Gwendolyn Whiteside, Executive Artistic Director of American Blues Theater, will return to the stage this February in the lead role of Lola in William Inge’s “Come Back, Little Sheba.” The production, running February 6 through March 22, 2026, marks the company’s continuation of its 40th anniversary season.
Whiteside, who also directs several productions for the theater, will appear alongside American Blues Theater Ensemble members Philip Earl Johnson and Joslyn Jones, as well as Artistic Affiliates Maya Hlava, Cisco Lopez and William Anthony Sebastian Rose II. The play will be staged in the company’s Studio Theater, located at 5627 N. Lincoln Ave. In Chicago, according to a statement from American Blues Theater.
“Come Back, Little Sheba” centers on Lola and Doc, a couple grappling with past choices and the weight of disappointment, whose routines are disrupted by the arrival of a young college boarder, Marie. Associate Artistic Director Elyse Dolan is directing the production, aiming for an immersive experience that emphasizes the emotional intensity of Inge’s work. Dolan stated she intends to “surprise and thrill audiences with our intimate, immersive, in-your-face production,” noting the play’s continued relevance despite being written 75 years ago, addressing themes of loss, addiction, infertility, and loneliness.
The American Blues Theater’s 40th season also includes Kristoffer Diaz’s “Things With Friends,” which premiered in August 2025, the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” which ran through December 2025, and “Always…Patsy Cline,” scheduled for May through June 2026. The theater also continues its programming with community events known as The Commons, an accessibility series called @Home, the Rubber Banned Book Club, and new work development initiatives.
William Inge’s playwriting career included Tony Award nominations for both “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” in 1958 and “Bus Stop” in 1956, and he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1953 for “Picnic.”
