All stories by Hedy Weiss on BroadwayStars

Thursday, February 1, 2018

‘Merrily We Roll Along’ soars to new heights in Porchlight staging by Hedy Weiss

The intimate but grand-scale production of the show is infused with fierce, precision-tooled, altogether transformative direction by Michael Weber.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 12:53PM
Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Joffrey Ballet dances the many modes of ‘Modern Masters’ in winter program by Hedy Weiss

George Balanchine's "The Four Temperaments" and Jerome Robbins' "Glass Pieces" are among the pieces slated for the program.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, January 30, 2018

In ‘Blind Date’ political conversations of a different era speak volumes by Hedy Weiss

Two more wildly different personalities than Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev could not have been put in a room together.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:53PM

Patti LuPone booked for Steppenwolf’s LookOut by Hedy Weiss

Audra McDonald did it. So did Chita Rivera. And soon it will be Patti LuPone’s turn as the latest Broadway diva to arrive onstage at Steppenwolf Theatre as part of its LookOut series, …

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 11:59AM
Monday, January 29, 2018

In ‘We’re Gonna Be Okay,’ identity issues trump the threat of nukes by Hedy Weiss

In its quirky way the story confirms the two abiding points of view that now hold sway more than a half century after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:00PM

Acrobat-actor Raphael Cruz, recently at Lookinngglass, dies in Paris by Hedy Weiss

The cause of death is awaiting results of an autopsy.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:27PM
Friday, January 26, 2018

Joseph and his ‘Dreamcoat’ get a wildly zany remix at Drury Lane by Hedy Weiss

Director Alan Souza and musical director Alan Bukowiecki have crafted an ingenious take on the musical.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:28PM

Mikhail Baryshnikov finds a meeting of poetic souls at heart of ‘Brodsky’ by Hedy Weiss

The one-man show that draws on more than 40 poems by Nobel Prize-winning poet Joseph Brodsky.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, January 25, 2018

A major grant is big boost for the arts at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora by Hedy Weiss

The funding will help support three major areas of expansion and improvement, including a new Paramount School of Performing Arts.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:00PM
Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Rainn Wilson to join Steppenwolf cast by Hedy Weiss

You probably know him best as “Dwight Schrute,” the role he has played for nine seasons on NBC’s “The Office,” or perhaps you recall his previous television for…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 12:34PM
Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Making no small plans for new musical about Daniel Burnham by Hedy Weiss

The show, directed by Erik Wagner, with music direction by Linda Madonia and choreography by Jessica Texidor, will run at Theater Wit this summer.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:02PM
Sunday, January 21, 2018

In ‘All My Sons,’ guilt and denial over wartime profits and losses by Hedy Weiss

Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons,” now in a blistering revival at Court Theatre, arrived on Broadway in 1947 — a moment in this country’s history often viewed as the ap…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 05:01PM
Friday, January 19, 2018

Theo Ubique’s cast for ‘Sweeney Todd’ to be led by opera singer by Hedy Weiss

The show, which most often is produced on vast Broadway and opera house stages, will also have a formidable cast.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:55PM

Musical ‘Yank!’ captures moment in history of gays in U.S. military by Hedy Weiss

An ironic, knowing laugh rippled through the audience Thursday night as the immensely engaging musical “Yank! A WW II Love Story,” received its Chicago premiere by Pride Films an…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:48PM
Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Raven’s first season under new leadership taps four plays by women by Hedy Weiss

The work of four female playwrights, including Pulitzer Prize-winners Lynn Nottage and Paula Vogel, as well as Anna Jordan and Laura Eason, will comprise Raven Theatre’s 2018-2019 seas…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 07:25PM

Divergent destinies fuel tension in ‘Five Mile Lake’ by Hedy Weiss

The result is an emotionally rich look at dreams pursued, dreams denied, and the struggle to forge a life of value (and values) in America.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 07:20PM

New documentary chronicles the brief but brilliant life of Lorraine Hansberry by Hedy Weiss

The Hansberry documentary deals extensively with the playwright's political engagement, among other topics.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 05:00PM
Sunday, January 14, 2018

In acting showcase ‘Cal in Camo,’ the stormy lives of damaged people by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: Each of the characters in William Francis Hoffman's play is in desperate need of help, but it's a newborn baby you may want to rescue.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:26PM
Thursday, January 11, 2018

‘Flamingo & Decatur’ places its bets on Vegas, and wins by Hedy Weiss

In "Flamingo & Decatur," a most winning tragicomedy of Vegas manners, homes in on generally unexamined aspects of the fabled city.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 06:13PM
Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Congo Square sounds clarion call of August Wilson’s ‘Jitney’ by Hedy Weiss

From its inception, August Wilson, who died in 2005, was a fervent supporter of Congo Square. This production of "Jitney" does him proud.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 06:13PM
Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Molly Regan delves into family history as an ‘Accidental Curator’ by Hedy Weiss

The show is deeply rooted in Regan's family home located on a lake outside of Mankato, Minnesota.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:49PM

Young Playwrights Festival offers frank glimpses of adolescent life by Hedy Weiss

Pegasus Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival has been in operation for 31 years, along the way capturing the shifting zeitgeist of adolescent life. Under the program, professional thea…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:00AM

Grant Park Music Festival will return with fresh (and free) sounds this summer by Hedy Weiss

Artistic director Carlos Kalmar brings rarely heard treasures as well as familiar classics to Millennium Park starting in June.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 01:00AM
Sunday, January 7, 2018

Probing the hallucinatory mind of Edgar Allan Poe in musical ‘Nevermore’ by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: The gently campy musical burlesque seems custom-made for Black Button Productions and its affinity for the surreal.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 07:32PM
Thursday, January 4, 2018

Lookingglass Theatre names Rachel L. Fink new executive director by Hedy Weiss

Fink arrives in Chicago after serving as managing director of Theatre Bay Area.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 02:01PM
Saturday, December 30, 2017

Court Theatre executive director Stephen J. Albert dies at 66 by Hedy Weiss

Albert, who in November announced he would be leaving his position at Court as of Fall 2018, had been quietly fighting cancer for several years.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 09:34PM
Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Chicago stages: best of dance programs of 2017 by Hedy Weiss

Both the level of choreography and the dancing in the many theaters now producing musicals in this city witnessed exponential growth. 

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 06:00PM

Chicago stages: The top ten theater productions of 2017 by Hedy Weiss

A slew of incisive and imaginative productions ignited Chicago's theater scene in 2017.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, December 11, 2017

In timely ‘Red Velvet,’ a daring actor breaks Shakespeare racial line by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: Dion Johnstone makes a remarkable transition from young and self-confident to old and bitter in handsome Chicago Shakespeare Theater staging.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:13PM
Sunday, December 10, 2017

Shifting politics alter the complexion of plot-heavy ‘Wicked’ by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: While touring production of the Oz musical stays true to the original staging, the meaning of its story seems to have evolved in emphasis.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 05:32PM
Thursday, December 7, 2017

‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical’ retains its glow by Hedy Weiss

There is far more to this show than biography.There is the vibrant sense of a musical era in the making.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:30PM

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