4,000 stories from Newcity Stage
When a new play is tackling a current social issue, for instance the tensions between atheists, gays and right-wing mega-churches, there is always a difficult line to walk between arguing an…
RECOMMENDED "Nasty, Brutish & Short" is a wonderful title if not a particularly apt one for this DIY evening of storefront puppet theater. A more accurate title might be "Charming, Sligh…
RECOMMENDED At first blush a play that is set at Christmastime may seem misplaced when presented a month later, but Grant James Varjas' play about grief in a gay bar, though by turns funny, …
RECOMMENDED As a dance form based on the most subtle, understated, imperceptibly small communication between lead and follow, Argentine tango doesn’t necessarily lend itself to perf…
What annoyed me most about City Lit's "Father Ruffian" is that it is something very old doing all it can to convince you that it is something new. By condensing Shakespeare's "Henry IV" Part…
Erica Mott's love for performance blossomed from her work in international development and foreign diplomacy. "I was working on microeconomics and microlending in Latin America," she says. "…
RECOMMENDED It's probably appropriate that a show called "The Table" constantly refers back to the fact that it takes place on, wait for it, a table. The frequent reminders are not only funn…
"Top Girls," a 1982 play by the prolific dramatist Caryl Churchill, begins with Marlene (Patricia Lavery) preparing to celebrate her promotion at the Top Girls employment agency in London wi…
RECOMMENDED When asked how Nexus Project performances are structured, Ben Wardell pulls a stack of little, hand-torn slips of paper from his pocket. On the floor of the rehearsal studio, he …
RECOMMENDED Two years ago, in an extended interview with Alejandro Cerrudo about the premiere of his first evening-length work, the conversation momentarily turned to a side project he had b…
RECOMMENDED A. Rey Pamatmat's luminous (and new-ish) play "Edith Can Shoot Things And Hit Them" has a spirit similar to the eighties classic "Stand By Me," only with one crucial difference. …
RECOMMENDED Self-schooled Broadway scribe, gifted theatrical gossip, and Jeff Award nominee Christopher Pazdernik offers up his second dose of Cult Classics-medicine, certain to heal the gre…
A flop is a painful thing for everyone concerned, but as with all adversity, there are lessons to be learned. So it is with this ten-car pileup of a play presented by the newborn Cor Theatre…
Check out RED. A membership for people in their 20s, RED is a totally flexible way to see mind-blowing theater at Steppenwolf. For just $100, the RED card gives you six tickets to use for an…
RECOMMENDED The publicity materials for "Lions in Illyria" boast that it is a "brand new comedy for the whole family," and Robert Kauzlaric's new adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth…
RECOMMENDED Aside from the constant presence of two very-well-made-up zombies (impressive work by costume and makeup designer Aly Renee Amidei) and an effectively creepy scene with on…
RECOMMENDED Steve J. Spencer's "Push Button Murder" starts out as a slice-of-life play, telling the tale of two bored drone pilots on a long shift doing surveillance around the world from th…
A new musical can often have some rough spots when it first sees the light of day. "Penny the F*ckable Dolphin: A Love Story" certainly has its share of them. This play by Kristina F…
By Raymond Rehayem "Go Fuck Yourself" is surely the most provocatively titled of the five Beau O'Reilly one-acts featured in the 26th Annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival. O'Reilly got a surpr…
RECOMMENDED "Sorry I'm dressed like an S&M nanny," Susan Messing announces in her smokily enticing voice as she takes the stage. She's introducing the weekly improv show in which she and…
Steppenwolf's AIRLINE HIGHWAY brings a party worth talking about to the stage. Set in New Orleans, this new world premiere production is a boisterous and moving ode to the outcasts who make …
RECOMMENDED Many Catholics could use a refresher course in good old Christian beliefs. And Lord knows some facets of religion can be so ridiculous that one has to laugh. For the last twenty-…
Steppenwolf's AIRLINE HIGHWAY brings a party worth talking about to the stage. Set in New Orleans, this new world premiere production is a boisterous and moving ode to the outcasts who make …
By Raymond Rehayem I am even less qualified to build a stage, rig lighting, or put up drywall than I am to put on some pasties and do burlesque. Actually I might look strangely alluring i…
Top 5 Plays of 2014 "Smokefall," Goodman Theatre "Newsies," Broadway In Chicago "The Midnight City," Firecat Projects at Steppenwolf Garage "Hedda Gabler," Writers Theatre "King Lear," Chica…
