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Summer Cinema

Starting July 16, 2026
Evanston
Summer Cinema is Northwestern University’s summer movie series sponsored by the Office of Summer Sessions and Norris University Center.  Films will be screened at dusk (around 7:30-8:00pm) at Kahn Pav...
FilmJuly 20261784244600

Lunch on the Lake 2026

Starting August 5, 2026
Evanston
Join us at Norris and relax to the music and lake breezes on Cohen Lawn. Bring your own lunch or purchase on-site in Norris’ ground floor food courts or a special Lunch on the Lake offering in Luna's ...
MusicAugust 20261785949200

Sunset Sounds: Live on the Lakefill

Starting August 13, 2026
Evanston
Join us at Norris on Kahn Pavilion for groovy sunset sounds. Event runs from 7:30 - 9:00pm, with live performances beginning at 8pm. BYO lawn chair and blanket encouraged! Refreshments and food will b...
MusicAugust 20261786667400

TOILET FIRE: RECTUMS IN THE RECTORY

Starting October 8, 2026
Online
October 8-11, 2026 This tour-de-toot ultimately asks: How can we best relieve suffering?  Written and performed by Eliza Bent  Directed by Bonnie Metzgar  Accompaniment by Ruth Margraff No matter how ...
Theatre and DanceOctober 20261791505800

TAKES ALL KINDS: STORIES OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Starting October 15, 2026
Online
October 15-16, 2026 Everyday people are the heroes of democracy and rising to the challenge of our times. Written and performed by Dan Hoyle  Directed by Aldo Billingslea Based on immersive reporting ...
Theatre and DanceOctober 20261792110600

IMAGINE U: Grace and the Butterfly Effect

Starting October 29, 2026
Online
October 29 – November 8, 2026 A story that nurtures curiosity and care, reflecting how the Wirtz Center helps young artists grow and transform the world around them. Music, book, and lyrics by Jane Ke...
Theatre and DanceOctober 20261793318400

73 Seconds

Starting November 5, 2026
Online
November 5-7, 2026 Simple technology transports us to outer space, where we take a look at our not-so-simple relationship with time and truth. 73 Seconds refers to the length of the Challenger’s faile...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20261793928600

2021

Starting November 12, 2026
Online
November 12-14, 2026 An interactive performance where story, video games, and AI collide, questioning the ethics of digital resurrection and the weight of loss: If we could bring back the dead, even a...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20261794533400

She Loves Me

Starting November 13, 2026
Online
November 13 – 22, 2026 A charming tale of connection and revelation brought to life by emerging storytellers who explore love, identity, and human connection with freshness and developing craft.  Book...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20261794619800

MFA COLLABORATION SERIES: FEEDING BEATRICE

Starting November 20, 2026
Online
November 20 – 22, 2026 A daring collaboration that confronts haunting questions of race, power, and belonging and showcasing the Wirtz Center as a laboratory for fearless storytelling and necessary ar...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20261795224600

MFA COLLABORATION SERIES: FEEDING BEATRICE

Starting November 21, 2026
Online
NOV 20-22   Hal & Martha Hyer Wallis Theater   1949 Campus Drive   A daring collaboration that confronts haunting questions of race, power, and belonging and showcasing the Wirtz Center as a laborato...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20261795240800

Slutbot

Starting December 4, 2026
Online
December 4-6, 2026 Developed through the Wirtz Center’s commitment to new work, SLUTBOT explores identity, self-understanding, and authorship at the intersection of technology and performance. MFA Wri...
Theatre and DanceDecember 20261796434200

Execution of Justice

Starting January 28, 2027
Online
January 28 – 31, 2027 A powerful exploration of justice, community, and truth embodying the Wirtz Center’s commitment to performance as a lens for understanding the world.  By Emily Mann  Directed by ...
Theatre and DanceJanuary 20271801186200

VLADIMIR

Starting February 12, 2027
Online
February 12 – 14, 2027 A powerful collaboration that explores migration, generational rupture, and the cost of survival, affirming the Wirtz Center as a space where emerging artists confront global st...
Theatre and DanceFebruary 20271802482200

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical

Starting February 19, 2027
Online
February 19 – 28, 2027 A celebration of imagination and courage, echoing the Wirtz Center’s mission to elevate bold young voices and empower the artists of tomorrow.  Book by Dennis Kelly  Music and L...
Theatre and DanceFebruary 20271803087000

Danceworks 2027: My Conscience is Clear

Starting March 12, 2027
Online
March 12-14, 2027 Centered in the Wirtz Center’s mission to develop new work, my conscience is clear uses dance to ask how our values move through the world — and whether our conscience truly is clear...
Theatre and DanceMarch 20271804901400

Taming of the Shrew

Starting April 23, 2027
Online
April 23 – May 2, 2027 A bold reinterpretation that questions power, identity, and performance, reflecting the Wirtz Center’s commitment to reexamining inherited stories through fearless creative lens...
Theatre and DanceApril 20271808526600

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord

Starting May 7, 2027
Online
May 7-9, 2027 A ferocious, darkly playful collaboration where emerging artists push form and fear, using myth, humor, and horror, to expose the rites of girlhood and the damage beneath cultural obsess...
Theatre and DanceMay 20271809736200

Cyrano de Bergerac

Starting May 21, 2027
Evanston
May 21 – 30, 2027A daring reimagining of a classic that celebrates the power of language and literature, showcasing how the Wirtz Center fuses tradition and innovation to shape tomorrow’s storytellers...
Theatre and DanceMay 20271810945800

Imagine U Theatre for the Very Young: In The Loop

Starting May 29, 2027
Online
MAY 29 - JUN 6 An inviting first encounter with live performance, where the Wirtz Center sparks imagination early and nurtures the next generation of storytellers and audiences alike.  Devised by Elli...
Theatre and DanceMay 20271811608200

Glorious Musical Jewels: Beethoven and Schubert

October 2, 2026
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano The 2026-27 series begins with Beethoven’s joyous Polonaise, beloved Für Elise, and humorous Bagatelles, as well as Schubert’s ...
MusicOctober 20261790987400

Kate Liu, piano

October 16, 2026
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “Liu’s music making was seriously serious, solemn even, and super sensitive, with power, richness, and deliberateness…” —The Boston Musical Intelligencer  Piani...
MusicOctober 20261792197000

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

October 31, 2026
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series “...unrivaled joy, technical élan, and questing spirit.” —Los Angeles Times  Bill Kanengiser, John Dearman, Matt Greif, and Douglas Lora, guitar  The Grammy...
MusicOctober 20261793493000

Anderson & Roe Piano Duo

November 13, 2026
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “...a constant act of creation—spinning out provocative arrangements and videos, and touring the world with concerts that are engaging, challenging, and downrig...
MusicNovember 20261794619800

The Brahms I Love

December 11, 2026
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano Siegel explores the composer's exuberant Hungarian Dances, dreamy Ballades, the passionate Rhapsody in B Minor, and deeply pers...
MusicDecember 20261797039000

David Fray, piano

February 5, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “This is an artist we need to hear more of.”  —The New York Times  Award-winning French pianist David Fray was named “Newcomer of the Year 2008” by BBC Music ma...
MusicFebruary 20271801877400

Judicaël Perroy, guitar

February 6, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series Judicaël Perroy’s career ignited after he won first prize at the 15th Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. He has since pl...
MusicFebruary 20271801963800

Chopin in Paris

February 12, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano A journey through highlights of the composer's flourishing career in the City of Light: the joyful Ballade No. 3, the devilish ...
MusicFebruary 20271802482200

Beijing Guitar Duo

March 6, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series "I'd put my reputation on the line and say that this is the best guitar duo in the world." —Manuel Barrueco, legendary guitarist Meng Su and Yameng Wang, gu...
MusicMarch 20271804383000

Paul Lewis, piano

April 16, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “His playing is direct and unpretentious, with a quiet charisma and a sense of deeper feeling beneath the surface.”  —The Classical Review  Paul Lewis is intern...
MusicApril 20271807921800

David Russell, guitar

April 17, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series "...Mr. Russell possesses a talent of extraordinary dimension.” —The New York Times  David Russell is firmly established in the elite echelon of classical g...
MusicApril 20271808008200

Virtuoso Variations

May 7, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano The 2026-27 season concludes with Beethoven’s exhilarating variations on “God Save the King,” Mendelssohn’s soulful Variations ...
MusicMay 20271809736200

Nigel North, lute

May 8, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series “Perhaps he is the greatest performer of the instrument of all time.” —The Birmingham Post  British lutenist Nigel North has been sharing the music of the l...
MusicMay 20271809822600

James Giles, piano

May 14, 2027
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “Giles has a truly distinctive interpretive persona. This was beautiful pianism—direct and unmannered.”  —Harris Goldsmith  James Giles regularly performs in im...
MusicMay 20271810341000