Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Talented director Mikael Burke has assembled a powerhouse trio to perform a series of 19 riveting and gut-wrenching monologues that attempt to cut the Gordian knot that is the school-to-pris…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 02:00PMThursday, October 26, 2023
Set in an uber-modern high-end restaurant, the three-person play Blackademics, written by Idris Goodwin, sets up a gilded cage match of the wits for two Black frenemies in academia. Newly te…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 10:28AMThursday, May 18, 2023
Expertly written, exquisitely performed, steamy, and hilarious, The October Storm at the Raven Theatre offers a warm slice of south-side Chicago life in the 1960s. Joshua Allen’s play, the…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:10AMWednesday, April 26, 2023
Airness, now playing at the Citadel Theatre, delivers a rocking good time, laughs, and a rock classic earworm to follow you home. Chelsea Marcantel’s play follows the journey of Nina (an e…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:44AMThursday, March 23, 2023
I cannot recommend this play without caveats. At least to Black people. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad play. As a matter of fact, it’s a very good play. It’s clever, well-…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:55PMWednesday, March 15, 2023
Black Ensemble Theater has cornered the Chicago market on excellent musical tributes to prominent Black musicians, and their latest show Reasons: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) is…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 03:49PMWednesday, February 8, 2023
When The Revival theater opened its doors in 2015 at the corner of 55th Street and University Avenue, its intent was to pay homage to improv’s earliest roots. Paul Sills formed the Compass…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:44PMWednesday, November 23, 2022
Exquisitely paced and intellectually explosive, The Island at Court Theatre is a profoundly moving work of art. From the first moment, this production (directed by Gabrielle Randle-Bent, Cou…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:54AMPlenty for even the most jaded theater snob to appreciate. PETER HARGRAVE is absolutely enthralling as "Scar" able to strike fear into your heart while also evoking laughter.
SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 11:24AMThursday, September 22, 2022
If you’re looking for a play to prepare you for the Thanksgiving season, you might want to check out STEW, staged by Shattered Globe and now playing at Theater Wit. […]
The post Family r…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:36PMMonday, September 19, 2022
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood films through the lens of Blackness, highlighting the beauty, strength, and fierceness of Black people, unlike most stories about the slave trade that wallow i…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 02:30PMThursday, September 1, 2022
For those who grew up with any personal proximity to the Black church or religious homophobia, this movie will hit incredibly close to home.
The post Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. appeared…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:00PMThursday, August 18, 2022
Produced by Beti Films, Any Given Day follows the story of three Chicagoans struggling to succeed despite mental health challenges.
The post ‘Little things make a huge difference’ appear…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 03:00PMFriday, June 10, 2022
Marvel does a great job of spotlighting facets of American culture that often go underrepresented, and Ms. Marvel’s spotlight of Islam is incredibly well done.
The post Ms. Marvel appeared…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 05:12PMThursday, June 2, 2022
Change is afoot at Black Ensemble Theater as it prepares to embark on a new era, leveraging a $5 million grant to implement founder and CEO Jackie Taylor’s longtime vision of a Free To Be …
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:38PMFriday, May 20, 2022
In Viola Spolin’s seminal work Improvisation for the Theater, the very first exercise listed is named “exposure.” During this exercise, a group of actors are divided into halves and in…
SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:50PMTuesday, May 11, 2021
"Reimagining Utopia" focuses on multidisciplinary artists and visions of a better future.
Recently, several articles appeared about the phenomenon of “Hygiene …
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 03:00PMTuesday, January 5, 2021
Congo Square launches a new online series.
Chicago theater has been forced to improvise. When COVID-19 caused Congo Square's production of Douglas Turner Ward's …
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 06:00PMTuesday, October 27, 2020
A crowdsourced spreadsheet pulls back the curtain on who makes what at theaters across the country.
This past week, Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announced…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 04:20PMTuesday, September 29, 2020
"There is no other way forward": reflecting on those who shaped them and the future they envision
Chicago theater is in the midst of a historic transition, with …
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 04:00PMTuesday, June 16, 2020
If you want to decolonize theater, start with the script.
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Renisha McBride, Atatiana Je…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 05:50PMWednesday, April 29, 2020
Tributes from actors, comedians, and friends of the Chicago comedy legend.
Maya Angelou once said: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 10:15AMTuesday, February 18, 2020
The Goodman's production is lyrical and heartbreaking.
Quentin Tarantino's movie Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood is in part a gauzy wish fulfillment fantasy …
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 10:00PMThursday, January 23, 2020
City Lit's docudrama captures some of the “moral muck” facing the south's first Black Congresswoman.
Clocking in at 95 minutes, City Lit's production of Voic…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 01:05PMTuesday, November 19, 2019
Eclipse Theatre's all-Durang seasons finishes strong with a brutal black comedy about post-9/11 paranoia.
Christopher Durang's Why Torture Is Wrong, and the Peop…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 07:23PMWednesday, October 30, 2019
Sturdy performances can't hide the faulty premise underlying David Alex's new play.
N at the Greenhouse Theater is based on a faulty premise: that a white actor …
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 07:00AMWednesday, October 16, 2019
The grimy legacy of Bill Cosby haunts this world premiere at MPAACT.
MPAACT's latest world premiere, The Master Comic, dives headfirst into controversial waters …
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 07:00AMWednesday, October 2, 2019
Teatro Vista presents Evelina Fernández's play as part of the 2019 Destinos festival.
Stretched tight between the residue of the saccharine sweetness of the Ame…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 07:00AMWednesday, September 25, 2019
Ron OJ Parson's production for Court Theatre hits with torrential force.
In his epic masterpiece King Hedley II, the penultimate play in his Century Cycle, Augus…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 07:00AMWednesday, September 11, 2019
Your quest for a comedy master class ends at the Mercury Theater.
Whether or not you're familiar with the beloved British humor of the Monty Python universe, Spa…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 05:15PMWednesday, August 7, 2019
In R.C. Riley’s solo show, a rape and a crisis of faith lead to self-acceptance.
Chicago-based writer-performer R.C. Riley was raised with conservative Christi…
SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM 
