Stages, Theater

Orwell’s 1984 at AstonRep Is a Chilling Dystopia, Now More Than Ever

Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s dystopian novel, was considered science fiction when it was published in 1949. Almost 70 years later, in an era of alternative facts and so-called fake news, […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Beyond, Comedy, Stages, Theater

Get Serious About Nerding Out at 5th Annual Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival 

Were you left a little wanting when Wizard World wrapped up at the end of August? A little bit sad that C2E2 won’t pop up till spring, and can’t wait for […]

Marielle Bokor /
Dance, Stages

Deeply Rooted Prepares Introspective INDUMBA

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It is often said that art imitates life. However, many creators will tell you their art is more a response to life, both how they feel about current circumstances and […]

Miriam Finder Annenberg /
Stages, Theater

Deirdre of the Sorrows, Synge’s Romantic Irish Legend, on Stage at City Lit

Deirdre of the Sorrows by John Millington Synge is based on the Irish legend of Deirdre, set in ancient times in the Irish kingdom of Ulster. City Lit Theater is […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Preview, Stages, Theater

Stages Monthly: What to See in Chicago Theaters in September

September is a hectic month for theater in Chicago. Although summer is no longer the slow season it used to be, September sees a lot of season openers and just […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Strawdog Theatre’s Barbecue Roasts Our Attitudes About Race, Class and Celebrity

Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue is not a treatise on meat-grilling. It’s a satire that roasts our attitudes about race, class and money. It’s a funny, biting family story with a twisty, […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Black Button Eyes Productions’ Shockheaded Peter Has More Style Than Substance

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Presented at the Athenaeum Theatre by Black Button Eyes Productions, Shockheaded Peter presents a series of gruesome vignettes adapted from a German book entitled The Struwwelpeter, written in 1845 by […]

Brent Eickhoff /
Stages, Theater

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity: The American Dream in All Its Slamming, Kicking Glory

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is about pro wrestling in all its pounding, banging, slamming, kicking performance art glory. It’s loud and obnoxious. And much of the play that […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Writers Theatre’s Trevor Polished, But Misguided

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If the crux of your musical’s story centers around its 13-year-old protagonist’s attempted suicide, it may be best to forgo an Act II opener that dresses its young cast in […]

Brent Eickhoff /
Stages, Theater

Expressionist Machinal Tells Powerful Feminist Story at the Greenhouse Theater Center

The play opens with a symphony of switchboard operators, those 1920s-era office workers who kept people talking by plugging phones into jacks, greeting and connecting the world outside with the […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Dance, Stages

Dance for Life Celebrates 26 Years

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This weekend marks the 26th annual Dance for Life Chicago, a celebration of dance and fundraiser for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and The Dancers’ Fund. While difficult to compete […]

Miriam Finder Annenberg /
Stages, Theater

Did Jefferson and Poe Collaborate in 1826? Monticello Tells Their Story

What if Edgar Allen Poe, a new student and earnest young writer at the University of Virginia, went to Monticello in July 1826 to help Thomas Jefferson with an important […]

Nancy S Bishop /