ILLINOISE is a journey through our great state of Illinois using movement. Directed and choreographed by Justin Peck and featuring music and lyrics from Sufjan Stevens’s ILLINOIS album, the show uses dance as its primary narrative language. Peck collaborated with playwright Jacke Sibblies Drury on a loose storyline for ILLINOISE, but that story is communicated entirely through dance. Stevens’s lyrics underscore the situations in the show and mirror the emotional shades of the choreography.
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.
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 tight ship running two hours and fifteen minutes (original book by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard LIndsay, and Russel Crouse.)
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.
Step behind the gates and discover the magic that awaits when Aurora’s Paramount Theatre presents the Professional Regional Premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, currently running through January 14, 2024. Check out production photos here!
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? Sometimes, it’s hard to say. THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT meditates on that theme.
Lookingglass Alice is adapted and directed by founding member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, David Catlin. Lindsey Noel Whiting, a Lookingglass Alice cast member herself, hosts the PBS program, and the cast includes Molly Hernandez as Alice, along with Kareem Bandealy, Samuel Taylor, Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Daniel Johnson.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night, staged by director Tyrone Phillips in the Courtyard Theater, running now through November 26.
Get the latest updates on the Broadway musical adaptation of 'The Notebook.' Discover the cast, including Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez, and find out the opening date and venue details.
THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is a sweeping play that covers 164 years of history as it weaves together fact and fiction to chart the rise and fall of Lehman Brothers. The play’s title mirrors the ambition of the piece: It has a run-time of over three hours that unfolds in three acts — all performed by only three actors. The trilogy in the title is thus a literal reflection of the play’s structure and the roles, but it’s also suggestive of the piece’s mythical nature. Likewise, playwright Stefano Massani’s script (adapted by Ben Power) has a rhythmic storytelling style; the actors often narrate their own stories and actions in a chamber theater type of presentation. Although the run time is long, the fact that THE LEHMAN TRILOGY covers so much ground means it remains interesting throughout — although I found I was ultimately more intellectually than emotionally stimulated.
It seems fitting that Goodman Theatre opens new Artistic Director Susan V. Booth’s inaugural season with THE NACIREMA SOCIETY, a play that’s about coming out to society. This Chicago premiere marks a continuation of Booth’s long-standing relationship with celebrated Black playwright Pearl Cleage. THE NACIREMA SOCIETY takes the form of an extended farce, following the incredibly wealthy Dunbar family in 1964 Montgomery, Alabama. In this light-hearted (if not always legitimately laugh-out-loud) comedic play, Cleage draws heavily from classic farce conventions. As the centennial event of matriarch Grace Dubose Dunbar’s beloved Nacirema Society, Montgomery’s organization for Black young women, dawns — and she awaits her own granddaughter Grace’s coming out — the antics become more and more heightened as family secrets come to light.
Audible Theater’s New York premiere of the Goodman Theatre production of Swing State, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman begins previews this week. Learn how to purchase tickets!
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a 75-minute family musical production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, directed and choreographed by Amber Mak. Dazzling production numbers, including the title song and the showstopping 'Be Our Guest,' fill the Courtyard Theater, introducing young audiences to the magic of live theater. See first look photos of the production!
