SOUND AND FURY, SIGNIFYING PLENTY A sound artist steps out of the booth with a powerful, deeply personal work that, in production, may be better heard than seen Over five thousand shows: tha…
STAY GOLD, GREASERS This gripping musical adaptation honors its beloved source while finding an emotional life all its own S.E. Hinton’s first novel, The Outsiders, written while she was s…
A CRACK IN THE ORDINARY Four remarkable performances make the leap from surrealism to domestic drama worthwhile Marina Carr’s Marble, now in its Chicago premiere at the Copernicus Center a…
CRAM SESSION, CRASH COURSE Natalie Margolin’s sharply observed comedy captures the fleeting intensity of college friendships Natalie Margolin’s All Nighter, which opened Off-Broadway in …
ALL ABOARD THE S.S. SEX FARCE These gender-liberated pirates need to boink more and bicker less On the deck of the pirate ship Revenge, a buxom young lass leads a blindfolded young man to a …
GOOD PEOPLE, GREAT SHOW David Lindsay-Abaire’s poignant drama delivers a powerful reminder that luck, circumstance, and class often shape lives as much as talent or determination In an all…
YESTERDAY’S REBELS Time has softened the musical’s edges, but not its beating heart In 1968, a rock musical featuring a ragtag group of hippies took Broadway by storm. With book and lyri…
STILL ANGRY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS A daring revival proves the musical’s power endures, even when one major directorial gamble doesn’t When people think of musicals, the stereotype is a s…
POP GOES THE BARD A jukebox musical that thrilled its fans while leaving this critic wishing the story mattered as much as the songs As I was settling into my seat at the gorgeous Auditorium…
THE HAIRY APE COMETH This gleefully unhinged musical comedy is a strong play’s journey into wisecracks The Goodman closes out its centennial season in spectacular fashion with a big, brash…
CRITIC’S BITE A gripping solo performance anchors this haunting tale I had not encountered arithmomania in any form of entertainment media in well over two decades. Now it’s popped up tw…
BAD FENCES MAKE GOOD COMEDY Big laughs bloom from a tiny patch of disputed ground. In a tony suburb of Washington, D.C., a young upwardly mobile Hispanic couple move into their first house, …
THE WEIGHT OF HERITAGE A thoughtful work that doesn’t always come together An unusual and ambitious production, L.M. Feldman’s A People is a sort of theatrical mosaic. Mounted by Arts Ju…
OUT OF TUNE WITH CHEKHOV Chekhov’s quiet desperation is drowned out by one very loud performance What would a season of theater be without a Chekhov play? Or five? Following Red Theater’…
SUCKING FACE Chemistry, comedy, and a little bloodlust make for an irresistible evening. Is there a quality more indefinable and unpredictable than the chemistry between two people, whether …
GETTING CAUGHT UP WHEN THERE’S A CATCH A baffling experiment eventually reveals a powerful emotional core Why? That one-word refrain was what repeatedly popped up in my head through most o…
[Editor’s Note (June 2026): Raven Theatre’s astounding production of Octet, originally reviewed by Stage and Cinema in May, transfers intact to the Goodman Theatre for a limited engageme…
THE GHOSTS IN THE FAMILY TREE Tom Stoppard’s final play is as intellectually dazzling as it is emotionally devastating “Barbarism will not be eradicated by culture.” That line, spoken …
LOVE ON THE RANGE, PAIN ON THE HORIZON A beautiful musical framework strengthens a stage adaptation that never quite resolves its competing impulses In 1997, a short story from Pulitzer winn…
THE TRAGEDY’S THE THING A few baffling choices can’t derail the explosive clash at the heart of Anouilh’s classic There are a number of missteps in this production of Anouilh’s Antig…
FIFTEEN MINUTES FOREVER Terry Guest turns pop-art icons into a meditation on immortality I may have passed on the foil-lined photo booth—too Bug for me—on my way into Jackalope Theatre�…
WITH ITS BASES LOADED, THEO UBIQUE HITS ANOTHER GRAND SLAM A clever, heartfelt revival proves this Golden Age favorite still knows how to play ball There’s a bit of a curveball early in Th…
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW A charming revue reminds us why Burt Bacharach’s songs remain timeless An overture! An honest-to-goodness overture! All right, so maybe I’m overreacting a bit, b…
TRUTH, CONSEQUENCES, AND CONTAMINATED WATER A superb production of Ibsen’s classic finds unsettling echoes in the present day There are plays that endure because their themes and character…
DANCING THROUGH THE DECADES A mesmerizing theatrical collage that rewards surrender over analysis One never quite knows what to expect from the good folks at Trap Door Theatre, and I’m sur…
THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA York Walker’s Southern Gothic keeps its secrets close and its audience on edge “Everybody got a secret” That is the line that opens Covenant, the grippin…
SIGNALS IN THE STATIC A Red Orchid’s compelling world premiere favors empathy over satire, sometimes at the expense of deeper exploration Thus far, 2026 has been an uncommonly good year in…
HOOP DREAMS IN HARLEM Young People’s Theatre closes its season with a charming, energetic celebration of childhood, friendship, and community In The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen, the stakes are ve…
EN GARDE, YOU FOOLS A spirited cast and plenty of swashbuckling fun can’t quite compensate for a forgettable score “He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad…
GUILT TRIP TUTA Theatre turns Dostoevsky’s sprawling masterpiece into a feverish psychological horror story of conscience, damnation, and salvation Fyodor Dostoevsky’s masterpiece Crime …
LOG OFF AND SING Dave Malloy’s brilliant chamber musical turns doomscrolling, loneliness, and internet addiction into something unexpectedly humane I don’t know what I was expecting when…
IT’S TIME TO RAGNARÖK ‘N’ ROLL An exuberant Norse rock opera with enough swagger to survive the apocalypse A corner of a decrepit night club greets you as you walk into Lifeline The…
MOTHER KNOWS BEST— UNTIL SHE DOESN’T A devastating, clear-eyed revival that refuses comfort and lingers long after the lights go down I first watched ‘night, Mother, the Pulitzer-prize…
CASH, GRIEF, AND THE COST OF RESISTANCE A gripping, immersive premiere dissolves the line between audience and action Steppenwolf’s excellent 50th season continues with Windfall, the new p…
FAULT LINES A glossy production sinks under the weight of a script that mistakes talk for wit Unpleasant, unfunny, misogynistic, and worst of all, boring. Let’s play a drinking game: every…
OUT OF THE CLOSET, INTO THE FIRE A messy, ambitious new musical about divorce lands more as play than score— but still entertains Court Theatre closes out its 2025/2026 season with Out Her…
TRAUMA, TRUTH, AND THE STORIES WE SELL A taut psychological thriller that cuts deep and lingers “Look at this place. Just how rich did our trauma make you?” Of all the devastating zinger…
A GREAT, GREEN ROOM YOU'LL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE Chicago Children's Theatre closes out its 20th anniversary season with a picture(book)-perfect triumph! "I wish I might, I wish I may / go live…
THE BLUES THAT BUILT AMERICA" AND THE COST OF SINGING THEM August Wilson's masterpiece lands with devastating force in a blazing Goodman revival Four black musicians amble into a recording s…
A GREAT PERFORMANCE IN SEARCH OF A BETTER PLAY Gary Houston towers in a two-hander that never quite lives up to its premise Outside a run-down cottage in rural Connecticut, a white-haired ma…
THIS SLOW-BURNING, DEVASTATING DRAMA REFUSES EASY ANSWERS The Sugar Wife is a gripping and complex examination of morality and the individual's responsibility towards society The Sugar Wife …
ARGUMENTS WITHIN ARGUMENTS A fiercely intelligent play that challenges ideas more than it deepens character A large, welcoming room lined with stained wood bookshelves greets you when you wa…
ALL FOR ONE"AND A WHOLE LOT OF MEANWHILES A rollicking, cleverly staged adventure that balances spectacle with comic flair Xavier Lagunas, Jack Sharkey and Boomer Lusink Swash your buckler a…
MEMORY PLAYS TRICKS" AND SO DOES EVERYTHING ELSE An immersive maze where perception falters and certainty slips through your fingers Unreliable narrators everywhere"but not the ones you thin…
PHILOSOPHY, FARCE, AND ART UNDER SIEGE Witkiewicz's dense, absurdist text sparks to life" until unnecessary asides break the spell Gus Thomas and Venice Averyheart Theatre does not get much …
FOLKLORE, GHOSTS, AND THE WEIGHT OF THE DEAD Matthew C. Yee's wildly ambitious world premiere dazzles, even as its larger shape remains elusive Death, and coming to terms with it, have been …
AIN'T NOTHING DROWSY ABOUT THIS CHAPERONE Theo Ubique's joyous revival of the Tony-winning musical turned this critic into a tap-dancing, high-kicking fool. Darian Goulding as Aldolpho In a …
NOT QUITE WONDROUS A Pulitzer winner takes a bumpy trip to the Goodman stage Fans of Junot DÃaz's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are in for a bit of a s…
A POST-PANDEMIC RECKONING WITH ISOLATION AND MENTAL HEALTH A moving character study elevated by a nuanced central performance The oddest thing about Kirsten Greenidge's Morning, Noon, and Ni…
SHAKESPEARE'S NAME, SOMEONE ELSE'S STORY A generic weepie that gloms onto the prestige of Shakespeare while offering nothing of substance in return Rory Alexander and Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Willi…
