As a child of the 80s, I fondly remember sitting up on weeknights and watching tv sitcoms with my folks. Many of them—Murphy Brown, Designing Women, etc.—proved a bit too mature for my (still) juvenile sensibility. But one “old people” show I always loved (and still do) was The Golden…
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Monday, 26 December 2022 18:44
Review: ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’ at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Written by Kimberly Katz
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie is an absolutely fantastic seasonal Christmas show that pulls out all the stops! I am a huge fan of the original film White Christmas and this talented cast, which was well-directed by Sasha Gerritson, brings so much of the magic of Irving…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 16 December 2022 14:57
Review: Bald Sisters is Funny, Powerful and Stunningly Good
Written by Bill Esler
"Bald Sisters," in its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, tells of a Cambodian refugee who escaped the unspeakable terror of the Kmer Rouge with her daughter, and made a new life and birthed a second daughter in the U.S. But the play only touches that in passing, instead focusing on…
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Tuesday, 13 December 2022 09:35
Review: This Powerful Messiah Was Delivered with a Twist
Written by Bill Esler
‘Too Hot to Handel’ captures all the majesty of Handel’s baroque music masterpiece, but adds soul, infusing it with the power of equally classic jazz, gospel and blues interpretations. This annual tradition - it ran December 3-4 this year - was launched in 1992, and was first performed at Chicago’s…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 11 December 2022 14:34
Review: 'Dear Evan Hansen' at Nederlander Theatre
Written by CJ Burroughs
In the world before, when the availability of musical theater was just a given, just another one of life’s perks I took for granted, there was a show that hadn’t yet been available, at least not to me. I’d been perked up, waiting to see it since it became the…
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Thursday, 08 December 2022 12:02
THE JINKX & DELA HOLIDAY SHOW at Auditorium Theatre: “EVERYBODY’S TRAUMATIZED BY CHRISTMAS!”
Sarz Maxwell
Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme’s Christmas show truly rocks! And, lucky us, their show just made a quick stop in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre. There are dozens of holiday drag shows, but this one is Jinkx and DeLa! The above title quote (sung, appropriately enough, to the tune of “Grandma…
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Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 06 December 2022 21:38
A Christmas Classic; Ruth Page Center for The Arts' Nutcracker shines light on young Chicago talent
Written by Kendall Royzen
The month of December means one thing for ballet companies across the country: The Nutcracker. To audiences, this holiday classic brings the classic story of Clara and her Nutcracker Prince coming to life and journeying to the land of sweets. For young dancers, however, The Nutcracker is a culmination and…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 05 December 2022 18:48
'Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley' - Music truly is the "food of love" in this delightful holiday period piece
Written by Kimberly Katz
Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley now playing at the Northlight Theatre in Skokie offers the third and final installment of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s trilogy which follows some of the most cherished characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. For those who enjoy the Jane Austen themed material but have…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 07 December 2022 16:22
'TWELFTH NIGHT or WHAT YOU WILL' An Annual Romp through the Green with The Bard
Sarz Maxwell
MidsommerFlight is a not-for-profit theatre company committed to presenting Shakespeare’s plays to everyone in an IDEA manner: Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, and Accessible; and to bringing the Shared Joy that results to underserved communities about Chicago. MidsommerFlight has staged productions of ‘As You Like It’, ‘The Tempest’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘Hamlet’ and others,…
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Monday, 05 December 2022 17:33
Joffrey Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' at Lyric Opera House is a total holiday delight
Sarz Maxwell
The Joffrey is always amazing so I was happy to be assigned this show to review, but I have to admit I wasn’t totally thrilled – I’ve seen Nutcracker several times and I’m just a little bit over it. Imagine, then, my delight as the curtain opens, not in the…
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Abortion and reproductive rights have been major issues throughout my life from the pre-Roe days to the calamitous post-Roe days I’d hoped never to see. I was really looking forward to seeing TITLE X. Julie Proudfood *she/her wrote TITLE X in 2020 in response to then-President Trump’s 2019 gag order.…
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Tuesday, 29 November 2022 13:00
Review: 'A Christmas Carol' at Goodman Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
Goodman Theatre pulled up the curtain on the 45th opening night of their legendary adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Undoubtedly there are likely thousands of productions of ‘A Christmas Carol’ opening all over the country this week, but Goodman’s holiday tradition feels like a homecoming for the Chicago stage community.…
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“There’ll come a time when they will stop laughing, and that will be the time when our Antigone hits them with her words” John- The Island Two Black men, bound together with shackles on their feet and hands, are brought to a beach on Robben Island. The same Robben Island…
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