Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Though Kokandy Productions' Tomorrow Morning doesn’t break any ground in musical theater, it's still a sweet, 90-minute pleasing look at love and marriage, beautifully sung by 4 talented p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:48PMSteppenwolf's Between Riverside and Crazy, which won Stephen Adly Guirgis the 2015 Purlitzer Prize, isn’t for everyone. It’s gritty and, at times, over the top. However, the strength of …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:26PMTuesday, July 12, 2016
In the span of just under an hour, Schoolhouse Rock Live! energetically covers everything from pronouns to women’s suffrage. Emerald City Theatre and Broadway in Chicago have a summer hit …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:39PMFriday, July 8, 2016
House Theatre's Death and Harry Houdini is a guaranteed visual feast, but at its core, the play is a journey into the mind of a genius. For every moment of vulnerability, there’s an illusi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:10PMTuesday, June 28, 2016
The talented team behind SpongeBob Musical set out to create an entertaining Broadway show specifically for children, parents in tow, and they nailed it. So, get your tickets because a volca…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:37PMSunday, June 12, 2016
A Hubbard Street Dance and Second City collaboration, The Art of Falling is back by popular demand. these two Chicago institutions deliver their sublimely charming reflection on the foibles…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:04PMFriday, June 10, 2016
America Theater Co's *Xanadu* is 100 minutes of pure sparkling fun – a love letter to a time that’s since taken on a soft focus in American pop culture. No one will forget how terribly r…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:22AMWednesday, June 8, 2016
Sideshow Theatre's *Caught* has ambition to spare, but where the production falters is in its execution. Christopher Chen’s script winks at the audience to the point of annoyance, so conce…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:31AMSaturday, June 4, 2016
Without a doubt, Irish Theatre's *Spinning* is a compelling, emotional parable. The show's acting is hypnotic, but unfortunately the script comes across flat and predictable at times. If Pla…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:13PMFriday, June 3, 2016
While playwright Rajiv Joseph has penned a strong, dynamic script with Interrobang's *The North Pool", and the two actors carry it off well, director James Yost has almost shied away from th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:24PMThursday, June 2, 2016
Haven Theatre's The Distance is a potential sleeper hit, a dramedy about ordinary people, the decisions they make and the lives they affect. Bruce’s characters are the most human I’ve se…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:19PMMonday, May 30, 2016
Bitingly funny, but touching and frightening at the same time, Ike Holter's world premiere *Prowess" at Jackalope Theatre reminds us that, as Chicagoans, we’re not so far removed from the …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:26PMSunday, May 29, 2016
The story told in Underscore Theatre's world premiere is not only of historical significance but one with a sweep and grandeur worthy of musical theater. Writers Alex Higgin-Houser and compo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:50PMSaturday, May 28, 2016
Director Charles Newell and company are determined to provide a good time, and they definitely succeedIt’s worth the trip to Hyde Park and you’ll still come away with a better knowledge …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:02PMThe Producers may well be the out-and-out funniest musical ever written. And if this production doesn’t entirely match the original in mirth, it beats it hands down in musical performance!…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:51AMWednesday, May 25, 2016
Chicago Shakespeare's *Tug of War* boasts a stunning ensemble and top-notch design and live music. Despite all of its strengths, however, Tug of War doesn’t quite work - it has a very spec…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:52PMMonday, May 23, 2016
The spirit of Strawdog Theatre will live on wherever this ensemble lands, so an overly elegiac tone need not be invoked. That said, as a finale for their home, Strawdog does what all great p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:34AMSaturday, May 21, 2016
With American Blue's production of Little Shop of Horrors, we find a reliably fun vehicle with a stellar Equity cast, and Jonathan Berry’s direction presents it with all the skill and care…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:20PMThursday, May 19, 2016
About Face Theatre's The Secretaries is a bloody good time, though a bit inconsistent. Grab your most-twisted friends, order a few drinks, tuck in and wait patiently through exposition and s…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:25PMMonday, May 16, 2016
Thursday, December 16 Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally Hubris Productions at the Greenhouse Theater Center 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago (map) Join Hubris…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:22PMWednesday, May 11, 2016
The foundation of the production – Matt Pelfrey’s script – is rock-solid. But Louis Contey’s cast never fully captures either the heat or the darkness so crucial to the story. They d…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:55PMTuesday, May 10, 2016
Taste is absolutely not for the faint of heart, and is like nothing I’ve ever seen. If you have a strong stomach and a sick sense of humor, I highly recommend this Chicago premiere. (read …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:08PMTuesday, May 3, 2016
A Red Line Runs Through It is a funny commentary on the anxiety-laden life in Chicago specifically, with a definite bias toward northside-near-the-lakefront crowd. It has a good share of imp…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:55PMMonday, May 2, 2016
The Midwest premiere of Ruby Rae Spiegel's 'Dry Land' is a bold new work that takes on the thorny issue of abortion with brutal honesty and surprising notes of grace and humor. Highly Recomm…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:57AMSaturday, April 30, 2016
Complete with traditional Appalachian songs, some bizarre choral dialogue and an older woman telling very symbolic stories, New Colony's Even Longer and Farther Away is a genuine attempt at …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:43PMFriday, April 29, 2016
With a stronger lead, Marriott Theatre's 'Evita' would have been much more memorable. Nonethelss, the ensemble and other principals do fantastic work, especially in their warm blending and g…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:25PMThursday, April 28, 2016
With Raven Theatre's 'House of Blue Leaves' by John Guare, director JoAnn Montemurro’s shows her deftness and keen insight into staging Guare's pathetic characters. The show's superb cast,…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:34PMDespite a talented playwright and cast, Ike Holter's newest production at A Red Orchid Theatre, 'Sender' has an overarching problem in that nobody on stage acts in a way that feels true. (re…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:26PMWednesday, April 27, 2016
There’s no denying that AstonRep Theatre's 'The Women of Lockerbie' is a special story. Unfortunately, Deborah Brevoort’s script doesn’t do the powerful real-life women justice. Slight…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:46PMBabes With Blades' 180 Degree Rule is a triple dose of nostalgia, intrigue and humor, and a story that could easily be true, and Babes With Blades is an ideal match for presenting these comp…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:26PMTuesday, April 26, 2016
Measure for measure, Dreamgirls has more star turns in its first 15 minutes than many musicals have in their entirety. And Porchlight Music Theatre's production, directed by Brenda Didier, d…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:37PM 
