IT’S TIME TO RAGNARÖK ‘N’ ROLL An exuberant Norse rock opera with enough swagger to survive the apocalypse A corner of a decrepit night club greets you as you walk into Lifeline The…
MOTHER KNOWS BEST— UNTIL SHE DOESN’T A devastating, clear-eyed revival that refuses comfort and lingers long after the lights go down I first watched ‘night, Mother, the Pulitzer-prize…
CASH, GRIEF, AND THE COST OF RESISTANCE A gripping, immersive premiere dissolves the line between audience and action Steppenwolf’s excellent 50th season continues with Windfall, the new p…
FAULT LINES A glossy production sinks under the weight of a script that mistakes talk for wit Unpleasant, unfunny, misogynistic, and worst of all, boring. Let’s play a drinking game: every…
OUT OF THE CLOSET, INTO THE FIRE A messy, ambitious new musical about divorce lands more as play than score— but still entertains Court Theatre closes out its 2025/2026 season with Out Her…
TRAUMA, TRUTH, AND THE STORIES WE SELL A taut psychological thriller that cuts deep and lingers “Look at this place. Just how rich did our trauma make you?” Of all the devastating zinger…
A GREAT, GREEN ROOM YOU'LL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE Chicago Children's Theatre closes out its 20th anniversary season with a picture(book)-perfect triumph! "I wish I might, I wish I may / go live…
THE BLUES THAT BUILT AMERICA" AND THE COST OF SINGING THEM August Wilson's masterpiece lands with devastating force in a blazing Goodman revival Four black musicians amble into a recording s…
A GREAT PERFORMANCE IN SEARCH OF A BETTER PLAY Gary Houston towers in a two-hander that never quite lives up to its premise Outside a run-down cottage in rural Connecticut, a white-haired ma…
THIS SLOW-BURNING, DEVASTATING DRAMA REFUSES EASY ANSWERS The Sugar Wife is a gripping and complex examination of morality and the individual's responsibility towards society The Sugar Wife …
ARGUMENTS WITHIN ARGUMENTS A fiercely intelligent play that challenges ideas more than it deepens character A large, welcoming room lined with stained wood bookshelves greets you when you wa…
ALL FOR ONE"AND A WHOLE LOT OF MEANWHILES A rollicking, cleverly staged adventure that balances spectacle with comic flair Xavier Lagunas, Jack Sharkey and Boomer Lusink Swash your buckler a…
MEMORY PLAYS TRICKS" AND SO DOES EVERYTHING ELSE An immersive maze where perception falters and certainty slips through your fingers Unreliable narrators everywhere"but not the ones you thin…
PHILOSOPHY, FARCE, AND ART UNDER SIEGE Witkiewicz's dense, absurdist text sparks to life" until unnecessary asides break the spell Gus Thomas and Venice Averyheart Theatre does not get much …
FOLKLORE, GHOSTS, AND THE WEIGHT OF THE DEAD Matthew C. Yee's wildly ambitious world premiere dazzles, even as its larger shape remains elusive Death, and coming to terms with it, have been …
AIN'T NOTHING DROWSY ABOUT THIS CHAPERONE Theo Ubique's joyous revival of the Tony-winning musical turned this critic into a tap-dancing, high-kicking fool. Darian Goulding as Aldolpho In a …
NOT QUITE WONDROUS A Pulitzer winner takes a bumpy trip to the Goodman stage Fans of Junot DÃaz's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are in for a bit of a s…
A POST-PANDEMIC RECKONING WITH ISOLATION AND MENTAL HEALTH A moving character study elevated by a nuanced central performance The oddest thing about Kirsten Greenidge's Morning, Noon, and Ni…
SHAKESPEARE'S NAME, SOMEONE ELSE'S STORY A generic weepie that gloms onto the prestige of Shakespeare while offering nothing of substance in return Rory Alexander and Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Willi…
A SMART, PLAYFUL SPIN ON A FEMINIST CLASSIC Paul Michael Thomson's witty homage to Top Girls is dazzling"if occasionally too clever for comfort Myah Bridgewater and Laney Rodriguez A world p…
A CHORUS OF EXILE IN AN ARCHITECTURE OF ISOLATION Theatre Y's North American premiere immerses its audience in complicity and unease Makai Walker Before we get into the merits of Elfriede Je…
A LAKESIDE ESTATE OF ART, AMBITION, & UNREQUITED LOVE A richly acted, visually striking Seagull that finally delivers a fully realized Nina A gorgeous and enormous Arcadian painting of a…
STRINDBERG UNDER SIEGE A misfire in almost every way possible, this visually aggressive production overwhelms the play's naturalistic power. "Uh oh," was my first thought when the wall of li…
IBSEN'S ICONIC ANTIHEROINE STILL MAKES A MESS OF POLITE SOCIETY A sleek, sharply acted production driven by a magnetic central performance, even at a lightning pace Redtwist Theatre may have…
MISERY, MARRIAGE, AND A MIDWEST LIVING ROOM THAT CAN'T HOLD IT ALL A powerhouse pairing turns Inge's domestic ache into something bruising, intimate, and hard to shake It may be the season o…