Next week is the 40th anniversary of the date that Prince’s album, Purple Rain, hit the airwaves; the film appeared in movie theaters a month later. I did not have […]

Black Ensemble Theater (BET) has been a mainstay of Black theater for almost 50 years. That takes grit which is a step above determination. It takes vision, talent, and fearlessness—the […]

The Kite Runner is a contemplative play that spans decades, continents and various aspects of the human heart. The national tour production is currently playing at the CIBC Theatre through […]

On the eve of Sunday’s Tony Awards broadcast, here’s a look at four productions that will be vying for recognition in various categories. All four of them are musicals, and […]

Reggie Watts is far more than James Corden’s bandleader on the former The Late Late Show. He’s an innovative musician (keyboard, looping machine, beatboxer), dry comedian, wearer of cool geometric […]

Melodrama gets a bum rap. It’s silly, the cynics say, unrealistic, it’s too much. But when melodrama is done well there’s nothing else like it. The genre appeals to the […]

The Trap Open Series is designed to bring non-traditional dramatic takes to Trap Door Theatre’s stage for short runs. The latest in the series is Antigonick, translated and adapted by […]

With summer temperatures beckoning us, Chicago theatergoers may start thinking about an escape to the lush, green countryside of Spring Green, Wisconsin, home of American Players Theatre. For nearly half […]

Seventeen unrelated scenes. Six actors playing nameless characters. Joy and celebration, sadness and grieving, terror and violence. But no discernible plot. Attempts on Her Life, an experimental play by Tuta Theatre, […]

The crowd was silent. You could hear a pin drop. I could feel the tension bubbling around me as everyone looked up at Marie (performed by Elayne Kramer), perched on […]

Otherworld Theatre’s world premiere staging of Garters opens with four ensemble members (Chloe Basset, Bruce Holtman, Quinton Walker, and Kylie Carroll) welcoming the audience with a fourth-wall-breaking prologue. The four remain in […]

A Little Night Music makes so many incisive points about aging that it ought to come with a trigger warning—or better yet, be required viewing—for people over 50. And what […]