Thursday, September 22, 2016
Adapted from the Frebcg short story Le Passe-Muraille by Marcel Ayme, this Tony Award-nominated musical is a Chicago premiere. And with Amour, Black Button Eyes Productions and Director Ed …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:21PMWednesday, September 21, 2016
Though incredibly talented, not even this mighty ensemble can fully compensate for Playwright Aaron Posner’s lengthy exploration of the facts that life isn’t fair and unrequited love hur…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:24PMTuesday, September 20, 2016
The most memorable elements of Writers Theatre's *Julius Caesar* are its cinematic video designs and impressively versatile set. The people who propel the tragedy, however, are all too often…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:44PMMonday, September 19, 2016
With Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking *In the Heights*, Porchlight Music Theatre's staging wears its dramatic heart on its sleeve, bursting with percussive flair and exuberant sensuality.…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:57PMThursday, September 15, 2016
Per Catey Sullivan: By the time the powerhouse *Smokey Joe* ensemble goes into the reprise that (almost) closes the show, you’ll feel like these people are your old friends. And when the *…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:18PMReviewer Catey Sullivan: Paramount Theatre's Mamma Mia!, directed by Jim Corti, is the most delightfully over-the-top musicals you’re apt to see this season. But unapologetically kitschy …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:27AMMonday, September 12, 2016
Marriott Theatre's *How to Succeed in Business* looks great. But scratch the surface of strong performances and slick production values, and there’s nothing resembling the human condition …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:55PMWith Boho Theatre's stellar *Next to Normal*, there’s no compromising of musicianship, with the stellar vocals of all six in the cast under the musical direction of Ellen K. Morris. Despit…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:40PMWednesday, August 31, 2016
Broadway in Chicago's Kinky Boots, by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein, is back for its 2nd national tour (after first having its Broadway-bound world premiere here in 2012), and it's bigge…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:49PMMonday, August 29, 2016
The Sound Chicago's world premiere of *For Annie*, by Beth Hyland, is a haunting cry for help and a meditation on the intricacies of grief. This cry and meditation just happens to involve gl…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:03PMGreenhouse Theater's "Rose", part of their summer-long Solo Celebration! festival, speeds by as the audience is kept entranced by the inner workings of matriarch Rose Kennedy, a woman we thi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:04PMSaturday, August 27, 2016
TimeLine Theatre's *Bakersfield Mist* is equal parts comedic and heartbreaking, acknowledging absurdity and cliché without ever descending into either. Thanks to playwright Stephen Sachs an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:16PMWednesday, August 24, 2016
Light Opera Works' glitzy production of *Mame* looks great. And musically *Mame*, with its 32-member cast and 26-member full orchestra, sounds great. The score – arguably Jerry Herman’s …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:27PMMonday, August 22, 2016
Cor Theatre's The Good Person of Szechwan, Tony Kushner's adaptation/translation of the Bertolt Brecht classic parable, shows us the difficulty of being good in a world filled with people wh…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:19PMFriday, August 19, 2016
Greenhouse Theater's Bloodshot, part of their Solo Celebration! series, is a compelling, nuanced story in the wrong medium - a story of obsession and murder that deserves a better outlet tha…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:58PMThursday, August 18, 2016
Babes With Blades’ world premiere of Dustin Spence’s The Promise of a Rose Garden contains strong performances, well-design fight scenes and solid production design. Despite weaknesses …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:31PMWednesday, August 17, 2016
Bluebird Arts' Three Hotels is a lovely morality play, a family tragedy with occasional gallows humor that’s written with both heart and bite. The audience truly roots for this production …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:32PMMonday, August 15, 2016
Derek Van Barham’s Bite is pure enjoyment. A loose adaptation of Midsummer Night’s Dream, at first glance Bite appars to be pure camp, but as the show swirls by, this glittery cabaret fe…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:49PMSaturday, August 13, 2016
With Playwright Mark Stein’s Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys, presented by Raven Theatre, the audience is brought a piece of history not found in many text books, but done in su…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:27PMMonday, August 8, 2016
in Genesis Theatricals' Einstein's Gift by Verne Thiessen, we find a fascinating, true story about Einstein and Fritz Haber become a dull flat production that feels more like a history proje…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:48AMThursday, August 4, 2016
With Broadway in Chicago's and Disney Theatricals' *Newsies*, prepare to be entertained! The energy of the 28-member cast, of which nearly 20 are young men under 25, is boundless; as directo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:24PMWednesday, August 3, 2016
With Goodman Theatre's world premiere *War Paint*, there’s much to like and enjoy. The two starring divas, Patti LuPone and Kristine Ebersole, don’t disappoint. The two actresses have 14…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:21AMTuesday, July 26, 2016
Review by Mark Davidson: The american vicarious's world premiere "Douglass" is a worthy account of the crusade of the most revered abolitionist in this country’s history. With an intriguin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:32PMBrown Paper Box Co's plunge into another Jeff Bowen musical, "Now. Here. This." struggles to shape characters that are relatable to the audience, and is a perfect example of self-reflection …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:57PMThursday, July 21, 2016
The Portrait by Susan Padveen succeeds because of its lovely production values and Cameron Pfiffner’s stirring performance, making it a show worth seeing. Greenhouse Theater has recently h…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:46PMWednesday, July 20, 2016
Stephen Adly Guirgis' Our Lady of 121st Street is a tribute to innocence lost and the lasting effects of childhood religion. Lovingly written, directed and designed, this funeral dramedy is …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:54PMThe New Colony’s Kin Folk, by William Glick, is a modern-day fantasy. Visually, the show is dazzling, thanks to the evocative projections designed by Paul Deziel. Innovative, well-handled,…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:43PMMonday, July 18, 2016
While many directors seem to approach Company’s scenes as necessary evils to get through on their way to Sondheim’s tuneful and witty songs, William Brown takes the scenes seriously - an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:13PMSaturday, July 16, 2016
Chops has a lot of potential - potential that is never completely realized. Fortunately, the three male actors are so accomplished that they can direct themselves, resulting in intense, char…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:12PMFriday, July 15, 2016
Windy City Playhouse's *This*, by Melissa James Gibson, is a well-casted 2 hour play about privileged people with problems. Though many plays have this foundation, *This* lacks any type of …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:48PMWednesday, July 13, 2016
Though Kokandy Productions' Tomorrow Morning doesn’t break any ground in musical theater, it's still a sweet, 90-minute pleasing look at love and marriage, beautifully sung by 4 talented p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:48PM 
