38 stories by "Lauren Emily Whalen"
Evil Dead the Musical is spooky silliness at its finest, a must-see for those who like singing, dancing and plenty of stabbing. Highly Recommended! (review by Lauren Emily Whalen)
Isaac Gomez's full-length play La Ruta has its stunning world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Directed by ensemble member Sandra Marquez and featuring a powerhouse female ensemble, …
Otherworld Theatre is a relatively new Chicago company, focusing on science fiction and fantasy-focused storytelling. The Winter Wolf is their holiday world premiere, an intimate female-driv…
What began as a simple Roald Dahl book is now, in the hands of adaptor David Wood and director Jacqueline Stone, a 75-minute, two-act Fantastic Mr. Fox that's too bright, too screechy and si…
With the annual holiday ritual of this Die Hard musical parody, writing team Michael Shepherd Joran, Alex Garday and Stephanie McCullough make the show a grab bag of 80's references, some of…
This Nutcracker, now in its third year with Joffrey Ballet, remains the same in terms of dreamy scenery, candy-colored costumes, Tchaikovsky's iconic score and the warm glow of love. Two yea…
Danai Gurira's Familiar is all about ritual: the Zimbabwean pre-marriage exchange between the groom and the bride's family, the TV football game that leaves them cheering, the traditional mu…
Very few children's shows are truly enjoyable for everyone, but Bros do Prose's 2-person Peter Pan is a notable exception. This sunny, warm-hearted adaptation is proof that when it comes to …
The world premiere HeLa intertwines Henrietta Lacks' story with that of a young black girl who loves science and a lonely black woman stranded among the stars. Playwright J. Nicole Brooks' c…
Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts has been controversial from day one. The play was first staged in Chicago in 1882, thanks to a Danish company on tour, and drew criticism and shock for many decades aft…
Everything in The Steadfast Tin Soldier is memorable, thanks to director/creator Mary Zimmerman's collaborative but uncompromising vision. As the lights came up, more than a few sniffles ema…
This gothic ghost story in which a young lawyer dodges and confronts the eerie resident of a dilapidated coastal mansion, was adapted into a 2012 film starring Daniel Radcliffe. Stephen Mall…
Rightlynd is part of Ike Holter's Chicago cycle, the story of a newly-minted alderman who's in over her head from day one. The story is predictable but solid, the characters compelling, the …
Beautifully written, acted and directed, Plainclothes is unmissable, especially in light of Broken Nose Theatre's pay-what-you-can tickets. The production tells a story of guerilla employees…
As a play, Love's Labour's Lost is simply delightful. In many ways it's a classic romantic comedy: boys swear off girls, the girls show up anyway, wacky misunderstandings ensue. Their produc…
The Chicago premiere of Harrison David Rivers' two-hander, equal parts searing and touching, gut-wrenching and romantic. Director Mikael Burke and Rivers are a dream team of truth: this stor…
Simply put, Scientific Method is the best embodiment of workplace sexism I've ever seen onstage. In just 90 short but powerful minutes, playwright Jenny Connell Davis and director Devon de M…
The Lonesome West is an earlier work from playwright Martin McDonagh, who's since made a name for himself in both theater and film, penning last year's Oscar winner Three Billboards Outside …
Mikael Burke's direction of Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm' play is flawless from beginning to end - from the close quarters of the jail cell (and live security cam footage thanks to Sid Branca'…
Above all, WaistWatchers The Musical feels incredibly, sadly dated. Yes, women are still part of a patriarchy that values youth and beauty over everything else. Yes, dieting is still a multi…
With Edge of Life, playwright Joel Z. Cornfield penned a hospital dramedy in tribute to two family members who succumbed to death in different ways. But rather than a tribute to the dying, …
Right now, we could all use some big witch energy. Fortunately, there's no better place to find it than Writers Theatre's terrific production of Witch. Just in time for Halloween, playwrigh…
Zürich's five vignettes are all set in hotel rooms on the fortieth floor. In one room, a man sings with his penis out. In another, two children left alone make a horrifying discovery in the…
Celebrated campmaster Charles Ludlam's final play, The Artificial Jungle, is chock full of brutality " death by piranha, daily rat deliveries, hair that is almost offensively big " and thank…
Hope - Playwright Paula Vogel's genius is contained in her ability to bring it to every story. The characters in Indecent persist, making the ultimate sacrifices to experience the tiny momen…
