Monday, 26 May 2025 17:53
Evanston Salt Costs Rising: Stormy souls on salted streets at First Floor Theater
Written by Susan Lieberman
Recent Chicago-area winters have been relatively easy ones. Lest we forget howling blizzards or subzero temperatures, Will Arbery’s Evanston Salt Costs Climbing serves as a reminder. Director Micah Figueroa stages First Floor Theater’s production of this idiosyncratic play in a way that creates a deep freeze – visually, aurally and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 20 May 2025 16:05
Review: HONEYPOT: BLACK SOUTHERN WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston
Sarz Maxwell
HONEYPOT originated as a creative nonfiction book by E. Patrick Johnson, Dean of the School of Communication at Northwestern University. Johnson has a passion for oral history; for HONEYPOT he interviewed a number of Black Southern women, documented in his book of the same title. Johnson always imagined the work…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 20 May 2025 12:09
The Title Says it All in Conspirators Remarkable ‘Chicago Cop Macbeth’
Written by Bill Esler
It was a dark and stormy night as I motored to The Conspirators “Chicago Cop Macbeth,” with a fog of dust giving the streets an eerie feel. As the lights came up at the Otherworld Theater, the storm continued, the three witches of MacBeth gathered tightly around a fiery oil…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 17 May 2025 12:45
Blank Theatre’s SWEET CHARITY Charms with Talented Cast and Standout Choreography
Written by Lauren Katz
We are inside the Pompeii Club. From everything Charity has told us, the club is the place to be, and as the scene unfolds, it’s certainly no surprise. Costume Designer Cindy Moon does not hold back. The ensemble is dressed to the nines – full of dresses and jumpsuits that…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 13 May 2025 12:51
The Antiquities: A Thought-provoking Look at Today from the Future
Written by Betsy Schmitt
With AI and other technological advancements continuing to change the landscape of how we work and interact with one another, what does the future hold for humanity? What does it mean to be human in a world where robots and AI threaten to replace us? In his daring new work,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 13 May 2025 12:43
Riots of Laughter Greet World Premiere of 'R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots]'
Written by Bill Esler![Riots of Laughter Greet World Premiere of 'R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots]'](/media/k2/items/cache/63d6788acfa364724d695afe54efe853_S.jpg)
Riots of laughter greeted the City Lit Theater world premiere of “R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots]” Wait. Could this be the same 1920 science fiction play by Czech Karel Čapek? His 1937 science fiction piece at Trap Door Theater “The White Plague” was a serious treatment of public reaction to a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 11 May 2025 18:05
Cats pounces onto the Paramount stage taking the legendary musical to soaring new heights
Written by Kimberly Katz
I’ll just say it - Cats is going to blow your mind. Now running at the Paramount Theatre, this spectacular production elevates the famous musical to magnificent new heights—both figuratively and literally. While Cats has always been an extravagant, surreal whirlwind of theatrical magic, this version cranks up the spectacle…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Cats
- Paramount Theatre
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Trent Stork
- Lorenzo Rush Jr
- Emily Rohm
- Donovan Hoffer
- Hayley Larson
- Captain Christopher Kelley
- Matthew Weidenbener
- Gene Weygandt
- Allison Sill
- Tiffany Topol
- Alexandra Palkovic
- Jake DiMaggio Lopez
- Selena Robinson
- Christopher Kelley
- Sophie Liu David
- Memory
- Magical Mister Mistoffelees
- Musical
- Anakin Jace White
- Ryan Huemmer
Sunday, 11 May 2025 10:50
Trap Door's 'Galileo,' Beautifully Produced, Is a Knowing Parable for Our Times
Written by Bill Esler
“Galileo” written in 1938 by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, tells the straightforward story of the 17th century physicist and astronomer’s run-in with church authorities for asserting that the earth revolved around the sun. For this Galileo, played with Brechtian finesse by Trap Door’s David Lovejoy, was hauled before the Roman…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 11 May 2025 08:46
Humble and Radiant: Charlotte's Web at Greenhouse Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
The adage goes that you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends. Throughout our lives, we meet people we connect with who see the beauty and potential within us even when we can’t see it ourselves. People who simply get us. Friendship is one of the most…
Published in
Theatre in Review
More...
A fool and their money are soon parted as the old expression goes, but what do you do when that fool is your best friend? Yasmina Reza’s 1996 Tony Award winning play ‘Art’ explores the balance of opinion, influence and friendship. Under Marti Lyons’ direction, Remy Bumppo’s revival is a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Tuesday, 06 May 2025 20:29
A Chicago May Must See: Time Is A Color And The Color Is Blue at Bramble Arts Loft
Written by Kendall Royzen
If our day-to-day lives were a collective color, it would probably be the color blue. Whether you are feeling blue, have the blues, or are just Blue (Da Ba Dee), it’s the color most closely associated to feelings of sadness, of cold, depression, or loneliness. Not every day is going…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 04 May 2025 12:32
Hymn at Chicago Shakespeare Theater – A Soulful Exploration of Brotherhood
Written by Wesley David
Stories that explore the emotional lives of men—especially Black men—are still far too rare on the American stage. Outside the monumental works of August Wilson, narratives that center male vulnerability, intimacy, and connection remain the exception. Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn, now playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, is a welcome and moving…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 30 April 2025 14:54
Outrage Made Manifest in “Bust: An Afrocurrentist Play”
Written by Wesley David
Something extraordinary happens on a street in Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Woods (Keith Randolph Smith), a hard-working Black man in the community, is involved in a traffic stop with two cops (Mark Bedard and Jorge Luna) - a scene witnessed far too many times in America. But this time something strange…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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