Renee Fleming and Thomas Hampson star in Franz Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” Ooh-la-la! As John Oliver mentioned in response to the recent attacks on France’s capital, Pa…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:00AMColleen Fee, Brit-Marie Sivertsen and Evan Tyrone Martin in Porchlight’s “Side Show” A lucky handful of commercially-produced shows become flat-out hits that run for decade…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 12:34AMChristopher Tierney and Gillian Abbott get their dirty on I’m supposed to write a review about the stage version of Dirty Dancing, currently playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:30AMChris Logan and Michelle Lauto as Peter Allen and Liza Minnelli in Pride Films and Plays’ “The Boy From Oz” In an age of reality TV and viral videos, star-making stage turn…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:15PMPeter DeFaria and Randy Steinmeyer in “A Steady Rain.” Officer Denny’s the hot-headed one. When stabbed in the leg with a sharpened broom handle while on duty, he pours rub…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:58PMEditor’s note: I had to bow out of reviewing this production due to a massive sinus infection, but the lovely book nerd Jamie Prahl, who is a huge fan of Jane Austen’s, stepped i…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:38AMThey say tragedy is easy, yet comedy is hard. And in watching Porchlight’s delightful production of the hit 1962 musical comedy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, I took …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:19AMFaith Prince. Those two words served as the motivation for me to visit this pre-Broadway tryout of The First Wives Club: The Musical. I consider Prince among the very best musical comedy sta…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:29PMUnlike Guys and Dolls, Fiddler or The Music Man, Carousel isn’t a show that can simply rest on the strengths of its material. While a good number of classic musicals can lean on their …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:28PMThe cast of Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Putting it Together” In the new musical revue, Sondheim on Sondheim, the chorus opens the second act with a self-deprecating number …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:22PMThe challenge was simple: Three wildly different shows in four days. My 68-year-old mother joined me and provided her input. Here’s the recap: Living the History — 125 Years of t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:29AMKids and animals onstage in a daffy and heartwarming musical comedy? Depending on whom you talk to, this could either be a horror show or a holiday delight. Typically, I lean toward the latt…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 12:27PMRebecca Finnegan and David Girolmo in Porchlight’s “Sweeney Todd” Sweeney and I go way back. It was the first musical where I found myself blown away by not just the music,…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:23PMThere are essentially two reactions I get when telling people I’m going to see Carrie: The Musical: - Reaction 1: People who know the musical’s sacred lore as one of the biggest …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:44PMTwice a day, on the way to and from work, I pass the Oriental Theatre, where the national tour of Motown the Musical is running through August 9. Of all the shows that have played at the Ori…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:35PMRachel Farmer, Megan Johns and Thea Lux in The New Colony’s “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” Long live the egg! I remember when I first encountered The New Colony’s wacky…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:43AMTyler Ravelson, Matthias Austin and John Keating in Porchlight’s ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ When the hit musical comedy How to Succeed in Business W…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:45PMJenn Gambatese leads a lesson in song in Lyric of Opera Chicago’s “The Sound of Music” Opera purists have nothing on me. As much as I imagine opera buffs recoil at the ment…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:46AMMichael Urie in ‘Buyer and Cellar’ Actor Michael Urie is best known for his work as colorful and meddling assistant Marc St. James in the long running ABC series, Ugly Betty. His…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:01PMIn Goodman Theatre’s intense production of David Ives’ hit play, Venus in Fur, palpable onstage chemistry is critical (read my review here). It’s what elevates this two-per…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 12:37PMAndrew Rothenberg, McKinley Carter, Michael Aaron Lindner and Anne Gunn in ChiShakes’ “Road Show.” Photo by Liz Lauren “Art isn’t easy,” sings the frustra…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:07PMAmanda Drinkall and Rufus Collins in Goodman’s “Venus in Fur” Where to start with David Ives’ twisting, tantalizing and tawdry dark comedy? This is the kind of work t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:56AMThis has been a month of revisiting beloved musicals. First it was Porchlight’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, which offered a smoldering take on the beloved Fats Waller revue. I follo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:51PMInto the Woods is one of those shows that feels like a comfortable, old friend. I basically grew up on a well-worn VHS of the original Broadway production, which felt like a work so tailor-m…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:23AMThe joint is certainly jumpin’ at Stage 773. Porchlight’s rollicking production of the “Fats” Waller revue, Ain’t Misbehavin’, playing through March 9, is…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:03PM“The Snow Queen” I grew up in northern Michigan, so I have a healthy affinity for that white flakey stuff. Not so much the polar vortex, but when it’s hovering above 15 deg…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:21AMAndrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera holds a special place in my heart. Hal Prince’s original blockbuster production, which I saw no less than four times in Toronto bac…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:46PMBrian Rooney revels in the powerplay while David Schlumpf looks on in Kokandy’s “Sweet Smell of Success” Certain cast recordings never leave your playlist. I mean, thatR…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:52PMI’m a fan of Ghost the Musical. Or, well, I was. At some point early into the first act of this first national tour, I turned to my friend and said, “I’m so sorry.” S…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:08PMIf there’s any mystery in Remy Bumppo’s An Inspector Calls, it’s how this play is considered a classic of the mid-20th century English theatre. J. B. Priestley’s dram…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:01PMThe cast of Strawdog’s “Great Expectations” Oh, Pip. That poor orphaned protagonist from Charles Dickens’ classic 1861 novel Great Expectations. The one who moves fro…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:00PM
