Chicago Theater Reviews
View the latest BroadwayWorld reviews of live + streaming theatre in Chicago.

by Rachel Weinberg - January 24, 2023
In the ripple, the wave that carried me home, protagonist Janice must metaphorically reckon with her homecoming and her childhood in the fictional Beacon, Kansas....

by Rachel Weinberg - January 20, 2023
What did our critic think of CABARET at Porchlight Music Theatre? Porchlight invites audiences into the glittering, gritty world of early 1930s Berlin with John Kander and Fred Ebb’s iconic musical CABARET. Under the direction of Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber and with associate directio...

by Kathleen Anwar - January 20, 2023
What did our critic think of TICK, TICK... BOOM! at BoHoTheatre? 'They're singing happy birthday / you just want to lay down and cry' - Who hasn't resonated with these lyrics at some point in their lives? Despite its 90s punk rock aesthetic, Jonathan Larson's tick, tick...Boom! so accurately capture...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - December 19, 2022
What did our critic think of LITTLE WOMEN at First Folio Theatre, Oak Brook IL? The current production at First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook is an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic coming of age story during the Civil War of the four March sisters - Little Women. Most of us of a certain age re...

by Kathleen Anwar - December 17, 2022
What did our critic think of THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS at Theo Ubique Cabaret?...

by Rachel Weinberg - December 12, 2022
What did our critic think of BALD SISTERS at Steppenwolf Theatre Company? Steppenwolf presents a new twist on the well-trod territory of the dysfunctional family drama with Vichet Chum’s BALD SISTERS. As far as dysfunctional families go, too, the family in BALD SISTERS doesn’t have the most baggage....

by Rachel Weinberg - December 09, 2022
Porchlight Music Theatre invited audiences to take another bite of musical theater history with Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s THE APPLE TREE. The musical, composed of three one-acts centered on the theme of temptation, was the season opener for the Porchlight Revisits series. As usual, Porchight ...

by Misha Davenport - December 07, 2022
What did our critic think of THE GOLDEN GIRLS: THE LOST EPISODES -THE OBLIGATORY HOLIDAY SHOW at Hell In A Handbag Productions?...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 29, 2022
What did our critic think of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Goodman Theatre, Chicago?...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 20, 2022
What did our critic think of THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Paramount Theatre Aurora, IL?...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 18, 2022
What did our critic think of ELF THE MUSICAL at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL? Drury Lane Theatre's holiday production is Elf. From the opening number until the final curtain, Elf will make you feel the joy of Christmas as a child again. That's the beauty of Buddy the Elf and in large part...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 14, 2022
What did our critic think of LE COMTE ORY at Lyric Opera House Chicago?...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 11, 2022
What did our critic think of A CHRISTMAS STORY THE MUSICAL at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL?...

by Rachel Weinberg - November 11, 2022
What did our critic think of TROUBLE IN MIND at TimeLine Theatre Company? TROUBLE IN MIND is a blistering portrait of racial and gender politics on Broadway....

by Rachel Weinberg - November 07, 2022
What did our critic think of RENT at Porchlight Music Theatre? Jonathan Larson’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical RENT comes to life in a Porchlight production that captures the ethos of the original Broadway production. It also the fresh energy of the musical’s message about love,...

by Rachel Weinberg - October 24, 2022
What did our critic think of SWING STATE at Goodman Theatre? Rebecca Gilman shows her deftness at writing “slice of life” plays in SWING STATE at Goodman Theatre. In this latest collaboration with outgoing Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls, Gilman introduces four characters at a crossro...

by Rachel Weinberg - October 21, 2022
What did our critic think of CLUE at Mercury Theater Chicago? Mercury Theater’s CLUE is a comedic delight of a production. The laughs flow freely and easily in this stage adaptation of the farce-meets-murder-mystery based on the iconic 1985 film. Director L. Walter Stearns’s ensemble lands each and ...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - October 15, 2022
What did our critic think of BULL: A LOVE STORY at Copley Theatre, Aurora IL?...

by Rachel Weinberg - October 07, 2022
What did our critic think of THE NOTEBOOK at Chicago Shakespeare Theater? THE NOTEBOOK is a pretty musical indeed. The musical treats Allie and Noah’s love story with a lighter touch than its source material, and the overall result is moving and graceful....

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - September 30, 2022
Wicked is back in Chicago. The first time it played here, it ran for more than three and a half years. Directed by Joe Mantello, musical staging (choreography) by Wayne Cilento and a stunning set by Eugene Lee along with the lighting by Kenneth Posner once again transports the audience back to Oz an...

by Misha Davenport - September 30, 2022
What did our critic think of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET at Chopin Theatre?...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - September 23, 2022
Feed Me/Do Not Feed the Plants - which is it?...

by Rachel Weinberg - September 21, 2022
In CLYDE’S, playwright Lynn Nottage posits that salvation comes in the form of a sandwich...in more ways than one....

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - September 16, 2022
It's so nice to have you back!...

by Rachel Weinberg - September 15, 2022
What did our critic think of THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON at Steppenwolf Theatre Company? Steppenwolf’s season opener THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON is a wild fever dream of a play. James Ijames’s play asks audiences to grapple wi...