"Sweeney Todd" Drury Lane Theatre, Chicago by John Olson

With the 2005 Broadway revival setting the action inside an asylum as the memories of a demented Toby, and Tim Burton's 2007 feature film version invoking the conventions of classic horror m…

"5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche" in Chicago by John Olson

It's 1956 and somewhere in middle America a women's group called the "Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein" is celebrating their annual quiche breakfast ...

"Middletown" at Steppenwolf by John Olson

Middletown is a funny and haunting play that should spark debate and reflection among its audiences for some time after viewing it.

"Chinglish" Goodman Theatre, Chicago by John Olson

Much of David Henry Hwang's writing has concerned the difficulties Asians have found in assimilating or integrating into American life. With Chinglish, in its Broadway-bound world premiere a…

David Henry Hwang's "Yellow Face" in Chicago by John Olson

If you (like me) are unaware of the circumstances surrounding the Broadway production of David Henry Hwang's Face Value�his next play after M. Butterfly�that's an advantage in seeing Yellow …

Review - "The Outgoing Tide" by John Olson

Retiree Gunner (John Mahoney), now living year-round with his wife Peg in their summer home on Chesapeake Bay, seems to have a pretty good quality of life in his golden years. He fishes, boa…

Review - "Stage Kiss" at the Goodman Theatre by John Olson

If a primary appeal of attending the theatre is escapism�the chance to briefly live in a world different and maybe more glamorous than our own�is it a stretch to believe that actors can be e…

"Peter Pan" - Chicago Review by John Olson

Much marketing noise is made of the multimedia elements of this touring British production, performed in a huge tent that includes a dome on which 360-degree background settings are projecte…

Review - "Next to Normal" in Chicago by John Olson

It's an emotionally affecting piece that advances the art form and changes our expectations of the kinds of stories musical theatre can tell.

The Hot L Baltimore - Review by John Olson

As the program notes point out, Steppenwolf owes a great debt to playwright Lanford Wilson. Their 1980 production of his Balm in Gilead was one of their early productions that put their six-…

White Noise - Review by John Olson

O'Brien's characters are all cardboard, lacking either enough nuance to remind us of real humans or the insightful wit to work as satire. They all say just exactly what's on their minds�usua…

Meet John Doe and God of Carnage - Chicago Reviews by John Olson