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Event Series Event Series: Cafe Royalty

THE BIG FINISH hosted by Stephanie and Tiki Vonté

July 20 @ 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Join hosts Stephanie and Tiki Vonté for a drag night for the theatre girlies comprised exclusively of 11 o’clock numbers. THE BIG FINISH is a show for full of stunts, drama, and theatrics.

THE BIG FINISH: BIG BOYS FINISH LAST

This edition of The Big Finish celebrates musical theatre’s leading men and their show-stopping numbers. Pizzazz! Wa-chow!

STAY TUNED for full cast announcement.

Doors open at 7:30 PM for an 8 PM show. The Understudy cafe will be open for refreshments.

Other Events

CHEERS QUEERS: A Pride Month Cabaret

June 28 @ 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm

CHEERS, QUEERS! is a toast, not to the end of pride month, because pride lives on honey, but a toast in celebration and recognition of who keeps Chicago running, the Queers. Join us for an intimate and extravagant night of music and spoken text! Performed by a stellar cast of queer actors of color, and hosted by our own co Event-Coordinator John-Payne, Cheers Queers promises to give a gay old time, and a renewed pride to carry home. Doors open…

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CHEERS QUEERS: A Pride Month Cabaret
June 28 @ 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm

A Conversation with Sarah Ruhl: BECKY NURSE OF SALEM

July 1 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Author Sarah Ruhl joins Polly Noonan for a a discussion of her newly published play BECKY NURSE OF SALEM. Playwright, author, essayist, and professor Sarah Ruhl joins Polly Noonan to discuss their newly published play Becky Nurse of Salem. Don’t miss this intimate discussion ahead of the Chicago premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem. Learn about this layered and thoughful work by one of our favorite playwrights. About the Play A wry, innovative reckoning with the legacy of the Salem…

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A Conversation with Sarah Ruhl: BECKY NURSE OF SALEM
July 1 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Get Lit: Grown-Up Book Fair

July 9 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Join us at The American Writers Museum and check out a curated selection of Understudy favorites! Indulge your literary impulses at Get Lit: Grown-Up Book Fair! Mix and mingle with fellow bookworms, share your favorite titles, and discover new ones. From cozy mysteries to epic adventures, there’s something for every reader to discover and enjoy! GET TICKETS Shop at pop-up book stands from some of our partner organizations. Organizations to be announced! Challenge your friends to a game of ring toss, test your…

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Get Lit: Grown-Up Book Fair
July 9 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

OCEAN AND HER MADNESS by Lydia Moss

July 15 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Written after Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro, this work is an exploration of the mind of a “mad black woman.” It is a madness that is both the synchronization and dissonance of space, time, and music. Cast and Creative Team TBA Freshly Brewed Team: Emma Durbin – Co-Artistic Producer Joel Willison – Co-Artistic Producer Magdalena Dalzell – Literary Committee Coordinator Danny Fender – The Understudy Co-Owner Adam Crawford – The Understudy Co-Owner About Freshly Brewed Freshly Brewed seeks to…

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OCEAN AND HER MADNESS by Lydia Moss
July 15 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

G. L. O. W. : A Queer Sober Open Mic Night

July 19 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

ABOUT THE EVENT Join The Understudy for G.L.O.W., a queer sober open mic night hosted by K.J Whitehead and Sharon Pasia. Expect comedy, drama, and stunts galore. Stay tuned for performer signups! Doors open at 7. Performances begin at 7:30. The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments!

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G. L. O. W. : A Queer Sober Open Mic Night
July 19 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Play Reading Club: Cardboard Piano

July 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Join our monthly play reading club! Each month, we gather to discuss a new, exciting or confounding play that has caught our attention. This month, we’re reading CARDBOARD PIANO by Hansol Jung ABOUT THE PLAY Northern Uganda on the eve of the millennium: The daughter of American missionaries and a local teenage girl steal into a darkened church to seal their love in a secret makeshift wedding ceremony. But when the surrounding war zone encroaches on their fragile union they…

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Play Reading Club: Cardboard Piano
July 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm