'Byhalia's' interracial story about a couple in crisis has only deepened by Chris Jones

I fell for Evan Linder's simple, lovely play "Byhalia, Mississippi" when I first saw the piece on a cold night in January. I fell yet harder Thursday night when this story of a struggling, i…

Review: A conservative take on Frederick Douglass by Chris Jones

Frederick Douglass, the one-time slave who became a great orator, writer, publisher and social reformer, was a fervent believer in the Constitution of the United States. "Its language is 'we…

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' spoke more truth this week than Trump or Clinton by Chris Jones

This political convention season, as in all political convention seasons, two distinct narratives have emerged. There's the Trumpian narrative of crisis — that dystopic world of murderous …

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' is simply magical in London by Chris Jones

LONDON — Harry Potter, now 37 years old and perpetually stressed out, stands with his wife, the former Ginny Weasley, at Platform Nine at King's Cross station. His kids are going off to th…

'Chops' an old-fashioned attraction at Theater Wit by Chris Jones

"Chops," the retro new play at Theater Wit, is the kind of Chi-caw-gow show I thought gone for good. It features three 60ish white guys in a Chicago bar, one apparently the bar owner, banter…

Inside the weirdness of Elder Cunningham, missionary by Chris Jones

In "The Book of Mormon," the role of Elder Cunningham — the runtlike sidekick to the Type A missionary Elder Price — has turned out to be quite a springboard. A squishy springboard, cert…

'Wastwater' plumbs depths of human despair by Chris Jones

Should all the hate, brutality and alienation coursing through the planet not be enough for you, I give you "Wastwater," a dystopian triptych by gifted British playwright Simon Stephens and …

Divas battle over beauty in Goodman Theatre's 'War Paint' by Chris Jones

How did Pokemon Go take over the world? by Chris Jones

Opinions abound as to why Pokemon Go, the augmented reality game, torpedoed Twitter, eclipsed Instagram, one-upped WhatsApp, sizzled Snapchat, toasted Tinder and took over the world. In, lik…

'Between Riverside and Crazy' resonates in America's hour of need by Chris Jones

Watching Stephen Adly Guirgis' very beautiful play "Between Riverside and Crazy" at the Steppenwolf Theater on Saturday night — so soon after America seemed to collapse under the weight of…

Chicago's 'Hamilton' and other cast members announced by Chris Jones

Chicago, meet your Alexander Hamilton: It's Miguel Cervantes.  Meet your Angelica Schuyler: It's Karen Olivo. And meet your (former) King George III: It's Alexander Gemignani.  Originally …

Profiles Theatre space getting a new tenant by Chris Jones

When Profiles Theatre announced its closure last month -- the theater shuttered amid the outcry over a widely shared story in the Chicago Reader wherein several women alleged unsafe and abus…

Of cops, race and gunshots: 'Riverside' lands hard in a time of crisis by Chris Jones

"Between Riverside and Crazy," the seemingly prophetic 2014 drama by Stephen Adly Guirgis, deals with the unprovoked shooting of an African-American man by a rookie police officer who, in th…

There will be a new 'Hamilton' on Broadway come Sunday by Chris Jones

With tickets typically selling on secondary markets for at least $2,000--and some being offered for ten times that amount--Saturday marks the final performance of the original Broadway cast …

Abner Mikva became somebody, and nobody will forget why by Chris Jones

The great Abner Mikva, who died Monday at the age of 90, was a congressman, federal judge, White House counsel and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But in the coverage of th…

An actor-waiter dishes out his biggest customer pet peeves by Chris Jones

For a lot of actors, waiting tables is what you do when you're not in a show. Brad Zimmerman has turned being a waiter into a show. Ergo, "My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy," now playing f…

Love, and 'The Book of Mormon,' is all you need by Chris Jones

Before the "Hamilton" juggernaut takes Chicago's PrivateBank Theatre offline for the next 3,000 years — bravely shouldering the burden of the westward migration of the George Lucas museum …

On a post-Brexit weekend, the twisted sisters are all about Stratford by Chris Jones

At the end of the Scottish play, the Thane of Fife enters with the head of the Thane of Cawdor: He of the "vaulting ambition," and the complicit spouse, now lacks a skull attached to his bod…

Profound 'Man of La Mancha' achieves its big dreams by Chris Jones

Rolling into a Skokie Dunkin' Donuts — please do not judge — on the way back from the Marriott Theatre's atypically audacious new production of "Man of La Mancha" on Wednesday night, I g…

5 firecracker acting performances to light up your Fourth of July by Chris Jones

It's the Fourth of July weekend — but not all the pyrotechnics blaze outdoors. Au contraire, some of the rockets are unleashed in unnervingly close quarters. In honor of Independence Day, …

More 'War Paint' tickets released as Goodman adds extra week by Chris Jones

The Goodman Theatre is to extend its heavily sold production of "War Paint," starring Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone, for an additional week, releasing hundreds of extra tickets to new …

'Grapes of Wrath' never more timely in age of migrants and fear by Chris Jones

To watch John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" — as famously adapted for the stage by Frank Galati in 1988 — on the cusp of Britain's fear-fueled departure from the European Union was t…

'War Paint': Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein and American beauty by Chris Jones

On June 15, Revlon, a multinational, mass-market cosmetics company, announced it was acquiring one of its rivals, Elizabeth Arden, for $419.3 million in cash. Corporate acquisitions, common …

You'll want to be in the 'Company' of this masterful Sondheim update by Chris Jones

Penned in 1970, Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece "Company" is fiendishly difficult to update. Where to begin? You've got lyrical references to ladies who lunch, answering services explaining t…

What's the next 'Hamilton'? Could it be Harry Potter? by Chris Jones

What's the next "Hamilton"? I've been thinking about that question partly because I have become weary of being asked what was the last "Hamilton," in reference to the colossal demand that re…

'Hamilton' fans line up for tickets outside theater box office by Chris Jones

A line of more than 1,000 "Hamilton" fans wrapped around a city block Tuesday morning as they waited for a chance to be in the room where it happens when Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning mu…

Where's the danger in this 'Deathtrap'? by Chris Jones

Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" is one of the most successful whodunits of all time — it spawned a four-year Broadway run of 1,800 performances, a London gig, a big Hollywood movie starring Michae…

Powerful 'House That Will Not Stand' brings racial past into present by Chris Jones

In Marcus Gardley's "The House That Will Not Stand" — the best show directed by Chay Yew since he took over at the Victory Gardens Theater — the remarkable Chicago actress Jacqueline Wil…

Young SpongeBob saves the day, in a big, loud way by Chris Jones

Hopeless optimism is as good a strategy as any in our angry, hate-filled world. So by the time "The SpongeBob Musical" turns the Krusty Krab into a Hells Kitchen canteen, SpongeBob SquarePan…

'BATSU!': Gonzo Japanese game show sets up shop in Chicago by Chris Jones

"BATSU!" is the Japanese word for punishment or penalty. And in the raucous new improvised entertainment in Old Town, the audience is encouraged to chant it whenever one of the performers fa…

Theo Ubique revives Bricusse and Newley's old hits by Chris Jones

Without Sammy Davis, Jr. — for my money, the most talented song-and-dance entertainer of all time — it's unlikely that Americans would have known much about Leslie Bricusse and Anthony N…