Chicago Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 23

BWW Review: Marriage is Good COMPANY Policy
by Teresa Budasi - June 24, 2016

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
by Misha Davenport - June 20, 2016

Ethan Slater offers a star-making turn as everyone's favorite Sponge....

BWW Review: Drury Lane's DEATHTRAP Lures Audiences in with Psychological Thriller
by Kailey Hansen - June 19, 2016

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BWW Review: AN ANTHONY NEWLEY AND LESLIE BRICUSSE SONGBOOK
by Misha Davenport - June 16, 2016

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BWW Review: Lifeline's Blossoming NORTHANGER ABBEY is an Early Summer Charmer
by Patrick O'Brien - June 15, 2016

Lifeline gives new musical life to Austen obscurity....

BWW Review: Griffin's BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL
by Misha Davenport - June 15, 2016

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BWW Review: THADDEUS AND SLOCUM an Act For the Ages
by Teresa Budasi - June 14, 2016

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
by Misha Davenport - June 13, 2016

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
by Rachel Weinberg - June 10, 2016

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
by Rachel Weinberg - June 06, 2016

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
by Kailey Hansen - May 12, 2016

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....

BWW Review: Strawdog's ONCE IN A LIFETIME Offers Up Comedic Nostalgia
by Rachel Weinberg - May 06, 2016

For Strawdog Theatre Company's final production in its Broadway home, the company fittingly presents George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1930 comedy ONCE IN A LIFETIME-both play and production are rife with charm and sly winks to the audience. Director Damon Kiely's choice to stage this particular K...

BWW Review: Porchlight Finds New Moves to Invigorate CHESS
by Misha Davenport - May 04, 2016

CHESS, Porchlight Musical Theatre's final staged reading in the third season of its 'lost' musicals-as- staged-concert series manages to present the show's glorious, pop opera score in all its glory and nearly succeeds in covering up the fault lines that run through the book....

BWW Review: It's a Pleasure Getting to Know Lyric Opera's THE KING AND I
by Rachel Weinberg - May 02, 2016

Under the direction of Lee Blakeley at Lyric Opera (who originally staged this production for Paris's Theatre du Chatelet in 2014), Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical THE KING AND I is heightened to the lavish and beautiful spectacle it deserves. This story of British school teacher Anna Leon...

BWW Review: HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES a Confusing Madcap Drama
by Teresa Budasi - April 28, 2016

THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES is a mixed bag of tone and theme. It is comedy, tragedy, drama, slapstick and farce and then ends in a dark, dark place. Its themes -- The American Dream, mental illness, religion, loneliness, violence and betrayal -- are played out to varying levels of hysteria, which makes...

BWW Review: Sweating Bullets at BULLETS OVER BROADWAY to Little Effect
by Patrick O'Brien - April 27, 2016

Woody Allen's film is promising source material for a musical. This is what we got....

BWW Review: Mercury's THE PRODUCERS Big on Laughs
by Misha Davenport - April 25, 2016

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BWW Review: The Marriott Lincolnshire Takes EVITA To An Intimate Stage
by Kailey Hansen - April 22, 2016

Capturing the renowned musical retelling of Eva Peron-Argentinian fashion icon, pop culture staple and political powerhouse-is no small task for any theater. Combine that with the incomparable music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the deeply dynamic lyrics of Tim Rice and you've got Broadway-sized shoes ...

BWW Review: ONE-MAN STAR WARS TRILOGY: Enjoy It, Superfans Will
by Teresa Budasi - April 21, 2016

Remember when your little brother re-enacted every 'Star Wars' scene in your basement when you were kids - complete with voice impersonations, sound effects and light saber battles? Fast-forward about 35 years and you'll see him all grown up, onstage, wielding an imaginary light saber and occasional...

BWW Review: World Premiere of Ike Holter's SENDER at A Red Orchid Theatre Paints A Smart, Entertaining Portrait of Emerging Adulthood
by Rachel Weinberg - April 21, 2016

Ike Holter's new play SENDER, now in its world premiere production at A Red Orchid Theatre, thrives on the contrast between order and chaos. Or, more precisely in the millennial world of the play, the tension between wanting to remain in childhood and the need to face the realities of adulthood. The...

BWW Review: Porchlight's DREAMGIRLS Will Make You Happy
by Misha Davenport - April 18, 2016

Porchlight's production of DREAMGIRLS is a theater lover's dream come true....

BWW Review: Steppenwolf's MARY PAGE MARLOWE Struggles to Find Its Identity
by Elee Schrock - April 13, 2016

BroadwayWorld.com Chicago review's Steppenwolf's production of 'Mary Page Marlowe.'...

BWW Review: Victory Gardens Theater's World Premiere of HILLARY AND CLINTON Offers An Intriguing, Timely Portrait of Life in the Public Eye
by Rachel Weinberg - April 11, 2016

Victory Gardens Theater's world premiere production of Lucas Hnath's HILLARY AND CLINTON invites audiences to imagine an alternate universe, though similar to our own, in which a woman named Hillary Clinton is running for United States president. And in setting up the play this way, Hnath has crafte...

BWW Review: Despite Solid Performances, HAZEL was Maid-for-TV, Not Theater
by Teresa Budasi - April 07, 2016

Folks of a certain age might remember Hazel, the spunky, middle-aged maid upon which a 1960s television sitcom was based. Now, 50 years later, she's on stage, taking care of the same family, only this time she's cracking wise via song and dance....

BWW Review: KILL FLOOR at American Theater Company Makes for Bloody Good Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - March 30, 2016

KILL FLOOR at American Theater Company is truly a killer production. Abe Koogler's intense and poignant new play is in excellent hands in this Midwest premiere directed by Jonathan Berry. KILL FLOOR insightfully examines contemporary issues of humanity, race, and identity, and with its superb castin...