Review: So Much Wrong with The Play That Goes Wrong
I attended The Play That Goes Wrong on a friend’s recommendation. I will never forgive him. The touring production runs at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., through December 16, […]
Review: Joffrey Ballet’s The Nutcracker Continues Its Chicago 1893 Focus
The bottom line is this: if you find yourself in any seat at the Joffrey’s production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, it is a good seat. Being in the room for this […]
In Steppenwolf’s Familiar, an Immigrant Family Comes to Terms With Old and New Customs
Familiar at Steppenwolf Theatre rings true as a familiar story in one way or another for most of us. An immigrant family struggles with education and culture in its new country, […]
Review: Lyric’s Cendrillon Is a Fairy Tale That Dazzles and Delights
Whether it’s Rogers & Hammerstein, Disney, the Brothers Grimm or Charles Perrault, the story of Cinderella, her fairy godmother, the glass slippers and happily ever after is, even in these […]
Review: Q Brothers Update Dickens With Rap, Rhymes and Plenty of Heart
For a holiday tradition that’s Lin-Manuel Miranda meets Charles Dickens, look no further than Q Brothers Christmas Carol at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, on through December 30. Presented at The Yard, […]
Review: Sideshow Theatre’s HeLa Tells Stories of Death, Joy and Outer Space
“This is Major Tom to Ground Control I’m stepping through the door And I’m floating in a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today For here am […]
Review: Eclipse’s The Dark at the Top of the Stairs Dramatizes Everyone’s Fears in 1920s Oklahoma
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, a 1957 play by William Inge, is set in a small town in 1920s Oklahoma. The play tells the story of the […]
Liberté, Égalité, Sororité: Four Badass Women Fight for Art and Freedom in Strawdog’s The Revolutionists
The Revolutionists is feminist history laced with an argument for the value of art in revolution. Playwright Lauren Gunderson describes it as a “comedic quartet about four women at the height […]
Review: As Chicago’s Holiday Traditions Go, A Christmas Carol is Among the Best
Chicago loves its holiday traditions. From classics like the windows and the Walnut Room all dressed up at Field’s/Macy’s to more contemporary additions like Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza and ice […]
Review: Capra Classic as Radio Play in American Blues Theater’s Wonderfully Festive It’s a Wonderful Life
I should disclose at the outset that American Blues Theater’s 17th annual production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! is a bit of a tradition for me. A […]
Review: The Woman in Black at the Royal George Theatre is Guaranteed to Give You the Chills
The Woman in Black, a spooky Christmas transplant from the UK, is the second-longest running play on the West End (the top spot belongs to another little potboiler, Agatha Christie’s […]
Cirque Dreams Holidaze Aims to Whisk You Away for a Few Hours
I had the chance to chat with Neile Goldberg, the founder and director of Cirque Dreams about the new show Cirque Dreams Holidaze coming to the Chicago Theatre December 12-16. […]