4,000 stories from Newcity Stage
RECOMMENDED There is a good deal of talk about equations in Leigh Fondakowski's "Spill." Some are concrete, others highly theoretical. Yet the most impactful is, unsurprisingly, the simplest…
RECOMMENDED One of the best things about theater is that it can carry you away to an unusual or even bizarre world and immerse you within its wild environs. I am a big fan of shows that crea…
RECOMMENDED Last night, after making the trek to and from Glencoe, my girlfriend and I walked to our local grocery store for a snack. Standing before a formidable display of pears, I asked, …
RECOMMENDED George Bernard Shaw once said that there were only two ways a theatrical production could be successful. On one hand, the show could be timeless, dealing with themes that will al…
Bringing classic literature to life is always a challenge. Those challenges are especially clear in Steppenwolf for Young Adults' production of "1984.” Directed by Hallie Gordon, this …
RECOMMENDED In "Tribulation: The Musical," playing now in iO's Mission Theater, mankind's worst fears are confirmed"the world is burning and murderous Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride the str…
RECOMMENDED Clear vision and attention to detail can be seen throughout Pride Films & Plays' newest production, "Design for Living" by Noël Coward. Once the biggest hit on Broadway, t…
RECOMMENDED The Chicago Children's Theatre's production of "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" is one of the rare family friendly offerings actually capable of entertaining the whole f…
RECOMMENDED Not knowing what to expect while standing outside in the drizzle, waiting to be allowed into the Dream Laboratory, it is difficult not to stuff down the tittering giggle that hau…
RECOMMENDED I remember being furious as a child when my mother threatened to find an etiquette class for me to attend. She seemed charmed by the idea of having a well-mannered little girl an…
RECOMMENDED If you take the events surrounding Virginia Woolf's suicide, turn them into an art installation, and then plummet her updated self into a "No Exit"-like Hell, then you have a ger…
Audience members without their sea legs might be cautioned that Mary Zimmerman's new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" could leave them feeling queasy. For when young …
RECOMMENDED In a world where "Serial" became one of the most highly consumed pieces of media last year, a play that tackles investigative podcasting seems a natural target for a theater comp…
RECOMMENDED The final installment of Khecari’s five-year performance cycle takes place this fall and brings us back to the five-by-eight-foot pit that was the set for last year̵…
"Unspeakable" by James Murray Jackson, Jr. can be summed up in one word: inexplicable. Sure, the play is loosely based on the life story of Richard Pryor. Sure, Jackson's portrayal of Pryor …
Newcomer Kelly Anderson follows up her Chicago dance theater debut “Message Me If…” with another evening-length show at Links Hall, this time inspired not by the trials and…
Depression is a difficult thing to bring to the stage. Not only is it a topic that is wrapped in denial and stigma, it is also deeply internal, and therefore difficult to embody in an outwar…
My favorite part of Sherlock Holmes' stories is always when, after Holmes relays a long list of facts about an individual's life, he breaks down how he gleaned each and every fact from the t…
RECOMMENDED Hubbard Street dedicates their entire fall program to the great William Forsythe, reviving “Quintett,” sinking their chops into all-male quartet “N.N.N.N.…
RECOMMENDED Among the many wonders presented by magicians David Parr and Joe Diamond, the most impressive trick the night I attended was pretty much filling up the house on Wednesday evening…
The last time that actress Katherine Keberlein and director Max Truax collaborated together, the result was Oracle's Jeff-Award winning production of Bertolt Brecht's "The Mother," with Kebe…
RECOMMENDED America is known as the Great Melting Pot. It's a place where people come to have a better life, dream big dreams and do what they can to help them come true. However, it also ha…
RECOMMENDED The Savoyaires celebrated their fiftieth anniversary last year. They've been doing Gilbert & Sullivan operettas for a long time, and that half century of practice has ensured…
When I attend a sketch comedy show, I want to walk away having enjoyed myself. I also want to be able to tell people about the sketches that I just saw. You know, in that same sort of way th…
RECOMMENDED The Dead Writers Theatre Collective focuses on presenting classic pieces in the style and ethos of the period in which they were first produced, and they do so with great verve a…
