Liz Lauren News

In 1905, a black seamstress named Esther sews her way out of poverty stitch by delicate stitch, creating fine lingerie for her Manhattan clientele while longing for a husband and a future. She finds common ground with a Jewish fabric merchant, a relationship they both know cannot grow.

J. Nicole Brooks's HER HONOR JANE BYRNE, now in a world premiere production at Lookingglass, is a play deeply rooted in Chicago's not-too-distant history. Inspired by former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne (the first woman to serve as mayor here) and her decision to move into Cabrini-Green as a display of her desire to revitalize the city's housing projects, the play introduces a cast of characters representing different perspectives in the city. Brooks (who also directs) has assembled an intriguing array of characters in HER HONOR JANE BYRNE, and she makes the pivotal choice to prominently feature residents of Cabrini-Green as much as Byrne and some of her fellow Chicago politicians. Yet the play becomes too cluttered in its various storylines and ideas.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Her Honor Jane Byrne, written and directed by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks. Her Honor Jane Byrne runs February 26–April 12, 2020 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Performance will be held Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

Join Paramount Theatre for its world premiere musical The Secret of My Success, a hilarious, heartfelt new romp about corporate culture, unbridled ambition, mistaken identity and making your own way in life.

Paramount Theatre presents the world premiere musical The Secret of My Success.

orde arrington tuttle's graveyard shift, now making its world-premiere following an initial workshop production during Goodman Theatre's 2018 New Stages Festival, is a haunting and beautiful reflection on police brutality against Black Americans. Inspired by the legacy of 28-year-old Sandra Bland, who was found hanging in her prison cell in 2015 after being arrested for failing to signal a lane change, graveyard shift is also remarkable in its capacity for empathy and its meditation on shared humanity. graveyard shift is an undeniably brutal play, as it should be given its subject matter, but tuttle also writes his dialogue in such a poetic way that I was equally stunned by the play's beauty.

Broadway In Chicago has announced that tickets for the electrifying new musical phenomenon SIX by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss will go on sale Friday, February 21. After a successful North American Premiere at Chicago Shakespeare last summer, SIX will return to Chicago for 16-weeks at Broadway In Chicago's Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E Chestnut St.) from July 8 through October 25, 2020.

Rising stars playwright korde arrington tuttle and director Danya Taymor reunite for the world premiere production of graveyard shift, following its appearance as a developmental production in the Goodman's 2018 New Stages Festival. Featuring an ensemble cast of five, graveyard shift is an unflinching but open-hearted look at how we navigate a world full of fear, loosely inspired by the legacy of Sandra Bland. Casting note: Debo Balogun replaces previously announced actor Kyle Vincent Terry, who has left the production. 

Liliana Padilla's HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF offers a brilliant examination of collegiate life, and, more specifically, the ways in which rape culture and the entirely real possibility of sexual assault affect university students. But what makes Padilla's play so powerful, fascinating, and entertaining is that their playwriting never becomes preachy or pointed. By capturing the parlance and cadence of the language that college students use with acute accuracy, Padilla allows the expertly fleshed out characters to reflect on these issues in a grounded and compelling manner.

Lisa Loomer's ROE offers a timely exploration of the history behind the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade and the ongoing political debate around abortion and a women's right to choose. While Loomer's text is not necessarily nuanced in the way that it presents the argument around abortion, ROE does consider both sides of this divisive issue. The play is perhaps most compelling in its capacity to pull back the curtain around the original Roe v. Wade case and reveal the case's history. ROE centers on two critical women, the lawyer Sarah Weddington, who was only in her mid-twenties when she brought this case before the Court, and Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff under the pseudonym 'Jane Roe.' Before I saw this play, I had never heard these women's names before. But now, thanks to Loomer's work, I won't soon forget them. For Loomer interestingly not only presents both sides of the United States' debate over a woman's right to choose but also puts forth Sarah and Norma's two differing perspectives on the events that transpired before and after Roe v. Wade was decided.

The Marriott Theatre opens its 45th season with director Scott Weinstein's staging of GREASE, the 1971 musical that was born in Chicago and became a Broadway hit, a famous film and a perennial favorite of theaters across the country. With book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, the show follows sheltered Sandy Dumbrowski (Leryn Turlington) as she navigates social life at Rydell High School, where she's the new girl in the class of 1959. Befriended by a world-wise clique called the Pink Ladies, Sandy soon discovers that her boyfriend of the previous summer, Danny Zuko (Jimmy Nicholas) also attends Rydell and is the leader of a leather-clad gang of a?oegreasers.a?? Can innocent Sandy and tough-guy Danny rekindle their summer romance in the complicated social scene of Rydell High?

Marriott Theatre's GREASE, currently in previews, will open on Wednesday, January 22nd at 7:30 p.m. and close Sunday, March 15th.

Lyric Opera's special holiday engagement of Adam Guettel's THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, one of the few contemporary musicals written in a style that harkens back to the Golden Age, is beautifully sung with the composer's complicated and melodious score performed by a superb orchestra. The musical focuses on Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara, who take a vacation to Florence, Italy in the summer of 1953a?'and find their lives forever changed after Clara has a chance encounter with Fabrizio Nacarelli, a young Italian man. It should come as little surprise that Renèe Fleming has a radiant turn as Margaret. Vocally, Fleming's take on the role is pristine, but she also plays out the tension between Margaret's fiercely protective instincts when it comes to her child and her yearning to empower Clara to lead her own life as a young adult. While I wish to avoid spoilers, it's key to share that the musical has a twist that includes a revelation about Clara that shines light on precisely why Margaret feels so compelled to keep watch over her daughter.

Rehearsals are underway for Scenario Two's presentation of the beloved Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza at Lyric Opera House, starring four-time Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Renée Fleming. The limited holiday engagement opens this Saturday, Dec. 14 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents The Steadfast Tin Soldier, from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, written and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman.

Acclaimed Chicago actor Larry Yando returns for his 12th season at Goodman Theatre as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, directed for the seventh year by Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper.

Although Goodman Theatre is now producing A CHRISTMAS CAROL for the 42nd year, and although I have seen the production four times myself, it still has an immense capacity to tug at the heartstrings. While the Goodman's production has few surprises to reveal for repeat viewers at this point, the emotions of delight and humor I experienced on opening night reminded me why this production feels magical for so many. And because I attended the show with a first-time viewer, it was particularly special to share the Goodman's brand of holiday joy.

Great dancing candlesticks! Just wait to see what Aurora's Paramount Theatre has in store for Disney's Beauty and the Beast, November 13, 2019-January 19, 2020 at the beautiful Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora. 

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 45th Anniversary season with the World Premiere of The First Deep Breath by Lee Edward Colston II and directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. The First Deep Breath runs November 15 – December 22, 2019, with press performance on Friday, November 22, 2019 at 7:00pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces presents The Steadfast Tin Soldier, from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, written and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman.