Joffrey Ballet to be first U.S. company to premiere ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ Neumeier’s ‘Liliom’ in 2026-2027

Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet will be the first American company to bring John Neumeier’s landmark narrative ballet “Liliom” and Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Sleeping Beauty” to the stage next season, placing the city’s top ballet company “at the forefront of dance,” the company announced Tuesday.

Joffrey’s 71st season will open Sept. 17-27 with the Chicago premiere of “Liliom,” a tragic story of love and redemption set in a fading American amusement park during the Great Depression.

Inspired by Ferenc Molnár’s 1909 play and later adapted into Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s 1945 musical “Carousel,” “Liliom” is set to multi-Academy Award-winning composer Michel Legrand’s score that blends classical and jazz influences.

Closing out the Joffrey’s season in May 2027 will be the North American premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s ”The Sleeping Beauty,” the classic fairy tale brought to life through Jerome Kaplan’s costume and set design and Tchaikovsky’s beloved score.

Ashley Wheater, the Mary B. Galvin artistic director, calls the North American premieres “works of rare theatrical scale.”

“We are proud to be the first American company to present the Chicago premiere of ‘Liliom,’ John Neumeier’s masterful, heartbreakingly beautiful narrative ballet rarely seen in the United States, as well as the North American premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s ‘The Sleeping Beauty,’” Wheater said. “This season brings the full breadth of the art form on one stage, performed by a Company dancing at the highest level.”

Other highlights of the 2026-27 season include the return of Wheeldon’s Chicago-set take on the “The Nutcracker,” returning Dec. 4-27; “Notes on Love, a mixed rep program that will feature a world premiere by Winning Works alum Houston Thomas alongside works by late British choreographer Liam Scarlett and Joffrey rehearsal director Nicolas Blanc.

The season “reflects an organization operating at scale — investing in artists, pairing artistic ambition with structural strength and asserting Chicago’s role as a center for creative leadership,” President and CEO Greg Cameron said in a release.

This is the Joffrey’s sixth season at Lyric Opera, where it will remain through 2034. The Joffrey’s lease was slated to end following the 2027 season, but the ballet company and the Downtown opera house reached an extension last summer.