CHICAGO the Musical — Auditorium Theatre
- Broadway In Chicago’s touring production of CHICAGO played the Auditorium Theatre from May 5 through May 10, 2026 — not through July 12. - The run was a short six-day stop at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, with a 2-hour-30-minute runtime and age guidance of 13 and up. - That matters because this was a limited hometown engagement of the touring show, while the Broadway production continues separately in New York.
CHICAGO is back in Chicago — but only briefly. The key thing to know is that this Auditorium Theatre engagement was a short Broadway In Chicago stop, not a months-long local run. The dates listed by the Auditorium and Broadway In Chicago were May 5 through May 10, 2026, at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive. That clears up the biggest confusion right away: if you thought this production was sitting in town until July, turns out that part was off. ### So what exactly was playing? This was the touring production of CHICAGO the Musical presented by Broadway In Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre. It’s the same Kander and Ebb show most people know — Jazz Age murderesses, media circus, courtroom spectacle, fishnets, Fosse angles, all of it. The official event pages frame it as the long-running Broadway hit on tour, not a new Chicago-specific staging or an open-ended sit-down production. (auditoriumtheatre.org) ### Why are people mixing up the dates? Because Chicago the city and CHICAGO the musical create instant confusion, and the show also has an ongoing Broadway life in New York. The official musical site points people to the Ambassador Theatre in Manhattan, where the Broadway production continues. But the Chicago stop at the Auditorium was a separate touring engagement with its own start and end dates. Basically, two real things are true at once — the show is still running on Broadway, and the Chicago visit was limited. (auditoriumtheatre.org) ### How long was the Chicago engagement? Six days. Broadway In Chicago listed the run as May 5–10, 2026. The Auditorium Theatre page showed the same window and displayed performances on the closing weekend, including Saturday matinee and evening shows plus a Sunday matinee. So this was the classic touring-stop model — come in, play a tight block of performances, move on. (chicagothemusical.com) ### What should a ticket-buyer know? The runtime was listed at 2 hours and 30 minutes, including an intermission. The age guidance was 13 and up, and Broadway In Chicago noted that everyone entering the theater needed a ticket regardless of age. Those details matter more than they sound — especially if you’re planning around dinner, transit, or bringing a younger teen who knows the cast album but maybe not the full tone of the show. (auditoriumtheatre.org) ### Why the Auditorium Theatre? Because it’s one of the major Loop houses Broadway In Chicago uses for touring productions, and it fits the scale of a show like this. The venue page and Broadway In Chicago’s main site both place the Auditorium in that downtown rotation alongside the city’s other big commercial theater stops. In other words, this wasn’t some pop-up booking — it was a standard high-profile touring engagement in one of Chicago’s marquee rooms. (broadwayinchicago.com) ### Is this a new version of CHICAGO? No. The selling point is almost the opposite. The production is still being marketed on longevity — more than 10,000 performances and nearly three decades on Broadway, plus major awards and the familiar stripped-down, black-and-red style people expect. That consistency is part of the show’s business model. You go because it’s CHICAGO, not because it has been radically reinvented. (auditoriumtheatre.org) ### What’s the bottom line? If you were looking at the Auditorium Theatre listing, the important update is simple: the Chicago engagement has already ended, with performances running May 5 to May 10, 2026. The show itself is still very much alive — just not in that venue through July. (auditoriumtheatre.org)
