Chicago Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 25

BWW Review: BARITONES UNBOUND Soars to Entertaining, Lyrical Heights at the Royal George Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - December 16, 2015

Equal parts self-congratulatory and self-deprecating--and wholly entertaining--the three-man show BARITONES UNBOUND pays homage to that elusive vocal part between the tenor and the bass: the titular baritone. Conceived by Marc Kudisch (who originated the role of Pastor Greg last spring in Broadway's...

BWW Review: BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL A Sight (and Sound) to Behold
by Rachel Weinberg - December 07, 2015

The Chicago engagement of the first national tour of BEAUTIFUL--THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL rightfully earns the show's title. This entertaining and emotional production delivers tons of heart and talent at the Oriental Theatre. This engagement also signals the homecoming for lead Abby Mueller in the ro...

BWW Reviews: A Camp Classic CHRISTMAS DEAREST
by Misha Davenport - December 04, 2015

The prince of Chicago Camp, David Cedra is back with a laugh-out-loud homage to Charles Dickens' immortal A Christmas Carol, CHRISTMAS DEAREST....

BWW Review: Mercury's CHRISTMAS SCHOONER is Readily, Wonderfully Shipshape
by Patrick O'Brien - December 03, 2015

Like its blessed branch, take it and pass it on....

BWW Review: Theo Ubique's MY WAY Honors Sinatra
by Misha Davenport - December 03, 2015

December 12 marks the 100th birthday of music icon Frank Sinatra and Theo Ubique's winter cabaret is serving up a timely, well-sung tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes, MY WAY...A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA. Anyone burnt out on the usual holiday fare will find it a soothing tonic....

BWW Reviews: A Hauntingly Beautiful BURNING BLUEBEARD
by Misha Davenport - November 30, 2015

A grisly tale about the worst theater tragedy in American history in which approximately 600 mostly women and children lost their lives ends up being both life and art-affirming....

BWW Review: Quest Sings a Sweet CHRISTMAS CAROL
by Misha Davenport - November 30, 2015

Quest presents a sweet, musical version of Dickens' holiday classic....

BWW Review: Porchlight Music Theatre's AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' Brings Swinging Holiday Spirit to Stage 773
by Rachel Weinberg - November 27, 2015

Audiences looking for a jazzy and celebratory way to get into a holiday mood should look no further than Porchlight Music Theatre's AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. This Fats Waller musical revue provides plenty of joy and entertainment but remains distinct among the city's holiday offerings because the show's co...

BWW Review: THE MERRY WIDOW Comes Up Singing at Lyric Opera
by Rachel Weinberg - November 25, 2015

With artful direction and choreography from Susan Stroman, Lyric Opera's mounting of Franz Lehar's well-known 1905 operetta THE MERRY WIDOW sweeps audiences into a joyful waltz, complete with exquisite talent and a production with opulence to spare. This production debuted at the Metropolitan Opera ...

BWW Review: A Heartfelt, Nostalgic A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
by Misha Davenport - November 23, 2015

Emerald City's holiday production of A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS is a treat for young and old alike. As television holiday classics go, you can't get much better thant 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and Eric Schaeffer's stage adaptation offers up a sweet, live action version that that is itself an ins...

BWW Review: Thomas Bradshaw's FULFILLMENT at American Theater Company Compellingly Examines What It Means to 'Have it All'
by Rachel Weinberg - November 16, 2015

What does it mean to have agency over our lives and those around us? And what happens when we're unable to fully grasp that which intrinsically controls us? With direction by Ethan McSweeny, the world premiere play FULFILLMENT, in a co-production with The Flea Theater of New York City, boldly examin...

BWW Review: Lyric's WOZZECK Stirs the Brain in Cracking Production
by Patrick O'Brien - November 12, 2015

Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck is not the first to swirl with immortal themes like power play, lust, betrayal, and death (far, far from it), but thanks to the circumstances of its composition - further emphasized by Sir David McVicar's new production at the Lyric Opera - it is prominent in its search to...

BWW Review: Timeline Theatre Company's Chicago Premiere SPILL Drills Into the Human Story Behind 2010 BP Oil Disaster
by Rachel Weinberg - November 02, 2015

Timeline Theatre Company's Chicago premiere of Leigh Fondakowski's documentary-style SPILL aims to show audiences the untold side of the story surrounding the April 2010 blowout and subsequent explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a BP oil rig, in the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting oil spill was the wo...

BWW Review: Steppenwolf for Young Adults 1984 Presents A Bold, Clear Take on Orwell's Classic Novel
by Rachel Weinberg - October 26, 2015

Steppenwolf for Young Adults' production of 1984 opens on Collette Pollard's stark, barren set. No objects are present onstage, except for plain wooden sets of drawers on the perimeter and two prison cell-like spaces up above. The stage itself sets the tone for the narrative of what has been describ...

BWW Review: Lookingglass Theatre Company's TREASURE ISLAND Charts an Imaginative Course on the Stage
by Rachel Weinberg - October 19, 2015

In Lookingglass Theatre Company's TREASURE ISLAND, young protagonist Jim Hawkins sails across the stage on Todd Rosenthal's cleverly crafted and all-encompassing Hispaniola. But instead of being propelled by a body of water below him, Jim stands centerstage as the show's ensemble of actors use manua...

BWW Review: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE Slays 'Em On Tour
by Misha Davenport - October 05, 2015

Equal parts Gilbert and Sullivan and Edward Gorey, the Tony award winning musical A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER finally hits Chicago for a limited engagement through Oct. 11 and it was worth the wait....

BWW Review: SCREAM, QUEEN, SCREAM!
by Misha Davenport - October 02, 2015

David Cerda, the crown prince of Chicago Camp, is back and in top form with his latest queer take on horror anthologies, SCREAM, QUEEN, SCREAM! Cerda, the artistic director of Hell in a Handbag Productions, wrote the show and also stars in one of the trilogy of stories. It runs through Oct. 31 at Ma...

BWW Review: Theo Ubique Scores Again With Riveting BLOOD BROTHERS
by Misha Davenport - September 30, 2015

One of Chicago's best storefronts (and quite possibly one of the country's) Theo Ubique production of BLOOD BROTHERS gets to the heart (and relevance) of the show like nobody else can. The end results are heartfelt and engaging....

BWW Review: TRIASSIC PARQ is T-Rex Size Fun
by Misha Davenport - September 21, 2015

Circle Theatre knocks it out of the Parq with TRIASSIC PARQ...

BWW Review: Porchlight Music Theatre's Intimate, Entertaining SIDE SHOW Brings Sideline Attractions Center Stage
by Rachel Weinberg - September 21, 2015

The opening number of the newly revised SIDE SHOW invites audiences to 'Come Look at the Freaks.' In doing so, however, the musical really prepares spectators to look upon the circus attractions in the show with empathy rather than alienation and astonishment. With this intimate production from Porc...

BWW Review: BoHo's DOGFIGHT Hits All the Right Notes
by Elee Schrock - September 16, 2015

At a time in theatre where shows are all-too-often injected with extreme concepts or 'themes' outside of the originally written text (sometimes successful, sometimes not), it's a remarkable breath of fresh air to see a production where the script is trusted to stand on its own without a director's o...

BWW Review: The Hypocrites' AMERICAN IDIOT
by Misha Davenport - September 09, 2015

The Hypocrites score with a raw and energetic punk rock version of AMERICAN IDIOT...

BWW Review: Chicago Premiere of GLORY DAYS Captures Sweet Agony of Adolescent Friendship
by Rachel Weinberg - September 01, 2015

Refuge Theatre Project's production of contemporary musical GLORY DAYS may be the only show I ever see that features four male actors drinking Natty Ice onstage. And yet in a musical about four best high school friends who reunite for the first time after their freshman year away at college, this se...

BWW Review: World Premiere OCTOBER SKY Gets Off the Ground
by Patrick O'Brien - August 30, 2015

Based on the 1999 Universal film, this new musical flies, and will surely fly again soon....

BWW Review: Mercury Theater Chicago's RING OF FIRE Blazes With Talent
by Rachel Weinberg - August 25, 2015

Mercury Theater Chicago's RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH celebrates Cash's life and music, and as performed by the production's cast of immensely talented actor/musicians, it is a celebration, indeed....