Refashioning and Metamorphosis
Forest Theatre Company’s 2026-2027 Season
We live in a world of constant change – how to make sense of it all? In our 2026-2027 season, Forest Theatre Company – the near-western suburb’s only year-round professional theatre – presents three classic plays about how we adapt – in our hearts, souls, relationships, and politics.
Little Eyolf
Our 2026 - 2027 season opens with a rarely produced play by Henrik Ibsen of Norway, one of the world’s greatest playwrights and the father of modern drama.
Little Eyolf, written in 1894, is a late poetic masterpiece of deep psychological insight, mythic storytelling, and rich family dynamics. Rita and Alfred Allmers, a young couple whose lives are still ahead of them, struggle with guilt over a past traumatic event. The Allmers inability to devote full attention to their young son Eyolf endangers the boy, creating a profound existential crisis of remorse and redemption.
Little Eyolf is part of Forest Theatre Company’s multi-year exploration of the plays of Henrik Ibsen.
Little Eyolf by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Richard Corley
November 20 – December 6, 2026
THe RIVALS
Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play features an unforgettable cast of characters beginning with charming Captain Jack Absolute who tricks beautiful Lydia Languish into believing that he is a poor ensign named Beverley to take advantage of her romantic disposition.
The lovers are joined by Sir Anthony Absolute: Jack’s autocratic father, Sir Lucius O’Trigger, a brawling Irishman; Jack’s dunder-headed neighbor Bob Acres, and a matron whose ridiculous misspeaking made popular a word based on her name – Mrs. Malaprop. It all adds up to a tale of mistaken identity and romantic entanglements that has delighted audiences for over 250 years.
The Rivals has often been called one of the greatest theatrical comedies ever written.
The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
February 5 – 21, 2027
DOCTOR BARNES
Dr. Jennifer Barnes is the director of the Elizabeth Institute, a private teaching hospital in Chicago. When she prevents a priest from giving last rites to a dying patient, this sparks a public scandal fueled by political opportunism.
Doctor Barnes speaks to a time when the line between public and private is nearly indistinguishable, morality is weaponized, and staying true to your beliefs can have enormous consequences.
This production is the World Premiere of Doctor Barnes by Producing Artistic Director Richard Corley, who has updated Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler’s 1912 drama Professor Bernhardi to present-day Chicago.
Doctor Barnes BY Richard Corley
April 24 – May 10, 2027