It will be an interesting to see if Sherman's alt-comedy instincts will flourish within "SNL's" more conventional environment.
When the stand-up comedian Mo'Nique comes to The Improv this weekend, she will be baring some of her inner flaws. "I have an outline," she said, "but I've never done the same show twice in 3…
"I almost didn't make it here," Leslie Odom Jr. said in his Tony acceptance speech in 2016. There's a story behind that, and he tells it here. It's almost impossible to imagine anyone else o…
Assistant to Chief Boden on the long-running NBC hit "Chicago Fire," the no-nonsense Connie, played by DuShon Monique Brown, always keeps everyone in check. On Friday, Brown died a little af…
According to Forbes magazine, Sebastian Maniscalco was the 10th highest paid comedian last year at $15 million " and he's done it all without a TV series to boost his profile. Born and raise…
In the new Brett Neveu play "Traitor," a small-town Illinois teacher discovers soil near the school is contaminated with lead and it's affecting the kids. Someone is profiting off this unwel…
Everything in Robin Thede's career has been building to this moment. On Thursday, her weekly show "The Rundown with Robin Thede" will enter the fray of late-night TV comedy when it premieres…
A middle-aged man in work boots, a worn baseball cap and a thick plaid shirt sits in police custody after the death of his wife. We hear only one side of the conversation, but that's all we …
"Saturday Night Live" has been auditioning performers this month, as it does every August, with an eye to adding people to its cast and writing staff. A number of Chicagoans have flown out t…
Like any genre, non-fiction films rely on tropes. At the Annoyance Theatre, "Life in 35mm: An Improvised Documentary" aims to satirize "popular, self-important documentaries and the characte…
Testosterone coats everything in its path in playwright Richard Montoya's "Water & Power." The story of twin brothers " one a cop, one a state senator " locked in a downfall of their own mak…
In these dark and chaotic times, who isn't in the mood for something ridiculous and silly? Few theater companies have as long a history with outrageous parody as Hell in a Handbag. My favori…
Though a comedy centered around grasping power plays and Washington ineptitude, "Veep" has always had a quiet Chicago undercurrent to it. A lot of that has to do with the cast, a majority of…
It's been more than 15 years since 9/11 and the offspring of men and women first deployed to Iraq and its surrounding areas are now themselves old enough to enlist and serve " in the very sa…
Here's a true story: At age 14, Tami Maida earned a roster spot on her high school football team in Oregon. She played quarterback and took hits " so many that she later told a local newspap…
Why are bees disappearing? A pair of scientists " one a biologist, the other a statistician " think they've found the answer in playwright Madhuri Shekar's "Queen" (in a world premiere at Vi…
A sport like roller derby is rooted in constant movement " the non-stop churning, the gliding, the speed " so you're going to have a tough time capturing its appeal if you remove the wheels.…
The twin sisters of "Peerless" " beautiful, Asian, poised, superlative, intense " have only one thing on the mind: college. Not just any college, but an institution of such prestige and aspi…
Early in "Death of a Salesman," it is late at night and an exhausted Willy Loman arrives home having not made it to even one of his sales calls that day. The end is nigh for Willy, that's cl…
Chicago improviser and stand-up comedian Shannon Noll will play the title charater in the new stage show "Barron Trump: Up Past Bedtime," opening Saturday at The Revival in Hyde Park. "It…
Wealth tends to inoculate the most sour of personalities, allowing them to dodge the comeuppance that comes barreling down on the rest of us who are without the means to wrap ourselves in a …
As we close out the year, a look back at some of the top theater shows I saw this year. "American Buffalo" by Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company in February: This company's final performance befor…
An actor portraying Oscar Wilde doesn't have to look like him for the performance to work, but it can help, and Chicago performer Jamie Bragg does resemble him to a degree. We know this beca…
The year is 1982 and Mr. Camp himself Paul Lynde has just kicked the bucket right before he was supposed to tape a Christmas TV special. His fill-in, fresh off a stint at rehab, is Rip Nelso…
There are all kinds of juicy, anxiety-plumbing metaphors buried within zombie stories, but what you don't expect is something as sedate as Factory Theater's "Zombie Broads," which is as iner…