Review: Free Street’s Rupture and Repair Is More Tutorial Than Theater
The first time I saw a Free Street Theater performance was back in the ’70s. I was on a school field trip, and the performance was an unexpected highlight. I […]
Review: It’s Hard to Be Hot Serves Up Sourdough and Sketch Comedy at Judy’s Beat Lounge
This review was written by Mackenzie Sinta. It’s Hard to Be Hot, directed by Jess Rogers, returns to the stage for its third iteration — and it’s sharper than ever. […]
Review: Handel Week Festival Opens in Oak Park With Concerti and a Roman Rarity
This review was written by Zach Carstensen. Each February for the past 27 years, Dennis Northway has convened musicians to perform the work of George Frideric Handel in Oak Park. […]
Review: City Opera Brings Enchanting, Intimate Cendrillon to the CheckOut for Valentine’s Weekend
This review was written by Zach Carstensen. On Valentine’s Day weekend, Chicago City Opera brought Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon (Cinderella) to the CheckOut in Lakeview, proving that you don’t need a […]
Review: At Young People’s Theatre, The Hobbit Entertains an Audience Both Adult and Young (But Not Too Young)
I saw the morning performance of The Hobbit by Young People’s Theatre Saturday, expecting the house to be full of squealy kids with parents. I was only slightly surprised to […]
Preview: Music Frozen Dancing Is Back with an Eclectic Lineup at the Empty Bottle on February 21
Each February, thick-blooded Chicago punks gather on a side street in Ukrainian Village to mosh in assuredly dreadful weather while would-be concertgoers across the country are holed up in their […]
Review: Gwydion Theatre Company’s The Lower Depths Hits the Head and the Heart
Over the last few years, Chicago’s young Gwydion Theatre Company has proven itself a reliable protectorate of great literature. In October, I favorably reviewed its production of Death of a […]
Review: Royal Shakespeare’s Hamnet at Chicago Shakespeare Recreates the Drama With Pure Emotion
You may appreciate the play Hamnet because you loved Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel or the 2025 film directed by Chloé Zhao. In either case, your view of the Hamnet story […]
Review: Teen Angst Hits a Boiling Point in The Outsiders on Its Broadway Tour
The Outsiders, a 2024 musical based on the 1967 S.E. Hinton novel about coming-of-age in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma, returns to Chicago in its first national Broadway tour. The word “returns” […]
Review: Olio e Più and the Romance of a Perfect Meal
This Valentine’s Week, my partner and I headed to Olio e Più in River North. We were met with the perfect atmospheric evening, starting with the restaurant’s Martini Monday special […]
Review: Crime 101, Adapted from a Novella, Hits All the Expected Heist Drama Notes, Carried by Halle Berry and Barry Keoghan’s Performances
At the top of the end credits of Crime 101, the new heist drama, starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry and Barry Keoghan, is the line “Based on the […]
Review: Liam Neeson Is Still Having Fun in Cold Storage, a Classic B-Movie Sci-Fi Drama with Laughs
As history tells it, in 1979, the space station known as Skylab came crashing down to Earth, most of its pieces burning up during atmospheric re-entry; the pieces that actually […]