Fran Guinan

It’s only fitting that for his swan song at Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls has adapted and directed Anton Chekhov’s THE CHERRY ORCHARD, a play that’s also very much a swan song. With this staging, Falls has completed the cycle of directing all four of Chekov’s full-length plays for the Goodman stage. Fall’s take on THE CHERRY ORCHARD is surprisingly comedic and strips the play of the more obscure Russian references (though it’s still a period piece), which also demonstrates an artful understanding of the text and how 2023 audiences are best primed to receive it. THE CHERRY ORCHARD’s central character, estate owner Lyubov Ranevskaya, desperately clings to her glamorized version of the past even as the world around her moves inexorably forward. It’s a farewell, indeed, and a lesson in learning when to hold on and when to let go.

In the Shakespearean canon, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL defies categorization; it doesn’t neatly fit alongside Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, or history plays. Read our critic's review!

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, presents an Interplay reading of Such Small Hands, written by Adam Szymkowicz and directed by BJ Jones.

Tracy Letts's world premiere THE MINUTES, now making its debut at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, unfolds in an unsuspecting manner. Both because the play has a smart structure that shifts over the course of the 100-minute runtime and also because the content left me contemplative for days after seeing it. Here Letts uses the framework of a small town's council meeting as a microcosm of a larger discussion on the current political climate (though this play is not overtly about Trump's presidency) and the desire to cling to certain ideologies in the name of order and group preservation, though those long-held beliefs may not be true.

Taylor Mac's HIR, now in its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf under the direction of Hallie Gordon, proves itself to be a complete whirlwind from the beginning. Collette Pollard's strikingly realistic living room/kitchen set is in a tornado-like state when the curtain comes up at the top of the play, with heaps of clothes scattered around, a large tower of miscellaneous household appliances and craft supplies barring the front door, and a general lack of discernible counter and floor space anywhere. This state of disarray echoes the chaotic state of the dysfunctional family at the center of HIR: order has gone entirely to the wayside. Paige (Amy Morton, a commanding spitfire from the start) resides in this mess of a house with her transgender son Max (an earnest and likable Em Grosland) and her husband Arnold, who is deeply mentally incapacitated as a result of a severe stroke (Fran Guinan in a shocking and haunting performance). When Paige and Arnold's eldest son Isaac (Ty Olwin) arrives home from war, he finds a home and family that he no longer recognizes.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's highly anticipated Chicago-premiere production of Tribes by Nina Raine, following the hit Off-Broadway production in 2012. Ensemble member Austin Pendleton is at the helm. The cast of six features ensemble members Alana Arenas, Francis Guinan and Molly Regan with Steve Haggard, Helen Sadler, and John McGinty in the central role of Billy; McGinty joins the cast direct from Guthrie Theater's production in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tribes began previews December 5, 2013 (opening night is December 15; press performances are December 14 at 3pm and December 17 at 7:30pm) and runs through February 9, 2014 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Steppenwolf Theater Company of Chicago have announced their season for 2012-13, including GOOD PEOPLE, Pinter's THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, and BELLEVILLE.

Strawdog Theatre Company is proud to announce its third annual gala benefit, The Phone Book, Monday, Nov, 21 at 8 p.m. at Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway

Strawdog Theatre Company is proud to announce its third annual gala benefit, The Phone Book, Monday, Nov, 21 at 8 p.m. at Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, announces casting for the Chicago premiere of Snapshots, by Stephen Schwartz and David Stern, and Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings. The Snapshots cast includes Gene Weygandt in his third production with Stephen Schwartz, following Wicked and Working; and Susie McMonagle, direct from the Billy Elliott National Tour.

16th Street Theater, a part of the North Berwyn Park District, is proud to announce Joel Drake Johnson's THE END OF THE TOUR directed by Cecilie Keenan performing February 4 - March 6, 2010 at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn, with a press opening of Saturday, February 6 at 5:00 PM.

Steppenwolf celebrated its 33rd season with GALA 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. The ?urban chic? event was attended by 550 guests and raised nearly $1 million for Steppenwolf?s artistic and community programming.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 33rd season with Gala 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 33rd season with GALA 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. The GALA 2009 Co-Chairs are Nora Daley Conroy, Charles H. James III, Randall K. Rowe, Manuel 'Manny' Sanchez, Pat Pulido Sanchez and Anna D. Shapiro.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 33rd season with Gala 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 33rd season with GALA 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. The GALA 2009 Co-Chairs are Nora Daley Conroy, Charles H. James III, Randall K. Rowe, Manuel 'Manny' Sanchez, Pat Pulido Sanchez and Anna D. Shapiro.

Rondi Reed has been a Steppenwolf member since 1979, and has appeared in over 60 Steppenwolf productions. Rondi most recently appeared and to great acclaim at that, as Madame Morrible in the Chicago production of Wicked, proving she can do just about anything on a stage! Her many Broadway credits include The Grapes of Wrath, Rise and Fall of Little Voice and of course her current Best Featured Actress in a Play Tony nominated role of Mattie Fae Aiken in Tracy Lett's August: Osage County. We caught with up her at the Tony Nominee's Brunch where she discussed the play and its journey from Chicago to Broadway.