Stages, Theater

Review: At Raven Theatre, Will Hank’s Bar Survive The Undeniable Sound of Right Now?

First of all, there’s the bar. Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s design of Hank’s Bar is a classic and so realistic you will want to park on a stool and order a […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: There Are No Children in The Children at Steppenwolf Theatre—It’s a Cautionary Tale

There are no children in Lucy Kirkwood’s play, The Children. The play’s storyline is built on “the disaster,” which we don’t learn the nature of immediately. The disaster was an explosion […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Beyond, Comedy, Event, Stages, Theater Festival

Preview: Keep it Nerdy in May with Stage 773’s Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival

It’s been a pretty epic April and May for anyone who belongs to the “nerd” tribe. We had a great (if overstuffed at times) C2E2, Star Wars Celebration at McCormick […]

Marielle Bokor /
Circus, Interviews, Stages

Interview: Kevin Beverly Comes Home in Cast of Volta, Cirque du Soleil’s Street Arts Circus Show

In some ways Cirque du Soleil really is the circus of the sun. It rotates its shows around the globe each year (there are currently over 20 active productions, 12 […]

Kim Campbell /
Stages, Theater

Review: The Beats and WannaBeats on the Road in Mad Beat Hip & Gone at Promethean Theatre

We never actually meet Jack and Neal. They’re just off stage, just around the bend, at a booth in the corner of the bar. But the spirit and poetry of […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Review, Stages, Theater

Review: Fresh Talent and Palpable Energy Deliver a Can’t Miss West Side Story

West Side Story

At a typical (however one defines that) performance at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the accompanying program includes in each cast and crew bio the professional’s previous Lyric credits. The asterisks […]

Lisa Trifone /
Review, Stages, Theater

Review: Chicago Shakespeare’s Talented Cast and Crew Bring Nuance and Definition to Hamlet

  It’s my controversial opinion that you can’t ever truly “spoiler” something. If the work is of worth, then the journey to the ending will render it impactful even if […]

Marielle Bokor /
Opera, Stages

Review: Lost in the Heart of the Sea—Moby-Dick, the Opera

By June Sawyers “Call me Ishmael.” Even if you have never read the novel, you know the sentence, one of the most famous opening lines in American literature. But Jake […]

Guest Author /
Preview, Review, Stages, Theater

Stage Shorts: Broken Nose Theatre and First Floor Theater Plus a Tantalizing Preview for Reverse Gossip

Another in our series of recap reviews for plays that have just opened in some of Chicago’s storefront theaters. Here we have two very different plays but each focuses on […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Circus, Stages, Theater

Preview: Love, Chaos & Dinner to Open in Chicago—Teatro ZinZanni Offers It All

Picture of the author

Love, Chaos & Dinner is not another night of Grubhub and Netflix, but a true night out on the town for Chicagoans and tourists starting July 18. What does Chicago need […]

Kim Campbell /
Stages, Theater

Review: Babes With Blades Stages Masterful All-Female Othello

Babes With Blades Theatre Company is performing Shakespeare’s Othello with a talented all-female cast at the Factory Theater. The cast is all female, trans, and gender-nonconforming. This otherwise-traditional production demonstrates that with […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: Steep Theatre’s First Love Is the Revolution Gives Us a Different Skew on Love

Heartbreaking and hilarious. Both at the same time. First Love Is the Revolution at Steep Theatre is a classic romance where two young people break from their warring families to be […]

Nancy S Bishop /