E.D.G.E. Theatre Celebrates Election Year With Rousing Production of 1776
A new and intimate production of 1776 succeeds in reminding us that the founding fathers were real people with human problems who managed to make the close decisions that […]
Kinky Boots A Fun Take on Timely Issues
Kinky Boots, which began its journey to Broadway in Chicago several years ago and is based on the 2005 film of the same name, has returned for a limited-engagement at […]
10th Anniversary Chicago Dancing Festival Comes to a Close
The 10th Anniversary Chicago Dancing Festival came to a close Saturday night after a week of stellar dance performances. The festival—the largest of its kind in the country—features free dance […]
This Is Modern Art: Synchronicity of the Week
Carl Jung might call it synchronicity because this is a meaningful coincidence, albeit also accidental. Wednesday night at a live lit event I told the story of the play This […]
Theater, Critics and Perfomers: A Kill Your Darlings/3CR Night of Live Lit and Improv
Last night was the fourth night of seven Kill Your Darlings events this season. We celebrated by recounting theater stories, lamenting the current critical environment and telling personal stories about […]
Food For Thought–A Kill Your Darlings 3CR Night of Improv & Live Lit
Last Wednesday night was the second Kill Your Darling evening, a time for laughs, improv, free pizza (thanks to the theme of food night and Giordano’s) and a big helping […]
Mary-Arrchie Theatre Ends Its Run with Abbie Fest XVIII
Mary-Arrchie’s theater space at Angel Island is gone, but the theater closes out its history with a final event in the spirit of “Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins.” The […]
Einstein’s Gift: Compelling Story of Two Scientists’ Approach to War and Life
Einstein’s Gift, the compelling new production being staged by Genesis Theatricals, is that most satisfying kind of play. It’s rich with historical detail and scandal and ripe with questions for […]
CST Hosts Shakespeare’s Globe, Jonathan Pryce in Sumptuous Merchant of Venice
Shylock’s daughter, Jessica (Phoebe Pryce) and Shylock (her real-life father Jonathan Pryce) in Shakespeare’s Globe’s The Merchant of Venice at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (photo by Manuel Harlan). Director Jonathan Munby infuses the humor he brought […]
Cirque du Soleil’s Toruk Lands in Chicago–Briefly!
Cirque du Soleil’s touring show Toruk landed in Chicago this week and will be here until this Sunday, August 7, running two shows daily at United Center. Toruk is a […]
Paper-Thin Newsies Is Big On Talent
Disney’s Newsies, currently playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, provides a strikingly relevant exploration of current conversations about workers’ rights, despite its period milieu. Set in 1899 and based on […]
Byhalia, Mississippi, Portrays Issues of Class, Race and Family in a Nowhere Town
Byhalia, Mississippi, is one of those nowhere, dead-end small towns that no one wants to live in. Except for the young woman from somewhere else, who just gave birth to […]