“I was about to speak to her/ but hesitated when I realized/ she was browsing through/ the Self-Help section,” writes Barry Gifford in his poem “In a Used Bookstore.” Appearing […]

Since joining the team at Third Coast Review last winter, I have had the privilege of seeing and reviewing several excellent concerts. While 2016 was unpleasant and disappointing in many […]

As usual, Chicago’s more than 200 theaters—both Equity and non-Equity—provided a magical wealth of productions for theatergoers and theater critics alike. Third Coast Review’s Stages writers reviewed more than 200 […]

Art AIDS America Chicago is a monumental exhibition that explores how the AIDS crisis had an impact on American art and culture. The works on display, from the early 1980s […]

Christopher Wheeldon is a visionary; there’s no doubt about that. When I learned that he’d be dreaming up a revamped version of The Nutcracker featuring the Joffrey Ballet, I couldn’t resist a […]

A year’s end wouldn’t be complete without copious amounts of “best of” lists, right? That’s why we’ve saved our best for the last day of the year. The Third Coast […]

Stages Winter @ Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue January 7 thru February 11 This new play by Julie Jensen deals with end of life issues and the right […]

Beyond is a broad category. As such, it’s been hard to choose just three things that represent the best things we covered in Chicago this year. So much so, I may […]

I’m the damn fool who waits until the year actually ends before rolling out my Best Of… list every year, and that’s because I’m often able to squeeze in about […]

In 1953, as a senior at the Illinois Institute of Technology, a young John Massey offered to volunteer at the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado. Born in 1931, he […]

Third Coast Review has been in operation for almost a year. Our first anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks. We’ve been collectively mulling over events of the […]

2016 is in its final days and we can leave it to the history books. It’s over. Whether this past year was atrocious or personally decent,  let’s celebrate its end […]