2,260 stories from Chicago Theater Beat
Between the distracting set design, the plot holes and the ultimately ineffective performances by the rest of the cast, The New Colony's world-premiere Punk is a weak endeavor. (review by Ca…
Million Dollar Quartet is irresistible. Set in 1956 during the only recording session when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins were all in the same room, the juke-bo…
Heavens is a powerful play, wonderfully cast, brilliantly directed, beautifully played by an outstanding ensemble of talented actors. It centers around a pivotal period of the Civil War in 1…
For most of Northlight Theatre's The Legend of Georgia McBride, audiences are treated to a whacky, audience-pleasing comedy. The plot goes for guffaws by showing the whacky plight of a stra…
It doesn't matter if you don't know Rembrandt from Renoir, Manet from Monet. In its exploration of why art moves us " and moves us to take extraordinary measures to preserve it through eons …
Court Theatre's Five Guys Named Moe looks and sounds terrific. Set designer Courtney O'Neill has ingeniously turned the stage into the inside of a old time radio, and sound designer Victoria…
Despite some shortcomings, world-premiere Alias Grace is well worth seeing. The story of Grace Mark is powerful both as history and as a commentary on history. Rivendell Theatre hasn't captu…
Under Kevin Bellie's direction, Bullets Over Broadway does have moments of charm. But between these bright spots, the acting aesthetic is cartoons on hyperdrive " loud and garish enough to o…
There's a pall of suffocating dread woven through director Ivo Van Hove's galvanizing take on Arthur Miller's 1955 classic A View From the Bridge. Set in the 1950s, the story about immigrati…
You sorta have to love the rare musical like Marriott Theatre's Honeymoon in Vegas that sets a world we know to music. Sure, it's based on a 25-year-old film comedy, but the targets of this …
Rock of Ages just might be the most shamelessly pandering musical since, oh, the late 1980s. It revels in boobie and poop jokes and stratospherically over-the-top characters. And it's that v…
The story of The Toad Knew " if there is one " is left to the audience to create within their own minds. The performers " a quintet starring creator James Thierrée " are a group of dancers/…
An engaging performer, Minita Gandhi plays over a dozen characters in what initially feels like a fairly predictable story of generational and cultural differences. But roughly two-thirds of…
In expanding the story of the short film to a full length (two-hour, including intermission) stage musical, writer Dan Collins and composer Julianne Wick Davis have kept the warmly comic ton…
Forbidden love, war and deception are all present in the story of playwright John Millington Synge's Deiredre of the Sorrows (which hasn't been professionally produced in Chicago in a centur…
Known for their innovative, quality work, Kokandy Productions knocks Bonnie & Clyde out of the park, as director Spencer Neiman and team overcome some of the source material's flaws wit…
Theater Faction's One Thousand Words is a musical drama that began life under the title Maybe, Someday at Louisiana State University in 2014, where the young writers Michael Braud and Curran…
For Gregory Peters adaptation from the 1896 French play by Alfred Jarry, a satirical exploration of power, greed and evil practices, The Plagiarists bring King Ubu to America, where power, g…
Armed with a ton of greasepaint and rouge, and rolls upon rolls of crimson ribbon, Black Button Eyes' production of Shockheaded Peter at the Athenaeum is a marvelous homespun outing, and not…
The CiviliTy of Albert Cashier has the bones of a solid production: a sad but compelling true story, dynamic lead performers and a beautiful score. However, it still feels like a work-in-pro…
Rough House Theater Company specializes in physical theater and puppetry, and their world premiere of Cicada Summer seamlessly fuses both with a sweet coming-of-age tale involving thirteen-y…
Route 66 Theatre's A Funny Thing Happened... has an excellent cast that almost (but not quite) make up for the script's flaws. One wishes playwright Halley Feiffer had a better critique part…
Although there are excellent performances throughout, Barbecue still, overall, feels false - and not in a deep, thought-provoking way. One can sense Playwright Robert O'Hara's desperation to…
The Audience is a must-see for fans of the British monarchy, the Windsor family and strong women in leadership roles. The production's acting is overall excellent, with TimeLine and Chicago …
Always a demanding musical to produce, this Gypsy is a huge production by any standards. Rudy Hogenmiller, Clayton Cross and Roger Bingaman lead an accomplished cast of 31 performers (that i…
