Stages, Theater

Review The Brightest Thing in the World by About Face Theatre—Realism to the Point of Cringe

Romance is difficult enough in real life, but it’s damn-near impossible on the stage. Balancing the fictive chemicals of genuine-seeming attraction is a science to challenge our best artists. Success […]

Adam Kaz /
Stages, Theater

Review: Paramount Theatre’s A Streetcar Named Desire Brings a Gritty Corner of New Orleans to Life

New Orleans has a kind of disheveled luxury as it’s portrayed in Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play, A Streetcar Named Desire. In this production in Aurora, co-directors Jim Corti and Elizabeth Swanson […]

Anthony Neri /
Stages, Storefront, Theater

Review: Love Song, a Quirky Rom-Com by Remy Bumppo, Shows Us That Love Can Be Magical

Beane is a bit peculiar. He doesn’t seem to enjoy life. His apartment attacks him. He answers questions before they’re asked or doesn’t answer at all. But once Beane meets […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: Love and Longing Are in the Spotlight in City Lit’s Two Hours in a Bar

City Lit Theater has a long and illustrious history in Chicago starting in 1979. They take works of literature and make them into staged works. They are often musicals or […]

Kathy D. Hey /
Stages, Storefront, Theater

Review: What the Weird Sisters Saw by Idle Muse Reenvisions Macbeth Through the Eyes of Its Most Elusive Characters

Review by Devony Hof. Reminiscent of the Three Fates of Greek mythology and famous for their incantation, “Double, double, toil and trouble,” the weird sisters of Macbeth are an iconic trio. But […]

Guest Author /
Stages, Theater

Review: Bill W. and Dr. Bob Is an Inspirational Play for Its AA Community

I was sitting in the  lobby of the theater, waiting for the house to open. The lobby was crowded with people, chatting. A man came up to me and said, “Young […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Comedy, Stages, Theater

Review: Lenny Bruce Lives Again in I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce at the Biograph Theater

Cancel culture started with Lenny Bruce. His mother, standup comic and entertainer Sally Marr, encouraged him to emcee his first show in 1947 where he found his calling. Bruce practically […]

Karin McKie /
Stages, Theater

Review: In Rivendell’s Wipeout, Three Friends Navigate the Waves, and the Aging Process, With Humor and Tenacity

Review by Devony Hof.  “This is what I love about being old!” proclaims one of the characters in Aurora Real de Asua’s new play, Wipeout, directed by Rivendell artistic director Tara […]

Guest Author /
Stages, Theater

Review: The Ensemble Wins Big in Music Theater Works’ The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Review by Row Light. In its 44th season, Music Theater Works and director/choreographer Christopher Pazdernik set their sights on a beloved musical, one that Pazdernik himself saw during its original […]

Guest Author /
Stages, Theater

Review: At Goodman Theatre, The Penelopiad Reveals What Happened at Home While Odysseus Was on That Odyssey

You may have read Homer’s The Odyssey in high school or college. It’s the story of Odysseus, a great hero, his adventures and of course, his journey, or odyssey. But did you […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: Theatre Above the Law Examines the Power of Belief With End Days

We live inn interesting times. Contrary to popular belief, that is not derived from a Chinese saying but from an American politician. In any case, it is a good basis […]

Kathy D. Hey /
Broadway, Stages, Theater

Review: Broadway in Chicago Brings Well-Crafted, Hilarious Fun in Mrs. Doubtfire

Once in a while, a theater production comes along that does better on tour than it does on Broadway. Mrs. Doubtfire, by the songwriting team of Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick […]

Anne Siegel /