Theater
Reviews of Chicago’s stage shows and news from the actors and actresses putting on the performances.
The ensemble storyline captures not just a time and place, but a core theme playwright August Wilson continued to express throughout his Century Cycle.
‘Mamma Mia!’ at the Nederlander Theatre, the spring One of a Kind Show at the Mart, and the Joffrey Ballet’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” are among some of the entertainment highlights in the week ahead.
Mary Zimmerman’s ‘Magic Flute,’ a concert by Nashville’s Sarah Jarosz and the Chicago Botanic Garden’s orchid show are among the entertainment highlights in the week ahead.
The musical will be staged in the late singer’s hometown at the State Theatre.
The accolades mark the 50th anniversary of the Chicago theater awards, which recognize excellence in non-Equity productions on local stages.
Tight-knit Afghani family faces agonizing choices in wartime drama set in 2013.
Sufjan Stevens’ album becomes a highly emotional dance theater piece at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
Director Kenneth Prestininzi’s canny production is also tinged with a sliver of ominousness.
It’s evident from the thrilling opening sequence that director James Vasquez has captured the brimming, crowded heart of the musical.
The veteran TV actress delivers a hugely real and hugely personal — albeit mysterious — tale as she performs in the play at the Goodman Theatre.
‘Richard III’ at Chicago Shakespeare, Madonna at the United Center and ‘Circusville’ at Chicago Children’s Museum are among the highlights in the week ahead.
Director Justin Peck says it took some five years of lobbying for the singer-songwriter to allow use of music from his acclaimed 2005 set ‘Illinois.’
Rivera first gained wide notice in 1957 as Anita in the original Broadway production of “West Side Story.”
Composer Terence Blanchard’s work effectively pairs young and old versions of fighter Emile Griffith, who struggled with male identity and the aftermath of a knockout that proved deadly.
While Delany has carved out a successful career in film and television, new creative possibilities keep bringing her back to live theater.
“Hopefully he would say we got it right to a large degree. ... To show the humanity in him was important to the story,” Blanchard says of the late Griffith, the subject of his 2013 opera.
Current Managing Director/COO John Collins is set to take over as executive director beginning in September.
The ‘Illinoise’ musical, the boxing opera ‘Champion’ and a background singer’s headlining concert are among the entertainment highlights of the week ahead.
Director dado’s acute ear for finding humanity in absurdity is invaluable here.
A pair of uber-talented queens deliver a production that needs just a bit more polish.
For this revival, the company has brought back a fun, whimsical and heartwarming production of Rossini’s take on the classic fairy tale.
Porchlight Music Theatre’s production is an ideal escape from the winter blahs.
The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, a play starring Dana Delany and a ‘Ted Lasso’ star’s comedy shows are among the entertainment highlights of the week ahead.
Intricate figures leap, dance and do battle in ‘Song of the North,’ one of the shows featured in the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, kicking off Jan. 18.
After nearly two years of negotiating, instructors at the storied Old Town theater reached an agreement with Second City leadership and suspended plans for a strike that had been set to start Tuesday.
The Fillet of Solo Festival, Allison Russell in concert, and MLK Day celebrations are among the entertainment highlights in the week ahead.
If picketing begins Tuesday, ‘it’s extremely possible’ that actors and stage managers could refuse to cross the line, says a spokesman for their union.
Performers are mystifying audiences in an elegant downtown basement, a former Rogers Park vaudeville house and even a Lincoln Square gelato shop.
The tap-dancing icon, whose younger brother Gregory Hines was also a dance legend, died at the Actors Fund Home, an assisted-living facility in Englewood, New Jersey.
Nussbaum died Saturday at his Chicago home, just days before his 100th birthday.
It’s “The Nutcracker” to a totally different beat, and thoroughly entertaining.
The Young Playwrights Festival, Smokey Robinson in concert, winter flower shows, and Handel’s “Messiah” at Symphony Center are among the highlights in the coming weeks.