The Understudy Coffee and Books

The Understudy Coffee and Books We're an all new theatre bookstore and coffee shop in the Andersonville neighborhood of CHI
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Heads up! It's time to close and reset before we head into the summer months. We'll be closed Thursday, but we'll see yo...
06/10/2026

Heads up!

It's time to close and reset before we head into the summer months. We'll be closed Thursday, but we'll see you again Friday!

📕 BOOK TALK INCOMING ✈️ Join us Tuesday, June 16th to discuss PONY by Sylvan Oswald, a seminal work of trans theater bro...
06/05/2026

📕 BOOK TALK INCOMING ✈️

Join us Tuesday, June 16th to discuss PONY by Sylvan Oswald, a seminal work of trans theater brought to the page for the first time by Northwestern University Press.

When Pony, a formerly incarcerated trans guy, moves to a small rural town to start a new life, he quickly becomes entangled with its isolated community. He starts to fall for a waitress who is obsessed with a local murder; he must comply with a butch social worker who doesn’t understand him; and he is pursued by a young trans man who thinks Pony could be the father he always wanted. Amid this whirlwind of fear and desire, Pony must find the strength to confront the stories he's been told about masculinity, violence, and self-worth.

Premiered Spring 2011 at About Face Theatre in Chicago, Sylvan will discuss this work with theatre educator, director, and dramaturg Abhi Shrestha. Don't miss it!

hey gay ppl! happy pride (◕ω◕✿)✨scroll through to check out winners and honorees of the Stonewall Book Award from ‘23 th...
06/05/2026

hey gay ppl! happy pride (◕ω◕✿)✨

scroll through to check out winners and honorees of the Stonewall Book Award from ‘23 through ‘26 🌈

***rbookstagram ***r

Tonight we have the fabulous performing a beautiful rendition of Carole King’s Tapestry in the space✨🎟️Tickets were sol...
05/15/2026

Tonight we have the fabulous performing a beautiful rendition of Carole King’s Tapestry in the space✨

🎟️Tickets were sold out, but we added a few more seats! So get them while you can! See y’all later :^)

Can’t make it? Check out their page for future shows!

🌙La Caccina champions and performs diverse, innovative repertoire for treble voices to engage audiences and inspire the next generation of collaborative musicians.

The ensemble finds its namesake in Francesca Caccini, a prolific Baroque composer known for her virtuosic musicality and beautiful singing voice. Following in Caccini’s footsteps, the singers of La Caccina bring a wide range of expertise to the ensemble, enabling them to adapt to a variety of musical styles—from Renaissance madrigals to South African folk songs, and from contemporary pop songs to classical masterworks such as Vivaldi’s Gloria in D and Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols.

Since their founding in 2011, La Caccina has collaborated with ensembles including the Pavo String Quartet, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, and bluegrass trio Glass Mountain, and has commissioned and premiered works by Marie-Claire Saindon, Timothy C. Takach, Augusta Read Thomas, Matthew Harris, and Melissa Dunphy, among others. No matter the music, La Caccina’s expressive, emotional singing highlights the versatility of the treble voice and brings musical excellence, integrity, and honesty to every performance.

Heads up y'all!We've got a couple repairs to make tomorrow, so we have to close the shop. We'll see you again on Friday!
05/13/2026

Heads up y'all!

We've got a couple repairs to make tomorrow, so we have to close the shop. We'll see you again on Friday!

The Understudy and Chicago Review of Books are sponsoring the Chicago launch of Rachel León's debut novel, How We See th...
05/07/2026

The Understudy and Chicago Review of Books are sponsoring the Chicago launch of Rachel León's debut novel, How We See the Gray. Rachel will be in conversation with Megan Stielstra, as well as reading a selected piece from the novel and signing after. Doors open at 7pm on Thursday, May 21st. Beverages and books will be available for purchase throughout the event!

ABOUT THE BOOK
Foster care is a disaster in Rockford, Illinois. Meredith, a social worker and single mom, is stretched beyond thin but determined to protect her kids: not only her son, but those on her caseload too. When the stress of the job has her breaking her sobriety, the foundations of her life begin to tremble. After drinking too much, she makes a mistake that puts her preschooler in jeopardy, and Meredith finds herself in a situation that mirrors her clients’ as she loses custody of her son. In her fight to get him back, Meredith experiences the system from the outside—while still working for the kids inside of it. Set over the course of a year, this riveting documentary-esque novel is told from multiple perspectives, including those of case workers, birth parents, foster parents, and foster children. Written with the working-class humor and heart that defines the Midwest, How We See the Gray is a story about mistakes, second chances, and trying to do better in a system that seems doomed to fail.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel León (she/they) is a writer, editor, and social worker, who has worked in child welfare for nearly two decades. She serves as Managing Director for Chicago Review of Books and Fiction Director for Arcturus. Their work has been supported by StoryStudio Chicago, Tin House, Poets & Writers, and the Illinois Arts Council. León is the author of the novel, How We See the Gray.

Aaaand and we are back with another night of theatre trivia with and ! Think you got what it takes? RSVP via the 🔗 in o...
05/06/2026

Aaaand and we are back with another night of theatre trivia with and ! Think you got what it takes? RSVP via the 🔗 in our bio✨

Also — shout out to the duo who won the last trivia night in February!

‼️🚨AT ALL FRIENDS W/ TIGHT SHOULDERS AND TRAPS — WYD NEXT MONDAY 4/27 FROM 10AM - 3PM🚨‼️Our friend Stephen from will be...
04/22/2026

‼️🚨AT ALL FRIENDS W/ TIGHT SHOULDERS AND TRAPS — WYD NEXT MONDAY 4/27 FROM 10AM - 3PM🚨‼️

Our friend Stephen from will be having a pop-up in the space while focusing on community care; supporting bodies, reducing stress, and creating moments of restoration in the middle of a busy work day🪷

Scroll through for more info and a sneak peek of the offerings for the day✨

Appointment sign ups will be in person: first come, first served.

See you there :^)

the big day is almost here!!! has more than 80 bookstores participating in this year’s Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl. We c...
04/22/2026

the big day is almost here!!!

has more than 80 bookstores participating in this year’s Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl. We can’t wait to join the fun!

This year, thanks to , we’ve got 100 very swanky tote bags EXCLUSIVE to the first 100 bookstore customers on Saturday.

Do not miss it!! Once they’re gone, they’re gone!

FRIDAY FRIDA FRIDAAYYYYY — we are back with another fem/them comedy open mic with our hottie hosts & .if you know any f...
04/14/2026

FRIDAY FRIDA FRIDAAYYYYY — we are back with another fem/them comedy open mic with our hottie hosts & .

if you know any funny fems n’ themes — pls send them our way and hang out with us this fridaaayyyyyyy (4/17)🧍🏻‍♀️Doors @ 7PM, sign ups @ 7:30, 8PM start. tickets are free99

RSVP in the 🔗in our bio. see you there 😘

***rcomedy

Address

5531 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
60640

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 6pm
Tuesday 7am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 7pm
Saturday 7am - 7pm
Sunday 7am - 7pm

Telephone

+18728060670

Website

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