Northlight Theatre has announced a four-play subscription season for 2025-26, the final slate of shows at the North Shore Center in Skokie before Northlight’s anticipated move into a new theater space that the 50-year-old Chicago-area company is building in Evanston.
Artistic director BJ Jones said in an interview that Northlight is emphasizing the work of local writers and actors in the coming season.
“The World of Television” (Sept. 4 to Oct. 6), a play by Chicago scribe James Sherman, is the first title. This world premiere is set in mid-20th century TV broadcasting and will star veteran Chicago actress Cindy Gold as Gertrude Berg, best known for the CBS comedy drama “The Goldbergs.”
“Gaslight” (Nov. 28 to Dec. 28) by Steven Dietz will run during the holidays. Jessica Thebus will direct this Victorian thriller, based on the original 1938 script of that name by Patrick Hamilton. Kate Fry and Timothy Edward Kane, a married Chicago acting couple, have signed on as the leads.
Actress Kate Fry at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
“Mary Jane” (Jan. 22 to Feb. 22, 2026), the recent Broadway hit, will follow. Penned by Amy Herzog and directed at Northlight by Georgette Verdin, this highly emotional play looks at a single mother’s dedication to her ill child.
“The Angel Next Door” (April 9 to May 10, 2026) will be the final show in the season. A world premiere by Paul Slade Smith, a longtime Chicago actor who became a playwright, the play follows the fortunes of a young novelist hoping to get his work to Broadway. Linda Fortunato directs.
The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; more information at northlight.org
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
