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BWW Review: Sharp, Intense TRUE WEST at Shattered Globe
With deft direction by James Yost, Shattered Globe's production of TRUE WEST made for a solid first Sam Shepard experience for this critic. Kevin Viol and Joseph Wiens have cultivated a convincing and powerful dynamic as estranged brothers Austin and Lee, who are holed up at their mother's house in ...
BWW Review: HELLDRIVERS OF DAYTONA Hits Too Many Speed Bumps
Chicago, fasten your seat belts-the world premiere musical HELLDRIVERS OF DAYTONA has parked at the Royal George Theatre...and it's a bumpy, messy ride. Billed as a spoof of 1960s racing films, composer Berton Averre (known for 'My Sharona'), lyricist Rob Meurer, and book writer Mark Saltzman have d...
BWW Review: HOW TO SUCCEED in Modern-day Theater
'How often does it happen that a secretary's boss wants to marry her? Hallelujah!' These lyrics get to the heart of why shows like HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING can't possibly maintain relevance in modern theater....
BWW Review: KINKY BOOTS Returns With All the Same Sparkle and Joy
When I saw Kinky Boots here in Chicago during its pre-Broadway tryouts, I left the theatre with a huge smile on my face. While the show does have its share of heavier moments, it is also full of so much joy. As it returns for a short run to the Oriental Theatre, I was thrilled to see it maintained t...
BWW Review: Kevin Smith Shares Stories and Laughter to Zanies Crowd
Most people know Kevin Smith from the movies he's directed and starred in like Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl, but others know him as Silent Bob of Jay & Silent Bob with his partner Jason Mewes....
BWW Review: Remounting of BYHALIA, MISSISSIPPI at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre Fuels the Mind and the Heart
Evan Linder's new play BYHALIA, MISSISSIPPI begins with a scene familiar to those in the audience: a mother and her adult daughter squabbling. The daughter, Laurel, is several months pregnant. And while her mother just wants to be present for the birth of her grandchild, Laurel has had enough. But a...
BWW Review: Sometimes You Get Stuck BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Parts of the plot of Between Riverside and Crazy reflect events and situations very similar to those happening in society today. At times they are so close to home that you could feel a sense of unease in the audience. These elements ring true but don't always have enough strength to sustain the sto...
BWW Review: Come TOMORROW MORNING, Kokandy Modestly Approaches Love and Marriage
A daring company takes it easy this summer, which may just be OK....
BWW Review: 'Impossible Dream' Realized in Marriott's MAN OF LA MANCHA
From the haunting opening notes to the robust finale, there's not a wrong note in Marriott Theatre's latest musical, MAN OF LA MANCHA....
BWW Review: Newly Conceived THE FIREBIRD Belies the Clarity of it Creator's Vision
Piecing together a new mythology is an audacious undertaking, and yet it is an act that is at the very heart of theatre-making: the building of a new world, with its own origins and order, that only becomes fully realised when an audience believes in it. THE FIREBIRD attempts just that, telling a po...
BWW Review: Windy City Playhouse's THIS Muddles in the In-Between
Both Melissa James Gibson's play THIS and Windy City Playhouse's production exist on a precipice. For the characters in Gibson's script, they stand on the ledge approaching forty and the onset of middle age, while also waxing nostalgic about the good old college days.These college friends-Jane, Marr...
BWW Review: Marriage is Good COMPANY Policy
To be or not to be … married. That is the question facing Robert throughout COMPANY, the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical that concludes Writers Theatre's current season at its spiffy new venue in Glencoe....
BWW Review: A Delightful Dive into THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL
Ethan Slater offers a star-making turn as everyone's favorite Sponge....
BWW Review: Lifeline's Blossoming NORTHANGER ABBEY is an Early Summer Charmer
Lifeline gives new musical life to Austen obscurity....
BWW Review: THADDEUS AND SLOCUM an Act For the Ages
Lookingglass Theatre always brings thought-provoking, visually entertaining work to its stage, and its latest production fits that bill, for the most part....
BWW Review: Hell in a Handbag's THE DIVINE SISTER
Chicago's camp theater troupe Hell in a Handbag scores with the premiere of Charles Busch's send up of nun films, THE DIVINE SISTER....
BWW Review: The Sweet SOUND OF MUSIC Fills the Cadillac Palace
Broadway In Chicago's engagement of THE SOUND OF MUSIC national tour makes for a pleasant and tuneful evening at this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. Under the direction of Jack O'Brien, this production teems with a lively and joyful energy. In Kerstin Anderson, O'Brien has found a stunning anchor ...
BWW Review: CONSTELLATIONS at Steppenwolf Tells A Universal, Intimate Love Story
In the opening moments of Nick Payne's new play CONSTELLATIONS-now in its Chicago premiere in the Upstairs Theatre at Steppenwolf-the playwright presents audiences with an archetypal 'Boy Meets Girl' story. But then that moment occurs again and again, each time playing out in a different universe. A...
BWW Review: CHICAGO Brings its City a 'Splendiferous' Show
There's a moment during the ritzy, jazzy smash hit, Chicago, when charming lawyer Billy Flynn compares a murder trial to a dazzling, show-stopping circus: 'Give'em a show that's so splendiferous,' he says. And that Chicago truly did....
Videos
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Windfall Steppenwolf Theatre Company (4/09-5/31) |
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South Pacific Paramount Arts Centre (4/29-6/14) |
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The Producers Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College (6/12-6/28) |
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La Bohème Opera Festival of Chicago (6/26-7/05) |
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Very Verismo! Opera Festival of Chicago (6/13-6/13) |
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Spies Of The World: A Grateful Dead Tribute Raue Center For The Arts (6/05-6/05) |
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Chicago Cabaret Professionals Musical Mondays Series The Rhapsody Theater (3/23-7/13) |
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As You Like It Chicago Women's Park and Garden (6/26-6/28) |
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2026 Festival Concert Westminster Presbyterian Church (6/05-6/05) |
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The Notebook (Chicago) CIBC Theatre (8/04-8/16) |
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