Review: Burnham’s Dream Never Takes Flight at Theater Wit
Burnham’s Dream by Lost and Found Productions is a musical about one of the most iconic times in Chicago history. Only 22 years after the Chicago Fire, the city was on […]
At Victory Gardens, Mies Julie Scorches With the Tensions of Another Racist Culture
Mies Julie is a scorchingly sexy, shockingly violent adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, transported from 1888 Sweden to 2012 South Africa. Incidents that may or may not happen offstage […]
The Wizard of Oz at Chicago Theatre Can’t Quite Catch Movie Magic
Based on the 1939 MGM Classic of the same name, The Wizard of Oz attempts to adapt the tale of one Kansas kid’s quest to find the titular mage for the […]
Chicago Shakespeare Brings Proper Prestidigitation to Macbeth
J.R.R. Tolkien often railed against the supernatural in Shakespeare despite appropriating many of the tropes in his own work (the Lord of the Rings’ Ents were a counterpunch referencing Birnam […]
In Wake of Recent Tragedies, The Yard Shines With Brutal, Brilliant Columbinus
Columbinus, directed by Mechelle Moe as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut series, is a must-see production, insomuch as words on the internet cannot do it justice. I read this script a […]
God Is in the Details of Lyric Opera’s Jesus Christ Superstar
I don’t like musicals. I’m an atheist. I love Jesus Christ Superstar. I was a budding theater nerd when my cool uncle Tommy turned me on to The Who’s Tommy […]
Ferguson, Missouri, Matters in Solo Show Until the Flood
In 2014, unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown was shot at least six times by a white police officer. His body remained on the street for four hours in Ferguson, Missouri, […]
Review: Take a Trip to Memphis in Porchlight’s Latest Hit
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical now on at Porchlight Music Theater (directed by Daryl Brooks), is that in the […]
Review: A Fast Pace and Star Turn Make Hilarious The Doppelgänger A Hit
Chicago loves its celebrities. Lacking the chill of our coastal peers in Los Angeles and New York, we get unabashedly stoked when fame graces us with its presence. And why […]
Review: Lettie at Victory Gardens Theater Is Heartfelt, If Inconsistent
The promo image for Lettie, the new original work by Boo Killebrew now on at Victory Gardens Theater, features Caroline Neff in the title role, wielding a welder’s iron and clad […]
Oprah and Oppression in MCA’s Poor People’s TV Room
Oprah is a leitmotif in the multimedia movement narrative Poor People’s TV Room, at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art from April 12-15. United States Artist Fellow Okwui Okpokwasili and director-designer Peter […]
Review: Ingredients Don’t Add Up to Much for Refuge Theatre Project’s The Spitfire Grill
Founded in 2014, the relatively new Refuge Theatre Project aspires to bring musical theater to creative spaces, accessible to broad audiences. It’s a commendable mission, and one the crowded Chicago […]