Your Chicago Guide’s tckets for two to the press viewing of The Targeted courtesy of A Red Orchid Theatre.
Already extended due to popular demand, The Targeted, A Red Orchid Theatre’s world premiere of the new tragicomedy by Hannah Kime, is currently on stage at the Chopin Theatre through June 21, 2026.
Welcome to the Solidarity and Truth Summit. A gathering of the most persecuted, tortured, and misunderstood people in the entire world. They call themselves Targeted Individuals, and they are victims of a vast and covert program of systematic torture, surveillance and harassment by global intergovernmental powers. Over the course of this weekend in the woods they will discuss strategies to take down the deep state, bring awareness to their plight, and despite their suffering, stay human. The Targeted is a comedy about connection, denial, the ideas we let consume us, and the itches we just can’t scratch.
“Targeted Individuals” – a group of people who are convinced they are being surveilled by the government, meet in a quiet resort, bringing together a motley crew of characters, one stranger than the next. Yet all of them utterly relatable. Over a three-day weekend, many of the group members find kinship with similar trauma while others are skeptical with the moral purposes of the resort. While specific characters’ stories end ambiguous, the themes of suffering, paranoia and human connection remain very present in this new play.
The Targeted succeeds as both a dark comedy and a compassionate examination of human connection. A Red Orchid Theatre closes its 33rd season with a production that is unsettling, and empathetic, leaving audiences with lingering questions about belief, grief and the communities people build in order to survive them.
Rhonda carries a kit to extract microchips. Didi wears a specially-made cloaking device. Eric stuffs his hat with foil. They are each in physical, mental and emotional pain. They are Targeted Individuals, being harassed and tortured by the government. And the worst part, their families and friends can’t comprehend their suffering. They have gathered with fellow believers at the Solidarity and Truth Summit. Eric’s sister is attending the weekend conference too. She is trying to understand. Her search for answers leads to a lot more questions.
This is a tale about the people behind the conspiracy theories. Television shows conveying messages. Rays inflicting excruciating misery. Celebrities being held captive. The show starts with a running loop of conspiracy theorie. The cringe-worthy commentary is akin to a Fox News-athon. Kime doesn’t just pile on the crazy sh#t. She takes special care to illustrate the humanity behind the lunacy. She doesn’t make fun. She represents what’s going on in the heads and in the ecosystem of the afflicted. Kime’s script is steeped in heart, humor and horror.
Thought provoking and engaging, The Targeted presents theatre at its finest, offering a point of view from all sides, and leaving the conclusions to the audience. An entertaining hour and a half, and definitely worth seeing!
The Targeted, A Red Orchid Theatre production, is now on stage at the Wicker Park’s Chopin Theatre, 1542 West Division Street . For tickets visit the official website here.