however, and Chen cites Joffrey’s move to the Lyric Opera House as a great achievement, instituting activities in the lobby to charm audiences before they reach their seats, one of many details that sustains Joffrey’s world-class reputation. (Tristan Bruns)

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Audrey Francis and Brooke Flanagan/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Audrey Francis, Glenn Davis and Brooke Flanagan
Co-Artistic Directors and Executive Director/Steppenwolf Theatre

The mission of the Steppenwolf Theatre has expanded into three missions: to produce amazing artistry, promote teen engagement and sustain partnerships with artists, which are values embodied by the leadership of Brooke Flanagan, Audrey Francis and Glenn Davis. “The core of what we produce,” says Flanagan, “takes the generative artists that call Steppenwolf home and plays to their strengths and ambitions to create provocative work.” This is all done through their ensemble-driven production process on their main stages, their “Lookout” production series for multi-disciplinary artists and “The Loft” multi-purpose workshop series for teens. (Tristan Bruns)

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Kimberly Motes and Edward Hall/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Edward Hall and Kimberly Motes
Artistic Director and Executive Director, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago Shakespeare Theater has grown from a hometown treasure to an international sensation. Leading the charge are Edward Hall and Kimberly Motes, each equally passionate about reaching new audiences while supporting local communities. “We don’t only bring in work to Chicago, but we are sending Chicago out into the world,” says Motes, citing past productions that have later traveled to New Zealand, Australia, throughout the United States and on Broadway. Community support by “Chicago Shakes” comes in the form of an expanded series of student matinees (the most in the city), creative outlets for young artists and professional development programs for teachers. (Tristan Bruns)

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Kate Lipuma and Braden Abraham/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Kate Lipuma and Braden Abraham
Executive Director and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director, Writers Theatre

Theatergoers who never stray from the city miss out on the great work produced at Writers Theatre in Glencoe. Kate Lipuma and Braden Abraham credit the theater’s success to the intimate connection they form between their audience, the writers and the actors onstage. “No season comes together in the same way,” says Abraham. “We cultivate ideas from sources and artists that we admire to create a diverse menu of experiences for our audiences.” “We never start from a place of ‘no,’” says Lipuma, “but always a place of ‘yes,’ and from that we draw the passion and the soul of our work.” (Tristan Bruns)

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Matthew Ozawa and John Mangum/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

John Mangum and Matthew Ozawa
General Director and Chief Artistic Officer, Lyric Opera

Lyric Opera of Chicago remains an innovator in the world of opera. At the helm are John Mangum and Matthew Ozawa, charged with taking classics and making them fresh. “We want to resonate with contemporary audiences,” says Mangum. “If we stage an opera the way it was a hundred years ago, people would be bored out of their minds.” Collaborations with Joffrey Ballet, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins and Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young are opening eyes to what opera can be. “There’s a reason they call ‘Star Wars’ a ‘space opera,’” adds Mangum. “Because it’s exciting!” (Tristan Bruns)

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Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell and David McDermott/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

David McDermott and Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell
Executive Director and Artistic Director, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

David McDermott and Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell shepherded Chicago’s celebrated contemporary dance company through the pandemic and, with a renewed focus on diverse American choreographers after more than a decade of Eurocentric work, have seen Hubbard Street emerge stronger than ever. Annual performances on the intimate Steppenwolf stage, which started in 2024, offer the promise of cross-pollinating dance with traditional theater audiences. Fisher-Harrell also forged a partnership with the Verdon Fosse Legacy to house works by jazz legend Bob Fosse and present pieces each season—the only dance company in the world to do so. For their fiftieth-anniversary season, McDermott and Fisher-Harrell intend to expand the breadth of choreographic voices in the company’s repertoire, deepen the Verdon Fosse Legacy partnership, and hit the road with three stints in New York, including a two-week engagement at the Joyce Theater. (Sharon Hoyer)

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Jorge Pérez/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Jorge Pérez
Executive Director, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater and Center

Ensemble Español, in residence at Northeastern Illinois University, is celebrating its fiftieth year as Chicago’s home for traditional and contemporary Spanish dance this season, from flamenco to folklore. And there’s none better to have at the helm for the milestone than the irrepressible Jorge Pérez, who began training in Spanish dance under the company’s founder, Dame Libby Komaiko. The season has featured performances at Navy Pier, the Dance Center of Columbia College, Steppenwolf and the Auditorium Theatre. Pérez also serves as board president for See Chicago Dance and received multiple nods for his service last year, including an award from the Auditorium Theatre and a state proclamation from Governor Pritzker naming October 9 Jorge Pérez Day in Illinois. Ensemble Español’s anniversary season continues this spring at the International American Spanish Dance and Music Festival, and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. (Sharon Hoyer)

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Roell Schmidt and Meredith Sutton/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Roell Schmidt and Meredith Sutton
Producing Director and Artistic Director, Dance Center Columbia College Chicago

For more than fifty years, the Dance Center of Columbia College has been a center for presentation, research and education of the next generation of Chicago artists. The Dance Center recently wrapped up a study on the effects of dance on quality of life in older adults while increasing opportunities for students to lead projects, workshops and productions, while getting paid for their time. Roell Schmidt and Meredith Sutton held a dance symposium in celebration of the Center’s fiftieth, which has since become an annual event. This year the Dance Center will present works by local companies including Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Natya Dance Theatre and The Seldoms; serve as a site for the Physical Theater Festival and Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival; and host the U.S. premiere of “Dide” by Benin-based choreographer Marcel Gbeffa and French designer Sarah Trouche. (Sharon Hoyer)

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Avery Willis Hoffman and Angel Ysaguirre/Photo: Joe Mazza | brave lux

Angel Ysaguirre and Avery Willis Hoffman
Executive Director and Artistic Director, Court Theatre

What makes Court Theatre distinctive is not only their commitment to producing classic plays but in how they define them. “We ask, ‘Is this a play that’s going to matter in three or four generations?’” says Angel Ysaguirre. “If not, it’s not a classic.” “Theater democratizes difficult topics,” says Avery Willis Hoffman, referencing recent productions: “Falsettos,” the celebration of queer aesthetics in American theater; “A Raisin in the Sun,” about racial discrimination in housing in Chicago after World War II; and “Berlin,” from the epic graphic novel about the effect of fascism on individuals. Court Theatre invites audiences to engage in difficult discussions in a space that fosters empathy and grace. (Tristan Bruns)

 

The Institutions
Hall of Fame

Greg Cameron and Ashley Wheater
President/CEO and Artistic Director, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago

BJ Jones and Timothy J. Evans
Artistic Director and Executive Director, Northlight Theatre

Kelly Leonard
Vice President, Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development, Second City

Enrique Mazzola
Music Director, Lyric Opera

Lou Raizin and Eileen LaCario
President and Vice President, Broadway In Chicago

Jacqueline Russell
Co-Founder/Artistic Director, Chicago Children’s Theatre

Heidi Stillman
Ensemble Member, Former Artistic Director, Lookingglass Theatre