Theater Wit: smart.art

The Best Show of the 2025 Season!

★★★★ Wechsler’s ensemble knocks the show out of the park. The intricate drama hurtles by on a razor’s edge between tragedy and comedy, rage and serenity, hope and despair.Catey Sullivan, Sun Times

Thrilling to watch! Everybody on earth ought to go see Prayer for the French Republic Dueling Critics, WCDB

Rich, sprawling and heartfelt!Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

FINAL EXTENSION! MUST CLOSE 5/25!!

A powerful story spanning five generations of a French Jewish family, from 1944 to 2017.

From the acclaimed playwright of Bad Jews and Admissions, Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic makes its Chicago premiere under the direction of Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler after a highly lauded and extended Broadway run. Celebrated by The Wall Street Journal as “easily the finest play of the Broadway season” and hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “gripping and epic,” this powerful new work combines sharp humor with moving drama as it explores themes of survival, family, and identity in the face of relentless adversity.

In 1944, a Jewish couple in Paris anxiously awaits news of their missing relatives. Seventy years later, their great-grandchildren confront the same harrowing question: “Are we safe?” Spanning five generations, Prayer for the French Republic is a profound, sweeping look at history, home, and the enduring scars of hatred, all delivered with Harmon’s signature wit.

Cast
Crew
Reviews

Janet Ulrich Brooks

Rae Gray

Rom Barkhordar

Nathan Becker

Lawerence Grimm

Alex Weisman

Torrey Hanson

Maya Hlava

Max Stewart

Henson Keys

Directed by Jeremy Wechsler
Scenic Design by Joe Schermoly
Costume Design by Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Design by JR Lederle
Original Music and Sound Design by Joseph Cerqua
Properties Design by Nicolas Bartleson
Stage Managed by Katie Klemme
Intimacy Coordination by Jyreilka Guest
Assistant Direction by Rachel Ruben
Assistant Stage Management by Lauren Peters

★★★★ Riveting, gripping and compelling. Prayer for the French Republic may be set a continent away, but the message strikes at home all too strongly…in fact, too close for comfort.

— Paul Lisnek, WGN

Wechsler’s ensemble knocks the show out of the park, never more so when the Salomons are in conflict... Yet the ensemble makes it clear that amid all the vitriol, this is a family defined by unconditional love.

— Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times

★★★ Rich, sprawling and heartfelt drama. Real dramatic force.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

A wonderful play. Absolutely flies by with not a wasted word! Everybody on earth ought to go see Prayer for the French Republic

— Kelly Kleinman, WCDB

Brooks can convey worlds in a single word, and she’s in peak form here. Grimm is fantastic. Gray’s Elodie is also strong, particularly in a blistering, show-stopping monologue.

— Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times

Will command your attention from start to finish.

— Rick McCain, Let’s Play

The cast, simply put, is stellar. Janet Ulrich Brooks (as Marcelle) is one of Chicago’s premiere talents and she shines here with strength and dominance; a tour de force. Not to be missed!

— Paul Lisnek, WGN

★★★★ Under Wechsler’s direction, the ensemble cast is, by turns, both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Breathtaking!

— Doug Mose, Third Coast Review

Riveting and very real.

— Julia Roth, Around the Town

★★★★★ Jeremy Wechsler’s splendid direction neatly captures a story that is sad yet funny and smart

— Julia Roth, Around the Town

★★★★ Hurtles by on a razor’s edge between tragedy and comedy, rage and serenity, hope and despair.

— Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times

Director Jeremy Wechsler brought together a remarkably talented ensemble to navigate three hours of deeply affecting, captivating, and touching dialogue.

— Rick McCain, Let’s Play

The cast’s compelling chemistry was enthralling and surreal, making for a deeply moving theatrical experience.

— Rick McCain, Let’s Play

Stellar performances!

— Bill Esler, Buzz Center Stage

Considering that the parallels between antisemitism in France and the United States are slowly becoming all too true, this well-crafted and intricate play may resonate more with an American audience today than when Harmon first wrote it.

— Julia Roth, Around the Town

Get Tickets

A co-production with

All performances are at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd

[Role]

TODO: Add biography text here.

Be a Member. Explore. Unlimited Theater.

Explore dozens of productions with hundreds of performances every year

Only $35/month

View all performances

Theater Wit is partially supported and funded by generous grants from Actors Equity Foundation, Bayless Family Foundation, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, League Of Chicago Theaters, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, Paul M. Angell Foundation, The Morgan-Senior Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and the Saints Volunteers for the Performing Arts.