“Ripe material for a comedy,” chuckles Atra Asdou, writer and star of ‘Iraq, but Funny” now playing at Lookingglass Theatre. Asdou’s new madcap play is part comedy, part history, part family drama. Directed by Dalia Ashurina, this hard-to-define play feels like the kind of thing we absolutely need more of.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 04 June 2025 22:52
A Remarkable Story Based on Real Events: 'Six Men Dressed Like Stalin'
Written by Bill Esler
“Six Men Dressed Like Stalin,” now at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago and directed by dado, draws upon the true story of Felix Dadaev, drafted in 1942 to stand in for Josef Stalin, Premier of the Soviet Union. The character Soso (Esteban Andres Cruz) is based on Dadaev. Like…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 31 May 2025 10:00
It's Funny What Can Happen on a "Neighborhood Watch," Now Running at Jackalope Theatre
Written by Bill Esler
You’ll want to join this “Neighborhood Watch," a fast-paced comedy having its world premiere in Jackalope Theatre’s performance space in the Broadway Armory. Harsh Gagoomal plays Mo Rizvi with deft emotional range, a bearded, swarthy Middle Easterner who has moved into a house in white suburbia, in the weeks just…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 25 May 2025 12:47
History. Passion. Power. A Love That Changed an Empire - Scandalous Boy at
Sarz Maxwell
I’m a geek, I admit it; I love seeing theatre that’s … well … real. Like SCANDALOUS BOY – you’ve heard of Roman Emperor Hadrian, yeah? He reigned from 117 to 138 CE (that was even before Diana’s wedding!) and occasioned a slew of building projects, epitomized by Hadrian’s Wall in…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 26 May 2025 17:53
Evanston Salt Costs Rising: Stormy souls on salted streets at First Floor Theater
Written by Susan Lieberman
Recent Chicago-area winters have been relatively easy ones. Lest we forget howling blizzards or subzero temperatures, Will Arbery’s Evanston Salt Costs Climbing serves as a reminder. Director Micah Figueroa stages First Floor Theater’s production of this idiosyncratic play in a way that creates a deep freeze – visually, aurally and…
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Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 20 May 2025 16:05
Review: HONEYPOT: BLACK SOUTHERN WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston
Sarz Maxwell
HONEYPOT originated as a creative nonfiction book by E. Patrick Johnson, Dean of the School of Communication at Northwestern University. Johnson has a passion for oral history; for HONEYPOT he interviewed a number of Black Southern women, documented in his book of the same title. Johnson always imagined the work…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 20 May 2025 12:09
The Title Says it All in Conspirators Remarkable ‘Chicago Cop Macbeth’
Written by Bill Esler
It was a dark and stormy night as I motored to The Conspirators “Chicago Cop Macbeth,” with a fog of dust giving the streets an eerie feel. As the lights came up at the Otherworld Theater, the storm continued, the three witches of MacBeth gathered tightly around a fiery oil…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 17 May 2025 12:45
Blank Theatre’s SWEET CHARITY Charms with Talented Cast and Standout Choreography
Written by Lauren Katz
We are inside the Pompeii Club. From everything Charity has told us, the club is the place to be, and as the scene unfolds, it’s certainly no surprise. Costume Designer Cindy Moon does not hold back. The ensemble is dressed to the nines – full of dresses and jumpsuits that…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 13 May 2025 12:51
The Antiquities: A Thought-provoking Look at Today from the Future
Written by Betsy Schmitt
With AI and other technological advancements continuing to change the landscape of how we work and interact with one another, what does the future hold for humanity? What does it mean to be human in a world where robots and AI threaten to replace us? In his daring new work,…
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Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 13 May 2025 12:43
Riots of Laughter Greet World Premiere of 'R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots]'
Written by Bill Esler![Riots of Laughter Greet World Premiere of 'R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots]'](/media/k2/items/cache/63d6788acfa364724d695afe54efe853_XS.jpg)
Riots of laughter greeted the City Lit Theater world premiere of “R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots]” Wait. Could this be the same 1920 science fiction play by Czech Karel Čapek? His 1937 science fiction piece at Trap Door Theater “The White Plague” was a serious treatment of public reaction to a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 11 May 2025 18:05
Cats pounces onto the Paramount stage taking the legendary musical to soaring new heights
Written by Kimberly Katz
I’ll just say it - Cats is going to blow your mind. Now running at the Paramount Theatre, this spectacular production elevates the famous musical to magnificent new heights—both figuratively and literally. While Cats has always been an extravagant, surreal whirlwind of theatrical magic, this version cranks up the spectacle…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Cats
- Paramount Theatre
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Trent Stork
- Lorenzo Rush Jr
- Emily Rohm
- Donovan Hoffer
- Hayley Larson
- Captain Christopher Kelley
- Matthew Weidenbener
- Gene Weygandt
- Allison Sill
- Tiffany Topol
- Alexandra Palkovic
- Jake DiMaggio Lopez
- Selena Robinson
- Christopher Kelley
- Sophie Liu David
- Memory
- Magical Mister Mistoffelees
- Musical
- Anakin Jace White
- Ryan Huemmer
Sunday, 11 May 2025 10:50
Trap Door's 'Galileo,' Beautifully Produced, Is a Knowing Parable for Our Times
Written by Bill Esler
“Galileo” written in 1938 by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, tells the straightforward story of the 17th century physicist and astronomer’s run-in with church authorities for asserting that the earth revolved around the sun. For this Galileo, played with Brechtian finesse by Trap Door’s David Lovejoy, was hauled before the Roman…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 11 May 2025 08:46
Humble and Radiant: Charlotte's Web at Greenhouse Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
The adage goes that you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends. Throughout our lives, we meet people we connect with who see the beauty and potential within us even when we can’t see it ourselves. People who simply get us. Friendship is one of the most…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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