Monday, 23 March 2026 12:25
A Farcical Feverdream that Works: Trapdoor Theatre's 'The Cuttlefish'
Written by Bill Esler
Trapdoor Theatre’s “The Cuttlefish” ought to be confounding, but somehow this 1920’s surrealist play from Poland is clear as a bell. Though ostensibly about the philosophical struggle between art and politics, the audience easily recognized echoes of the present-day overall fix in which society finds itself. Before any dialog, even…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 21 March 2026 00:20
Grelley Duvall Best Actress Delivers a Pop‑Culture Fever Dream at Chopin
Written by John Accrocco
The Oscars might be over, but this “Best Actress” is just getting started. Welcome to the weird world of the Grelley Duvall Show, or Alex Grelle. His unique approach to cabaret has amassed quite a fanbase over the years. Suffice it to say, there’s nothing else quite like it. In…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 18 March 2026 16:16
The Drowsy Chaperone Wakes Up the Room at Theo Ubique
Written by Angelo Campos
“I just want to be entertained. Isn’t that the point?” asks the narrator of The Drowsy Chaperone. And if that indeed is the point, Theo Ubique’s rendition hit the bullseye. This fun production follows a neurotic musical theatre fan (played by Steve McDonagh) who puts on his favorite record and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 16 March 2026 14:12
Reimagined Madama Butterfly at the Lyric a Masterpiece in its Own Right
Written by Mitchell Oldham
Created in 1904, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly has become one of the world’s greatest and most popular operas. New York’s Metropolitan Opera alone had performed it 902 times prior to the beginning of its 2023-24 season. Renowned for his gifts for melody, Puccini’s musical component is ravishingly beautiful. His manner…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 15 March 2026 22:11
In Lookingglass' White Rooster, Yee Conjures an Intriguing World Where Old and New Collide
Written by Kimberly Katz
White Rooster arrives at Lookingglass Theatre with the kind of wild, genre‑bending confidence that reminds you why this ensemble has always been one of Chicago’s most inventive storytellers. Ensemble member Matthew C. Yee - doubling as writer and director - conjures a darkly funny, legend-steeped ghost story that feels mischievously…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Lookingglass Theatre
- White Rooster
- Matthew C Lee
- Supernatural
- haunted
- Chinese Mythology
- Americana
- ghosts
- Sunnie Eraso
- Karen Aldridge
- Mark Montgomery
- Noelle Oh
- Reilly Oh
- Louise Lamson
- Daniel Lee Smith
- Elliot Esquivel
- Nik Kmiecik
- Natsu Onoda Power
- Mara Blumenfeld
- Hannah Wien
- Justin Cavazos
- Amanda Herrmann
- Caitlin McLeod
- David Schwimmer
Saturday, 14 March 2026 22:35
National Hellenic Museum's Trial of Odysseus: Hero or Criminal?
Sarz Maxwell
King Odysseus returns home to Ithaca after twenty years’ absence: ten years’ fighting the Trojan War (it takes time to build a big enough wooden horse), followed by a ten-year journey during which everything that could go wrong does go wrong: think rush-hour traffic on the Kennedy under construction. When…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- THE TRIAL OF ODYSSEUS
- Harris Theatre
- Trojan War
- King Odysseus
- Antonio M Romanucci
- Daisy Ayllón
- Patrick M Collins
- Tinos Diamantatos
- Georgia M Alexakis
- Sara L Ellis
- Jeffrey G Chrones
- Anthony C Kyrikopoulos
- Leonardo Sfondouris
- Christos Vasilopoulos
- National Hellenic Museum
- Theatre Chicago
- on stage
- Chicago
- theatre
- trial
- live theatre
- TRIAL OF ODYSSEUS
Saturday, 14 March 2026 13:21
Reservation Mayhem, One Man, Forty Voices: Mike Newquist Ignites 'Fully Committed' at The Den
Written by Ken Payne
Get ready - those phones are about to explode, and Sam is already spinning like a top trying to catch every single one. It’s a full‑blown ring‑storm, and he’s diving into it with the hectic energy of someone who knows the chaos is coming and still can’t outrun it. A…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 09 March 2026 15:57
Static, Signals, and Surprises: City Lit’s Changing Channels Tunes In
Sarz Maxwell
The year is 1952. Television is rapidly gaining popularity over radio, to the delight of some and the disgust of others. Senator Joseph McCarthy has just been re-elected and is accusing hundreds of people of having connections to the Communist Party, provoking a nationwide climate of paranoid hysteria. Thousands of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 09 March 2026 15:38
Beautifully Produced 'Two Sisters and a Piano,' But Script Misses the Mark
Written by Bill Esler
In “Two Sisters and a Piano” written by Nilo Cruz and directed by Lisa Portes, we soon learn these two women have been trapped for years under house arrest in an aging manor in Cuba. One is a writer, the other a musician —and that’s her baby grand piano on…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Sunday, 08 March 2026 19:39
A Night in Jellicle Heaven: Music Theater Works Delivers a Stunning 'Cats'
Written by Kimberly Katz
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats remains one of musical theatre’s most distinctive creations - a sung‑through, dance‑driven spectacle that swaps traditional plot for atmosphere, character portraits, and pure theatrical immersion. Drawn from T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the musical unfolds as a moonlit gathering of the Jellicle…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Music Theater Works
- Cats
- North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
- Jellicle
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- T S Eliot
- Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats
- Mandy Modic
- Sam Nachison
- Ava Lane Stovall
- Morgan Schoenecker
- Danny Spagnuolo
- Emma Jean Eastlund
- Daniel Hurst
- John Cardone
- Melanie Saso
- kClare McKellaston
- Kristen Brinati
- Chicago
- Musical theatre
- Musical
- theatre
- Theater
- on stage
- live theatre
- Memory
Wednesday, 04 March 2026 04:18
A Wondrous Production of Oscar Wao at The Goodman Theatre
Written by Maddie Burroughs
Based on the novel by Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao follows neurodivergent and perpetually lovelorn college student Oscar as he fixates on the fukú – a generational curse he believes has haunted his family’s love lives for decades. Oscar’s college roommate and his sister Lola by…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 03 March 2026 18:40
In Timeless ‘Come Back, Little Sheba,’ American Blues Theater Speaks for Today, as Well
Written by Bill Esler
With spot-on performances across a large cast, William Inge’s 1949 script for “Come Back, Little Sheba” is receiving a definitive production at American Blues Theater’s intimate Studio Theater. Those of us of a certain age had this work buried deep into our cultural formation by the searing film version starring…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 02 March 2026 12:39
Pot Girls: An Intelligent and Multilayered Explosion of Poetry and Feminism
Written by Kimberly Katz
The Story Theatre’s world‑premiere staging of Paul Michael Thomson’s Pot Girls bursts to life in a vivid, full‑throttle production at Raven Theatre. Pot Girls is a sharp, funny, and thought‑provoking new play that fuses feminist history, artistic accountability, and a rainbow haze of 1980s, weed‑soaked poetry and art. Inspired as…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- POT GIRLS
- TOP GIRLS
- Paul Michael Thomson
- The Story Theatre
- Raven Theatre
- Ayanna Bria Bakari
- Caryl Churchill
- Brenna DiStasio
- Ireon Roach
- Peter Ferneding
- Tamsen Glaser
- Emily Marso
- Maya Bridgewater
- Laney Rodriguez
- Lucky Stiff
- Katelyn Montgomery
- Racquel Postilgione
- Theater
- theatre
- Chicago
- live theatre
- on stage
- Now playing
- feminism
- powerful women
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