CHICAGO THEATER REVIEWS

Directed by Helen Young, TimeLine Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of Lloyd Suh’s THE CHINESE LADY is a poignant and well-crafted play centered on Afong Moy, who was supposedly the first Chinese woman to come to America. Although historical record does not have much definitive information abou...

Yasen Peyankov’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s SEAGULL proves a wry vehicle to showcase the talents of many of his fellow Steppenwolf ensemble members who haven’t graced the stage since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Peyankov’s adaptation is direct, self-aware, and rife with dry (extremely dr...

In the Shakespearean canon, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL defies categorization; it doesn’t neatly fit alongside Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, or history plays. Read our critic's review!...

How to rescue a bar in 1987? Read our critic's review of the production. ...

Porchlight’s SPRING AWAKENING brings out moments of the raw emotion and many of the angsty vibes in the musical with Hlava’s Wendla and Kelch’s Mortiz as powerful anchors in this ensemble of angsty teens (though, aside from Hlava, all the actors are past their teen days). While the production ...

A grand, glitter and confetti-filled spectacle, the Tony Award-winning musical Moulin Rouge! The Musical officially opened the national tour at the Nederlander Theatre in Chicago on April 21 and those who attended may still be giggling from excitement while picking confetti out of their hair....

The moment you walk into the theatre and see the 'mountains' surrounding the back walls you know exactly where you are and that you need to be here. Read our critic's review of the 2022 production. ...

Read our critic's review.THE PROM delivers heartfelt musical theater comedy for musical theater lovers. With plenty of theater in-jokes, hijinks, big ensemble dance numbers, and a mix of funny and saccharine, writers Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin, and Bob Martin understand the formula for an entertai...

All hail! The pop queens of SIX are back in Chicago for an epic royal homecoming in their national tour debut. Read our critic's review. ...

Although the play takes place in 1919, Tyla Abercrumbie’s RELENTLESS probes prescient themes of family secrets, inherited trauma, and the enduring legacy of racism for two affluent Black sisters living in the northern part of the United States. Director Ron OJ Parson remounts TimeLine Theatre Comp...

IN EVERY GENERATION explores the duality of the cyclical nature of humanity - specifically, in this play, the Jewish experience. As playwright Ali Viterbi's text reveals, sometimes cycles can be sources of comfort and tradition - as is the case with the Levi-Katz's family annual Passover Seder and m...

This production is simply exquisite!The current production at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, IL is Rodgers and Hammerstein's timeless story of the puzzled King of Siam and the British schoolteacher who educates more than just his children. Of course, it's The King and I. Read our critic's ...

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....

If the first production at the new Copley Theatre in Aurora is an indication of what the new BOLD series will be, patrons will be riveted to the action on the stage....

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

The current production of Groundhog Day at the Paramount Theater in Aurora, IL (under the direction of Jim Corti) is not the movie - and that's not being negative at all! All the familiar elements are evident in this well staged and directed musical. When we first meet Phil Connors (the talented and...

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 sp...

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....

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....

It's that time of year when we celebrate our favorite cherished holiday traditions. For many, that includes watching a classic Frank Capra film that tells the story of Bedford Falls' own George Bailey. It's filled with many iconic Hollywood moments that are forever etched in our hearts and minds. Pe...