All stories by Hedy Weiss on BroadwayStars

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Margaret Atwood’s searing psychological thriller fit for the stage by Hedy Weiss

Stage versions of Atwood's work are still rare, so Rivendell's riveting world premiere production of her novel "Alias Grace" is reason to celebrate.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:06PM
Wednesday, September 13, 2017

With The Yard, Chicago Shakespeare sets engineering poetry in motion by Hedy Weiss

Each of the towers is a self-contained ecosystem with heating & ventilating connectors, electrical connections, acoustical panels & sprinkler system.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 05:31PM
Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Remembering Sir Peter Hall’s master stagework in Chicago by Hedy Weiss

It is Hall's work on the opera stage that left its greatest mark in Chicago.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 05:58PM

Lincoln agonistes drives a haunting ‘Heavens are Hung in Black’ by Hedy Weiss

James Still's fascinating fantasia, "The Heavens are Hung in Black," is now receiving an enthralling Shattered Globe Theatre production.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 09:37AM
Monday, September 11, 2017

Sun-Times 2017 Fall Entertainment Preview — Stage by Hedy Weiss

Discovery is the name of the game on Chicago stages. An astonishing pool of young talent is at work in this city right now (with many of the performers barely out of university theater progr…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:30AM
Sunday, September 10, 2017

For 16th Street Theater, a season of troubled men, women in uniform by Hedy Weiss

The 2018 lineup features work by Chicago writers Ike Holter, Aline Lathrop and J. Joseph Cox, along with Kathleen Cahill and Sean Christopher Lewis.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 11:50PM
Friday, September 8, 2017

Strong performances, voices, lift inane ‘Rock of Ages’ by Hedy Weiss

In the end, the screechy-screaminess of it all, along with the crotch grabbing, simulated humping and dumb humor, have a numbing effect.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:13PM
Thursday, September 7, 2017

Goodman Theatre announces members of yearlong Playwrights Unit by Hedy Weiss

The Unit is a year-long residency in support of new work in collaboration with Chicago Dramatists.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 06:37PM

Rehabbed Theater on the Lake ready for year-round use by Hedy Weiss

Upgrades to the long-decrepit space include a new permanent stage with professional lighting and sound systems, and an enclosed lobby and box office.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 11:37AM
Tuesday, September 5, 2017

‘Bonnie & Clyde’ (the musical) shoots its way through the Depression by Hedy Weiss

Based on the sensational Chicago premiere by Kokandy Productions, it is impossible to understand how the show failed to become a hit on Broadway.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:11PM
Sunday, September 3, 2017

Angela Ingersoll to tape her Judy Garland concert for TV by Hedy Weiss

Cameras will be rolling when the Chicago star of Porchlight's "End of the Rainbow" performs next month in St. Charles.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 02:51PM
Thursday, August 31, 2017

Marriott deals a royal flush with ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ by Hedy Weiss

It's goofy escapist entertainment of the highest order.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:44PM

Jessie Mueller’s first movie role will be in a Spielberg film by Hedy Weiss

By now, the meteoric Broadway career of Chicago-bred actress Jessie Mueller is a well-known story, with a Tony Award win for her starring role in “Beautiful — The Carole King Musical…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:47PM
Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Broadway composer Jeanne Tesori slated for Chicago visit by Hedy Weiss

Jeanine Tesori is the Tony Award-winning composer responsible for such shows as “Caroline, or Change,” “Shrek the Musical,” “Violet,” “Thoroughly Mo…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 04:16PM

Musical chestnuts and a ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ set for Drury Lane by Hedy Weiss

The Drury Lane Theatre in Oak Brook Terrace — which racked up an impressive 19 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations last week for its productions of the past season — has today ann…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 12:58PM

Stoking the fires of a meta-‘Barbecue’ at Strawdog Theatre by Hedy Weiss

The play, directed by Damon Kiely, is now receiving a ferociously acted Chicago premiere by Strawdog Theatre.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 09:55AM
Saturday, August 26, 2017

New South Loop mural a gift of Cirque du Soleil and ‘Luzia’ by Hedy Weiss

It is the latest addition to the more than 40 murals in the South Loop neighborhood, and kicks off this year’s public art exhibition, Street Level.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 01:14AM
Friday, August 25, 2017

Steppenwolf makes memorial plans for Martha Lavey by Hedy Weiss

Make way for Martha Lavey Way. A section of North Halsted Street where Steppenwolf stands will be renamed in the artistic director's honor.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:34PM

Two-day window added to Chicago ‘Hamilton’ lottery by Hedy Weiss

The new lottery system begins Aug. 27.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 01:01AM
Thursday, August 24, 2017

Enthralling ‘Audience’ puts Britain’s queen in room with politicians by Hedy Weiss

TimeLine Theatre's superb Chicago premiere of "The Audience," Peter Morgan's whip-smart portrait of a Queen Elizabeth, is not to be missed.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:30PM
Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Musicals, plays and stellar performances garner Jeff Award nominations by Hedy Weiss

The winners will be a announced at a gala awards ceremony Nov. 6 at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 11:00AM
Sunday, August 20, 2017

WEISS: In grand-scale ‘Gypsy,’ the fury of a woman with dreams denied by Hedy Weiss

Mary Robin Roth's Rose is a tireless force of nature in this production that reinforces the ruthless and bitter aspects of the burlesque star's story.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 06:13PM
Thursday, August 17, 2017

Artful ‘Trevor the musical’ ably explores middle-school miseries by Hedy Weiss

The Oscar-winning short film has been expanded into a fervent, surprisingly playful, fully musicalized two-hour show.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 06:10PM
Monday, August 14, 2017

Vivid, yet minimalist ‘Machinal’ an extraordinary emotional journey by Hedy Weiss

The 1928 play by Sophie Treadwell was in many ways far ahead of its time in both style and substance,

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 11:01PM
Sunday, August 13, 2017

Ghoulish punishments prevail in shocking ‘Shockheaded Peter’ by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: As sick and twisted as the Black Button Eyes production is, its depiction of domestic horror is so imaginative that you cannot look away.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 05:14PM
Friday, August 11, 2017

‘Hamilton’ stage musical launches an official app by Hedy Weiss

Neither Alexander Hamilton, nor any of such scientifically-minded Founding Fathers as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, had an app, although they certainly had “appetites.”…

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 08:59AM
Thursday, August 10, 2017

All-star female cast set for Chicago Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of Shrew’ by Hedy Weiss

Gaines' re-imagined production, with Shakespeare's script featuring additional dialogue by Second City's Ron West, is set in 1919 Chicago.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:24PM
Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Full lineup announced for International Latino Theater Festival by Hedy Weiss

The festival will run Sept. 29 through Oct. 29 at various venues.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 02:43PM

New ‘Trevor’ musical takes on teen sexual identity, suicide by Hedy Weiss

The musical is based on the 1994 Oscar-winning short film.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 10:30AM
Sunday, August 6, 2017

A revival of ‘Hair’ that sings out in a new age of discontent by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: Mercury Theater Chicago production is at once grand-scale yet intimate, aiming to capture the fashion, attitudes and anxieties of the era.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 03:02PM
Friday, August 4, 2017

A neat balancing act in Black Ensemble’s ‘Last Dancer Standing’ by Hedy Weiss

WEISS: The reality TV takeoff also delves into backstage drama, a variety of musical styles and even contemporary politics.

SOURCE: chicago.suntimes.com at 12:13PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic