Review: Joffrey’s Sparkling Nutcracker Delivers Sugar Plums, Magic, and Spectacle
Let us now consider the sugar plum. For years, I thought it was an artisan plum rolled in silver sugar. I was this many years old when I discovered that […]
Review: A More Dickensian Approach to A Christmas Carol for the Goodman Theatre’s Centennial
Several versions of A Christmas Carol are familiar on television, in the movies, and, specifically, live at the Goodman Theatre. It’s a start to the holiday season in Chicago, usually coinciding […]
Review: Quirky Characters Spotlight the Fun in Much Ado About Nothing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
She hates him. He loatheItss her. “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Wait, that is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but in any case, it’s a Shakespearean theme […]
Review: Make Room for Boswell, a Lively History Tale on Stage in Milwaukee
While many Third Coast Review readers may be absorbing the latest Ken Burns’ TV documentary about the American Revolution, I imagine that few are thinking about events happening on the […]
Preview: Tchaikovsky and Ellington Duke It Out in a Family Friendly Nutcracker at the Music Institute of Chicago
The 2025 holiday season is upon us, and there are delightful entertainments for everyone. Duke It Out is a face-off between Duke Ellington and Pyotr Tchaikovsky of The Nutcracker Suite. […]
Review: A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness Is a Smashing (Pumpkins) Success at Lyric Opera
Perhaps more than any other ’90s rock icon, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has remained unapologetically artistically adventurous three decades into his career—while the most recent Pearl Jam and Foo […]
Review: Court Theatre Puts a Feminist Twist on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
I have contemplated the versions of The Taming of the Shrew that I have seen over the years. I never liked the premise that a woman should be trained to […]
Review: At Trap Door Theatre, A Devil Comes to Town Celebrates Writers and Their Passion to Be Published
It’s a Swiss town full of writers, where everyone is obsessed with getting published and winning a new literary prize. A Publisher arrives, eager to find new works to be […]
Review: Genius, Envy and Madness on Display in Amadeus at Steppenwolf Theatre
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Whenever I speak or hear the name, his glorious and stirring Requiem is the first thing that springs to mind. Sir Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus is now playing […]
Review: Ensemble Español’s 50th Anniversary Performance Is ¡Fantastico! But Marred by Stage Effects
Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday at the Auditorium. It is another treasure in Chicago’s glittering and vibrant cultural scene, .yet another distinguished dance company […]
Review: Carmina Burana at Lyric Opera “Affirms Humanity” With Driving Rhythms Inspired by Medieval Poems
Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is an excellent intro to choral music: only 65 minutes long and already quite familiar as the dramatic flair of “O Fortuna” can be heard in […]
Review: As You Like It at Writers Theatre Is a Dazzling Tribute to Love and Community
As someone who’s been meaning to visit Writers Theatre but was struggling to get out of the city and up to Glencoe, I can say that my trip was more […]