Raven Theatre’s Octet, Dave Malloy’s a cappella chamber musical about internet addiction, is making a rare jump from a neighborhood stage to a downtown mainstage, landing at the Goodman Theatre’s Owen Theatre from July 15 through August 2. The production arrives intact from Raven’s sold-out 130-seat run, just as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s planned film adaptation, with Rachel Zegler and Amanda Seyfried attached, puts the show in the national spotlight. For Chicago theatergoers, it is a chance to catch a homegrown hit preserved on a bigger platform before it heads toward a much wider audience.
The Goodman’s show page lists Octet in the Owen Theatre July 15–August 2, with an advertised running time of about 1 hour and 40 minutes and no intermission, and a recommendation for ages 15 and up, according to the Goodman Theatre. The move bumps the show into a house the city paper describes as holding roughly 300 seats, more than double Raven’s 130-seat space, and tickets for the Goodman engagement start at $44, per the Chicago Sun-Times. Box-office details and performance dates are laid out on the Goodman site and the theatre’s calendar.
From Raven's Run To The Owen
Raven first mounted Octet this spring in its 130-seat venue and sold out the entire engagement; the company is now remounting the show at Goodman with director Keira Fromm and the same ensemble, per Raven Theatre. The cast includes Neala Barron, Joryhebel Ginorio, Grace Steckler, Sam Shankman and Jeff Award winner Elliot Esquivel, and local reviews praised the production’s vocal precision and emotional immediacy. Raven’s page lists the full creative team and confirms the Goodman transfer, underscoring how a modest, ambitious storefront staging has quickly become a citywide event.
Keeping The Intimacy
Fromm said keeping the show’s close-quarters charge was at the top of the to-do list. “We’ve seen the ground plan, and we’re able to put our stage into the Owen in a way that we’re going to retain that thrust setup,” she told the paper. Goodman artistic director Susan Booth said the theatre wanted to “amplify” Octet’s audience by giving Raven a downtown platform, a decision that followed Goodman staffers seeing the original run. Those comments were reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Film Buzz And The Stakes
The transfer lines up neatly with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s announcement that he will direct a feature adaptation of Octet and that a starry ensemble, including Rachel Zegler and Amanda Seyfried, is attached, according to Playbill. Local critics have celebrated Raven’s vocal bravura, while some have wondered whether the pure, live a cappella jolt can survive the jump to cinema; early reviews and regional coverage trace both the show’s emotional range and the risks baked into adaptation. For a taste of the praise that helped push the transfer along, see the review at Third Coast Review.
Tickets And How To See It
For ticketing, performance dates and accessibility information, audiences can consult the Goodman’s show page; performances run July 15–August 2 with evening shows and several matinees on the calendar. The remount offers Chicago audiences a rare, up-close musical experience in a downtown venue, arriving just ahead of Octet’s next life on film.
