All stories by Chris Jones on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Review: Lyric Opera’s ‘Twilight: Gods’ is a drive-through Wagnerian hellscape in an underground garage by Chris Jones

The magical adaptation from the "Ring" cycle is unlike anything you've seen before, with scenes and music in an automobile processional.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:59PM
Thursday, April 22, 2021

Column: A capitalist case for Broadway by Chris Jones

Lately, those critical of Broadway theater say it compromises art and hurts artists. Karen Olivo quit the cast of “Moulin Rouge!" But consider this ...

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Second City fires its night staff and looks to outsource, causing a painful rift. And it loses its president. by Chris Jones

When John Kramer first tended bar at Second City in 1981, the co-founder Bernie Sahlins signed every check himself. Kramer says he won't set foot in the theater again.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:05PM
Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Chicago announces Arts 77, a huge increase in arts funding, with $60 million for artists, concerts and new public art at O’Hare by Chris Jones

Ambitious and "unprecedented," the new Arts 77 plan promises millions to fund arts recovery in Chicago.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Monday, April 19, 2021

Goodman Theatre to livestream 3 new shows, including ‘The Sound Inside’ recently on Broadway by Chris Jones

The Goodman Theatre said Monday that it will join with a video production company and create three new productions in coming weeks, including "The Sound Inside" in its first live production …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:38AM
Thursday, April 15, 2021

Second City teachers vote to form a union by Chris Jones

The election in Chicago follows similar union victories at Second City theaters in Hollywood, Calif. and Toronto, Ontario.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:41PM

Column: Next problem for the arts is getting audiences to trust the vaccine by Chris Jones

Recent news that live theater will once again fill the Kennedy Center was greeted with suspicion on social media. How to heal this divide, between politics and the safety afforded by vaccine…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:49AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Column: As theater returns to Chicago, messages of healing matter more than logistics by Chris Jones

This last week was a start reminder that the performing arts, when they do return to the stage in Chicago, need to address the fears and tensions we all feel this spring.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Friday, April 9, 2021

Column: Remembering the day Prince Philip looked me in the eye by Chris Jones

The longtime husband of Queen Elizabeth II died Friday at the age of 99. But he once looked a schoolboy at Bury Grammar School in the eye, and the boy has not forgotten.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:01PM
Thursday, April 8, 2021

Column: There’s a space crunch coming for performing arts in Chicago. Here’s a fix. by Chris Jones

Our theater and dance companies are nearly ready to rush back to Chicago stages. There won't be enough stages to go around. Here's a way to look elsewhere.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Mercury Theater Chicago will open again on the Southport Corridor with a new artistic director by Chris Jones

The Mercury didn't stay closed for long. It's coming back to life with a new artistic director, Christopher Chase Carter, as well as a new restaurant and plans for the cabaret space.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:00AM
Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Review: In ‘I, Cinna (the poet)’ at Chicago Shakespeare, a dead poet asks us to decide anew: Should art be political? by Chris Jones

In Shakespeare's play, a poet on the sidelines gets torn to pieces by the mob. Tim Crouch's piece, now streaming from Chicago Shakespeare Theater, brings him back to debate artistic respons…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:24PM
Thursday, April 1, 2021

Column: Too soon for Lolla? 6 ideas for Chicago’s summer of live entertainment by Chris Jones

The COVID-19 recovery has been a rollercoaster, with both the promise of vaccines and dangers of new cases in the headlines in recent days. Chicago needs careful thinking for this summer.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Big changes coming for the off-Loop theater Stage 773: ‘Willy Wonka meets Burning Man’ by Chris Jones

Stage 773, a longtime anchor of the Belmont Avenue theater district in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, will be rebuilt as a single theater with an immersive audience experience.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:11PM
Monday, March 22, 2021

Review: ‘I, Banquo’ at Chicago Shakespeare Theater heaps bitterness on fate and ‘Macbeth’ by Chris Jones

What if Banquo had won out over Macbeth? Tim Crouch's play, newly filmed for Chicago Shakespeare Theater, ponders the question.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:28PM
Thursday, March 18, 2021

Royal George Theatre shows are told to leave and the theater is likely to close by Chris Jones

The storied Chicago theater is likely being sold to redevelopers. Producers for the shows currently in-house say they have been told to pack up.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:05PM

Second City will reopen with live shows in May by Chris Jones

Both the Mainstage and e.t.c. Stages will have shows for live audiences, but opening full, new comedy revues will take more time.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:56AM
Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Column: Ken-Matt Martin is new artistic director at Victory Gardens. He is just one of a new group of Black arts leaders coming to Chicago. by Chris Jones

Victory Gardens has a new artistic director, part of a new group of Black artistic leaders taking positions in the city, including at Second City and Hubbard Street Dance Company.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM

Will the dinner circus Teatro ZinZanni be the first big indoor show to return to downtown Chicago? by Chris Jones

The seats are flexible in the Cambria Hotel space. Plus circus people say yes. The show is on track to reopening in June.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:47AM
Thursday, March 11, 2021

Review: ‘Duchess! Duchess! Duchess!’ by Steppenwolf Theatre seems to travel inside Meghan’s head as she makes a fateful decision by Chris Jones

The video play by Vivian J.O. Barnes streaming as part of Steppenwolf NOW proves to be well-timed to current events with the British royals.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:03PM
Wednesday, March 10, 2021

‘You’re not getting married today’: Kyle De Santis on shuttering his family’s Drury Lane enterprise by Chris Jones

One year ago as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, DeSantis of Drury Lane had to shut down one show, abandon plans for another and tell a bunch of brides their wedding were off. "I just felt l…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:21PM

Goodman Theatre opens the vaults and offers a new chance to see ‘Smokefall.’ Grab it. by Chris Jones

"Encore" by the Goodman Theatre puts videos of past shows online to stream for free, a rare opportunity not to be missed.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Friday, March 5, 2021

Chicago Shakespeare and Drury Lane Theatre announce live shows for fall by Chris Jones

First show at Chicago Shakes will be “As You Like It” with Beatles music. Drury Lane plans to reopen with "Forever Plaid."

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:47PM
Thursday, March 4, 2021

Ed Judge, a dentist who chose tending bar at Petterino’s instead, is dead at 55 by Chris Jones

If you were an exhausted actor straight from the dressing room, Petterino's bartender Ed Judge would know your drink and have it waiting.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:18PM

Column: A quarter-century later, the musical ‘Rent’ still resonates by Chris Jones

"Rent" is still as powerful now as it was when it opened on Broadway in 1996.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:46AM

Column: A restaurant room and inside of the Auditorium Theatre both capped at 50 people? Pritzker’s plan needs a new Phase 4.5 by Chris Jones

Pandemic limits for restaurants are relaxed and baseball may have live fans in the stands this summer. But the rules for indoor live entertainment in Illinois remain stuck, and make little s…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:56AM
Wednesday, March 3, 2021

House Theatre of Chicago announces new artistic director by Chris Jones

Chicago artist Lanise Antoine Shelley takes the lead at the Chicago theater company operating out of the Chopin in Wicker Park.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:51AM
Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Column: Require proof of a COVID vaccine to get into a show in Chicago? It’s a very tricky issue by Chris Jones

Are vaccine passports for audience members the quickest way back for the performing arts in Chicago?

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:18PM
Monday, March 1, 2021

Stratford Festival of Canada announces a modest outdoor summer season by Chris Jones

The popular annual Canadian theater festival plans shows in outdoor tents, with titles to be announced at a later date.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:21PM

Review: In ‘Taking Up Serpents’ by Chicago Opera Theater, a young woman tries to escape a snake-loving father by Chris Jones

In the new opera "Taking Up Serpents," set in rural Alabama, a young woman wrestles with her Pentecostal upbringing.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:00PM
Sunday, February 28, 2021

Review: Joffrey Ballet’s virtual, bursting ‘Boléro’ brings us a rite of spring by Chris Jones

The Joffrey Ballet's new streaming production is free to watch on the company's website, a fine reminder of this Chicago institution, and of the spring that is coming.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:44PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime