Ok, let’s just get this out of the way: Brian Blankenship’s play, My Kinda Town (which is receiving its world premiere by Nothing Special Productions), simply needs work. But the…
The 2011 Honor Awards®, the official alternative Chicago theatre awards show mastermind(ed) by Katy Walsh and Joshua Volkers, took place last night, and what a whoop-de-do blast it was! G…
War is a bloody, ugly thing. It changes people, f*cks with their minds, turns nervous young boys into soulless killing machines. Yet, it can also bring people together in unexpected, life-ch…
The Huffington Post is looking to expand its national theatre coverage, so they asked me if I’d be interested in contributing to their site to talk about the awesome goings on in Chica…
“Fulton Street Sessions is a cabaret-style production in the form of a collection of sketches, musical numbers, and interludes capturing the essence of current national and local news …
Photo credit: Dean Leprairie Is it a comedy? A love story? A ghost story? A tragedy? A murder mystery? In the first scene of Dating Walter Dante, playwright Jon Steinhagen actually addresses…
Jerry O’Boyle, Craig Spidle and Rebecca Finnegan in Porchlight’s ”A Catered Affair.” Photo credit: Brandon Dahlquist In its essence, Harvey Fierstein and Joh…
Every so often you encounter the perfect pairing of actor and role. Mary-Arrchie founding member and Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky has found one of those roles. From his shoulder-slumpe…
Elizabeth Morgan as Googie Gomez in Circle Theatre’s “The Ritz” There comes a point in Circle Theatre’s production of Terrence McNally’s The Ritz where you real…
Let’s pause this Chicago theatre discussion for something much more important and topical. I’m one of those people who goes around saying snobby things like, “I don’t…
Written by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), Show Boat broke the mold when it premiered in 1927. Most Broadway shows at the time were frivolous trivialities wit…
Hey. I’ve an offer for you. Invest today in an idea I expect to have fully fleshed out in the future, and I’ll pay you back with this virtual stock made up of unicorn farts and f…
>> Second City is getting ready for the grand opening of its new venue, UP Comedy Club, a “new hybrid performance venue with an eclectic blend of comedy.” The 300 seat sp…
There is one moment in William Osetek’s otherwise by-the-numbers production of Gypsy that gave me those rare theatrical chills. It’s during a crucial act two turning point whe…
“Everyone’s a little bit racist,” sing the puppets of Avenue Q. Then there’s sh*t white girls say to black girls. And what about anything comedienne Lisa Lampanelli s…
Sharon D Clarke in “Ghost the Musical” While my primary purpose in London was work-related, I carved out some time for a two shows. Lucky for me, the TKTS booth was just a fiv…
Pay grades, insurmountable credit card debt, recession, excessive consumerism, love. One of these things is not like the other. However, in Dennis Kelly’s efficient and horrific 90-min…
Remy Bumppo’s only halfway through their season, and newly appointed artistic director Timothy Douglas has suddenly called it quits, much to the surprise of the theatre company’s…
As we take our seats at the A Red Orchid Theatre’s production of Brett Neveu’s new play, Megacosm, a high-strung inventor (Larry Grimm) nervously twitches and blinks as he prepar…
Death is a scary thing, and scary things make us vulnerable. And as any smart salesperson will tell you, a vulnerable person is the ideal customer. Anyone who’s dealt with a grief coun…
The freakish 50 degree January weather may be over, but things are just getting heated up at the Bank of America Theatre where Come Fly Away is playing through January 22. Sinatra. We know t…
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that director Rob Marshall is reteaming with Disney for a film adaptation of Into the Woods, the classic Broadway musical written by Stephen Sondheim an…
I love doing the Chicago Theatre Off Book podcasts with my friend Katy Walsh and her partner in podcasting crime, Josh Volkers. This go round, Katy, Kris Vire (theatre editor of Time Out Chi…
Last year proved phenomenal for Chicago theater, with many outstanding productions capturing our hearts and minds (read my roundup of the best of 2011 Chicago theater), and 2012 promises to …
“Da-da-da-DUM! *snap, snap!* Da-da-da-DUM! *snap, snap!*” You know the tune. You know the characters. But you might be surprised by this charming (yes, charming!) and unexpected …