Sunday, 12 October 2025 13:48
Review: House of the Exquisite Corpse V: Blood & Puppets from Rough House Theater Co. at Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage
Written by Maddie Burroughs
More than a haunted house and not quite a play, the House of the Exquisite Corpse series lives somewhere between immersive theater and a live-action episode of Black Mirror. For the fifth year in a row, Rough House Theater Co. is haunting Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage Theatre with House of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 11 October 2025 13:34
Riding the Ghost Train: Trap Door’s Dutchman Reimagines Baraka’s Curse
Written by Wesley David
Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman remains one of the most incisive allegories in American drama—a modern tale in which seduction, power, and racial history collide in the confined space of a subway car. Trap Door Theatre’s production, directed with precision and calculated risk by Keith Surney, resurrects the play’s mythic and political…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 12 October 2025 15:47
Operatic Magic in Motion: Medea a Marvel at Lyric Opera
Written by Kendall Royzen
A famous Chicagoan once said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Life does move fast, and opportunities and experiences are the simplest way to pause time. For me there’s no better place in all of Chicago where…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 08 October 2025 11:43
In Jojo Jones 'Veal,' Middle School Bullies Cower as Their Former Target Now Rules the World
Written by Bill Esler
Jojo Jones’ “Veal,” premiering at A Red Orchid Theatre in Old Town, is among the recent wave of plays set in a post-apocalyptic near future - the better to show how core social values and structures might play out for individuals placed abruptly in a clean-slate setting. The increasing frequency…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Those familiar with The Lion King will recognize the opening cords of “Circle of Life.” Rafiki (Mukelisiwe Goba) enters and as she sings, the animals begin to take their places on the stage. Zebras. Birds. Cheetahs. Gazelles. And of course, lions. However, what is especially magical about this Disney musical…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 02 October 2025 12:04
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Rome Sweet Rome Modernizes Julius Caesar
Written by Lauren Katz
Walking into the Courtyard Theater for Rome Sweet Rome, you might find it’s impossible not to be taken aback by the design. College Pollard’s Scenic Design astounds – particularly with the large replica Michaelangelo’s sculpture the David at the center. The catch? The statue is featured from behind, giving the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 29 September 2025 12:53
McGovern’s Magnetic Ava Commands the Spotlight at Studebaker Theater
Written by Kimberly Katz
Elizabeth McGovern’s embodiment of Ava Gardner in Ava: The Secret Conversations, now playing at the Studebaker Theater inside Chicago’s storied Fine Arts Building, is a riveting study in fragility, fire, and fierce self-preservation. Written by McGovern herself, the play peels back the layers of Gardner’s tumultuous life and career beginning…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 24 September 2025 12:28
The Play's the Thing That Goes Wrong in 'Book of Will'
Written by Bill Esler
The true story behind Lauren Gunderson’s “The Book of Will” is compelling—the efforts of actors John Heminges (Jared Dennis) and Henry Condell (Ben Veatch), Shakespeare’s colleagues—to compile and publish a definitive collection of the Bard's works in the years soon after his death in 1616. This they did over the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 21 September 2025 13:19
Music Theater Works Announces Cast and Crew for GODSPELL, Oct 23 - Nov 16
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Music Theater Works is proud to announce the cast and creative team for the third production of its 2025 season, Godspell, sponsored by the Whirled Peas Foundation and presented in partnership with Curt’s Café, in the North Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, October 23 -…
Published in
Theatre in Review
More...
Monday, 22 September 2025 12:20
Reassembling the Broken Universe of Mr. Wolf
Written by Wesley David
Rajiv Joseph’s Mr. Wolf is a striking departure from the warmth and humor of his recent King James. Where King James used the comfort of sports as a language of friendship, Mr. Wolf asks us to sit inside the fragile, fractured space of trauma. In Steppenwolf’s intimate production, ensemble member…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 21 September 2025 15:09
Ron OJ Parson Directs a Masterful Revival of Ward’s 'Big White Fog'
Written by Wesley David
Court Theatre has opened its 2025/26 season with a thunderclap: Theodore Ward’s Big White Fog directed with remarkable sensitivity and vigor by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. This is not only a revival of a classic work from the Federal Theatre Project era—it is also a reminder of how eerily…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 21 September 2025 12:39
Idle Muse Theatre Company’s The Blood Countess Features Striking Design and Strong Ensemble
Written by Lauren Katz
“We see what we choose to see… And yet, one of the first questions we have to ask ourselves as reasoning beings when it comes to the question of ‘truth’ is… What can we see? What did people witness? What do they remember?” Director Tristan Brandon kicks off his director’s…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 19 September 2025 11:11
Review: Joffrey Ballet's Carmen at Lyric Opera House
Written by John Accrocco
If you are one that finds ballet boring, you haven’t been to Joffrey Ballet. Kicking off their 70th season with Carmen, Joffrey once again proves it’s the ballet company for adults. Hot off the heels of his 2023 production of ‘Frankenstein’, Liam Scarlett returns to Chicago with his US premiere…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Register
Login
Latest Articles
-
Premiere of OUT HERE at Court Theatre a Charming Deconstruction of Marriage and Musical
Written by Kerstin BroockmannEveryone encounters many crossroads in their lives, where they make a choice that determines the future…and many people live to regret it. That is where Dawn, the protagonist of Out Here, the new musical receiving its premiere at Court Theatre… -
safronia soars at Lyric Opera
Written by Wesley Davidsafronia at Lyric Opera of Chicago emerges as a deeply personal story of the Great Migration - one that resists grandiosity in favor of something more intimate, more lived-in, and ultimately more affecting. Drawn from the family history of Chicago’s… -
At Steppenwolf, Windfall Doesn’t Cash In on Its Promise
Written by Wesley DavidSteppenwolf Theatre Company’s, Windfall arrives with all the promise its pedigree suggests. Written by Academy Award–winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Awoye Timpo, the production aspires to be a pulsing, lyrical meditation on grief, justice, and the…
-
THE GREAT GATSBY is Now Playing at Cadillac Palace
Written by Buzz Center StageBroadway In Chicago is excited to announce that the smash hit Broadway musical and global sensation, THE GREAT GATSBY, based on the beloved novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald , is now playing at Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.). The party…
Does your theatre company want to connect with Buzz Center Stage or would you like to reach out and say "hello"? Message us through facebook or shoot us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.