5 Family Friendly Theatre Ticket GIVEAWAYS: ChiIL Mama's Thanksgiving Theater Bonanza

ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List

WIN A Family 4 Pack of Tickets To Marriott's Shrek, House Theatre & Ruth Page Nutcrackers, 
Filament Theatre's Snow Queen and 

American Girl LIVE!

Happy Thanksgiving week, all. Here at ChiIL Mama, we're thankful to live in the greatest theatre town in the nation. We're also thankful for our readers, and for ChiIL Mama's 10 years as one of Chicago's top parenting resources for family friendly arts and entertainment, giveaways, exclusive original content, and more. We're celebrating with stellar ticket giveaways from some of our favorite Chicago theaters! 

Our giveaways are open for entries through a range of dates from midnight, November 26th through December 15th. Good luck

Enter any or all of ChiIL Mama's giveaways below for your chance to WIN free tickets to take your family to top Chicago area theatre productions. 

You can share daily on social media for extra entries. Many are open ended, with winners' choice of dates, but some are date specific. Please double check possible show dates and only enter ones you can attend. Thanks! 

Winners will be announced here and on our social media networks the day after each giveaway closes. Winners will also be e-mailed directly. Winners are chosen by random number generator. Entries are open until midnight on the day designated. Enter early and often.

1. ENTER HERE for your chance to WIN 4 Tickets to The House Theatre's Ballet-Free, Original Nutcracker (Up to $200 Value) 

Age range: All (Scary giant rat puppet and themes of death and loss may be tough for young or sensitive children, but all ages are welcome.) 

*NOTE: special family events on Nov. 25th and Dec. 2nd!

FAMILY DAY

Sunday, Nov 25, 1pm - 4:30pm 

Family Day offers "extras" for our younger guests ages 5+. Come early for kids' crafts including cookie decorating from our partners at Whole Foods Lakeview. Watch the 2pm matinee, and then join in a talkback for kids after the show lead by teen reviewer Ada Grey!

Giveaway Details: Winner's choice of any show date/time through December 9th. Enter through midnight 11/26. 

Click for Show Details: THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO THE NUTCRACKER, NOVEMBER 8 – DECEMBER 30, 
AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE




2. Enter HERE for your chance to WIN 4 Tickets to Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences' Shrek the Musical ($75 Value)

Age range: All

Giveaway Details: Winner's choice of dates through 12/30/18 (pending availability). Enter through midnight 11/26.

Click for Show Details: SHREK THE MUSICAL at The Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences (Lincolnshire) Through December 30th, 2018

3. Enter HERE for Your Chance to WIN 4 Tickets to Filament Theatre's Snow Queen (Up to $70 Value)

Age range: All (great tie in activities/crafts for young kids)

Giveaway Details: Enter through midnight 11/26. Winner's choice of dates through 12/23/18.

Click for Show Details: THE SNOW QUEEN Based on the Fairy Tale by Hans Christian Andersen through December 23, 2018 at Filament Theatre (Chicago) 4041 N Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60641

4. Enter HERE For Your Chance to WIN 4 Tickets to Ruth Page Civic Ballet's The Nutcracker (Up to $128 Value/2 Winners)!

Age range: All
Giveaway Details: Enter through midnight Monday 11/26. ChiIL Mama's giving away two family four packs to Ruth Page Civic Ballet’s The Nutcracker. The tickets are specifically for the Saturday, Dec. 1st performance at 3 p.m. only. Our 2 winners will be announced the Tuesday before the performance. 

Click for show Details:  RUTH PAGE CIVIC BALLET’S THE NUTCRACKER RETURNS TO NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, DECEMBER 1 AND 2 2018 2 days/4 shows only: Northeastern Illinois University, 3701 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue in Chicago

5. Enter HERE for your chance to WIN 4 Tickets to Opening Night of American Girl LIVE on 12/21/18 (Up to $188 Value)

Age range: All
Giveaway Details: Enter through midnight 12/15/18. Tickets good for opening night on 12/21/18.

Click for Show Details: WORLD PREMIERE OF AMERICAN GIRL LIVE First National Tour to Launch at The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie December 21-23, 2018


Disclosure: It's our great pleasure at ChiIL Mama to partner up with lots of local theaters, restaurants, live concert venues and more, to offer great giveaways for our readers. Thanks to all the theaters mentioned here for offering us complimentary tickets for review purposes and for our giveaways. As always, all opinions are my own. 

REVIEW: Filament Theatre's Snow Queen and Enter To Win 4 Tickets ($70 Value)

ChiIL Mama's Chi, IL Picks List:

THE SNOW QUEEN

Written by Tyler J. Monroe

Directed by Allegra Libonati

Based on the Fairy Tale by Hans Christian Andersen

Dates: Saturdays & Sundays Through December 23, 2018

Running time: About 60 minutes

Enter below for your chance to WIN 4 Tickets to your choice of show times/dates (pending availability).

Guest Review 
by Lori Morrison-Contreras

The Snow Queen is a classic fairytale brought to life in an interactive and engaging manner. When we first arrived, there was a table set up for us to make snowflakes. Inside, there was material on each table to make roses. These snowflakes and roses, as we were told, would help the story to come to life.

This adaptation is about an hour which is the perfect length for the younger audiences for which this is geared.

The Snow Queen’s (Lindsey Dorcus) mirror is stolen and broken. Kai, (Christian Libonati), excellent at puzzle solving, is kidnapped by the Snow Queen to coerce him into fixing her mirror.

Kai’s brave and determined best friend Gerda (Mara Dale) faces freezing cold water as well as many interesting characters along the way including trolls, reindeer, swallows and ravens.  It is a tale of the lengths you will go to to help a beloved friend, even when they don’t know they need it.


The talented actors play many different parts in this wonderful story! The props are simple yet amazing! The Snow Queen’s giant, menacing mask and the bird puppets with their moving wings add a magical element to the experience!

Times: Saturday @ 10am & 2:30pm; Sunday @ 1pm

Price: $14 – $17.50

Contact: Boxoffice: Filamenttheatre.org; (773) 270-1660

Address: 4041 N Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60641

About the Show:

Filament’s 2014 hit is back and better than ever! When her best friend Kai is lured to the wicked Snow Queen’s palace, Gerda embarks on an unexpected quest to the ends of the world to save him. This epic story of courage and friendship across the wintry wonders of the North Pole and beyond will warm your heart with music, puppetry, and lots of theatrical magic.

Run time:
About 60 minutes; Audiences are encouraged to come early and stay up to 30 minutes after the performance to play with the actors and participate in activities.



What Parents said about our 2014 production:

“This play blew me away! My wife and 5 yr. old son and I went last Saturday and it really was an excellent play. I thought that it would be fun for my son but it turned out that we all enjoyed it! The actors are excellent. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!”

– Brian Lovegod Smith, Audience Member via EveryBlock
“The Snow Queen was great! My 5 year old son and my 58 year old mom both loved it.”

– Naomi Millan, Audience Member via Facebook
“(We) went to this show on Saturday – it was fantastic!”

– Tammy Estes Woods, Audience Member via Facebook
“What a great experience! We saw the snow queen show and could not be happier. It was easy to use my imagination and to laugh. Loved the inclusion of the audience too! Great job. :-)” – Katie Gerson, Audience Member via Facebook

What Critics said about our 2014 production:

“Sometimes a simple snowstorm is all that’s needed to warm the heart.” – Bob Bullen, Chicago Theatre Addict

“Full of little surprises…it’s a sprinkling of magic in which brutal winter finally gets some comeuppance.”
– Dan Jakes, TIMEOUT CHICAGO (Recommended)

Enter HERE for your chance to WIN 4 Tickets

($70 Value)

Winner's choice of dates/times (pending availability). Enter through midnight November 26th, 2018. Winner will be announced here and on our social media channels on Tuesday the 27th.

Disclosure: Thanks to Filament for providing complimentary tickets for our giveaway and review purposes. As always, all opinions are our own.