Liz Lauren News

Not so far away is Paramount Theatre’s 2023-24 season finale, the Broadway smash hit Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Nominated for seven Tony Awards, with two wins, plus a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, Paramount will pull out all the stops in this season-finale jukebox musical celebration of one our most beloved music icons ever. See photos from the production!

JUDGMENT DAY may be a world premiere comedy, but it trades in old-school jokes. Rob Ulin’s play is relatively simple and wears its moral heart on its sleeve (Main takeaway: Don’t be a jerk), even if lead role Sammy Campo doesn’t have a heart at all. While JUDGMENT DAY pokes some fun at the Catholic church, the play’s satire is not that deep. That said, this play is swiftly moving and delightfully entertaining, and it fully delivers on the promise of offering audiences a good time. 

Get a first look at Jason Alexander in Judgement Day at Chicago Shakespeare Theater! Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

Under the meticulous direction of Chuck Smith, the Goodman’s newest revival of JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE emphasizes the play’s continued relevance through masterful performances that find cause for celebration and laughter even in the face of oppression. The production has already been extended through May 19 due to popular demand.

Marriott Theatre is continuing its 2024 season with MEREDITH WILLSON’S THE MUSIC MAN, the six-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy, directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman with Music Direction by Jeff Award Winner Ryan T. Nelson. See photos from the production!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater will present Judgment Day, a hilariously irreverent world premiere comedy starring Tony and Emmy Award winner Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) in his Chicago stage debut. Check out rehearsal photos here!

Mercury Theater has revealed additional dates for the first built-in Chicago Production of Jersey Boys. Learn how to purchase tickets.

Mercury Theater Chicago has staged a “homegrown” production of JERSEY BOYS full of Chicago heart. The bio jukebox musical has graced Chicago tour stages over the years (in fact, I had a chuckle looking back at the review of the first national tour I wrote for my high school newspaper), but this is the first staging to showcase Chicago talent — and it definitely accomplishes that goal.

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Susan V. Booth puts her own spin on Margaret Atwood’s decidedly feminist tale THE PENELOPIAD. As with her famous novel THE HANDMAID’S TALE, Atwood uses THE PENELOPIAD as a device to convey the horrors and abuse committed against women. Atwood’s points are valid and mirror the gender inequalities and abuse women still experience now (the original novella was penned in 2005). But THE PENELOPIAD’s feminist argument isn’t revelatory. Instead of providing truly new insight or perspective, the play rather reinforces existing (though rightfully undeniable) points. 

Director Mary Zimmerman returns to the Goodman with the whimsical and inventive THE MATCHBOX MAGIC FLUTE. Zimmerman’s adaptation of Mozart’s iconic opera is lively and accessible; this would be a great introduction for those new to the opera.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater is presenting a perfect introduction to Shakespeare’s work for young audiences with a 75-minute abridgement of Romeo and Juliet, adapted and directed by Mikael Burke. See production photos here!

Get a first look at photos and video of The Matchbox Magic Flute at Goodman Theatre.

Paramount Theatre is ringing in 2024 with a new production of the coming-of-age tale Billy Elliot: The Musical, set to the music of Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, directed by Trent Stork. Performances run through March 24, 2024. Check out production photos here!

If new Artistic Director Edward Hall's RICHARD III is any indication of what Chicago audiences can come to expect during his tenure, they would do well to cheer, 'Long live the king.' The darkly comic historical thriller runs through March 3 at CST's Courtyard Theater.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents William Shakespeare’s Richard III, staged by Artistic Director Edward Hall in the Courtyard Theater, February 2–March 3. Power, greed, ambition. A world where to win is everything. And to win at all costs. This marks the first major US production of Richard III to feature a woman with a disability in the title role.

ILLINOISE is a journey through our great state of Illinois using movement. Directed and choreographed by Justin Peck and featuring music and lyrics from Sufjan Stevens’s ILLINOIS album, the show uses dance as its primary narrative language. Peck collaborated with playwright Jacke Sibblies Drury on a loose storyline for ILLINOISE, but that story is communicated entirely through dance. Stevens’s lyrics underscore the situations in the show and mirror the emotional shades of the choreography.

HIGHWAY PATROL has refreshing bravery and honesty; it’s an intriguing exploration of online identity and the connections that might be found, or that we seek to find, on our social media profiles and in our DMs.

It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely...it’s ANYTHING GOES at Porchlight Music Theatre. Artistic Director Michael Weber’s production captures all the joy and laughs in Cole Porter’s 1934 classic musical comedy. Thanks to the new 2022 book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, it’s also a tight ship running two hours and fifteen minutes (original book by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard LIndsay, and Russel Crouse.)

See first look photos of Porchlight Music Theatre’s 90th Anniversary production of Cole Porter’s crown jewel musical comedy, Anything Goes.

What did our critic think of A CHIRSTMAS CAROL at The Goodman Theatre?