Welcome to Next Theatre

Welcome to the new home of Evanston’s resident professional theatre. It is our vision to become a national destination for audiences and artists who share our vision that theatre can promote awareness and provoke change with more power than any other medium of expression. Since our founding in 1981 by Harriet Spizziri and Brian Finn, our 167-seat space has been home to over a hundred productions, serving nearly a quarter of a million theatergoers and winning Jeff Awards in nearly every category. The theater's adventurous spirit and great conviction prompted Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune to announce that The Next is "a resounding reaffirmation of what faith, dedication and talent can accomplish. It is what distinguished Chicago theatre in its early stages more than a quarter century ago, and it is what continues to make Chicago theater so exciting. How fortunate we are to have theaters such as The Next in our midst."