How can summer end without our annual celebration of exciting new talent blossoming before our eyes in Chicago theater? The Hot New Faces, Class of 2017, photographed by Tribune photojournalist Armando Sanchez, is a reminder that Chicago theater is in constant renewal. Many of these faces graduated from area colleges and universities, a crucial pipeline of creativity. But some came from far away, attracted by the chance to toil on projects in the heart of one of the best theater cities in the world. Get out there and see them work.
Echaka Agba
When the writer Michael Perlman updated his searing play “At the Table” for Chicago’s Broken Nose Theatre, he wrote a new final monologue — all about race, privilege and our inability to listen to those with whom we share this planet — for a character named Lauren. Echaka Agba took Perlman’s gift and flew. This 32-year-old graduate of Indiana University grew up in Bloomington, Ind., and moved to Chicago about five years ago, planning to work as an improviser. But, demonstrably, her skills with words born on a page are formidable. Up next: “The Crucible” at Steppenwolf for Young Audiences, Oct. 4-21; www.steppenwolf.org
Japhet Balaban
Articulate, suave and verbose, this 30-year-old actor has been living and working in Chicago for six years. Japhet Balaban grew up in London, albeit with American parents, graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio and moved to New York. But he says he headed to Chicago because he preferred working with companies like Jackalope Theatre (“Ideation” in May) to the old Gotham round of readings and workshops. You can find him waiting tables at the late-night bar Big Star — or, better yet, onstage at a theater near you. Up next: “Women Laughing Alone With Salad” at Theater Wit, March 9 to April 29; www.theatreinchicago.com
Lucy Godinez
Lucy Godinez has impeccable parentage, at least when it comes to Chicago theater. This 21-year-old Northwestern University student is the daughter of Chicago actors Henry Godinez and Nancy Voigts; she’s inherited her mother’s vocal gifts. She burst onto the professional scene last fall, starring in the Porchlight Music Theatre production of “In the Heights” and, this summer, Mercury Theater’s ensemble-driven production of “Hair.” She says she’s going to concentrate on school this fall. Then watch out. Up next: Appearing as Joanne in “Company” at Northwestern University, Nov. 3-19; artscircle.northwestern.edu
Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel
Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel grew up and trained in Buenos Aries, Argentina, and came to Chicago with her husband, now a doctoral student at the University of Chicago. The 32-year-old says it took her at least a year to figure out the dos and don’ts of auditions in the United States, and to find her way around Chicago’s theater scene. But then she found Steep Theatre and triumphed in “Lela & Co,” in the monster-sized title role. She says that the moment she read Cordelia Lynn’s script, she knew it would change her life. Up next: Appearing in “Lela & Co.” through Sept. 16; steeptheatre.com
Molly Hernandez
Molly Hernandez has not yet graduated from Loyola University, but she’s already received an award of excellence from the Illinois Theatre Association. Although Hernandez, 20, has been acting professionally in and around Chicago since the age of 9 (and we saw her in “Wait Until Dark” a decade ago), the Glen Ellyn native really came to our attention after her moving and impassioned work as Rosabella, the waitress who falls in love with a vineyard foreman, in the Theo Ubique production of “The Most Happy Fella.” Up next: Concentrating on school and hoping for December graduation.
Daniel Kyri
Daniel Kyri, 24, hails from Chicago’s Jackson Park neighborhood but somehow found his way deep inside the soul and dreams of a Libyan refugee in Goodman Theatre’s production of “Objects in the Mirror.” His performance attracted attention: this summer, the graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago is working at the Denver Center on Robert O’Hara’s reimagined “Macbeth.” Then he’s coming home. Thankfully. Up next: Working on his web series “The T,” about two former lovers, now best friends, navigating love and community in Chicago.
Julian Parker
Julian Parker, whose blistering work was featured in Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of Antoinette Nwandu’s “Pass Over,” studied at the University of Illinois. “They left the back door open,” the 27-year-old says of Steppenwolf. The company must be glad it did. Parker also is one of the co-founders of Definition Theatre Company, and he appeared on the pilot for Lena Waithe’s new Showtime drama, “The Chi.” Parker says he’s “enjoying the breeze” while it’s here, and we’re sure appreciating the backdraft. Up next: “Breach: A Manifesto on Race in America Through The Eyes of a Black Girl Recovering From Self-Hate” at Victory Gardens, Feb. 9 to March 11; victorygardens.org
Amber Sallis
Most actors impress by first snagging juicy lead roles. But Sallis had only small ensemble roles to work with in the Steep Theatre production of “Earthquakes in London.” She made all of them (and her trio of characters included a boy with special needs) beautiful portraits of complexity and stress. Sallis, 23, hails from Rockford, and she’s already made a name for herself on the Chicago-based TV shows. We hope the stage can retain her talents. Up next: “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” at Eclectic Theatre Co., Sept. 22 to Oct. 19; www.eclectic-theatre.com
Haley Schneider
This 23-year-old Roosevelt University graduate showed up in one of the hardest shows for a dancer: “Chicago.” Although hired as a swing, this triple threat was so impressive in rehearsals that plans were changed and she made it into the show. Haley Schneider comes from St. Charles, Mo. She says she learned a lot at Drury Lane, where she had aspired to work for years. Up next: Working as a stand-in on “Chicago Fire” through March. Then auditioning.
Aeriel Williams
The 25-year-old, multitalented star of “Black Pearl: A Tribute to Josephine Baker” at Black Ensemble Theater hails from suburban Hazel Crest and is pursuing simultaneous careers in theater and house music (she performs around town under the name Mon’Aerie). Aeriel Williams says her biological father’s last name was Baker, which gave her a feeling of kinship with the great Josephine. When he died three weeks into the run, Williams kept performing, feeling a sense of belonging that helped create BET’s biggest hit of the year. Up next: Appearing at venues around Chicago.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
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