Broadway in Bronzeville
The in-house production company of the Harold Washington Cultural Center.
Theater Made Here
Broadway in Bronzeville is the Harold Washington Cultural Center's own production company and its flagship programming brand. The shows are produced, cast, and staged here, in the 1,000-seat theater built on the ground of the historic Regal Theatre at 47th Street and King Drive.
This corner is where Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and generations of Black artists performed. Broadway in Bronzeville carries that work forward with original productions, beloved revivals, and a company that trains the next generation while the curtain is up.
What's On Now
Photo: Theon Reynolds
Photo: Theon Reynolds
Off the Streets and On the Stage
"Off the Streets and On the Stage" is the motto of Broadway in Bronzeville, and it is also the program at the heart of every production. Young people and adults train side by side in professional theater: performance, production, hospitality, and audience development.
Apprentices are paid, and the cycles reset every 15 weeks, so new apprentices join throughout the year. The work is intergenerational by design. Veterans of the stage teach newcomers, and newcomers keep the company honest and alive.
The stage also does quieter work. The Center uses theater as therapy and grief counseling, giving people a craft and a place to work through loss.
Paid Apprenticeships
Apprentice cycles reset every 15 weeks across performance, production, hospitality, and audience development.
Intergenerational Training
Young people and seasoned artists learn and build together, on stage and behind it.
Theater as Healing
Productions and workshops that use the stage for therapy and grief counseling.
On the Marquee
Across the years, Broadway in Bronzeville has staged a body of work that runs from classic musicals to original Chicago stories.
- Ain't Misbehavin'
- Annie
- Black Nativity
- Purlie
- The Tap Dance Kid
- Imitation of Life
- The Color Purple
- Cooley High The Musical
- Miracle on 47th Street
- Broadway Soul
- King of the Policy
- Just a Kid from the Chi
- Policy: A Family Business
Policy: A Family Business (February 2025)
Written and directed by Global Director Jimalita Tillman, Policy: A Family Business played four sold-out shows during Chicago Theatre Week in February 2025.
What's On Now
The Next Season Is Taking Shape
The next production is in rehearsal. Join First Row to hear it first.
Join First Row
From 47th Street to the Tony Awards
Every year since 2013, Broadway in Bronzeville has taken students to the Tony Awards, where they see the highest level of the craft they are training in. They come home knowing the distance between this stage and that one is shorter than they thought.
The trip, like the company itself, is funded by community and private donors.
Support the CenterFrom the Stage
Join First Row
Be first in line for tickets, presales, and announcements from Broadway in Bronzeville and the Harold Washington Cultural Center.