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, […]
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 […]
Deeply Rooted Prepares Introspective INDUMBA
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Black Button Eyes Productions’ Shockheaded Peter Has More Style Than Substance
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 […]
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 […]
Writers Theatre’s Trevor Polished, But Misguided
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 […]
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 […]
Dance for Life Celebrates 26 Years
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 […]
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 […]