Theatre in Review

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Monday, 13 April 2026 13:21

Drury Lane’s Father of the Bride Charms with Effortless Fun

Written by
Rachel Sullivan and Joe Dempsey in Father of the Bride at Drury Lane Theatre.
The 1950s is easy to idealize. Men styled tailored suits, women dazzled in pleated dresses, and everything glimmered like it was in a commercial. Life’s troubles were solved with a talk from pop or a hug from mom – or that’s how it seemed. Drury Lane Theatre’s Father of the…
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Monday, 13 April 2026 00:45

Poor Behavior at Oil Lamp Theatre: When Good Company Goes Bad

Written by
(L to R) Sam Fain and Ksa Curry in POOR BEHAVIOR from Oil Lamp Theater, is now playing through May 10, at Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road.
Theresa Rebeck’s Poor Behavior at Oil Lamp Theatre, directed by Lauren Katz, opens with the easy warmth of old friends reconnecting - only to reveal how quickly a shared history can curdle. Within minutes, the play exposes the messy, magnetic dynamics that will drive the evening off the rails. Peter…
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Saturday, 11 April 2026 12:13

BrightSide's Private Lives Bring Public Laughs

Written by
Victor (Matt Hellyer), Amanda (Jamie Maire DePaolo), Elyot (Jon Cunningham) and Sibyl (Emily Sherman).
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone and married someone else – that’s how Noel Coward’s Private Lives sees it. For those unfamiliar with Coward, his scripts have bite and humor that were ahead of its time when they first hit the stage in the 1930s. Today, the…
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Saturday, 11 April 2026 12:22

Merry Mischief in Windsor: Chicago Shakespeare’s Fast, Funny Triumph

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Shakespeare’s most raucous comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor, comes to life at CST this spring, featuring Jason Simoon as Falstaff (center), along with Teddy Gales (Bardolph), Zach Bloomfield (Nym), Rohan Rhys Degala (Robin Page), Bret Tuomi (Host of the Garter Inn), and Colin Huerta (Pistol). Directed by Phillip Breen, running in the Courtyard Theater, April 2 - May 3, 2026.
Shakespeare’s comedies share a familiar architecture: mistaken identity, disguises, intersecting plotlines, a generous helping of prose, and language that delights in wordplay and double entendre. They are also, crucially, driven by sharp, intelligent women who often see more clearly than the men around them. With that foundation in mind, Chicago…
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Saturday, 11 April 2026 00:15

A Spoonful of Magic: Lyric Brings Mary Poppins to Life

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A Spoonful of Magic: Lyric Brings Mary Poppins to Life
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s film‑with‑live‑orchestra series has become one of the city’s most engaging hybrid arts experiences, transforming the opera house into a cinematic concert hall where classic films gain new dimension through live performance. Recent presentations such as Singin’ in the Rain (February 2025) and Coco in Concert (October…
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Friday, 10 April 2026 21:16

At Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Mrs. Krishnan’s Party Feeds the Soul

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Kalyani Nagarajan plays the title role in the joyfully immersive Mrs. Krishnan’s Party, from New Zealand’s acclaimed Indian Ink Theatre. Step into the back room of Mrs. Krishnan’s corner shop, where food simmers on the stove, laughter abounds, and strangers become friends in a celebration of life where no two nights are the same. April 7–26, 2026, in the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio.
As I entered the black box studio at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, I’ll admit - I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. Before leaving home, I’d watched the news: the endless cycle of violence, bombings, and that tired “us versus them” narrative that seems to define our moment. My spirit…
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Friday, 10 April 2026 01:45

Where Rock Meets Ruin: Bat Out of Hell Ignites the Auditorium

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Production photo from a previous staging of Bat Out of Hell – The Musical.
Depending on the source, Bat Out of Hell ranks among the top‑selling albums of all time, so its eventual leap to the stage in 2017 felt almost inevitable. Written by Jim Steinman and performed by Meat Loaf, the album’s grandiose ‘70s sound hardly suggests a post‑apocalyptic narrative, yet that’s the…
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Tuesday, 07 April 2026 22:22

Goodman’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Delivers a Powerful Revival

Written by
(L-R) Tiffany Renee Johnson, Jabari Khaliq, Cedric Young, Kelvin Roston Jr., David Alan Anderson, E. Faye Butler, Matt DeCaro (above),Al ’Jaleel McGhee.
Goodman Theatre’s production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom arrives with the weight of expectation - and under the dual direction of Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix, it does not merely meet that weight, it reshapes it. This is not a revival of August Wilson’s searing text; it is a precise,…
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