The Joffrey Ballet announced its 2026-27 season on Tuesday, entering the landmark company’s seventh decade with a trio of imaginative story ballets and a Valentine’s Day program exploring all manners of love.
The season opens Sept. 17-27 with the Chicago premiere of “Liliom,” a ballet adapted from the 1909 French play that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel.” The piece follows Liliom, a hopelessly romantic carny whose passion gets the better of him in a dingy amusement park at the height of America’s Great Depression.
It was “Liliom” choreographer John Neumeier whose wild imagination also made “The Little Mermaid,” performed by the Joffrey in 2023, and a new dance-heavy production of the opera “Orphee” in 2017, the latter marking an inaugural collaboration between Joffrey and the Lyric Opera. In hindsight, that was probably designed as a litmus test ahead of the Joffrey’s permanent move to the Lyric Opera House.
A Midwest native, Neumeier, 87, has spent most of his life in Europe, directing the Hamburg Ballet for more than 50 years until his retirement in 2024. Most all of his extensive catalog is firmly rooted in European tales and ephemera — except “Liliom.”
By moving Ferenc Molnár’s play from Budapest to an unnamed (and struggling) American landscape, “Liliom” is a rare glimpse into Neumeier’s interpretation of Americana. Yet it’s hardly been seen on this side of the Atlantic. In fact, Joffrey will be the first American company to attempt it.
The Czech National Ballet performs “Liliom.” (Sergei Gherciu / Czech National Ballet)
The season also includes a pair of popular titles by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. In addition to his Chicago-themed “Nutcracker,” running for four weeks in December, the Joffrey closes its 2026-27 season with the North American premiere of Wheeldon’s “The Sleeping Beauty.”
Wheeldon first staged his version of the canonical ballet with the Royal Danish Ballet in 2012, taking a fresh look at Tchaikovsky’s iconic score at what turned out to be the onset of a wave of 21st century choreographers reimagining the classics. And while Joffrey has somewhat recently performed versions of “Swan Lake,” “Cinderella” and “La Bayadere,” this classic among classics has not appeared in the Joffrey’s repertoire at all, until now.
“The Sleeping Beauty” runs May 13-23, 2027; all productions are at the Lyric Opera House.
The Joffrey’s annual winter mixed-repertoire program, an evening collectively titled “Notes on Love,” includes a world premiere from native Chicagoan Houston Thomas, whose early training was with the Joffrey’s school and ChiArts. Like Neumeier, Thomas landed in Europe, performing for a decade with Dresden Semperoper Ballett and launching his choreographic career in Germany before returning Stateside. Among Thomas’ long list of commissions since committing to choreography full time was a spot in the Joffrey’s Academy’s 2024 edition of the Winning Works competition. He returns to his hometown to make “Dear Chicago: A Love Letter” for the professional company as part of a love-inspired program running Feb. 4-14, 2027.
A pair of dances by Joffrey rehearsal director Nicolas Blanc — including one that’s brand new to the company — and the return of Liam Scarlett’s exquisite “Hummingbird,” adopted by the company in 2024, complete the evening.
Subscriptions for the 2026-27 season, excluding “Nutcracker,” start at $138, available at 312-386-8905 and joffrey.org. Single tickets for all performances go on sale this summer.
