Chicago Shakespeare’s 40th season includes ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with Pat Benatar music

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announced its 2026-27 season on Friday, including the world premiere of a new imagining of “Romeo and Juliet” told through the music of Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, with book and direction by Bradley Bredeweg.

Chicago Shakespeare’s 40th slate on Navy Pier begins with a revival of “Play On!” (Sept. 11 to Oct. 18 in The Yard), a musical inspired by Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” set to the songs of Duke Ellington, directed by Sheldon Epps. “Play On!” was previously seen at the Goodman Theatre in 1998.

Later in the fall, artistic director Edward Hall will utilize a company of 14 actors to produce both “The Winter’s Tale” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in rotating repertory in the Courtyard Theatre between Oct. 13 and Jan. 3, 2027, a first for the company.