Review: Blank Theatre’s The Wild Party Is One Shindig You Can Skip
A funny thing happened in the New York theater scene in 1999: two new musicals, with the same name and based on the same source material, debuted in the same […]
Preview: Workshopped Play Rectitude Shows a Glimmer of Brilliance in Its Character Study of Two Catholics
In the talkback after watching a workshopped version of a new play titled Rectitude, I heard a term—cradle Catholic—that was new to me. It’s a person baptized as an infant into […]
Dialogs: Two Artists Discuss Developing The Notebook for Chicago Shakespeare in American Writers Museum Event
It may seem a daunting task to take on developing the stage version of a beloved book and film, with thousands of fans. Singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and playwright/screenwriter Bekah Brunstetter […]
Review: Meet the Faux News Forebears in TimeLine’s World Premiere Campaigns, Inc.
Jill Lepore wrote about America’s first political spin doctors ten years ago in The New Yorker. She called the California political consulting team of Leone Baxter and Clem Whittaker “The Lie […]
Preview: Broken Nose Theatre Tees Up Its 2022 Bechdel Fest With Eight Plays That Pass That Test
You may know Alison Bechdel as the author and subject of the memoirish musical, Fun Home. But she’s also the source of the well-known Bechdel Test, which requires that a work of […]
Review: New Musical The Devil Wears Prada Needs More Tailoring Before It’s Runway Ready
Making its pre-Broadway world premiere in Chicago this month, the new musical version of Lauren Weisberger’s (and the 2006 film adaptation) The Devil Wears Prada has the feel of a […]
Review: At Spring Green, It’s Shakespeare—and More—in a Pastoral Setting
American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wis., opens with a summer bouquet of plays for every taste American Players Theatre, located in rural Spring Green, Wis., has attracted Illinois theatergoers […]
Review: Steep Theatre’s Light Falls Unfolds a Panoramic Family Tragedy
Christine stands, spotlighted, center stage, and begins to tell her story. She’s blonde and fair, middle-aged, wearing a light blue coat that looks as if it might be too warm. […]
Review: Mercury Theater Presents a Fun Romp with Priscilla Queen of the Desert—The Musical
Boas! Feathers! Dance hits of the ’70s! The Mercury Theater’s production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert—the Musical had plenty of all three. There was a core fan base of […]
Review: A Half-Century Later, Jesus Christ Superstar on Tour Remains Impressive, Effective
In October 1971, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice debuted their new rock opera, a reimagining of the greatest story ever told…well, a portion of it, at least. In 90 […]
Review: Midsommer Flight Stages Midsummer Night’s Dream in City Parks, Where Fairies Roam
Perhaps that headline made you think, Oh no, not Midsummer Night’s Dream again. But seeing Shakespeare’s Athenian woodland fantasy in an actual park, among the trees and grass with an urban soundscape […]
Review: Haven’s Get Out Alive Brings Depression Out of the Shadows With Soul, Gospel and Hip-Hop
I almost didn’t request a ticket to review this show when I saw that it is a play about depression and suicide. I didn’t know if it was going to […]