Rachel Weinberg - Page 15

Libby Lloyd takes on the role of Nini, one of the principal club dancers, in the MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL national tour. The Tony Award winning musical is currently making its tour premiere here in Chicago. Lloyd reflected on bringing the iconic Baz Luhrmann jukebox movie musical to life for touring audiences and the thrill of live musical theater.

Doug Wright’s GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR, now in its world premiere production at Goodman Theatre, is an engaging play that brings the story of one infamous night in the life of Oscar Levant to the stage. Read our critic's review.

WHITE is a sharp and genuinely funny critique of the modern art world, the subjectivity of contemporary art, and the question of who should be represented and who has access to the upper echelons of said art world.

KING JAMES is a platonic male love story — and Rajiv Joseph’s world premiere play at Steppenwolf is one slam dunk of a bromance.

HADESTOWN takes audiences on a wild and original ride into Hades's underworld. With music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell, HADESTOWN combines the Greek myths of the ill-fated lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, along with that of Hades and Persephone, lord of the underworld and his beloved wife who spends half of each year on earth and half underground - thus causing the seasons. Mitchell's score and lyrics likewise draw on a variety of musical influences, incorporating New Orleans style jazz, folk, and pop Broadway sounds. The more jazz influenced numbers form the heart of HADESTOWN; they're the most distinctive, inventive, and lively.

Rarely do I see theater that feels truly unique, but Mary Zimmerman's THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI at Goodman Theater is indeed unlike any other piece of theater.

Porchlight Music Theatre has staged a number of similar revues over the years, and I look back on those most fondly for the tremendous talent they have showcased. That could not be more true of director Kenny Ingram's production of Sheldon Epps's BLUES IN THE NIGHT.

Victory Gardens Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin ushers in a new age for the company with a play that trods familiar territory.

WOMEN OF SOUL delivers the kind of high-energy tribute that makes up the best kind of revue, and the songs are irresistible.

Local actor Kelly O'Sullivan brings her talents to the role of Sandra in the national tour of THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, now in a sit-down Chicago run through early April.

BACHELOR: THE UNAUTHORIZED PARODY MUSICAL is exceedingly clever, legitimately funny, and far wittier than the ABC series itself. This show earns my rose.

A Red Orchid Theatre returns with Jen Silverman’s THE MOORS, which overturns the conventions of a Victorian era-style drama by infusing commentary on gender roles and elements of absurdism.

The national tour of director Daniel Fish’s Tony Award-winning revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA! arrives in Chicago next week. Ahead of the show’s Chicago engagement, Sasha Hutchings reflected on her role as leading lady Laurey, her journey with the show, and how the show’s themes and this new production will resonate with modern audiences.

FROZEN is a fun and sparkly production to ring in the holiday season, and this touring cast is first-rate. If all the little Annas and Elsas in the audience on opening night were any indication, it’s also a great show to introduce young theatergoers to musicals. And it’s enjoyable for the young at heart, too!

PARADISE SQUARE takes the theme of the proverbial American melting pot deeply to heart. The musical centers on the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Five Points in the 1860s, where many white Irish immigrants and free Black Americans lived together. Though the show's narrator, Paradise Square saloon owner Nelly O'Brien, tells audiences that Five Points was notorious for being a slum, she also makes clear that the neighborhood's inhabitants enjoyed deep friendships and romantic relationships.

Mercury Theater Chicago returns with SISTER ACT - and it's pure musical theater elation. This 'Joyful, Joyful' (SISTER ACT II reference intended) production, with direction from Reneisha Jenkins and choreography by Mercury's new Artistic Director Christopher Chase Carter, meets the goal of delighting audiences. This is musical theater that's designed to entertain and not make audiences think too deeply, and Mercury's production capitalizes on the show's capacity for fun. While the material is not at all serious, the talent in this company is stacked, and the actors take their responsibility to deliver this fun seriously.

Chicago native and recent Northwestern graduate Alexa Xioufaridou Moster reflects on making her national tour debut in PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL and why she’s excited to return to her hometown when the tour arrives here in December.

After the long pandemic hiatus, Porchlight Music Theatre returns to in-person productions with a feel-good staging of PUMP BOYS & DINETTES. It’s clear that Artistic Director Michael Weber knew that audiences would be craving some classic, lighthearted musical theater sentiment after such a long time away. He was wise to program director Daryl Brooks’s production of this 1983 show as a welcome back.

Sara Sheperd steps into the lead role of musician, songwriter, and singer Carole King in the BEAUTIFUL national tour. She chatted with BroadwayWorld Chicago about her long-standing connection with the show, and her excitement about returning to live performance and this iconic role.

E. Faye Butler gives a formidable performance as civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Cheryl L. West’s one-woman play.