Your #StaytheFHome Chicago Curated Weekend: 7/30 and Beyond
Chicago has been letting businesses reopen their doors for quite a while now. So if you’re going to a drive-in movie (like Chicago Drive In, Drive-in at Lincoln Yards Lot, […]
Virtual Travel, Virtual Theater: Irish Rep Streams Moving Production of Friel’s Molly Sweeney
When I’m in New York, I always make it a point to see the current production at Irish Repertory Theatre in the Chelsea neighborhood, one of the best off-Broadway […]
Chicago Theaters Go Virtual During the Virus; Goodman Streams School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
In these “AC,” After COVID, times, Chicago theaters are offering online content to fill the gap of canceled shows and in-person instruction (as well as the yawning expanse of endless […]
Review: Steppenwolf’s I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Is Nearly Perfect
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is a pretty perfect play, full of youthful exuberance and teen angst, righteous anger and pure joy, and seasoned with tacos and horchata, […]
Review: National Book Award-Winner Middle Passage Adrift On Stage
Lifeline Theatre presents Dr. Charles Johnson’s 1990 National Book Award winner Middle Passage, directed by Ilesa Duncan, who co-adapted with David Barr III. The result struggles from the page to […]
Review: The Hilary Duff Project Nails the Nostalgic Sendup with Talent to Spare
Nostalgia is a hot commodity lately, likely due to the rather dismal present and threat of an even more dire future. Taking a look back at simpler times can be […]
Review: Lyric Opera Revisits a Timeless, Thrilling Classic in Madama Butterfly
The Lyric Opera of Chicago first presented Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in 1955 (it made its world premiere in 1904); the version on stage there now (through March 8) is a revival […]
Review: Jane Austen’s Classic Emma Gets a Delightful Musical Adaptation at Chicago Shakes
Later this month, a new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma will open in cinemas, starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Thoroughbreds, “Peaky Blinders”) as the titular matchmaker with questionable, if endearing, motives. […]
Review: Jump and Jive for Joy at Porchlight’s Sophisticated Ladies
Can there be a show stopper when the show never stops? Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies sings, dances and plays its way through the king of all’s […]
Review: Court Theatre’s The Mousetrap Proves a Timelessly Enjoyable Murder Mystery
Perhaps best known as the longest-running play ever (notching north of 28,000 performances and counting), Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been continuously on stage in London’s West End since 1952. […]
Review: The Thrust of Once On This Island Is Gone, But the Heart, Wonder Remain
Just a few blocks north of the heart of Times Square and next door to the massive Gershwin Theatre (capacity: 1,900) is a more intimate space, an 800-seat theater built […]
Review: The Second City Asks Do You Believe in Madness?
The Second City’s 108th revue, Do You Believe in Madness?, is a bright look at dark times. Under the direction of Ryan Bernier, the cast well-represents the East Coast here […]