Wednesday, March 1, 2017
This world premiere play, based on one family's Holocaust story – equal parts frustrating, satisfying and full of unanswered questions – has compelling, inspiring roots and is beautifull…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:06PMTuesday, February 28, 2017
Deep in the Heart of Tuna is the newest script in the series of short plays chronicling the wacky exploits in Tuna, the third-smallest town in Texas Though well-directed by Derek Van Barham…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:32PMSaturday, February 25, 2017
Game Changers is classic Joffrey - strong and stylish dancers flawlessly executing envelope-pushing choreography. The program is thoughtfully put together, with nods to ballet’s roots and …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:03PMThursday, February 16, 2017
Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties thoroughly captures family life in all its funny tragedy, and has a stunning lead performance by Loretta Rezos in her Raven Theatre debut. Like the…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:06PMSunday, February 12, 2017
The History Boys by Alan Bennett is epic, funny, tragic and more than a little dark. Bennett’s script is specific in themes and casting, and very, very difficult to present effectively. E…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:06PMWednesday, February 1, 2017
Director and Chicago favorite Marti Lyons has assembled a beautiful, low-key yet epic, production of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize winner about an academic with cancer and the last two h…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:03PMSunday, January 29, 2017
There’s a lot to like about Psychonaut Librarians. Though inconsistent at times, the story of a mother, a daughter and drug trip-induced time travel is both entertaining and compelling. Th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:36PMSaturday, January 28, 2017
A tragedy handled with fantasy and comedy, Brown Paper Box Co.’s The Baltimore Waltz is mournful, vulnerable and memorable. Short but effective, Playwright Paula Vogel's play is both univ…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:42PMSunday, January 22, 2017
The sad irony regarding The Temperamentals is how achingly relevant it feels today. Though Playwright Jon Marans' acclaimed off-Broadway play takes place in the early 1950s, many themes ring…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:36PMThursday, January 19, 2017
Playwright Conor McPherson’s writing captures the quintessential nature of the Irish, though I wish The Weir’s sole female character was more broadly defined and less of a stereotype. Ov…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:12PMTuesday, January 17, 2017
This La Gringa is worth the trip west, with an energetic cast and a lovely message about home and family. A solid production from beginning to end, La Gringa is heartwarming but not sappy, p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:36AMFriday, January 13, 2017
Despite a few strong performances, City Lit Theater's The Sundial fails to fully deliver. Though based on the novel by influential author Shirley Jackson, it's clear here that not every lite…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:24PMWednesday, December 28, 2016
Christopher Wheeldon’s new Chicago-centric version of Tchaikovsky's timeless ballet, set 5 months before Chicago's 1893 world's fair and beautifully executed by Joffrey Ballet, is imaginat…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:04PMSaturday, December 24, 2016
Twist Your Dickens is a must-see for hardcore Christmas Carol fans and Dickens holiday naysayers alike. Thanks to incredible writing, direction and comic timing, the Second City’s tribute-…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:54AMThursday, December 22, 2016
Barrel of Monkey's That’s Weird, Grandma--The Holiday Special Returns is a testament to the power of creativity in children and adults, a celebration of live theater and storytelling, and …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:33PMMonday, December 19, 2016
Smart, snappy and almost hyper-realistic, Levi Holloway's world-premiere The Haven Place is a road trip adventure with edge-of-your-seat action, fully-realized characters and a sense of hope…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:24PMTuesday, December 13, 2016
A holiday tradition that’s pure fun, Black Ensemble Theater's The Other Cinderella is family-friendly and incredibly enjoyable. The cast’s concentrated oomph fills the stage, and the sto…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:48PMSaturday, December 10, 2016
In Greenhouse Theater's Uncle Philip's Coat, by Matty Selman, actor Gene Weygandt gives excellent interpretations of struggling actor Selman, his loving but judgmental father and his eccentr…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:04PMFriday, December 9, 2016
Unless you made your home under a rock in the early 90’s, or weren’t born yet, you remember the ice-skating drama of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. Underscore Theatre's Tonya and Nanc…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:06PMSaturday, December 3, 2016
Most people know George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion through its musical adaptation My Fair Lady. Fortunately, thanks to Shawn Douglass’ elegant direction and two phenomenal leads in Nick Sand…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:24PMFriday, December 2, 2016
Created in 1991 by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP is an hour and forty-five minutes of pure energy and stage craft. No special effects, just movement and music with ordinary hous…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:18PMTuesday, November 22, 2016
The House Theatre of Chicago's "The Nutcracker", directed and choreographed by Tommy Rapley, is a beloved annual production, and this year its message is more important than ever. With a mos…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:06PMWednesday, November 16, 2016
Thanks to the late, great Charles M. Schulz, the Peanuts gang lives on – and Emerald City Theatre’s glowing adaptation of A Charlie Brown Christmas is a sweetly existential reminder that…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:03PMFarce is hard to do well: it’s a strange balance of comedy and satire that often falls flat. With First Floor Theater’s world premiere of Emily Zemba’s Deer and the Lovers, sadly this …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:48PMTuesday, November 15, 2016
Eclipse Theatre has a challenge on their hands in topping this fascinating 2016 season. Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis' Little Flower is both tragic and strangely optimistic, leaving the au…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:06PMMonday, November 14, 2016
With actress Sarah Gise serving as The Amish Project's sole performer, Jessica Dickey's one-woman production is a much-needed and powerful reminder that hope can arise from the direst of cir…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:06PMTheatre Y’s Macbeth, workshopped and directed by Georges Bigot, borders on gimmicky, and almost cheapens Shakespeare’s text. If only Bigot and company had stepped back a bit, lessened th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:02PMWith Agency Theater Collective's Chagrin Falls, a play set in small town Oklahoma, playwright Mia McCullough has done an excellent job in giving her characters a tangible sense of humanity. …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:42PMFriday, November 11, 2016
Simply put, I was really impressed with what Collaboraction's The Mars Assignment, a world premiere by Elsa Hiltner and Ronan Marra, was trying to do in exploring depression and how it affe…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:18PMEnd of the Rainbow is a sad but respectful tribute to the end of an icon, Judy Garland, and the end of an era. Rich with beautiful music and nuanced portrayals, Porchlight Music Theatre’s …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:06PMThursday, November 10, 2016
Betrayal explores an affair from all angles: primal, emotional and intellectual. A Last Five Years of infidelity, Harold Pinter's *Betrayal* gives both woman and man the respect they deserve…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:06PM 
