I’ve never seen Cirque and have always longed to. It was SO worth the wait! Here’s what I saw: Color. And light. And color. And music (Berna Ceppas Composer and Musical Director) – or sound, any road -- Sound Designer Jonathan Deans says, “I need the audience to know they…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 22 February 2025 15:35
Review: ‘Hedda Gabler’ at The Artistic Home at The Den Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
‘Hedda Gabler’ has mystified audiences for generations, as this was certainly Ibsen’s intention when creating this endlessly fascinating character. The Artistic Home transforms the Den Theatre into 1890s Norway for their production of Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe’s 2015 adaptation of ‘Hedda Gabler’. Under Monica Payne’s direction, this contemporary-voiced retelling is…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 22 February 2025 10:59
Get It While It’s Hot: Waitress now serving at Paramount Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
Sugar, butter, flour…beneath the flaky layers and buttery crusts of pies lay these three simple ingredients. They’re mixed and blended together to form the foundation of endless possibilities to what it could become, pecan, blueberry, or apple pies, cutie pies, sweetie pies, or humble pies. It’s nice to remember that…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 17 February 2025 15:24
A new "cult" classic: Missy Mazzoli's The Listeners comes to Lyric Opera, Mar 30
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Do you hear it? The haunting hum of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's The Listeners will transfix audiences at Lyric Opera of Chicago from March 30 to April 11, 2025. Conducted by Music Director Enrique Mazzola and presented in the world-premiere production of Lileana Blain-Cruz revived by Mikhaela Mahony, The Listeners is a theatrical…
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Thursday, 20 February 2025 12:57
'Clue' The Hilarious Whodunit Brings Mystery Mayhem to CIBC Theatre
Written by CJ Burroughs
I’m not a fan of board games. I’ve never finished a full game of Monopoly. Risk? No, thanks. But Clue? I’ve loved it since I saw the ‘80s film version as a kid. And ever since, the movie and the game have been inseparable and intertwined in my mind. The…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 17 February 2025 16:04
Reaching New Heights: Radvanovsky is Radiant at the Lyric Opera
Written by Kendall Royzen
Do not believe the hype. AI will not replace the arts. By its very definition it is artificial, the antithesis of reality; false, an illusion, an imitator. Every day we are inundated with the advent of AI, how it will not only automate manual tasks, but how it will soon…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 12 February 2025 13:10
Delightful ‘Circus Quixote’ Marks Lookingglass Triumphant Return to Water Tower
Written by Bill Esler
“Don Quixote of La Mancha” is considered the oldest European novel, but it gets a fresh and exciting new treatment in “Circus Quixote." This is Lookingglass Theatre’s inaugural reopening after a year off while it retooled its much loved Water Tower Pumping Station location at Michigan and Pearson in Chicago.…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 15 February 2025 00:43
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical - How a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn gave us the songs that defined a generation
Written by Kimberly Katz
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a captivating tribute to the extraordinary journey of Carole King, tracing her path from a teenage songwriter to an iconic solo artist. The production delves into her personal and professional evolution, highlighting the creation of timeless classics like "It Might As Well Rain Until…
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Theatre in Review
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- Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
- Beautiful
- Carole King
- Drury Lane
- Samantha Gershman
- Alex Benoit
- Alexandra Palkovic
- Andrew MacNaughton
- Rebekah Ward
- Michael Lawrence Brown
- Jane Lanier
- Gerry McIntyre
- Carolyn Brady
- Alana Lovely
- Maxwell J DeTogne
- Lydia Burke
- Ryan Michael Armstrong
- THe Monkees
- The Shirelles
- The Righteous Brothers
Monday, 10 February 2025 10:04
Court Theatre’s "A Raisin in the Sun": Bold Choices, Timeless Struggles
Written by Wesley David
Like the dream deferred in Langston Hughes' poem that inspired its title, Court Theatre's latest production of "A Raisin in the Sun" simmers, sags, and occasionally explodes with raw intensity. Director Gabrielle Randel-Bent's contemporary vision crackles with urgency, even as it wrestles with the delicate balance between modern resonance and…
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Monday, 10 February 2025 10:53
Review: 'Fool for Love' at Steppenwolf Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
Love is often jokingly referred to as a socially acceptable form of insanity, but in Sam Shepard’s ‘Fool for Love’ – social acceptability is an afterthought. Steppenwolf is especially known for their revivals of Shepard’s plays, and under Jeremy Herrin’s direction, their revival of ‘Fool for Love’ is as good…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 06 February 2025 12:55
Northlight Theatre’s production of 'The Heart Sellers' is Charming and Heartfelt
Written by Lauren Katz
It’s still fairly early in the evening. At this point, the turkey is in the oven, and Jane and Luna are each a couple sips into their bottle of wine. Conversation is nervous. The two women still do not know each other too well, and while Luna is ready with…
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Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 00:15
'Mr. Parker' at Open Space Arts: A Thoroughly Outstanding Theatrical Journey
Sarz Maxwell
Open Space Arts presents a premiere performance of Michael McKeever’s MR PARKER. Like everything I’ve seen at Open Space Arts (OSA), the acting was superlative: kudos to Andrew Kain Miller (Terry), Riley Capp (Justin), and Mary Ann Bowman (Cassie)! and their maneuverability in the confined space displayed expert blocking by…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 03 February 2025 20:51
Baldwin Vs. Buckley: How Have We Changed in 60 Years?
Written by Bill Esler
Some 60 years ago black intellectual and littérateur James Baldwin met with the leading conservative spokesman and author of his day, William F. Buckley, Jr., to debate what seemed a startling proposition in 1965: “Is the American Dream at the Expense of the American Negro?” Held at the University of Cambridge…
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Theatre in Review
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Her Story Theatre's World Premiere "THE OFFICAL BIOGRAPHY" - Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30 pm at The Den Theatre
Written by Buzz Center StageHer Story Theatre has announced the World Premiere of Kurt McGinnis Brown's two-hander THE OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY, to play March 28 – April 19 at The Den Theatre in Chicago. When young black journalist Xan Smith is assigned to interview the once successful, now… -
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Written by Buzz Center StageChicago theatre‑goers have one of those rare, golden weekends where three very different companies are all firing at full power—each offering a production that hits a different part of the theatrical appetite: the intimate and unsettling, the bold and idea‑driven,…
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