2,260 stories from Chicago Theater Beat
As a piece of storytelling, Objects in the Mirror is riveting. Playwright Charles Smith's world premiere drama about a Liberian refugee is so fraught with tension that it makes you forget to…
It's tough to find words to describe the the vocal magnificence and dramatic intensity of Paramount Theatre's extraordinary production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) …
La Havana Madrid clearly is a labor of love for Sandra Delgado and Teatro Vista, but is never self-indulgent. Rather, it's a much-needed history lesson for some, a relatable reflection for o…
If phenomenal songs and excellent performances were enough to save a show, Underscore Theatre's world premiere My Name Is Annie King would have a higher rating from me. Unfortunately, the cu…
Director Michael Pogue is clearly emotionally invested, but overwhelmed starting with Kia Corthron's heavy, meaningful play. It's unfortunate, because Eclipse Theatre's Force Continuum conta…
There's no denying that My Fair Lady is a sonic masterpiece. For a gloriously full-throated, lushly orchestrated rendition of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's 1956 classic, the Lyric Op…
With 3C, David Adjmi deconstructs the inherent hatefulness of the 70's sitcom Three's Company. Watch the show today, and you'll cringe at how it dehumanizes gay men, turning them into nothi…
There's not a child in the land who wouldn't love Disney's Aladdin. The music is terrific, from the adventuresome romance of "Whole New World," to the splendor-on-steroids treasure cave glam…
Frank Loesser's score has some fine moments, Adam Veness' vineyard set is impressive, and newcomer Molly Hernandez' powerful soprano and radiant stage presence is a huge new talent who seems…
Madhuri Shekar's Queen a is fascinating, provacative world premiere about the science and research surrounding bee ecology. The dialogue is witty and insightful that delves both the sense a…
In Porchlight Music Theatre's 70-minutes two-hander romance of Stephen Sondheim out-takes, Austin Cook and Bethany Thomas deliver sonic wonders and emotional depth. The songs of Marry Me a L…
Playwright Tracy Letts certainly knows how to deliver dialogue that's balanced on a razor-wire between edgy and Neil Simon. With Linda Vista, he's does this deftly, scoring numerous audience…
Director Marti Lyons deploys a deft hand with Bathsheba Doran's The Mystery of Love and Sex. She keeps the pacing taut and elegantly navigates the thin line between humor and pathos. What sh…
In making her persona the star of her world premiere drama King of the Yees, playwright Lauren Yee has created a meta-format to explore her relationship with her father. This genre-melding i…
Make no mistake - Odysseo is breathtaking from start to finish. Starring 65 horses and 48 human aerialists, acrobats and riders, the tech-heavy production is a staggeringly beautiful and imp…
After a rather uneventful first act, Born Yesterday picks up the steam of a runaway downhill freight train in the second act, powering through to a finale that feels downright prophetic. Pla…
Kokandy director Lili-Anne Brown takes a literal stance on The Wiz, billing it as an urbanization of L. Frank Baum's beloved tale, setting it in the amongst the graffiti-strewn Kansas Homes.…
In To America is a stark, complex and emotional reminder of what truly makes America great, with stories ranging from heartbreaking to funny and everything in between: scrappy street urchins…
It's been over a century since the publishing of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, the seminal, muckraking expose of working conditions in Chicago's stockyards. Alexander Zeldin's Beyond Caring …
With Goodman Theatre's Destiny of Desire, playwright Karen Zacarias might have invented a new theatrical genre. The unabashedly histrionic production is part Greek tragedy, part frantic sex …
Over the course of 85 minutes, I was totally immersed in the action - when the characters jumped, I jumped. I gasped when a knock on the door signaled a turning point in their collective fat…
Court Theatre's The Hard Problem, by Tom Stoppard, is sleek, smart and beguiling. Director Charles Newell's sharp and luminous cast keeps you engaged both intellectually and emotionally, eve…
Sideshow Theatre's truth and reconciliation isn't perfect, but it is incredibly ambitious. On the whole it succeeds, exploring the nuance and humanity behind conflicts small and large. With …
Always teeming with enthusiastic and grateful fans, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a belated Christmas gift to Chicago. Dancers who defy gravity, choreographers who make thoughtful an…
Shakespeare's Henry V is one of the more beloved history plays, and Babes With Blades seeks to give the script a modern twist with an all-female cast and realistic stage violence, as Directo…
