Sunday, October 1, 2023

James Monroe Iglehart Is Louis Armstrong in A Wonderful World Musical Beginning October 1 in New Orleans by Andrew Gans

The Broadway-aimed production, inspired by the life of the jazz legend, will also play a limited engagement in Chicago.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:19AM
Saturday, September 30, 2023

Thelma Terry and Her Playboys by Trav S.D.

September 30, Jazz Age bandleader and bassist Thelma Terry (Thelma Combes, 1901-66). Born in Michigan, Terry was raised in Chicago by a single mother who worked as a domestic servant to a ri…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:25AM

Review: ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ is the story of a business across generations, told by TimeLine in Chicago by Chris Jones

It wasn’t so much that this three-act script was a literary masterpiece as it was a blueprint for thrilling theatrical storytelling.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:00AM
Friday, September 29, 2023

Sanctuary City explores the plight of DREAMers by Kerry Reid

Before Martyna Majok won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for her drama Cost of Living (which was planned for this season at Victory Gardens before the board decided to close up shop at the Tony A…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 02:42PM

Review: In ‘Mesmerized’ at Chicago Children’s Theatre, Ben Franklin solves a science mystery by Jerald Pierce

There’s a wonderful goofiness to the production, directed by Tommy Rapley.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Thursday, September 28, 2023

Off-Broadway Review: “Swing State” at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre (Through Saturday, October 28, 2023) by David Roberts

The latest production produced by Audible titled “Swing State”, which has transferred from Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and is now playing at the Minetta Lane Theatre, is not really what …

SOURCE: Theatre Reviews Limited at 11:57AM

The Nacirema Society | Official Montage | On Stage - October 15 | Goodman Theatre by Goodman Theatre

THE NACIREMA SOCIETY is “⭐⭐⭐⭐” (out of 4 – Chicago Sun-Times) and is "bursting at its seams with intrigue, romance and comedy." Don't miss your chance to experience this "all-s…

SOURCE: YouTube at 11:04AM

Debutantes and debacles by Kerry Reid

Pearl Cleage isn’t from Chicago, but she’s been produced enough here that she feels like an adopted playwright at least. Now-defunct Eclipse Theatre Company (dedicated to the one playwri…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 09:42AM

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical Reveals Complete Casting by Molly Higgins, Andrew Gans

See who's joining Jasmine Amy Rogers in Chicago for the musical's world premiere.

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:33AM

Purgatory in a dystopian disco by Dmitry Samarov

Set in a place that is equal parts dystopian disco and minimal sci-fi torture dungeon (set and costumes designed by Natasha Djukic), Zeljko Djukic directs Adam Ranđelović’s adaptation fr…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 09:17AM

All about the Franklins by Kerry Reid

There’s a great show about a Founding Father onstage right now in Chicago who is not named Alexander Hamilton. And while it doesn’t feature an award-winning score by Lin-Manuel Miranda, …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 09:07AM

BOOP! THE BETTY BOOP MUSICAL Adds Tony-Winner Faith Prince, Erich Bergen And More To World Premiere Cast

Broadway In Chicago has announced complete casting for BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre (18 W. Monroe St.) live on stage for the first time for a limit…

SOURCE: BroadwayWorld at 09:03AM
Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Video: Meet BOOP!'s Betty, Jasmine Amy Rogers!

Boop has found a Betty in Jasmine Amy Rogers! The newcomer will star as Betty Boop! in BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre

SOURCE: BroadwayWorld at 01:25PM

Broadway-Bound Betty Boop Musical Finds Its Beloved Baby-Faced Flapper In ‘Mean Girls’ Jasmine Amy Rogers

Jasmine Amy Rogers, who recently finished a run as the scene-stealing “Gretchen Wieners” in the national tour of Mean Girls, has been cast in the title role of the pre-Broadway world pre…

SOURCE: Deadline at 01:05PM

Jasmine Amy Rogers Lands Title Role in World Premiere of BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical by Andrew Gans

The new musical, penned by David Foster, Susan Birkenhead, and Bob Martin, will begin performances in Chicago in November.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:49PM

Jasmine Amy Rogers to Star as Betty Boop in BOOP! THE BETTY BOOP MUSICAL

This Fall, Jasmine Amy Rogers will star as Betty Boop! in BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre. Learn more about the production!

SOURCE: BroadwayWorld at 12:13PM

New Chicago-bound ‘Betty Boop’ musical has its Betty Boop, and other theater news by Chris Jones

“Boop! The Betty Boop Musical” is slated to play from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 at Chicago’s CIBC Theatre.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:55AM
Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Andy Mientus, Nick Cearley, More to Star in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas in Chicago by Logan Culwell-Block

Studebaker Theater is hosting the Chicago premiere of the family-friendly Jim Henson musical, adapted from the 1977 TV special.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:03AM
Monday, September 25, 2023

Following the Guiding Lights of Chicago Leaders by American Theatre Editors

As the fall season gets under way, Chicago's theatre scene offers plenty to be excited about, even as issues in the field continue to bubble under the surface.

SOURCE: American Theatre at 04:30PM

History of Hilarity: Mike Bridenstine Serves as Literary Tour Guide to the Hottest Period in Chicago Stand-Up by Carl Kozlowski

Thanks to a new book about the wildly creative alternative-comedy scene that gave birth to an explosion of stars and influential talent between 1996 and 2009, the Chicago scene is finally ge…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM

Matteo Lane returns home with a sold-out ‘Al Dente Tour’ comedy show at the Chicago Theatre by Jessi Roti

Singer-turned-illustrator-turned-comedian Matteo Lane is returning to Chicago for a sold-out show at the Chicago Theatre Sept. 29.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Sunday, September 24, 2023

Swing State by Joseph Pisano

Gilman's triteness and predictability combine to poorly serve a talented acting quartet, all of whom originated their roles in a 2022 production of "Swing State" at the Goodman Theatre under…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:55PM
Friday, September 22, 2023

Charlique Rolle: Building the Community Black Artists Deserve by American Theatre Editors

As the Congo Square executive director dons a new leadership hat for the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago, she's centering community and the needs of Chicago's Black artists.

SOURCE: American Theatre at 01:34PM

Name That Show: 1970s Broadway Songs by JK

Hello, show tune lovers! Today's game is all about songs from Broadway musicals that opened in the 1970s. You've probably at least heard of all the shows included here, but how familiar are …

SOURCE: www.jkstheatrescene.com at 07:43AM
Thursday, September 21, 2023

You won’t be my neighbor by Kerry Reid

“Well, look who’s come to dinner!” bellows Gerald (Ronald L. Conner) to the neighbors he and wife Patricia (Sydney Charles) have invited to their home in Inda Craig-Galván’s WELCOME…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM

Collective power by Katie Powers

From 1969 to 1973, a Chicago-based organization known by the code name “Jane” brought safe and accessible abortions to more than 10,000 women. Paula Kamen’s Jane: Abortion and the Unde…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM

Revolution offers small revelations by Kerry Reid

Chicago playwright Brett Neveu is so good at writing about the darker side of life (as in his 2002 play Eric LaRue, now a film directed by Michael Shannon, his fellow ensemble member at A Re…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM

Harlem stories by Kerry Reid

I don’t know who came up with the idea of a Pearl Cleage festival for Chicago theater, but based on Mikael Burke’s gorgeous production of the Atlanta poet laureate’s 1995 drama, Blues …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM

Lighting up the years by Kelly Kleiman

Noah Haidle’s play got absolutely savaged in New York, with the critics’ main objection being that the story of a family over time had already been told in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town a…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM

The room where it happens, again by Kerry Reid

At this point, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is beyond critic-proof. (Once you’ve had an entire episode of Drunk History dedicated to your recap of the events in your musical, what else …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM

Never trust the tyrants by Kerry Reid

Though it’s based loosely on a real story, John Webster’s Jacobean revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi plays like a cross between torture porn and Shakespeare, what with the piling up o…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:00AM