Eric Backus News

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre returns to live performances and the launch of its 27th Mainstage season with Pump Boys & Dinettes, now playing through December 12 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.

At the intersection of Packer fandom, Wisconsin pride, and musical theater lies Dad’s Season Tickets.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater will present Dad’s Season Tickets a new musical comedy celebrating family, folly and football in the Stackner Cabaret, October 29, 2021-January 2, 2022.

Sinister and seductive, this brand-new audio experience by Ensemble Member Omer Abbas Salem and directed by Sophiyaa Nayar explores the splendid ache of acceptance and the profound bliss of betrayal. 

Broken Nose Theatre, one of Chicago’s premier Pay-What-You-Can theatre companies, is pleased to launch its tenth season with an audio adaptation of its hit 2018 play Kingdom, written by Resident Playwright Michael Allen Harris and directed by Manny Buckley.

One of the longest running shows in Chicago Theatre history, Pump Boys & Dinettes is a music theatre phenomenon filled with toe-tapping music on guitar, piano, bass and a kitchen utensil or two! This North Carolina dinette is your home off the highway and located just across the street from the filling station.

Milwaukee Rep has announced the complete cast and creative teams for the 2021/22 Season openers Dad's Season Tickets in the Stackner Cabaret and Steel Magnolias in the Quadracci Powerhouse. 

The New Coordinates, formerly The New Colony, will launch its 2021-22 season with the world premiere of Love in the Time of Jonestown – A Radio Play, streaming on demand from October 28 – November 21, 2021 at thenewcoordinates.org.

Broken Nose Theatre, one of Chicago's premier Pay-What-You-Can theatre companies, is pleased to launch its tenth season with an audio adaptation of its hit 2018 play Kingdom, written by Resident Playwright Michael Allen Harris and directed by Manny Buckley.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced a line up including more than 50 Chicago artists performing, greetings and well wishes from Broadway stars including E. Faye Butler, Sean Allan Krill, Telly Leung, LaChanze, Susan Moniz and Kathy Voyto, a new raffle prize for a weekend in the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and more as a part of its annual Chicago Sings fundraising concert.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway, premiering Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. CDT.

Today (September 25) in live streaming: Meet the Next On Stage: Dance Edition Top 5, Spelling Bee reunites on Stars in the House, and so much more!

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced its schedule for fall 2020, offering a variety of free and pay-to-view options for virtual experiences.

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 45th season with the World Premiere of Dhaba on Devon Avenue by Madhuri Shekar and staged by Artistic Director Chay Yew.

Classic plays provide us a snapshot of the time period in which they were written. They can show us how far we may or may not have progressed as a society. Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' is one such classic. Now in production at Raven Theatre, this new take offers up a sharp, refreshing look. Raven Artistic Director Cody Estle remarks in a program note that what is addressed in 'A Doll's House' 'remain issues in our own time.'

Raven Theatre is continuing its 2019-20 season with a revival of Henrik Ibsen's masterpiece A DOLL'S HOUSE, in a vibrant and progressive new adaptation making its Chicago premiere. Directed by Lauren Shouse, the new work features translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and adaptation by Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt. A DOLL'S HOUSE will play February 6 – March 22, 2020 on Raven's 85-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177. The press opening is Monday, February 10 at 7:30 pm.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??Chicago Shakespeare Theater invites audiences to spend their Saturday with Shakespeare in this cleverly abridged, 75-minute production of Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors on Saturdays at 11:00am, January 25a?"February 29, 2020 in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Filled to the brim with acrobatics and mayhem, the hilarity and hijinks of Shakespeare's comedy are larger-than-life in this vibrant and fast-paced production, making it the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for audiences of all ages.

First Floor Theater is pleased to continue its eighth season with the Chicago premiere of Will Arbery's dark comedy PLANO, directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Audrey Francis. Presented as part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, PLANO will play February 16 a?" March 28, 2020 at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Thursday, February 20 at 8 pm.

Raven Theatre will continue its 2019-20 season with a revival of Henrik Ibsen's masterpiece A DOLL'S HOUSE, in a vibrant and progressive new adaptation making its Chicago premiere. Directed by Lauren Shouse, the new work features translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and adaptation by Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt. A DOLL'S HOUSE will play February 6 - March 22, 2020 on Raven's 85-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177. The press opening is Monday, February 10, 2020 at 7:30 pm.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will host two bold visiting companies as part of LookOut, a year-round series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form. Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre will be the home to two productions from impressive Chicago storefront theatres next year: First Floor Theater and Definition Theatre.