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 […]
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical Speaks to New and Old Generations
It’s been almost 50 years since I saw Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical at the old Shubert Theatre in Chicago. But I sat in the Mercury Theater Friday night […]
An Octoroon at Definition Theatre Meditates on Race and Identity in 19th and 21st Centuries
Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins gives us something to think about in the opening moments of his play, An Octoroon, by Definition Theatre Company, directed by Chuck Smith. An actor (Breon Arzell) appears […]
An American in Paris Brings Broadway and Ballet to Chicago
Calling all dance aficionados! Tony-Award winning, An American in Paris has arrived at the Oriental Theatre for its limited engagement running now through August 13. The coveted Broadway musical tells […]
About Face Youth Ensemble Explores Riot Grrrls Movement in Brave Like Them
The About Face Youth Theatre is staging an energetic and thoughtful world premiere, titled Brave Like Them, which revisits the riot grrrls punk movement of the 1990s. The movement countered […]
The Nance Teaches Us Some History in the Midst of Burlesque Routines
The play opens with a bubbly Sylvie (Melissa Young) singing and dancing to “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” on the stage of an old New York […]
A Life With No Limits and Dream Logic Meld Dance, Circus, Theater With Science
Aura Curiatlas Physical Theatre, an acrobatic dance theater company that is in its 4th year of touring the U.S. with several shows, is bringing a new work to Chicago. They will […]
Eclipse Theatre’s Megastasis Takes a Tense Dive Into Lives of Young Black Men
Two black men on a street corner, drinking beer. One is a college student, the other a dad talking about how he loves to buy books for his daughter. Two […]
See Hamlet in the Park With All the Famous Lines–Only 100 Minutes
The Prince of Denmark is going to the park this summer. You’ll be able to see a 100-minute version of Hamlet at four city parks in July and August. Venues […]
Neo-Futurists Close Out Another Hilarious Season of It Came from the Neo-Futurarium
Last Saturday I had the rare treat of seeing a staged reading of the 1975 made-for-TV film “Someone I Touched” at the Neo-Futurarium in Andersonville. The original film (I say […]
Steppenwolf’s Startling Production of Hir Is About Gender Identity and Much More
On the surface and in all its promotional materials, Steppenwolf Theatre’s startling new production of Taylor Mac’s Hir (pronounced “here”) is about transgender people, and the state of being nonbinary. […]
Lela & Co. at Steep Theatre: Searing Story of a Woman in a War Zone
Lela & Co. sounds like a chic boutique, a business story. And it is. It’s a horrifying story of a woman alone in a conflict zone. The business theme is […]