One of Chicago’s most thrilling companies, Trap Door Theatre, continues its 30th anniversary season with Bertolt Brecht’s boisterous musical Mother Courage and her Children, translated by Eric Bentley. Resident Director Max Truax returns to direct this epic play, having previously tackled Brecht’s iconic work with his adaptations of Round Heads and Pointed Heads and The Mother, one of the greatest events in my long theatergoing experience.
Mother Courage becomes a parasite of war as she, hell bent on her own survival, celebrates the Thirty Years War as the source of her prosperity. Considered one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, wartime virtues become fatal to their possessors in this stark, anti-capitalist, and music-filled play.
Mother Courage and her Children
Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland
January 18–February 24, 2024; Thurs-Sat at 8
for tickets ($30; 2-for-1 on Thursdays), call 773-384-0494 or visit Trap Door
for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago
Cast (in alphabetical order): Rashaad Bond (Swiss Cheese), Holly Cerney (Mother Courage), Bill Gordon (Eilef), Caleb Lee Jenkins (Chaplain/Soldiers), Nena Martins (Yvette), Joan Nahid (Katrin), Tricia Rogers (Soldiers/Townsfolk), and Kevin Webb (Cook/Officer).
Assistant Director: Jonathan Quigley / Costume Design: Rachel Sypniewski / Lighting Design: Richard Norwood / Set Design: Michael Griggs / Music Composer: Jonathan Guillen / Sound Design: Dan Poppen / Prop Design: David Lovejoy / Make Up Design: Zsófia Ötvös / Graphic Design: Michal Janicki / Stage Manager: Kasia Olechno