Liz Lauren News

Few dramatic adaptations of A Christmas Carol manage to convey the magic, the emotional power, and—yes—the terror of Dickens’s original as effectively and impactfully as Manual Cinema’s version, now playing at Writers Theatre in Glencoe through December 24th.

Step behind the gates and discover the magic that awaits when Aurora’s Paramount Theatre presents the Professional Regional Premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, currently running through January 14, 2024. Check out production photos here!

These days, truth is elusive — and Timeline Theatre’s THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT plays with that idea. It’s the age of endless fact-checking resources on the internet, but also the age of misinformation spread across TikTok, Reddit, and other social media. Wherein lies the truth? And what is accurate? Sometimes, it’s hard to say. THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT meditates on that theme.

Lookingglass Alice is adapted and directed by founding member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, David Catlin. Lindsey Noel Whiting, a Lookingglass Alice cast member herself, hosts the PBS program, and the cast includes Molly Hernandez as Alice, along with Kareem Bandealy, Samuel Taylor, Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Daniel Johnson.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night, staged by director Tyrone Phillips in the Courtyard Theater, running now through November 26.

Get the latest updates on the Broadway musical adaptation of 'The Notebook.' Discover the cast, including Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez, and find out the opening date and venue details.

Mercury’s YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a Halloween treat with many classic musical comedy tricks.

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is a sweeping play that covers 164 years of history as it weaves together fact and fiction to chart the rise and fall of Lehman Brothers. The play’s title mirrors the ambition of the piece: It has a run-time of over three hours that unfolds in three acts — all performed by only three actors. The trilogy in the title is thus a literal reflection of the play’s structure and the roles, but it’s also suggestive of the piece’s mythical nature. Likewise, playwright Stefano Massani’s script (adapted by Ben Power) has a rhythmic storytelling style; the actors often narrate their own stories and actions in a chamber theater type of presentation. Although the run time is long, the fact that THE LEHMAN TRILOGY covers so much ground means it remains interesting throughout — although I found I was ultimately more intellectually than emotionally stimulated.

It seems fitting that Goodman Theatre opens new Artistic Director Susan V. Booth’s inaugural season with THE NACIREMA SOCIETY, a play that’s about coming out to society. This Chicago premiere marks a continuation of Booth’s long-standing relationship with celebrated Black playwright Pearl Cleage. THE NACIREMA SOCIETY takes the form of an extended farce, following the incredibly wealthy Dunbar family in 1964 Montgomery, Alabama. In this light-hearted (if not always legitimately laugh-out-loud) comedic play, Cleage draws heavily from classic farce conventions. As the centennial event of matriarch Grace Dubose Dunbar’s beloved Nacirema Society, Montgomery’s organization for Black young women, dawns — and she awaits her own granddaughter Grace’s coming out — the antics become more and more heightened as family secrets come to light.

Check out a first look at production photos from Paramount Theatre's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, running through October 15!

Audible Theater’s New York premiere of the Goodman Theatre production of Swing State, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman begins previews this week. Learn how to purchase tickets!

BroadwayWorld interviewed Bubba Weiler to discuss the excitement of bringing the world premiere of 'Swing State' to New York audiences.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a 75-minute family musical production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, directed and choreographed by Amber Mak. Dazzling production numbers, including the title song and the showstopping 'Be Our Guest,' fill the Courtyard Theater, introducing young audiences to the magic of live theater. See first look photos of the production!

Get a first look at photos and video of Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical!

A sensational and sumptuous feast for both the eyes and ears, you can’t help but fall under the spell of the pinball wizard TOMMY.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Chicago’s must-see summer musical The Who’s Tommy, reimagined for a new audience 30 years after the original production opened on Broadway, opens tonight and extends a second time—now running through August 6.

Lucy and Charlie are Asian American newlyweds on that “Vigilante Sh*t” (to borrow from Taylor Swift) in Matthew C. Yee’s premiere musical LUCY AND CHARLIE’S HONEYMOON.

The epic pop-culture musical smash sensation that revolutionized the theater, The Who’s Tommy, is reimagined anew at Goodman Theatre this summer. The cast and crew of the production went began rehearsals this week! Go behind the scenes and meet the cast with new photos and video!

I didn't think I'd ever see a singing Antarctic explorer in a musical, but that's exactly what ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME delivers. This quirky but conventionally structured two-hander introduces audiences to Kat, a struggling experimental musician with a newborn baby and a deadbeat, absent boyfriend who's on tour with a Journey cover band, and the eponymous Ernest Shackleton.

“Stop trying to be what everyone else wants you to be, man. Just be you.” Antonio Edwards Suarez recounts that his childhood best friend, Curtis, said to him growing up. This sentiment becomes in many ways the mantra for ANTONIO’S SONG: It’s a deeply human exploration of identity — and specifically Suarez’s identity — and all the elements that make us who we are. In ANTONIO’S SONG, Suarez and co-playwright Dael Orlandersmith share vignettes from Suarez’s upbringing that reflect the complexities of his identity. This is a touching, if not groundbreaking, solo show. Ultimately, theater reflects our humanity, and ANTONIO’S SONG reinforces that we turn to art to better understand ourselves. Structurally and thematically, this is well-trod territory.