Chicago Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: SELLING KABUL at Northlight Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - February 04, 2024

Northlight Theatre's production movingly captures the pessimistic practicality and undying hope that still plagues those most affected by a conflict that never really ended. The play runs through February 25....

Review: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 02, 2024

The new production at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace is Fiddler on the Roof.  Under the direction of Elizabeth Margolius, this is a different looking production. It works. The scenic design is subtle but very powerful....

Review: IN THE HEIGHTS at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 01, 2024

The new production at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire is In The Heights. The music and lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda (pre-Hamilton) and the book is by Quiara Alegria Hudes.  Washington Heights in New York City is the setting. This is a story about hope, love but mostly family. ...

Review: HIGHWAY PATROL at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - January 31, 2024

HIGHWAY PATROL has refreshing bravery and honesty; it’s an intriguing exploration of online identity and the connections that might be found, or that we seek to find, on our social media profiles and in our DMs....

Review: ANYTHING GOES at Porchlight Music Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - January 19, 2024

It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely...it’s ANYTHING GOES at Porchlight Music Theatre. Artistic Director Michael Weber’s production captures all the joy and laughs in Cole Porter’s 1934 classic musical comedy. Thanks to the new 2022 book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, it’s also a tig...

Review: Teatro ZinZanni Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - January 15, 2024

Teatro ZinZanni is back inside the spiegeltent nestled on the fourteenth floor of the Cambria Hotel on Randolph to delight audiences with its latest edition: LOVE, CHAOS, AND DINNER. The creative team has brought back the title from the first iteration of the show in Chicago for this engagement. It’...

Review: DIAL M FOR MURDER at Northlight Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - December 10, 2023

Northlight Theatre's DIAL M FOR MURDER is a breathtaking, pulse-pounding, and even mordantly witty production that has already been extended through January 7 due to popular demand....

Review: BOOP! THE MUSICAL Pre-Broadway World Premiere Presented By Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - December 07, 2023

Betty Boop is making her stage debut...and thanks to Jasmine Amy Rogers in the role, she’s making a real star turn. I truly didn’t know what to expect when BOOP! THE MUSICAL was announced. How would a cartoon character featured primarily in animated shorts from 1930-1939 make her way into a 2023 mus...

Review: THE GOLDEN GIRLS SAVE XMAS at Hell In A Handbag Productions
by Zac Thriffiley - December 04, 2023

As sweet as a slice of cheesecake and as spicy as a raunchy joke shared between friends, THE GOLDEN GIRLS SAVE XMAS is a delightfully queer comedy that celebrates friends and family with holiday cheer....

Review: THE WIZ National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - December 01, 2023

It’s a “brand new day” for THE WIZ with new material from Amber Ruffin in this Broadway-bound engagement, but the production is well-trod territory. ...

Review: MANUAL CINEMA'S CHRISTMAS CAROL at Writers Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - November 26, 2023

Few dramatic adaptations of A Christmas Carol manage to convey the magic, the emotional power, and—yes—the terror of Dickens’s original as effectively and impactfully as Manual Cinema’s version, now playing at Writers Theatre in Glencoe through December 24th....

Review: EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS IS A GIFT at Studebaker Theater
by Misha Davenport - November 21, 2023

What did our critic think of EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS IS A GIFT at Studebaker Theater?...

Review: ROALD DAHL'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Paramount Theatre Aurora, IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 18, 2023

There are not enough words to describe Paramount Theatre’s current production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which is based on the book by Roald Dahl. Director Trent Stork and this cast (over 20) brings the world of imagination to vivid life....

Review: RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 17, 2023

The new production at Drury Lane Theatre is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.  It is an updated version of the 1957 and 1965 TV films starring Julie Andrews and then Lesley Ann Warren. The original book was written by Oscar Hammerstein II....

Review: THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT at TimeLine Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - November 16, 2023

These days, truth is elusive — and Timeline Theatre’s THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT plays with that idea. It’s the age of endless fact-checking resources on the internet, but also the age of misinformation spread across TikTok, Reddit, and other social media. Wherein lies the truth? And what is accurate? S...

Review: BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 16, 2023

The current production at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire is Beautiful, the Carole King Musical. This is more than a jukebox musical. It tells the amazing story of one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th Century and how her story evolved. It begins with Carole’s June 1971 concert at Carnegi...

Review: POTUS at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - November 13, 2023

This is a fun, female-driven farce. It’s a good reminder that a lot of American politics seems to involve competent women cleaning up after incompetent men — and the play hits on that message well. It’s a crazy, raunchy good time that I enjoyed, but I don’t think it delivers sharply on deeper themes...

Review: BEETLEJUICE IS THE GHOST WITH THE MOST at Auditorium Theatre
by Misha Davenport - November 10, 2023

What did our critic think of BEETLEJUICE IS THE GHOST WITH THE MOST at Auditorium Theatre?...

Review: ASSASSINS at Theo
by Rachel Weinberg - November 07, 2023

Although it debuted off-Broadway more than thirty years ago, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s ASSASSINS remains a thrilling, bone chilling, brilliant, and immensely taut musical. Drawing on the United States history of successful and would-be presidential assassins, ASSASSINS is an astounding exp...

Review: COMPANY National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - November 02, 2023

This COMPANY is a touching portrait of one woman’s attempts to connect with her friends amid a bustling New York City, simultaneously a connecting and isolating place....

Review: THE MAGIC PARLOUR Presented by Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - October 30, 2023

If you like good old-fashioned magic, sleight of hand, and mind-reading tricks, Dennis Watkins’s THE MAGIC PARLOUR is the ticket. Watkins has been performing his one-man show since 2011, and it’s newly arrived in the former Petterino’s reception space, which has been transformed into the titular mag...

Review: BRIGADOON at Music Theater Works At The North Shore For The Performing Arts
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - October 23, 2023

?This is the premise of Brigadoon, the current production by Music Theater Works at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. Lerner and Loewe’s 1947 musical about the mythical Scottish village is given new life by director and board member Sasha Gerritson. ...

Review: BRIGADOON at Music Theater Works At The North Shore Center For The Performing Arts
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - October 22, 2023

What did our critic think of BRIGADOON at Music Theater Works At The North Shore Center For The Performing Arts?...

Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at Mercury Theater Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - October 22, 2023

Mercury’s YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a Halloween treat with many classic musical comedy tricks....

Review: A WONDERFUL WORLD Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - October 15, 2023

World premiere musical A WONDERFUL WORLD has a wonderful lead in James Monrie Iglehart as Louis Armstrong. Iglehart embodies the acclaimed vocalist and trumpeter completely; he nails Armstrong’s signature raspy voice and vocals and larger-than-life presence, but he’s also a master at embodying the r...