Review: Four Weddings and a Musical in Theo Ubique’s The Drowsy Chaperone
In 1998, the short and sweet musical The Drowsy Chaperone was created in Toronto as a bachelor party gift for creators Bob Martin and Janet Van de Graaff. The first […]
Review: Environmental Activist Drag Queen Pattie Gonia Electrifies Thalia Hall
This year, March 17 was not only Chicago’s annual St. Patty’s Day celebration, but also an observation of St. Pattie Gonia’s Day at Pilsen’s Thalia Hall. The Nebraska-born, Oregon-residing environmental […]
Review: The Seldoms Connect the Body and Spirit to Climate Change with Floe at the Columbia College Dance Center
The Seldoms are a Chicago dance company, known for dance as an intersection of movement, intellect, and social consciousness. The Seldoms’ performance, titled Floe, is a graceful yet urgent plea for action […]
Review: At Lyric Opera, Madama Butterfly Has Excellent Vocals But Distracting Design and Plot Choices
The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Saturday. It has been highly anticipated with a new vision for the story of Cio Cio […]
Feature: Is He Guilty? Greek Hero Odysseus Is Tried for Murder in the National Hellenic Museum’s Latest Courtroom-Style Drama
The National Hellenic Museum’s annual trial of a Greek legend returned triumphantly this year with The Trial of Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s Odyssey. Since the series was founded in […]
Review: Winning Works by Joffrey Ballet’s Grainger Academy Brilliantly Transcends the Ordinary
At Joffrey Ballet’s Grainger Academy, the best of the best train to become part of dance companies worldwide. The academy’s four programs are the Joffrey Studio Company, the Ballet Trainee […]
Review: Bridget Everett Turns Up the Heat at the Riviera
The first truly warm evening of Chicago’s spring pulled a raucous crowd into Uptown Square. The blocks around Lawrence and Broadway were packed with hotdog and tamale carts, fans heading […]
Review: Tiler Peck and Friends Fire It Up with a Blazing Turn It Out at the Auditorium
Turn It Out With Tiler Peck and Friends is a visual and musical feast of modern dance, ballet, and tap. The dances are set to amazing live and recorded original […]
Review: Changing Channels at City Lit Theater Reminds Us About Another Scary Time in US History
Midcentury America was a scary time. We worried about the Bomb because the Russians had one too—and it might be bigger than ours (theirs was plutonium). Today is scary too […]
Review: Hamilton Returns to Chicago and It’s Powerful and Timely
The celebrated hip-hop historical musical that took the world by storm, Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is back in Chicago after a two-year absence, and it does not disappoint. The intelligent […]
Review: Chicago Opera Theater’s Der Silbersee Has a Prescient Sychronicity for Today’s World
Wednesday was a significant anniversary for Kurt Weill’s Der Silbersee, ein Wintermärchen (The Silver Lake, A Winter’s Fairy Tale). It was banned by the Nazis on that date in 1933, and Weill […]
Preview: The Onion Co-Founder Scott Dikkers Brings FunnyCon to Chicago
As a co-founder of the venerable satirical newspaper The Onion, Scott Dikkers is no stranger to launching comedy institutions. His latest endeavor is the biggest yet—the first annual FunnyCon, a […]