All stories by Darcel Rockett on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

‘As Much As I Can’ is an up-close theater experience about HIV/AIDS by Darcel Rockett

The touring production comes to Chicago as a free work designed as an intervention to educate people on the HIV epidemic in marginalized communities.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Congo Square’s Charlique Rolle is the new leader of Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago by Darcel Rockett

You may know Charlique Rolle as Congo Square Theater's executive director. Now she is the new president of the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:46PM
Tuesday, October 3, 2023

A citywide salute to playwright Pearl Cleage, from ‘The Nacirema Society’ to ‘Mad at Miles’ by Darcel Rockett

Pearl Cleage on what it means to have a Chicago festival focused on her work, including "The Nacirema Society" at the Goodman Theatre.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Thursday, September 14, 2023

Playwright Inda Craig-Galván talks Black theater in Chicago, with 2 of her works on stage now by Darcel Rockett

The playwright and screenwriter said it was important to support small theaters, especially during the Hollywood writer's strike.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Monday, June 12, 2023

How Chicago football players’ mental health journeys led them to focus on wellness for Black communities by Darcel Rockett

Since Dwight White left Northwestern in 2016, he’s been saying a lot through art centered on the Black experience, melding oil paints and acrylics, sociology and experiential design into s…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 03:42PM
Thursday, March 23, 2023

Congo Square Theatre’s ‘How Blood Go’ is about racism in the health care system by Darcel Rockett

Congo Square Theatre's latest production, "How Blood Go," centers on the bias found in the American health care system.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:15PM
Thursday, January 19, 2023

The play ‘the ripple, the wave that carried me home’ at Goodman Theatre has much to say about politics, heritage and family by Darcel Rockett

We spoke with playwright Christina Anderson and star Christiana Clark about what they want us to see in the work.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM
Tuesday, November 29, 2022

‘Lake Song’ audio drama imagines a futuristic Chicago where water is everything, brought to life by cast of 23 Chicagoans by Darcel Rockett

The nonprofit Make Believe Association asks: Can the people of Chicago come together to save their city and each other in the year 2098?

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:36PM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Artists offer helping hand for emotional, mental healing in advance of World Mental Health Day by Darcel Rockett

Congo Square Theatre and artist Brandon Breaux reach out through art to help the Black community heal from racialized violence.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:07PM
Thursday, February 24, 2022

Collaboraction play ‘Trial in the Delta’ brings the transcript of Emmett Till’s 1955 murder trial to the stage: ‘This is like we’re keeping by Darcel Rockett

The theater group known for socially conscious work is staging the first-known dramatization of the actual text from the monumental Mississippi case.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:55PM
Saturday, December 11, 2021

Chicago Children’s Theatre’s ‘This Ability’ streaming play puts youth with disabilities in the middle of a superhero adventure by Darcel Rockett

When a cat celebrity escapes from O’Hare and is lost on the streets of Chicago, who will come to the rescue? Three youth with disabilities. “When I read the script, I cried because it’…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Friday, October 29, 2021

Take a walk on the Bloomingdale Trail this Halloween and Day of the Dead to hear some ghost stories from Chicago residents who lived them by Darcel Rockett

Walk and listen to "Ghosts of Bloomingdale Trail" at your own pace, using QR codes along the way to hear ghost stories by Chicagoans.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:55AM
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Almost half of Chicago’s small performing arts organizations have yet to return to in-person performances, according to Donnelley Foundation survey by Darcel Rockett

The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation surveyed its performing arts grantees and 27% are unable to welcome audiences in-person, and 16% remain uncertain about returning to the stage th…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:30AM
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

‘Hummingbird’: UIC debuts virtual-reality play, allowing audience to participate in the story by Darcel Rockett

'Hummingbird,' a new virtual-reality play designed for younger tech-savvy audiences, debuts at UIC with plans to move to the Goodman Theatre this fall.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Walkie Talkies podcasts gets families away from their screens, into the city’s neighborhoods to learn and explore by Darcel Rockett

Chicago Children's Theatre's "Walkie Talkies" self-guided podcasts are a new way for families to take a walk, release stress and create happy shared family memories until we can be back toge…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Friday, February 8, 2019

Northeastern U and Black Ensemble Theater talk racism on stage: 'Shadow of Justice' is this weekend by Darcel Rockett

Public figures and celebrities say they “don’t see color” or they “don’t see race.” But race is something that Northeastern Illinois University is bringing to the forefront with …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:10PM
Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Chicago is known as a great town for theater, but does that mean theater here is for everybody? by Darcel Rockett

On an October evening a small crowd of theater-goers get to meet Christopher Boone, the central character of the play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at Steppenwolf …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:20AM
Wednesday, October 31, 2018

'The war to end all wars': Manual Cinema, Poetry Foundation commemorate WWI armistice with puppets by Darcel Rockett

War! What is it good for? In the case of the Poetry Foundation and Manual Cinema’s latest collaboration, it’s good for “Three World War I Poems,” a nine-minute video that commemorate…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:35PM
Tuesday, August 7, 2018

'Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me' live show continues at Millennium Park — true or false? by Darcel Rockett

“Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me” is stepping out of the Chase Auditorium in favor of Millennium Park on Thursday for a live show. On this, their 20th anniversary year, host Peter Sagal w…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:50PM
Tuesday, April 24, 2018

With 'Last Stop on Market Street,' a popular kid's book arrives as a hip-hop musical by Darcel Rockett

Remember the “Sesame Street” song that includes the lyrical question: Who are the people in your neighborhood? The people that you meet when you’re walking down the street. The people …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:54PM
Monday, November 13, 2017

'No Blue Memories' gives glimpse of Gwendolyn Brooks' literary life, legacy by Darcel Rockett

Poet. Teacher. Mentor. All are words synonymous with Gwendolyn Brooks. Born in Topeka, Kan., in 1917, Brooks made her name as a poet in Chicago. A Bronzeville resident, she grew up writing �…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:15PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Gwendolyn Brooks Day recognized with 'We Real Cool' video by Darcel Rockett

Manual Cinema's space in the Kimball Arts Center is deceiving to an outsider’s eye. The garage/warehouse facade feels reminiscent of a workspace not frequented, but inside, two rooms hold …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:24PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards