“Chopin in Winter”, a stage adaptation of a short story by Chicago writer Stuart Dybek, will be presented from September 27 to October 18, 2026, at the MainStage Chopin Theatre. Yasen Peyankov will portray the story’s characters, while pianist Jana Pavlovska will blend Chopin’s music with the boogie-woogie spirit.
Chopin’s nocturnes drift from the upstairs apartment, occasionally giving way to boogie-woogie rhythms, as a boy living downstairs tries to make sense of the adult world. Although the story is set after World War II, its questions about memory, family, and belonging remain surprisingly contemporary.
Chopin Theatre Productions returns to producing its own shows with a work that springs straight from the streets of Chicago. This is not a classic recital with an added plot. Music becomes the language of the neighborhood, where Polish immigrants, working-class families, and a child’s imagination live under one roof.
Chicago Heard Through the Ceiling
The story follows a young boy living with his family in a working-class neighborhood of Chicago. From the apartment above him comes the piano playing of the mysterious Marcy, who practices Chopin late into the evenings and occasionally indulges in boogie-woogie. Also appearing in the boy’s home is Dzia-Dzia—an aging Polish immigrant for whom music unlocks memories of exile, poverty, and survival.
Dybek grew up on the South Side, and in “Chopin in Winter,” he drew upon images remembered from around 18th Street in Pilsen. The characters are not straightforward portraits of specific individuals, but they carry the traces of people from his childhood: neighbors, uncles returning from the war, and his grandfather, who survived a mine disaster in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after arriving in America. This is why the Polish character of this story does not resemble mere decoration. It is present in the way of speaking, staying silent, and preserving memory.
A Story Written by Old Records
Stuart Dybek recalls writing “Chopin in Winter” during a Michigan winter while listening to Artur Rubinstein’s recordings of the nocturnes on vinyl records spinning at 33⅓ rpm. In his studio set up in a barn loft, he would stoke the wood stove and wait for the old tube equipment to be ready to play the music.
“Music has always been one of my primary sources of inspiration,” Dybek writes in the introduction prepared for the Chopin Theatre.
In his story, Chopin does not illustrate events. The melodies trigger the characters’ imaginations and allow them to express what they cannot say directly.
One Actor, Multiple Characters, and Live Piano
On stage, all the characters will be brought to life by Yasen Peyankov, a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member and professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. His monologue will be interspersed with short pieces of Chopin and boogie-woogie performed live by Jana Pavlovska, a concert pianist and lecturer at Roosevelt University. The entire production is directed by Dexter Bullard, affiliated with The Theatre School at DePaul University.
The combination of a single actor and a pianist gives the performance an intimate feel. Peyankov guides the audience through successive characters, and the brief piano pieces alter the rhythm of the tale. As a result, the one-hour performance can focus on what matters most in Dybek’s story: the voice, the music, and the memories of postwar Chicago.
Polish Memory Inscribed in an American City
The premiere falls just ahead of October, celebrated in the United States as Polish American Heritage Month. The timing fits Dybek’s work, yet the performance is not limited to an event exclusively for the Polish-American community. It speaks to an experience familiar to many immigrant families: how to carry history from one country to another and how to prevent the next generation from losing touch with it.
For audiences outside of Chicago, “Chopin in Winter” can also be an encounter with a city different from the one on postcards. Pilsen, 18th Street, working-class apartments, and sounds filtering through the walls create a map of Chicago constructed from the residents’ memories. On this map, Chopin sounds alongside boogie-woogie—and it is precisely this unusual neighborhood that gives the performance its own rhythm.
Dates, Tickets, and Venue
The preview performance will take place on Sunday, September 27 at 7:00 PM, with the official opening on Monday, September 28 at 7:00 PM. Subsequent performances are scheduled for Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM, running through October 18, 2026.
The play will be performed at the MainStage Chopin Theatre, located at 1543 W. Division St. in Chicago. Preview tickets cost $25; regular tickets are $40 for adults and $30 for students and seniors. Information and ticket sales are available through the official Chopin Theatre website.
