Review: At Porchlight, an Entertaining Cabaret Features Plenty of Talent but Not the Seriousness the Show Requires
Every season on Broadway, new American musicals premiere in the hopes of entering the country’s long and storied canon of…
Review: One Bad Apple Tree Spoils the Bunch in Porchlight Revisits
Musical theater nerds in Chicago are lucky to have Porchlight Theatre—if the venerable company (now in its 27th year) didn’t…
Review: A New Generation Tries to Capture the Bittersweet Pain and Transcendent Triumph of Rent in Porchlight’s Season Opener
Attending opening night of Porchlight Music Theatre’s season opener, Rent, was a peculiar proposition for me from the moment I…
Review: Porchlight’s Excellent Spring Awakening Rings an Alarm
Just over 130 years ago, when the German Empire was young and the 19th century was old, the German expressionist…
Review: Your Mama Didn’t Tell You to See Porchlight’s Blues in the Night, But We Did
Felicia P. Fields alone is worth a ticket to Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of Blues in the Night at the Ruth…
Preview: Check Out These Virtual Theater Opportunities From Personal to Palooza
Chicago theater companies took a while to figure out how to respond to the COVID-19 lockdown and continuing restrictions. (And…
Chicago Theaters Go Virtual During the Virus; Goodman Streams School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
In these “AC,” After COVID, times, Chicago theaters are offering online content to fill the gap of canceled shows and…
2019 in Review: Our Favorite Nights at the Theater
This isn’t a “best theater of the year” list. As we’ve noted about past lists, we don’t see everything. Most…
Review: Chicago’s History Flames Again in Burning Bluebeard by the Ruffians
As part of its 25th anniversary season, Porchlight Music Theatre is presenting the Ruffians’ indispensable Christmas show Burning Bluebeard. Inspired by…
Review: Sunset Boulevard at Porchlight Glimpses Greatness, Ultimately Falls Short
Though I pride myself on a rather robust knowledge of American musical theater, one show I’ve never managed to get…
Review: Between High Kicks, Porchlight’s A Chorus Line Delivers a Timeless Story
There are a few moments of Porchlight Music Theater’s production of A Chorus Line that haven’t aged particularly well. In particular,…
Review: Some of Chicago’s Best on Stage in Porchlight’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
The longer I write theater reviews, the more familiar I find myself becoming—at least via playbills—with the talent overflowing from…
