Few Springsteen albums have served as inspiration to other artists as much as Nebraska. In 1991 Sean Penn used the storyline of “Highway Patrolman” to create the movie The Indian Runner; 14 years later, in 2005, author Tennessee Jones wrote a collection of short stories - Deliver Me From Nowhere - based on the album; and now Bruce’s first solo album will come alive as a theatrical performance..

Like Jones’ collection of short stories, the performance borrows its title from “Open All Night” although with a slight variation. It’s called “Deliver Us From Nowhere: Tales From Nebraska” and consists of 10 short plays that each represent a song from Nebraska. It’s the Tympanic Theatre Company of Chicago that is behind the show, including artistic director and long-time Bruce fan Daniel Caffrey. The production will open on April 26 at the Right Brain Project in Chicago and run through May 20.

The plays are written by 10 different playwrights, and all 10 plays will be enacted during the course of the evening. If you’re hoping to hear Bruce’s songs, you are unfortunately out of luck. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be music. A bunch of new songs have been written that will be performed by live musicians during the show. The songs are inspired by the plays, which in return were inspired by Nebraska. Confused? Don’t be. The long and short of it is that the dark atmosphere of the Nebraska album will be brought to life right there on a stage in front of you, with real actors, musicians, and audience.

If you want more information about the performance, you can find it here, and if you’re already convinced, tickets can be bought here.