Curtain Call Chicago - September 9, 2026 

Matching Minds with Sondheim: The Puzzles and Games of the Broadway Legend by Barry Joseph is a biography-meets-puzzle anthology that explores Stephen Sondheim’s lesser-known lifelong passion for designing and solving intricate games, arguing that puzzles were a core way he made sense of the world—“making order out of chaos,” as Sondheim himself put it. Drawing on more than eighty years of Sondheim’s activities, the book presents extremely rare, never-before-seen puzzles, treasure hunts, parlor games, board games, and crossword designs, alongside original interviews with celebrity friends and collaborators who played his games and analysis from puzzle designers and theater professionals. Beyond telling the story, it invites readers to try solving Sondheim-style puzzles and adapt his games for their own use, offering a fresh angle on his creative process for fans of his shows and useful anecdotes for interviews or features that go beyond standard musical-theater biographies.

Curtain Call Chicago - September 7, 2026

Vape! The Grease Parody is a Gen Z–inflected, 90-minute spoof of the 1978 film-musical Grease, currently running at Chicago’s Apollo Theater (2550 N. Lincoln Ave.) through January 3, 2027. Produced by Sketchworks Comedy with a mostly Chicago cast, the show reimagines Rydell High’s romances, rivalries, and hallway politics through a 2026 lens—swapping cigarettes for vapes, updating slang and social-media culture, and poking fun at the original’s iconic moments and innuendos.

Curtain Call Chicago - August 19, 2026

A conversation with Kate Luckinbill, granddaughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Kate discusses what life is like growing up with legendary grandparents and talks about two new books which seek to set the record straight about her famous grandparents.

First, Desi Arnaz: A Book is a reissue of Desi Arnaz’s candid autobiography, updated with new photos, a foreword by his granddaughter Kate Luckinbill, and an afterward by Lucie Arnaz. It offers a fresh look at the life and career of the Cuban-born entertainer who helped shape I Love Lucy and American television and what Desi had planned to do and write after the book came out, projects he was never able to complete.

And:

Lucy & Desi: The Love Letters is a collection of previously unseen letters between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz that reveals their romance during the World War II years in their own words, from their early courtship through the I Love Lucy years and beyond. Illustrated with rare family photos and reproductions of the original letters, it offers an intimate look at one of Hollywood’s most famous and complicated love stories. With an introduction by their daughter Lucie Arnaz.

Curtain Call Chicago - August 26, 2026

Making Rent by Tim Weil is a backstage memoir about how the hit musical Rent came together and how its music helped reshape Broadway. Drawing on Weil’s experience as the show’s original musical director, it offers behind-the-scenes stories about Jonathan Larson, the creative process, and the effort to preserve Larson’s vision.

Curtain Call Chicago - August 31, 2026 

Sunday in the Park with George is a work by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s presented by Kokandy Productions and presented in the intimate downstairs space of the Chopin Theatre.

The musical is inspired by Georges Seurat’s pointillist painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. In 1884 Paris, the exacting, emotionally remote painter George struggles to complete his ambitious canvas while his lover and model, Dot, longs for a fuller life and greater connection. Their relationship frays as George gives priority to his art.

A century later, George’s descendant—also an artist named George—faces a similar conflict between creative innovation and human intimacy. As he prepares a high-tech artwork inspired by Seurat’s painting, he confronts artistic doubt, family legacy, and the question of what artists owe to the people who love them. 

Curtain Call Chicago - August 25, 2026

Adolescent Salvation, by Tim Venable, follows three teenagers whose sleepover—filled with gossip, contraband tequila, texting and Taylor Swift—takes a sharp, unsettling turn. Wildly funny and increasingly dangerous, the play examines adolescent vulnerability, moral responsibility and the consequences of what happens when youthful recklessness collides with painful truths.

Curtain Call Chicago - Aug. 3, 2026

Adam Rapp co-wrote the book for The Outsiders, bringing a playwright’s sharp sense of character and emotional tension to the award winning musical’s adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel. Drawing on a personal connection to the story’s themes of class, family, and adolescent intensity, he helped shape the show into something that feels both raw and theatrical. Hear Paul’s insightful chat with Adam about his career, his family life with Rent Star Anthony Rapp, and what motivates him to undertake projects.

Curtain Call Chicago - July 29, 2026

Don’t Suck is a sharp, heartfelt queer dramedy about a young aspiring actor and singer-songwriter trying to make it in New York City while balancing messy relationships, family pressure, and the challenge of staying true to himself. The series is created and written by Tyler Isaac Martin and joining in the conversation is featured actor David Gow (Film: The Intruder; Play: The Inheritance-Helen Hayes Award Winner for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play)

Curtain Call Chicago - July 20, 2026

“Hair” is a 1960s rock musical about a tribe of hippies in New York City who rebel together against the Vietnam War and beyond that, challenge mainstream America’s seeming conformity with the politics of the day. Simultaneously, they grapple amongst themselves over love, sex, race, and personal freedom. Centered on Claude (strongly portrayed by  ) and his friends Berger (played with a perfect blend of humor and seriousness by Zac Richey) and Sheila (forcibly played by Catherine Rodriguez O’Connor), the show follows Claude’s struggle between joining the army and staying true to the anti war ideals of his communit and including the legendary Songs: Age of Aquarious, Let the Sunshine In and Good Morning Starshine.

Curtain Call Chicago - June 10, 2026

David Byrne’s Theater of the Mind is an intimate, immersive theatrical experience that blends neuroscience experiments with storytelling to explore how we perceive reality, form memories, and understand identity. Guided in small groups through a series of sensory rooms, audience members see, hear, taste, and physically move through a series of experiences set up thru story that reveal how unreliable their own senses can be. The show becomes a kind of live, mind-bending science experiment inside the theater.  Joining in the conversation are two actors who play David: James Earl Jones, II and Elizabeth Laidlaw.

Curtain Call Chicago - April 29, 2026

Steppenwolf Theatre is one of Chicago’s most celebrated theater companies, known for powerful, innovative productions and a world-class ensemble of actors, directors, and playwrights. Founded in 1974, it has helped shape American theater with acclaimed works on its Lincoln Park stages. Now it celebrates its 50th Season with a look its’ final shows of the season, and a description of how the 51st season was selected. The interview is a conversation with its co-artistic directors Audrey Francis and Glenn Davis.

Curtain Call Chicago - July 22, 2026

Misha Brown is a social media creator who took the country by storm and now has a massive following, with his sassy, heartfelt content that helps people talk to themselves more kindly. In his new book Be Your Own Bestie: A No-Nonsense Guide to Changing the Way You Treat Yourself, he takes that online energy and influence and creates a practical roadmap for self-love. The book is part memoir and part guide to self action. His background includes struggles with shame, being bullied, and a near-giving-up moment that led him to sobriety, major life changes, and eventually to creating content centered on self-respect and accountability. Misha joins Paul for an in-depth conversation his fans and future fans will find completely engaging.