Friday, 02 February 2024 19:34
A Cut Above; 'In The Heights' flies high at Marriot Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
On any given day, when I walk out my front door, I’d see a quiet suburban street. Most families stay within their, rarely venturing out unless the temperature is a cool-but-warm 70 degrees, content with their healthy skepticism of their neighbors, keeping to surface level ‘how-do-you dos’ or ‘how-is-the-family?’ There’s…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:38
A Champion’s Struggle: Sexuality and Power Collide in Terence Blanchard’s Opera
Written by Wesley David
Terence Blanchard's "Champion" delivers a powerful blow to the stage, not through physical force but with its emotional resonance. Based on the life of boxer, Emile Griffith, the opera is told through the memories of an older Griffith, (played by Reginald Smith, Jr.) Suffering from dementia and a lifetime of…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 25 January 2024 14:04
Jackalope Theatre Announces its 16th Season
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Jackalope Theatre Company is proud to announce its 16th season to be performed at its new home in Edgewater, Berger Park, 6205 N. Broadway Ave. The 2024 season includes the previously announced one-man thriller in rhyme, The Smuggler, February 16 – March 16, by Ronán Noone, directed by Gus Menary and starring Andrew Burden…
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Upcoming Theatre
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Monday, 29 January 2024 15:53
Pinteresque Playwright Deen is a Revelation with ‘Flood,’ a Comedy for the End of the World
Written by Bill Esler
Shattered Globe did its dramaturgy research very well, in bringing us the Chicago premiere of “Flood,” Mashuq Mushtaq Deen’s very funny, very fresh and highly relevant script. And boy does he have a gift for dialog. It is good, complex, and funny, and charged with barrels of meaning below that…
Published in
Theatre in Review
From the sunny shores of St. Thomas to the gritty streets of New York, from the violent brutality of the boxing ring to the raucous gay bar scene in the mid-1960s, Lyric Opera’s Champion is a sweeping saga of one man’s search for redemption and his true sexual identity. With…
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Theatre in Review
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"The Broads' Way," written and directed the one and only Ginger Minj herself, is a frolicsome foray through well-known Broadway musicals, from “Hamilton” to “The Sound of Music” (yes, you read that right: what does a drag queen do about Maria?!). In fact, the first piece was Gidget Galore singing…
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Theatre in Review
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Monday, 22 January 2024 10:38
Invictus Theatre Company Moves to Windy City Playhouse, Opens Feb. 13 with Pulitzer-winner Topdog/Underdog
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Invictus Theatre Company, the seven-year-old storefront theatre company who this past year was one of the most honored organizations at the Non-Equity Jeff Awards and then lost its venue in a July 2023 fire, has announced a new home and a four-play season for 2024. Invictus will move to the…
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Upcoming Theatre
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Saturday, 20 January 2024 15:29
Trap Door Excels in Skillful Production of Brecht’s 1939 Anti-war Themed ‘Mother Courage and her Children’
Written by Bill Esler
“Mother Courage and her Children,” written in 1939 by German playwright Bertolt Brecht has been a challenging play for me, and having seen it prior to this Trap Door Theatre production, I wondered why, along with “Threepenny Opera” (1928), it is so popular among theater companies and actors. But I…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 19 January 2024 14:28
Porchlight Music Theatre’s 'Anything Goes' Features Standout Cast
Written by Lauren Katz
To those familiar with Cole Porter’s 1930s musical, you may recognize the opening notes as the live orchestra begins to play the title number. Reno Sweeney (played with dazzle by Meghan Murphy) bounds on stage, and the Opening Night crowd erupts in cheers. Sweeney takes in the applause and adoration…
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Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 20 December 2023 17:06
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY is On Sale
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Broadway In Chicago and Runaway Entertainment are pleased to announce that individual tickets for Girl From The North Country will be on sale tomorrow, Friday, December 15. Ticket prices will range from $35 - $119 with a select number of premium tickets available. Girl From The North Country will perform a strictly limited engagement…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 26 December 2023 14:08
SHREK: THE MUSICAL – lots of jolly and its own shade of green
Written by Susan Lieberman
Sometimes you just need to go green. No, not a vegan diet and compostable paper plates, though a little more of each would help the planet. Go green with Shrek: The Musical, which runs through the end of 2023 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. Music Theater Works’…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 27 December 2023 12:08
SHREK: THE MUSICAL—a Holiday Spectacular with a Moral to its Story
Sarz Maxwell
I wasn’t sure what to expect, not being an aficionado of animated / cartoon shows, but I figured hey, what the heck – it’s Christmas! And as it happens I have lots of good things to say about Music Theatre Works’ “Shrek: The Musical.” It fits the bill for a…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 23 December 2023 13:33
“Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker,” is a revelation, an absolutely delightful spectacle
Written by Bill Esler
“Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker,” is a revelation, an absolutely delightful spectacle that may open for you a world of riches in music, choreography, and costumes—it did for me. Just as the 1892 Tchaikovsky “Nutcracker Ballet” is a holiday dream told in dance, so is this new Americanized (and to…
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Theatre in Review
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