2019 in Review: Our Favorite Nights at the Theater
This isn’t a “best theater of the year” list. As we’ve noted about past lists, we don’t see everything. Most of our writers are freelancers, all with other gigs, and […]
Review: Chicago’s History Flames Again in Burning Bluebeard by the Ruffians
As part of its 25th anniversary season, Porchlight Music Theatre is presenting the Ruffians’ indispensable Christmas show Burning Bluebeard. Inspired by the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire, Burning Bluebeard is hardly typical Christmas […]
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 […]
Review: Between High Kicks, Porchlight’s A Chorus Line Delivers a Timeless Story
There are a few moments of Porchlight Music Theater’s production of A Chorus Line that haven’t aged particularly well. In particular, dated and obscure references to pop culture fall flat, even […]
Review: Some of Chicago’s Best on Stage in Porchlight’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
The longer I write theater reviews, the more familiar I find myself becoming—at least via playbills—with the talent overflowing from Chicago’s stages. What’s more, I figured it would only be […]
2018 in Review: What We Liked on Stage
This isn’t a “best theater of 2018” list. We didn’t see everything. Most of our writers are freelancers, all with other gigs, and it’s hard for us to cover the […]
Review: Run, Don’t Walk, to See E. Faye Butler in Porchlight Music Theatre’s Gypsy
There’s this gem of a theater in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, and it’s keeping a little secret: the best musical theater productions in the city. Broadway touring companies aside, Porchlight […]
Review: Take a Trip to Memphis in Porchlight’s Latest Hit
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical now on at Porchlight Music Theater (directed by Daryl Brooks), is that in the […]
Porchlight’s Dynamic Merrily We Roll Along Puts Energy in Ever-Poignant Sondheim
In 1981, Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince collaborated with writer George Furth for a new musical based on a 1934 play, Merrily We Roll Along. The show was to be […]
Porchlight’s The Scottsboro Boys Shines Light on Judicial Injustice
Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of The Scottsboro Boys satirically presents a true story in the controversial style of the minstrel show. There is no doubting that the musical, which chronicles […]