Goodman Theatre Marks Centennial Season With Record Attendance and Expanded Community Reach (Chicago, IL) – The Goodman Theatre is marking the conclusion of its 2025-26 Centennial Season with record attendance and expanded programming across Chicago, reporting more than 300,000 patrons at approximately 4,000 performances and events.
The theater’s newly released “A Century of Impact” report says 57% of those attending the Goodman during the season were first-time visitors. The season featured 15 productions, including 11 that were extended and 290 sold-out performances. Audiences came from 61 countries outside the United States and represented 5,837 unique ZIP codes.
The world-premiere musical Iceboy! or, The Completely Untrue Story of How Eugene O’Neill Came to Write The Iceman Cometh became the Goodman’s best-attended and best-selling production in its history.
The Centennial Season also expanded the theater’s reach beyond its traditional stages. The Goodman transformed a 15,000-square-foot unfinished space for Theater of the Mind, an immersive work created by David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar. The production attracted an audience that was 63% first-time Goodman attendees.
Chicago magician Dennis Watkins continued his third year at The Magic Parlour through a partnership involving the Goodman and Petterino’s. The program hosted 163 sold-out performances and featured nine guest artists.
The theater also completed its yearlong 100 Free Acts of Theater initiative, working with 48 community partners and reaching all 50 Chicago wards. More than 20,000 people attended the free performances and activities, which were presented in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
Programs designed for younger audiences also drew thousands of participants. Theater for the Very Young reached nearly 5,000 children and caregivers, while nearly 13,000 people participated in free and low-cost Education and Engagement programs during the season.
Goodman Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins said the centennial provided an opportunity to measure the theater’s impact not only by attendance but also by its connections with communities throughout Chicago.
“One hundred years ago, Chicago gave us a stage. Over the past century, this city has given us so much more—welcoming generations of artists with bold ideas, filling our theaters with laughter, applause and conversation, challenging us to tell stories that reflect who we are, who we’ve been and who we might yet become,” Booth and Collins said in a joint statement.
The Centennial Season included productions at the 856-seat Albert Theatre and 350-seat Owen Theatre, along with off-site programs and special events. Productions included Ashland Avenue, A Christmas Carol, Holiday, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Iceboy! at the Albert Theatre, while the Owen Theatre presented works including Revolution(s), The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Covenant.
The Goodman also continued its commitment to education and engagement. Nearly 13,000 people participated in nearly 200 free and low-cost programs, workshops and performances, including 4,490 children and caregivers, more than 4,800 students and teachers and nearly 900 older adults.
Two major fundraisers during the Centennial Season generated a combined $1.6 million for the theater’s Education and Engagement programs.
Founded in 1925, the Goodman is entering its second century with a continued focus on new works, classic productions, large-scale musicals and community programming. The theater reports nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards throughout its history.
Goodman Theatre Marks Centennial Season With Record Attendance and Expanded Community Reach
