Writer and performer Eileen Byrne brings her acclaimed one-woman play Running with Coffee to Chicago for two performances only, presented at Lookingglass Theatre Company’s Water Tower Water Works. Following successful runs in the Chicago suburbs and New York City, this intimate and deeply human solo performance will be presented Saturday, May 16, at 7:00pm and Sunday, May 17 at 1:00pm on stage in the Lookingglass lobby in the historic Water Tower Water Works, 163 Pearson Street.
Tickets, $35, are available through the Lookingglass box office at 312.337.0665 or
In Running with Coffee, Byrne portrays eleven characters in a tour-de-force solo performance drawn from her own lived experience. When a daughter opens her home to her separated parents, one living with dementia, she finds herself navigating the emotional, logistical, and deeply personal realities of caregiving. Blending humor with poignancy, the play explores memory loss, mental health, and the quiet isolation that can exist within families.
Writer/performer Eileen Byrne comments, “This is a very personal story for me, balancing humor with real-life, mid-life struggles. By stepping into the shoes of these characters, I portray the chaotic beauty of this family faced with dementia and decades of distance. There is an incredible, healing power in finally telling your own story and I am overjoyed to be sharing it again with Chicago audiences.”
Critics have praised Byrne’s dynamic performance and emotional depth. Theater Pizzazz called the piece “a tale that touched the heart with sadness, regret, and guilt,” noting that Byrne “assumed the characters in her personal orbit… shifting quickly into each… masterfully.” Wilmette Living described the work as “a hilarious yet heartfelt look at caregiving, mid-life challenges, mental health, and the everyday chaos of a family adjusting to major life changes.”
With limited seating and just two performances, Running with Coffee offers Chicago audiences a rare opportunity to experience this moving and timely work in an intimate setting. To learn more about the production, visit www.eileenbyrne.org/running-with-coffee.
Eileen Byrne is a playwright and actress who portrays eleven characters in the critically acclaimed Running With Coffee, which she recently performed off-Broadway in the United Solo Festival, Theater Row. She earned a Best Actress nomination for her performance in the 2024 1st Irish Festival. The show was first workshopped and staged for the Br!nk New Play Festival for women playwrights in Milwaukee in September 2022. Byrne’s other works include The Middle (Playwrights and Artists Festival, Know Theatre in Binghamton, NY), The Gettysburg Redress (Rockford New Words Fest -West Side Show Room in Rockford, IL),. Snowglobal Warming (Players Theatre/ Zoom), the Best in Show--2019 BooFest winning play Wingman, Tenants (NYC Fest-Players Theatre), Allegations (2nd Act Players/MeToo Festival in Evanston and The One That’s a Play (Stage 773).
A native of Queens, New York, Eileen Byrne is a graduate of Fordham University and holds a Master’s degree from Northwestern University.
Title: Running with Coffee
Written and Performed by: Eileen Byrne
Schedule:
Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 7:00pm
Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 1:00pm
Location: Lookingglass Theatre Company, 163 Pearson Street, Chicago
Outer Lobby (East Wall Stage)
Run Time: Approximately 90 minutes
Tickets: $35
Box Office: Buy online at lookingglasstheatre.org or by phone at (312) 337-0665
The Lookingglass box office is located at Water Tower Water Works, 163 Pearson Street, Chicago, IL 60611
