"People must be amused, squire, somehow," observes Mr. Sleary in Charles Dickens' "Hard Times." "They can't be always a-working, nor yet they can't be always a-learning." Exactly. Go Cubs. S…
Meat pies will be served on stage and off this spring at the No Exit Cafe, where Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre will present an environmental staging of "Sweeney Todd" set in a pie shop. The st…
Steve Scott will receive a special Jeff Award at the Equity ceremony in November, the Jeff Awards committee announced Monday. Scott, a longtime artistic associate of Goodman Theatre, will be…
Across the years, like a low-rent Javert, I've felt the need to protect Chicago audiences from even a moment in a "Les Miserables" that dared to be less than emotionally devastating. Friday …
In December 2015, comedian and Chicago-area native Cameron Esposito recorded her first comedy special ("Marriage Material") at Chicago's Thalia Hall just two days before marrying fellow comi…
Luke Burbank, a frequent panelist on NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!," will bring a live taping of his radio show "Live Wire" to Chicago. Guests for the Chicago stop include Cards Against…
In Eric Barry's now infamous "Goodbye Chicago" manifesto published in the Huffington Post, the aspiring comic aired all of Chicago's dirty laundry " laying out the idiosyncrasies of a place …
Waiting for the opening applause to die down after he's taken the stage for the first of two shows on Friday night at the Chicago Theatre, comedian Jim Gaffigan " currently making the rounds…
Warning: Spoilers ahead Brown Paper Box Co. co-founder Michelle Kritselis has some play money, thanks to a second-place finish on Friday's episode of "Jeopardy." Kritselis, a managing editor…
The title of Ayad Akhtar's 2014 play, "The Invisible Hand," now in its Chicago premiere at the Steep Theatre, pays homage to Adam Smith. The great economist coined the metaphor in the middle…
"We are what we repeatedly do," said writer Will Durant, describing Aristotle's observations on the effects of practice. We now understand this as the principle of specificity. If you want t…
Richard Thaler, the University of Chicago economist from the Booth School of Business who won the Nobel Prize on Monday, is an economist we cultural pontificates can love. Why? Simple. His w…
Some baby boomer men manage to stand tall and lean, rock solid with sensual certitude in their seventh or eighth decade " their masculinity reconstructed with new sensitivities but in no way…
As part of his 2018 budget proposal, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will propose major changes in the city amusement tax that will newly exempt midsize entertainment venues such as Thalia Hall a…
It's been a bumpy ride for Trevor Noah. When he took over "The Daily Show" in September 2015, he was the interloper, the slick young " and let's not forget, foreign " guy getting the job tha…
On the night of the presidential election, Tara Aisha Willis was in New York with a few friends as the results barreled in. One friend turned to her. "You have to take the job," she said. "Y…
A street sign marking the corner of Augusta Boulevard and Noble Street adorns the stage at Merle Reskin Theatre " a nod to the West Town community that inspired DePaul University's fall chil…
At Monday's moving memorial for former Steppenwolf Theatre artistic director Martha Lavey, many beautiful pictures of the late actress and cultural leader were displayed. One especially haun…
Global climate change, cataclysmic hurricanes, the threat of world war " with headlines like those, who wouldn't want to escape to the theater? Kidding aside, Remy Bumppo has picked a fine t…
A number of Chicago theater performers will appear in a one-night-only concert to benefit Puerto Rico. The lineup will include performances by E. Faye Butler, Donica Lynn, Alexis J. Roston, …
A funny thing on happened on the way to Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher's triumphant fall comedy tour that would have been supported, in a sense, by the upcoming second season of the marri…
Broken Nose Theatre has announced its 2018 season, which will include three world premiere productions. First up on the lineup is Michael Allen Harris' "Kingdom" (March 2-31), a comedy about…
The New Colony's founding members and co-artistic directors Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder will step down from their positions in January at the end of the company's current season, it was a…
Come and meet those dancing feet. Drury Lane Theatre announced the complete cast of "42nd Street" Wednesday. The production will star Suzzanne Douglas as Dorothy Brock, Gene Weygandt as Juli…
Friday "Les Miserables": Do you hear those French revolutionaries sing? The national tour of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg's epic musical makes its Chicago stop. Through Dec. 2 a…