William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a mistaken-identity rom-com designed as a frolic to entertain at the end of the holiday season (there is nothing about Christmas in this play itself). […]
The Buttcracker (playing at the Greenhouse Theater Center through December 31) is a Nutcracker Burlesque, a Yule pantomime with elements of comedy, magic and circus that blends all the qualities […]
I had to check the archives to be sure, but I can now say with certainty I’ve seen American Blues Theater’s It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! no fewer […]
A fair number of children and teens attended opening night of Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. Director Jessica Thebus and her creative team brought new life to this 45th edition […]
For all the theater I’ve attended in Chicago—since childhood, really—I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that this weekend marked my first visit to Michigan Avenue’s Lookingglass Theatre, the 35-year-old ensemble company […]
Leopoldstadt is a place, a Jewish section of old Vienna. It’s also an imagined history of how two intermarried Jewish families lived (or didn’t live) through six decades of the […]
“I’m an immigrant and an exile,” Gabriel Byrne begins his autobiographical solo show at the century-old Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For two hours-plus, the legendary Irish actor tells stories […]
I always look forward to Timeline Theatre productions because the company provides the background and history of the play in a lobby display and in the playbill. Ron OJ Parson […]
I do not amuse easily and when something is touted as farcical, I expect it to be on point. The Artistic Home presents a sidesplitting farce with playwright Siah Berlatsky’s […]
Above the Water is a devised physical show (with puppets in it) about grief. At various points in my life, puppets had helped me get over several fears–including a childhood […]
Attending opening night of Porchlight Music Theatre’s season opener, Rent, was a peculiar proposition for me from the moment I RSVPed, but one I was willing to entertain for the […]
Home is where the heart is, the proverb says—and home is the heart of the story in Routes, a British play now being staged by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. The […]