Review: Tim Heidecker Brings Laughs and Sincerely Great Tunes to Thalia Hall
Tim Heidecker has too many talents to list from his storied career, so many that I’ll only briefly touch upon a few of them. I’m sure many of my peers […]
Review: Timeline Theatre Revisits the American Dream with the Timely Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley
James Baldwin is the greatest American writer. Period. Even more so during Black History Month 2025. Among Baldwin’s many, many gifts was prescience. As a gay Black midcentury man, he […]
Review: In Trap Door’s The Mannequins’ Ball, Mannequins Are the Movers in a Story That Combines Politics and Partying
The new production of The Mannequins’ Ball at Trap Door Theatre is a whole lot of 1930s agitprop choreographed with music, singing and dancing. Nicole Weisner and Miguel Long direct 90 minutes […]
Review: Who’s the Hero in Shattered Globe’s Lobby Hero? All Four Characters Face Ethical Choices
Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero blends working relationships tested by an ethical dilemma in this comedic drama that gets a timely staging by Shattered Globe Theatre. Is the titular Lobby Hero the loopy […]
Dispatch: Sundance Film Festival Continues with At-Home Viewing Now Available
Our coverage of Sundance Film Festival continues with more reviews of the festival’s official selections. Last Days One of the finest documentaries from 2023 was Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ […]
Preview: Singer-Songwriter Sierra Spirit Wants to Make a Connection at Chicago Theatre
Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, and, more recently, Taylor Swift. These renowned musicians have transcended what it means to be songwriters—they’re storytellers whose evocative lyrics intertwine with intriguing melodies […]
Dispatch: Sundance Film Festival Continues with an Inspiring Coming-of-Age Documentary and Rose Byrne as a Beleaguered Mother
Our coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival continues with reviews of four films making their world premiere at the festival. Folktales Documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are a […]
Review: Miró Quartet Ends the Northwestern Winter Chamber Music Festival in an Entertaining Way
The Miró Quartet from Austin, Texas, entertained a large audience to end the Northwestern Winter Chamber Music Festival on Sunday. In performing a program of classics by Franz Joseph Haydn […]
Dispatch: Puppet Theater Festival Closes With Stories From the Far North to South Africa, Crocheted Art and Music, Music, Music
The second and final week of the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival concluded yesterday, after 12 days of international puppet theater productions at dozens of venues plus free neighborhood […]
Review: Fat Ham at Goodman Theatre Transports the Gloomy Dane to a Lively Southern Backyard Barbecue
Fat Ham, the prize-winning play by James Ijames, is now on stage at Goodman Theatre in a co-production with Definition Theatre. Ijames’ script was inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet and incorporates some of the original’s […]
Preview: Ready to Get Bowled Over by Bur?
I’ve only seen Bur play once, for about 25 minutes, during an early night set at Montrose Saloon last spring and I still think about that show on a regular […]
Review: A Father and Daughter Reconnect and Go From Strangers to Spies on a Mission in Inheritance
After nine months of taking care of her ailing/dying mother, Maya (Phoebe Dynevor, Fair Play, Bridgerton) has something of an emotional bender at the opening of director/co-writer Neil Burger’s Inheritance. […]