Holding the 2008 regional-theater Tony Award and a fast-growing reputation for its handsome productions of Shakespeare and modern classics, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater has become one of the city’s favorite institutions. Inside, the theater has been given a decidedly British touch with a mainstage modeled after the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre. The Bookstall, open before the show and at intermission, is a drama-lover’s dream, selling playscripts and books on the theater, as well as CST merchandise.

Chicago Shakes’ diverse offerings include everything from Shakespeare-contemporary Marlowe to modern master Stephen Sondheim, along with visits from acclaimed international companies like the Globe and La Comedie Francaise. What’s most remarkable is that CST keeps finding new ways to present the Bard himself, with such imaginative productions asFunk It Up About Nothin’ (an ad-rap-tation of Much Ado), Romeo y Julieta, and Mac Homer: The Simpsons Do Macbeth.