I’m all for firsts. And Artistic Home’s very solid production of Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana presented a whole world of them. It was my first time seeing an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:05PMYou think you’ve seen Julius Caesar? Think again. Yes, Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s bold, modern-day production (closing March 24) has its share of surprises and risk, but there…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:05PMWhile I’m not sure how much it cost to produce the national tour of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I’d wager that a sizable, of not primary, chunk of the change went into the sh…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:47PMDue to work obligations, I couldn’t make press opening of the national tour of Jekyll & Hyde, which is set for a Broadway revival following a two-week Chicago engagement. So, I tur…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:36PMTime Out Chicago announces that Chicago Shakespeare Theater will produce that American musical comedy classic, Gypsy, along with Stephen Sondheim’s Road Show, a show that got one of it…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:24AMWhile the rest of Europe was suffering through WWII, Ireland stood fast in its neutrality, even referring to the war as “The Emergency” in an attempt to mitigate the impact of th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:08AMI heartily applaud Saint Sebastian, a spirited storefront company, for taking on Lefties, a highly ambitious world premiere by promising playwright Leigh Johnson. Johnson, a talented writer …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:56PMAs you enter Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Court Theater to see English director Jonathan Munby’s take on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, you know you’re in for somethin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:09PMChristine Sherrill has ‘New Ways to Dream’ as Norma Desmond in Drury Lane’s “Sunset Boulevard” Before I begin to discuss Drury Lane’s disappointingly drea…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:58PMIn one of several charming anecdotes told by Joan Curto in her new Cole Porter cabaret show now playing at Davenports Piano Bar through February 10, she talks about how Broadway legend (and …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:44AMIn Porchlight’s seductive and sobering production of Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, the moment Alexis J. Rogers makes her reluctant entrance, drin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:25PMSometimes all you need is a committed, eager, talented cast, a piano and a director with vision to deliver a delightful evening of musical theatre. And Music Theatre Company in Highland Park…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:32PMIt’s a very rare thing to come across a show that embraces its simplicity with virtually zero pretense. A Grand Night for Singing at Mercury Theater is such a show. This perfectly enjo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 06:07PMIt’s not hard to understand why Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities is such an effective play. This award-winning compact family drama addresses the notions of deception, trust…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:35AMIn Lefties, a play by Chicago-area playwright Leigh Johnson, a Russian-born father (who’s also, by the way, an avowed Communist who loves baseball), clashes with his son, a gifted semi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:51AMI remember my quarter-life crisis. Here I was, working long hours in a job I didn’t have any real passion for, broke, gaining weight, listless. I was going through the motions and lett…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 06:53PM“Terrible is the temptation to do good.” This warning, bellowed out by the clear-voiced narrator (Carey Davenport) in Promethean Theatre’s scrappy and searing new production featur…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 12:36PMThis: The first ever Chicago Theatre Week launches Feb. 12, and I’ve high hopes for this unique event. Following the lead of the highly popular Restaurant Week (which is also organiz…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:37PMRussell Crowe: changing notes and taking names as Javert in the film version of “Les Miserables” Oh, Les Miserables. My first exposure to the show was about 18 years ago when I s…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 12:45PMOn March 24, 1998, when Mary Hollis Inboden was 12 years old, a boy pulled a fire alarm at her middle school, ran into the woods to meet his friend, and they both started shooting at the stu…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:52PMThe grieving process is deeply personal and complex, as Carla, the alcoholic widow and mother of an odd young boy, well knows. Following the death of her husband, a victim of the war, she dr…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:08PMThis year I saw 77 shows. While not a staggering amount (considering I’ve colleagues and friends who’ve tripled that amount, not to mention I saw nearly twice that many shows in …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 12:39PMThe theatrical year in Chicago has ended in full gallop with two highly anticipated shows receiving full-scale, top-notch productions, playing through the new year. War Horse, the breathtaki…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 06:54PMWhen Jon Robin Baitz’s searing family drama Other Desert Cities premiered at Lincoln Center in January 2011, it took the town by storm. Not since August: Osage County can I recall an A…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:04PMStefan Karl is the Grinch in “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a Grinch this holiday season. And I fully embrace my Grinchy-ness. …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:38PMThe Bodyguard, the new West End musical based on the film, opens tonight. In the now-iconic role created by the late, great Whitney Houston, Tony winner Heather Headly makes her big (and bra…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:22PMHave you heard? It’s the first annual Choosie Awards, where the team of Chicago Like A Local bloggers share what they feel is the best of 2013! And I’m honored to kick off the aw…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:58PMAh, the impending threat of death. What a warm and cozy feeling it is to know that each day presents new opportunities to face our own uncertain demise. Happy Holidays! In the fantastically …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 02:48PMAfter months of speculating and rumor, Drury Lane has finally cast its Norma Desmond for their upcoming production of Sunset Boulevard. (In fact, I heard from multiple sources that Tony winn…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:28AMJason Richards and Kevin McKillip in Porchlight Music Theatre’s “The Gifts of the Magi” Shopping for the perfect holiday gift is a dying art. For many, myself included at t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:19AMProfile’s Ambitious Remount of Hit Hellcab Delivers Unexpected Holiday Hope Im sure we’ve all encountered a hellacious cab experience or three — the driver who used the dri…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:13PM
