CHICAGO THEATER REVIEWS

Whether you have seen AVENUE Q before and can mouth the lyrics to all the songs or if you have never experienced it, Mercury Theater's production is worth a visit. AVENUE Q will provide uproarious and NSFW laughs for days, but it also will touch your heart and provide a much-needed dose of theatrica...

The pre-Broadway engagement of THE CHER SHOW has made its way to Chicago in a blaze of colorful, over-the-top energy and replete with the artist's chart-topping hits. Three utterly talented women share the title role: Broadway veteran Stephanie J. Block as Star, Teal Wicks as Lady, and newcomer Mica...

Steppenwolf's production reunites cast members Metwally and Moayed along with director Amy Morton. Together, these three artists collaborated with Joseph for the play's world premiere production at Atlantic Theatre in New York City in 2015. Accordingly, the present production is a unique and deeply ...

In FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks draws on Homeric tradition to spin an epic of the American Civil War. Intended as the first three parts of nine, an episodic structure ties loosely together the narrative of Hero (Kamal Angelo Bo...

Goodman Theatre's revival of HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY SISTERS' FIRST 100 YEARS feels less like an evening in the theater than time whiled away in the company of two delightful women. Based on the 1993 New York Times bestselling memoir of the same title, this play shares the oral history of Sadie a...

Playwright John Patrick Shanley's OUTSIDE MULLINGAR fits neatly into the tradition of his Irish-American heritage; through unpretentious characters and witty dialogue, he spins a tale that explores universal themes of loneliness, longing, home, and family. Steve Scott directs this production by the ...

If you've ever wanted to rock out in a historic opera house, look no further than JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Lyric Opera of Chicago. In a bold departure from the American classics typically staged during the spring 'Broadway at Lyric' series, Lyric presents the North American premiere of Regent's Par...

Hockadoo! Porchlight Music Theatre's MEMPHIS bursts onto the stage with joy and earnest energy. Under the direction of Daryl Brooks, this musical sheds light on timely historical issues while milking the show's sweetest, most exuberant moments for all they're worth....

Stephanie Allison Walker's play highlights a moment in Argentina's history, her portrait of the silencing of voices, the torture of loved ones, and the women who rose up against injustice finds complete alignment with the present moment....

The Marriott Theatre marks the 75th anniversary of OKLAHOMA! with a production that celebrates the best of Rodgers and Hammerstein - delightful dance numbers, impressive vocals and eminently hummable tunes - while offering a fresh take on a beloved classic....

In Steppenwolf Theatre's world premiere of THE DOPPELGÄNGER (AN INTERNATIONAL FARCE), playwright Matthew-Lee Erlbach employs all the tricks of the genre - crashing furniture, ridiculous situations and rapid-fire wordplay - to shine a light on political corruption and socio-economic injustice....

The best desserts are made with delicious layers that include some surprising flavors. They make you want another piece and to know how they were made. That's how it is with Bekah Brunstetter's THE CAKE now running at Rivendell Theatre. Each scene of this wonderful work is filled with bites that are...

Boasting an all-star cast, beautiful design, and a beloved score, Drury Lane Theatre's SOUTH PACIFIC provides a truly enchanting evening of theatre - both entertaining and thought-provoking as it addresses sobering themes such as racism and bigotry....

Boo Killebrew's world premiere play LETTIE is profoundly heartbreaking and brilliantly conceived. Under the direction of Artistic Director Chay Yew, the production devastatingly unfolds the narrative of the titular working class ex-convict Lettie. Both Killebrew's masterful, raw writing and Yew's su...

From the opening strains of the nuns' harmonies in Nonnberg Abbey, the national touring production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC delivers the beloved story of family, romance, and courage with a charming style all its own....

Firebrand Theatre's production of 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL makes a good deal of sense for the company to stage, especially as it's the first show directed by Artistic Director Harmony France. This outsized, comical musical focuses on three women navigating office politics in 1979 as they plot revenge agai...

MARY'S WEDDING is not a typical war play. In this two-hander love story set during the First World War, the action is framed as a recurring dream and offers all the possibilities of a dream world: non-linear timelines, sudden shifts in setting, and the opportunity for characters to relive events not...

Delivering a triple threat of relevant writing, thoughtful direction, and a strong ensemble cast, SMART PEOPLE is well worth a trip to Writers Theatre's stylish new facility on Chicago's North Shore....

With his use of phrases such as 'fake facts' and 'drain the swamp', Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls overtly speaks to the current political climate in his new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. The audience's audible reactions to particularly searing lines prove that...

Under the taut direction of David Schwimmer, Kevin Douglas's new comedy PLANTATION! succeeds in making audiences both laugh out loud and cringe. In PLANTATION!, Douglas explores one wealthy white woman's attempt to make reparations for the benefits her family reaped from slavery. Douglas does so by ...

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With her Pulitzer Prize finalist THE WOLVES, young playwright Sarah DeLappe has beautifully, movingly, and realistically captured the tenuousness that comes with being a teenage girl navigating the thorny terrain of high school. DeLappe has captured so precisely the agony and nuances of high school ...

When it rains it pours! This saying applies to our lives when things are either going for or against us. For Mae, the central character in Clare Barron's YOU GOT OLDER now in its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, life changes have poured on her. And these changes are certainly not for...

While MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is quite a dark show, it's undeniably one of my favorite Sondheim musicals-and Porchlight's production does well to demonstrate why this is the case....

As I left the theatre on opening night of Stephen Karem's Tony Award-winning play, THE HUMANS, I heard a patron say, 'Wow, that reminded me of my own family holidays.'...