All stories by Chris Jones on BroadwayStars

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Lia Mortensen dies at 57, an actor known for her deep and fearless work on Chicago stages by Chris Jones

As was typical with Mortensen when playing characters facing trauma, emotions remained veiled at first, only to spill out with intensity.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:43PM

Watching the 2023 Tony Awards: What to look for and our picks for the winners by Chris Jones

Not only are the winners and losers at the 2023 Tony Awards unknown, so is the shape of the show.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Monday, June 5, 2023

Review: Booze-fueled tragedy ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ is now an off-Broadway musical by Chris Jones

You might think of this piece as the somber underbelly of “Mad Men,” a story of what happens when the go-go music stops.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:00PM

Review: ‘Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon’ at Lookingglass Theatre has country music and a promising story about Asian American outlaws by Chris Jones

“Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon” is a caper story where both protagonists are Asian Americans who desire not to fall into the “model minority” stereotype.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:27PM

Broadway-bound ‘Personality’ opens in Chicago. Lloyd Price changed pop music but do people remember his name? by Chris Jones

“Personality,” a new jukebox musical, is hoping to put up the name Lloyd Price on a Broadway marquee.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Sunday, June 4, 2023

Review: ‘West Side Story’ is back at Lyric Opera, a classic for our moment by Chris Jones

If the true test of a fine Tony is the song “Maria,” the equivalent for Maria is the final scene of the show.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:17PM
Thursday, June 1, 2023

Review: ‘Grey House’ on Broadway is a creepy thriller from Chicago by Chris Jones

The show, now directed with his typical craft and creativity by Joe Mantello, first titillates its audience with loud, scary music and a theater that immediately plunges into darkness.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00PM
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

‘Drunk Shakespeare’ show plans to unionize in Chicago by Chris Jones

The comedy operation, wherein an actor drinks copious qualities of alcohol for comedic purposes, is facing a unionization demand.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:27PM

Goodman Theatre production of ‘Swing State’ is headed to New York by Chris Jones

The entire Goodman Theatre cast is going with the show, including Mary Beth Fisher as a widow dealing with grief and bereavement.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:55AM
Thursday, May 25, 2023

Review: In ‘The Whistleblower’ at Theater Wit, a misanthropic playwright takes a stand for truth by Chris Jones

Itamar Moses' new play at Theater Wit is an entry in the long-standing genre of playwrights writing about selling their souls for a Hollywood dime.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:19PM
Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Our Chicago theater top 10 for summer 2023: From a Pinter play to ‘The Who’s Tommy’ by Chris Jones

Our city's theater scene has enough excitement to rival NASCAR or Lolla this summer.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:30AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Review: ‘MotherFreakingHood!’ offers cocktails and catharsis for exhausted moms at Mercury Theater by Chris Jones

Here’s the appeal of “MotherFreakingHood!,” a better-than-you-probably-think show: It’s simple. It says, and sings, that you are not alone.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:53PM
Monday, May 22, 2023

Review: A thrilling rebirth of ‘The Gospel at Colonus’ at Court Theatre by Chris Jones

Court has put up something with an expansive vision and a directorial approach that respects the material but gently improves upon it.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:46PM
Thursday, May 18, 2023

Review: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ gets a homegrown production at TimeLine Theatre by Chris Jones

Heidi Schreck’s deeply personal work explored how the U.S. Constitution had profoundly influenced the life of an American woman in her mid-40s.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:00PM

Review: In ‘The October Storm’ at Raven Theatre, a drama grows in a South Side apartment building by Chris Jones

Chicago playwright Joshua Allen has been quietly building something very interesting at Chicago’s growing Raven Theatre.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:37PM
Wednesday, May 17, 2023

‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’: Jim Henson’s puppets are coming to Chicago for the holidays by Chris Jones

The newly renovated Studebaker Theater on Michigan Avenue has snagged a high-profile Christmas show.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:00PM
Monday, May 15, 2023

Review: In ‘Ernest Shackleton Loves Me’ at Porchlight, hipster meets explorer in this overly wacky musical by Chris Jones

Ernest Shackleton was an adventurer, polar explorer and a man who survived in the Antarctic by drifting on ice floes while eating penguins and dogs.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:12PM

Michael Shannon will return to A Red Orchid Theatre in 2023-24 season by Chris Jones

Two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon is scheduled to return to his Chicago theater home in 2024.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:00AM
Friday, May 12, 2023

Review: In ‘Antonio’s Song’ at Goodman Theatre, the arts become a roadmap for a life by Chris Jones

Actor Antonio Edwards Suarez attended a performance by Mikhail Baryshnikov, he tells us, and came to a realization.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:00PM
Thursday, May 11, 2023

Review: In ‘Damn Yankees’ at the Marriott Theatre, old-fashioned heart means more than hitting by Chris Jones

But this zesty new 2023 production, directed by James Vásquez, has an admirable crackle of the bat.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:07PM
Monday, May 8, 2023

Chicago Shakespeare Theater 2023-24 season: Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Illinois,’ Paralympian Katy Sullivan and ‘Seinfeld’ star Jason Alexander by Chris Jones

The theater returns to large-scale producing on Navy Pier next season with a new work based on the 2005 concept album "Illinois."

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:30PM
Thursday, May 4, 2023

Review: ‘The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window’: The Goodman play shines on Broadway with Rachel Brosnahan by Chris Jones

Either Lorraine Hansberry's genius 1964 play was ahead of its time, or we have slid backwards.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:00PM

Review: ‘Big River’ a musical journey with Jim and Huck Finn at Mercury Theater by Chris Jones

In the mid-1980s, Broadway tasked country artist Roger Miller with writing the music for a new adaptation of Mark Twain’s 1884 novel.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:00PM

Writers Theatre for 2023-24: Braden Abraham’s first season includes ‘The Band’s Visit’ by Chris Jones

Writers Theatre in Glencoe now has a new artistic director, Braden Abraham.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:00AM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

National theater conference headed to Chicago in 2024 by Chris Jones

Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for non-profit U.S. theater, is coming in June 2024.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Review: ‘London Road’ by Shattered Globe is about yearning for normalcy in a crisis — and reminds us what off-Loop theater can do by Chris Jones

Deeply dedicated to honoring actual events and revealing human truths, “London Road” has so very much to offer.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:40PM
Monday, May 1, 2023

Review: ‘The Porch on Windy Hill’ at Northlight Theatre explores family and folk music, but has a long way to go by Chris Jones

“The Porch on Windy Hill” should dial back the lecturing and sloganeering and focus on how music can heal and bring people together.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:20PM
Sunday, April 30, 2023

Review: In the lovely ‘Into The Woods’ now in Chicago, Sondheim’s fairytale forest is deep indeed by Chris Jones

Herein, you’ll find some of Sondheim’s greatest songs. I’m going through a bit of an empty-nest crisis, so “Stay With Me” has me at “Don’t you know what’s out there in the wo…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:37PM
Thursday, April 27, 2023

Review: With ‘School of Rock,’ the Paramount Theatre hits all the power chords, yet again by Chris Jones

This hugely enjoyable show is filled with talented kids and helmed by the big-hearted Nick Druzbanski in the role made famous by Jack Black.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:30PM

Chicago’s Windy City Playhouse goes up for sale by Chris Jones

The theater opened in 2015 and had a string of notable successes, including the long-running “Southern Gothic."

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:15AM
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Review: Broadway’s ‘New York, New York’ has hot jazz but a disjointed story by Chris Jones

The show based on the Martin Scorsese film has five lyricists and writers, and it feels like all of the writers got to do their own thing.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:00PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards