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
Friday, 19 September 2025 16:00
With Plan to Take 'Duck Soup' to the Stage, Who Are The Conspirators?
Written by Bill Esler
If you are familiar with the Marx Brother 1933 film “Duck Soup,” it is probably from clips of some of the timeless schtik delivered by the erudite punster Groucho, the womanizing “Italian” Chico, the mute Harpo and the straight man in the bunch, handsome brother Zeppo. So when I first…
Published in
Theatre Buzz
Tuesday, 16 September 2025 14:54
Review: 'Ashland Avenue' at Goodman Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
When a business closes, who mourns their loss? Lee Kirk’s new play Ashland Avenue, now running at Goodman Theatre, asks that very question. Kirk resides in LA, but he studied theatre at DePaul a few decades back and has a strong connection to the city of Chicago. On a recent…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 16 September 2025 12:40
Improvising Joy: Rabbits In Their Pockets at Lifeline
Written by Wesley David
Kimberly Dixon-Mays’ debut play Rabbits In Their Pockets, developed in the Lifeline BIPOC 2024 Workshop and now receiving a world premiere under the direction of Christopher Wayland, is a bold but uneven first effort. The play aspires to braid together family drama, Black folklore, and speculative Afrofuturism, but its script…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 13 September 2025 23:14
Review: Ghost Fetus at Trap Door Theater
Written by Maddie Burroughs
Opening Trap Door Theatre’s 32nd season as part of the Trap Open Series with its world premiere, Suz Evans’ Ghost Fetus is a rough-edged, bold original work that delivers a performance as both humorous and cathartic as it is unexpected. With a small, five-person cast, the play centers on two…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 12 September 2025 14:19
Murder, Deception, and Mid-Century Glamour at Drury Lane Theatre
Written by Kimberly Katz
Something wicked is winding its way through the velvet curtains of Drury Lane Theatre—and it reeks of roses, red wine, and murder. Dial M for Murder, the classic thriller originally crafted by Frederick Knott in 1952 and immortalized on screen by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954, returns to the stage with…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 06 September 2025 12:02
Review: Catch Me If You Can at Marriott Theatre
Written by Maddie Burroughs
Having followed JJ Niemann’s Broadway career on social media for years, I was especially eager to see him take the lead in Marriott Theatre’s revival of Catch Me If You Can. While social media offers curated glimpses – often in the form of brief, specially selected clips – Niemann proved…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 30 August 2025 12:53
Review: 44 The Musical at Studebaker Theater
Written by Maddie Burroughs
As someone who has worked on dozens of productions, both producing and technical directing, before committing to a project, I ask myself: “Why this show? Why now?” With 44 The Musical, written, directed, and co-produced by Eli Bauman, I struggled to answer those questions. The show, based on Bauman’s “experience”…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 27 August 2025 10:53
Review: PrideArts' A New Brain at Center on Halsted’s Hoover-Leppen Theatre
Sarz Maxwell
There are several new things about PrideArts’ production of A NEW BRAIN, the most obvious being its new venue at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted. PrideArts made the most of its former location at 4139 N. Broadway, but this new venue is a boon in many ways. Its…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 19 August 2025 13:26
Great Performances Shine in ‘Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar’ at Writers Theatre
Written by Bill Esler
Hershey Felder has made a significant part of his life’s work playing the roles of piano prodigies, and at Writers Theatre he takes on the role of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), considered the last of the romantic Russian composers, and a virtuosic pianist. Felder, a very good actor (he received a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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