Saturday, May 17, 2014
Replete with so many textural and expressionistic elements, it’s surprising that this may be the first time that this interpretation has been realized in Chicago. Theatre Y has done the ci…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:21PMFriday, May 16, 2014
Richly adapted and faithfully staged by City Lit artistic director Terry McCabe, these 150 minutes teem with scary revelations about the unreconstructed territory below the Mason-Dixon Line.…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:09PMThursday, May 15, 2014
Mercury Theater gets it right - despite its adult content, Avenue Q leaves its audience with warm fuzzies. Thanks to the excellent production team, musicians and cast, this show is not to be…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:12PMWednesday, May 14, 2014
This well-paced production keeps the audience engaged and uncovers issues on monogamy and divorce that appeared to hit really close to home for several of the couples in the audience opening…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:03PMTuesday, May 13, 2014
D.L. Coburn’s script is smart and subtle; director James Sparling gets the Paul and Patricia Tinsley to evoke their characters’ subtext very well. The material just isn’t edge-of-your-…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:58PMAs shaped by director Stephen Brackett, this 105-minute confection proves as bittersweet as hilarious, a name-dropping tour de tabloid that, given Michael Urie’s winsomely fey performance,…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:52AMMonday, May 12, 2014
Thanks to wickedly competent director Charles Randolph-Wright, the huge, costume-changing, hard-hoofing cast deliver unstoppable and awesomely accurate musical and dance recreations of showb…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:12PMSunday, May 11, 2014
There’s a clear drive and passion to this re-imagining of the Genesis tale, but there’s not much thought. This is a play in desperate need of subtlety. Perhaps this isn’t a ladder Jaco…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:53PMSaturday, May 10, 2014
There are so many priceless moments in this musical remake of Factory’s 2010 hit play, and you're guarenteed to leave the theatre basking in big-hair memories from the overwrought 80s. (r…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:19PMFriday, May 9, 2014
The storyline that encompasses this delightfully sung musical review takes place in a retirement home, and is written quite maudlin and, rather than tug, it mauls the heartstrings. The backs…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:06PMRosencrantz and Guildenstern is a roller coaster ride of heady brilliance, but taken with these two poignant, pathetic paupers, it’s one of the most rewarding trips in theaterdom. (read mo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:22PMWednesday, May 7, 2014
Poetic but imperfect, this tale of boxing scores in the subtlety of Playwright Billy Roche's writing, and Kevin Christopher Fox's tempered direction. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:16PMTuesday, May 6, 2014
With Romeo and Juliet, the US premiere of Krzysztof Pastor’s choreography of the Prokofiev classic score, the ballet company takes its stellar work to an unparalleled level. Joffrey has al…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:09PMSaturday, May 3, 2014
You'll no doubt never see a more grand version of this American musical classic, as Lyric Opera gives us movie-sized spectacle in a live performance and for that, many lovers of the musical …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:50PMSure, this Wizard of Oz is full of spectacle, splendid voices and fantastical projections, but you can’t have it both ways--both honor *and* spoof the same source. It’s rude to punish an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:28PMThursday, May 1, 2014
Shattered Globe Theatre ignites this story of grief and acceptance with a vengeance matched only by an incendiary set of performances that make this production a poetic turn on what might ha…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:42PMWednesday, April 30, 2014
Teatro Vista's staging of Arthur Miller's tragedy is truly riveting. Directed by Ricardo Gutierrez, this production crackles and surges from start to finish - an edge-of-your-seat emotional …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:03AMSaturday, April 26, 2014
This off-beat but very funny play asks what happens when the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is empty. Despite a few missteps, it’s a darkly funny and nightmarish look at where Ameri…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:31PMFriday, April 25, 2014
While lively and colorful, the House's version of Oscar Wild's Dorian Gray is, in the end, about as impactful as a paint-by-number kit.
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:24PMEmma has enough charm and wit to stay true to Jane Austen’s writing. Director Jim Schneider keeps the pace smooth and quick, making up for its safe script with beautiful sets and costumes …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:20PMThursday, April 24, 2014
Eclipse Theatre has chosen to begin their Lynn Nottage season with her most powerful work, an unflinching personal portrait of exiled women who must rebuild some semblance of a life on the b…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:29PMIt’s always a treat to see a play where the female roles outnumber the males, and it’s even better when the roles are as meaty as the ones here. These actors fully embody their characte…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:12PMWednesday, April 23, 2014
Playwright Joe Zarrow has provided as much compassion as criticism in this world premiere, indicting a semi-privatized CPS that’s over-regulated and underfunded. Scott Bishop’s staging …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:12PMSunday, April 20, 2014
Depraved New World delivers the laughs, whether they’re rooted in whipsmart satire or lowest-common-denominator sex jokes. You won't be disappointed. Director Mick Napier’s exploration o…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:47PMSaturday, April 19, 2014
Thinner Than Water lacks the tension, stakes, and compelling characters to warrant such an overdone premise. A dreary play with one bright spot - is that enough to tread through this rainy d…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:04PMFriday, April 18, 2014
Savior is not witty or challenging. It falls back on stock portrayals and dialogue that preening rather than inciteful. This is a disjointed 90 minutes with broadly drawn characters and them…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:28PMA triumph of stagecraft and musicianship, this Drury Lane production is one not to miss. We likely won’t have the chance to see Les Mis performed this well and this intimately in a long ti…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:25PMWednesday, April 16, 2014
The President has the potential to be both funny and insightful, and the main players work with as much as they can. However, Max Truax’s direction lacks clarity of vision and active tone,…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:59PMDirect Henry Wishcamper makes great use of the intimate space to allow for more subtle emotional moments, guiding this stellar, veteran cast to create an evening of theatrical fireworks. Hi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:04AMMonday, April 14, 2014
Abetted by the zealous cast in the intimate setting of Piccolo's space, the in-the-round action bubbles over into the shallow rows of seating. It’s a fulsome frolic in the forest that will…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:08PMSunday, April 13, 2014
Though City Lit captures intermittent shades of Shirley Jackson’s masterful nightmare, they need to tone down the campish humor and dial up the psychological terror to really have somethin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:53PM 
