CHICAGO THEATER REVIEWS

The current production at the Paramount Theatre is the musical Waitress based upon the motion picture. When it opened, it was the first all-female production team on Broadway. Director and choreographer Katie Spelman gives the audience an evening of laughter, some tears and love. Sarah Bareilles’ ...

Under the direction of artistic director Susan V. Booth and bolstered by actors at the heights of their craft, the Goodman’s BETRAYAL provides audiences with a sincere and sympathetic take on a modern classic....

Director Jane Lanier (A Chorus Line) and this talented ensemble seamlessly tell Carole’s story to the fullest extent. The orchestra, under the direction of Chris Sargent, is the backbone to this music....

FOOL FOR LOVE has peak Steppenwolf energy. I’ve long associated Steppenwolf Theatre Company with gritty, messy, feral family and relationship dramas — Sam Shepard’s one-act fits the bill. It’s also only 65 minutes — that run-time is short, but it’s a logical choice in the TikTok era when...

Lookingglass Theatre’s CIRCUS QUIXOTE provides Chicago audiences with a stunning dramatic adaptation of Don Quixote that is every bit as impactful and imaginative as its source material....

Open Space Arts in Uptown is quickly establishing itself as the go-to “storefront” theater for plays and films that consider the many nuances of queer experiences, and their latest offering—MR. PARKER—is no exception. Elevated by the sophisticated performance of its leading actor, MR. PARKER...

Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s FUN HOME is a musical journey in sketches through the memories of Alison Bechdel. Based on the graphic memoir of the same name — and so called because the Bechdel family business was a funeral home — Porchlight director Stephen Schellhardt’s production brings e...

The Goodman’s FAT HAM is an intelligent, uproarious adaptation that explores and celebrates Black joy and resilience. The co-production with Definition Theatre has already been extended through March 2....

With JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, Jocelyn Bioh pulls off a challenging theatrical feat: She makes a slice-of-life play consistently engaging and entertaining. Set in Harlem at a hair salon of the same name, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING follows a group of West African immigrant women working the...

This is the moment – when Dr. Henry Jekyll decides to try an experiment. Jekyll and Hyde in Concert is the newest production from BrightSide Theatre. ...

SHUCKED is a corny musical...in the best way possible. Book writer Robert Horn and composer team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally’s lyrics are chock-full (or should I say husk-full?) of puns, double entendres, and cringey punchlines. I was grinning ear-to-ear (of corn). SHUCKED is joyful, creative,...

This story is definitely geared to young females. They do identify with it. It was apparent in the audience. It is about respecting yourself but also treating each other with respect. Believe in yourself. Have faith in others but ultimately, have faith in yourself. We all need to remember these impo...

TEATRO ZINZANNI is still kicking it in the indoor Spiegeltent Zazou nestled on the fourteenth floor of the Cambria Hotel in the Loop. It’s still a reliably entertaining variety show, and this particular edition includes many returning performers....

& JULIET is an unserious jukebox musical that’s deeply serious about its commitment to fun....

This is the crucial moment in the current childrens’ theatre production at Marriott Lincolnshire of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical, Cinderella. The cast of ten, under the direction of Laura Rook, brings delight and joy to the littlest members of the audience, many of the girls dressed...

FALSETTOS, originally written as two-one act musicals set in 1979 and 1981, respectively, feels simultaneously dated and prescient. In this co-production from Court Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company, director Nick Bowling leads a first-rate ensemble that preserves the musical as a period piece bu...

What did our critic think of THE SECRET GARDEN at Theo Ubique?...

What did our critic think of FROZEN at Paramount Theatre Aurora, IL?...

Read our review of WHITE CHRISTMAS at Marriott Theatre....

In Ngozi Anyanwu’s LEROY AND LUCY, two strangers meet at a crossroads in Mississippi...and not much happens. Based upon the myth of Robert Johnson, who supposedly sold his soul to the devil to make it as a blues musician, the play finds Leroy (Jon Michael Hill) and Lucy (Brittany Bradford) in a li...

The Second City’s latest e.t.c. revue BEST KEPT SECRET: TELL EVERYONE wants to remind audiences that life is a cabaret, old chum. While some Second City revue themes hang together better than others, BEST KEPT SECRET slyly pays homage to the classic Kander and Ebb musical CABARET and the general i...

What did our critic think of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at North Shore Center For The Performing Arts, Skokie, IL?...

SOME LIKE IT HOT brings old-fashioned musical comedy, hijinks, and a ton of superbly executed tap dancing to the stage. ...

What did our critic think of BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA at BrightSide Theatre? ...

Namir Smallwood’s performance as Kenneth is a real testament to his superb abilities as a performer and the intimacy of PRIMARY TRUST becomes more profoundly emotional thanks to him. ...