2018 in Review: What We Liked on Stage
This isn’t a “best theater of 2018” list. We didn’t see everything. Most of our writers are freelancers, all with other gigs, and it’s hard for us to cover the […]
Review: Pink Crosses Mark the Graves of the Desconocidas in Isaac Gomez’ Powerful La Ruta
Pink crosses spread across the front of the stage. Many of them are marked “Desconocida” (unknown). Unmarked graves of young women who wanted to better their lives by working in […]
Review: Despite Hiccups, Touring Fiddler on the Roof Remains Poignant, Relevant
Fiddler on the Roof premiered on Broadway in 1964, and it was a smash hit. It ran for more than 3,000 performances (a record at the time) and won […]
The Old Woman Broods at Trap Door Theatre Is an Absurdist, Prescient Satire—or Is It?
In case you think brooding suggests gloom and doom, think otherwise. Trap Door Theatre’s The Old Woman Broods is chaotic, cacophonous and more than a little cuckoo. The 1969 play by Polish […]
Review: Be Transported by Chicago Shakes’ Magical, Whimsical A Midsummer Night’s Dream
It is perhaps a sign of programming genius that the team at Chicago Shakespeare Theater slotted the whimsical comedy delight A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the middle of a long, cold, […]
Review: The Steadfast Tin Soldier Is Surefooted Holiday Escapism for These Unsteady Times
Mary Zimmerman’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier is the theatrical equivalent of a gift under the tree on Christmas morning; it’s warm, heartfelt, and wrapped nicely in a bright holiday bow. The […]
Review: So Much Wrong with The Play That Goes Wrong
I attended The Play That Goes Wrong on a friend’s recommendation. I will never forgive him. The touring production runs at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., through December 16, […]
In Steppenwolf’s Familiar, an Immigrant Family Comes to Terms With Old and New Customs
Familiar at Steppenwolf Theatre rings true as a familiar story in one way or another for most of us. An immigrant family struggles with education and culture in its new country, […]
Review: Q Brothers Update Dickens With Rap, Rhymes and Plenty of Heart
For a holiday tradition that’s Lin-Manuel Miranda meets Charles Dickens, look no further than Q Brothers Christmas Carol at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, on through December 30. Presented at The Yard, […]
Review: Sideshow Theatre’s HeLa Tells Stories of Death, Joy and Outer Space
“This is Major Tom to Ground Control I’m stepping through the door And I’m floating in a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today For here am […]
Review: Eclipse’s The Dark at the Top of the Stairs Dramatizes Everyone’s Fears in 1920s Oklahoma
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, a 1957 play by William Inge, is set in a small town in 1920s Oklahoma. The play tells the story of the […]
Liberté, Égalité, Sororité: Four Badass Women Fight for Art and Freedom in Strawdog’s The Revolutionists
The Revolutionists is feminist history laced with an argument for the value of art in revolution. Playwright Lauren Gunderson describes it as a “comedic quartet about four women at the height […]