WHEN THE MESSAGE OUTSHOUTS THE DRAMA Keith Szarabajka’s timely war drama is fueled by conviction but overwhelmed by its own rhetoric Slava Ukraini! (Or Waiting for Elon) by Keith Szarabajk…
A good music video has much in common with a stage performance. Both ask the audience to follow an emotional arc while sound, movement, light, and timing work together. The scale may be diff…
SACRIFICE WITHOUT SENTIMENT Alicia Mason delivers a fearless performance in a modern tragedy that refuses easy sympathy Gary Owen‘s Iphigenia in Splott transplants Euripides’ Iphigenia i…
STAY GOLD, GREASERS This gripping musical adaptation honors its beloved source while finding an emotional life all its own S.E. Hinton’s first novel, The Outsiders, written while she was s…
A CRACK IN THE ORDINARY Four remarkable performances make the leap from surrealism to domestic drama worthwhile Marina Carr’s Marble, now in its Chicago premiere at the Copernicus Center a…
DOUBLE VISION DONE RIGHT A stellar cast, stylish staging, and a jazzy score make this rarely produced musical well worth revisiting Despite winning six Tony Awards and eight Drama Desk Award…
SACRED GROUND, SHIFTING FOOTING Bubba Weiler’s quietly affecting drama finds two boys questioning far more than their faith For generations, serving as an altar boy has been one of the mos…
A FRESH SLICE OF NOSTALGIA The cross-country tour is ready to win over a whole new crowd When Mystic Pizza played La Mirada Theatre in 2024, Stage and Cinema found it charming, energetic, an…
Two Chicago-born musicals are rewriting the conventional wisdom about what it means for a show to succeed. The Notebook had its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2022 and is n…
SOME ENCHANTMENT REQUIRED Thirty years on, Commonwealth Shakespeare still knows how to charm a crowd A lot is unknown about William Shakespeare, including the order and dates in which he wro…
WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A PAY TOILET This irreverent musical entertains while refusing to let its audience off the hook After more than 25 years of producing fun, hip musicals all …
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY SOUNDS Audible Theater’s immersive headphone horror transforms the oldest ghost story trick into a chilling theatrical experience Imagine listening to an audioboo…
THE STORY GOES ON—AND IT SHOULD The American Songbook Association celebrates Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire while reaffirming why America’s great songwriting tradition deserves to e…
NO PASSING THE TRUTH John Donnelly’s drama examines the devastating cost of repression, secrecy, and the life that might have been The American premiere of John Donnelly‘s The Pass (orig…
A WORLD OF DANCE IN TEN DAYS Eleven premieres and an extraordinary range of artists make New York City Center’s annual festival one of the season’s most rewarding events. For more than t…
ALL ABOUT EVE… WITH JAZZ HANDS Bruce Kimmel’s affectionate revival proves that a sturdy backstage classic and a committed cast can still earn plenty of applause, even when there are rese…
“Can we just get the song without the singer on it?” Every music director has fielded that sentence, usually from a producer, usually on a Tuesday, usually about a number that opens in e…
Broadway just closed out its biggest season on record. The 2025-2026 season grossed $1.91 billion and drew roughly 14.6 million attendees, the first time attendance has climbed past pre-pand…
PURSUIT OF TOO MUCH HAPPINESS At Zach Theatre, Suzan-Lori Parks’ ambitious play-within-a-play has plenty to argue about, but its self-consciousness too often gets in the way of its drama. …
CRAM SESSION, CRASH COURSE Natalie Margolin’s sharply observed comedy captures the fleeting intensity of college friendships Natalie Margolin’s All Nighter, which opened Off-Broadway in …
ALL ABOARD THE S.S. SEX FARCE These gender-liberated pirates need to boink more and bicker less On the deck of the pirate ship Revenge, a buxom young lass leads a blindfolded young man to a …
A PILL THAT’S HARD TO SWALLOW Chance Theater’s committed cast sells the songs in this jukebox musical, but can’t overcome a sprawling script When Alanis Morissette released Jagged Litt…
Ask the producer of a 99-seat show or a festival short what disappears first when the budget tightens, and the answer is rarely the one audiences would predict. Costumes survive. Lighting su…
FARCE MAJEURE This inventive adaptation trades reverence for revelry, with hilarious results Not everything ages well: milk, dress codes, and comedies are among the many things that are ofte…
SHOPPING FOR LAUGHS Jonathan Tolins’ delicious one-man comedy turns retail therapy into theatrical therapy A special kind of theatre magic occurs when a comedic play can live in the perfec…