Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt became casually acquainted while working as actors in Canadian theater. But it wasn't until they did a show together in which they both had to play classical piano that the actors realized they had much more in common.
Nora Ephron's "Imaginary Friends," which opened Thursday on Broadway with a cast headed by the individually splendid and wonderfully teamed actresses Swoosie Kurtz and Cherry Jones, is a hig…
Now it is headed for a three-city tour led by Brian Dennehy, who will be joined by Mia Farrow and Chad Lowe in Washington, D.C. (Jan. 14-19), and by Marlo Thomas in Boston (Jan. 21-Feb. 2) a…
The true test of "Seussical" is audience response, and I heard not a single excited giggle or delighted "ooh" or "ah" from any of the many children at the performance I attended.
Medea, Far Away, and Crowns.
In the end, the visual delights of this production outweigh its aural pleasures, and the crucial emotional heat that comes with big operatic voices is lacking. This "La Boheme" may be the eq…
Marisa Tomei will be spending a good bit of her summer in Chicago next year. The Academy Award-winning actress is slated for the title role in a revival of Neil Simon's musical comedy ''Swee…
In times of turmoil and uncertainty, there is nothing like a good dose of the ancient Greeks. And in Douglas Post's sensational new musical, "God and Country," now receiving a powerhouse wor…
If you arrive at Steppenwolf Theatre's American premiere of "I Just Stopped By to See the Man" expecting realism and revelation, you may be disappointed. On the other hand, if you consider t…
It's the early evening on a Friday in New York City, and Mark Bramble, who co-authored the book for the musical "42nd Street" has just returned from a whirlwind trip.
Includes the history and source for every song in "42nd Street."
Stand at the corner of Wacker and Madison these days and you will see Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" sharing Lyric Opera's gold-lit marquee with Richard Wagner's "Die Walkure." And that i…
With "Sweeney Todd" now at the Lyric Opera (with an Australian director), Puccini's "La Boheme" (re-envisioned by another Aussie director, Baz Luhrmann) headed for Broadway next month, and t…
For years after the 1979 Broadway debut of "Sweeney Todd,'' Stephen Sondheim's brilliantly grisly piece of musical theater about the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street,'' arguments raged about wh…
Well, you can forget Streisand now. At the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire they've got their girl, and she's a stunner. Her name is Heidi Kettenring. She's a Northwestern graduate who has p…
There were two openings Monday night: the premiere of Art Shay's memory play "Where Have You Gone, Jimmy Stewart?" at the American Theater Company and a revival of Joe Orton's pitch black co…
The production of new plays and the nurturing of fledgling writers are core missions of the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre.
Steppenwolf Theatre is very close to announcing a revival of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" for next season, with John Mahoney in a leading role and Gary Sinise directing.
Left in the dust Monday night were such major institutions as Steppenwolf and the Goodman.
When the new musical "Com-fortable Shoes" was extended for an additional two weeks, its producers and cast had high hopes. But in a reversal, producers announced Wednesday that the show, whi…
Plus news of Sondheim making an appearance in Chicago on November 18.