Review: Jane Eyre at the Joffrey Tells an Old Story
To open its final season in the glittering 130-year-old Auditorium Theatre before it moves across town to the Lyric Opera digs, the Joffrey Ballet doubled down on its recent commitment […]
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 to is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, the musical based […]
Rachel Maddow’s Blowout, Impeachment Porn and Martini Recipe at Chicago Humanities Festival
Emmy Award-winning host of the eponymous MSNBC program Rachel Maddow made a book tour stop on October 12 at McCormick Place’s Arie Crown Theater, as part of the Chicago Humanities […]
If CTU Strikes, Chicago Children’s Theatre Will Offer Drama Day Camps
As Chicagoans brace for a potential strike by teachers and support staff, the Chicago Children’s Theatre announced it plans to offer limited day camps for affected students from grades K-5. While […]
George R.R. Martin Discusses Influences, Inclusion & Diversity in Sci-Fi/Fantasy at Humanities Festival
Commencing last week with journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Chicago Humanities Festival continues to celebrate its 30th anniversary in full force with acclaimed author George R.R. Martin being the […]
Review: Science and Family Trauma in Mosquitoes at Steep Theatre Is Exciting and Perplexing
You might look at Mosquitoes as two plays, stitched together. Set mostly in Geneva, Switzerland, where nuclear scientists work on the Hadron Collider, you have the excitement of scientific challenge […]
Review: At Raven Theatre, Sundown, Yellow Moon Suffers From Pallid Script, Odd Staging
Sundown, Yellow Moon by Rachel Bonds is a family story about twin sisters from the big city who visit their newly divorced father in his barely furnished cabin in the […]
Review: Chicago Shakes’ A Man of Good Hope Is an Operatic African Odyssey
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Isango Ensemble’s effervescent musical memoir, A Man of Good Hope, as part of its Worldstage series, in a limited run through October 13. The 20-member company returns […]
Ta-Nehisi Coates Brilliantly Inaugurates the 30th Chicago Humanities Festival
MacArthur Fellow (genius award) writer Ta-Nehisi Coates launched the Chicago Humanities Festival’s impressive 30th anniversary “Power” season with an engaging and lively discussion on October 2 at UIC’s Dorin Forum. […]
Review: The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon Tells a Poetic and Horrific Story About the Fate of Women Journalists
The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon has a poetic title, both in English and in Spanish (Las Delicadas Lagrimas de ls Luna Menguante). Playwright and actor Rebeca Aleman has […]
Review: Go Figaro—The Lyric’s Barber Styles a Light, Bright Opening Night
The Lyric Opera of Chicago will have plenty for those who like their operas dark and deep and full of danger. The season that opened Saturday night (September 28) will […]
Review: Sideshow Theatre’s X—They’re Stranded on Pluto With Environmental Apocalypse Below
The last tree. It’s a theme that symbolizes the environmental apocalypse at the heart of Alistair McDowall’s play X by Sideshow Theatre, directed by Jonathan Green. Some time in the […]