Nicholas Reinhart News

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The BroadwayWorld Chicago Award winners will be announced tonight! Plus 'Ghost' and 'Phantom' haunt the Loop, 'Wicked' casts Tim Kazurinsky, productions like 'Sweet Smell' and 'Nunsense,' The Midtown Men, news out of Circle Theatre and more!

On the heels of Jeff Award success with Best Play winner When the Rain Stops Falling, Circle Theatre and Stage 773 are hosting a festival of New Works first time being heard in Chicago on August 10th and 11th.

To accommodate extraordinary ticket demand, Lifeline Theatre will add four additional performances to the run of its family musical, The Emperor's New Threads: A Fashion Statement, based on the folktale The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen. The additional performances are Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Concerts by Audra McDonald, Sarah Brightman and Chester Gregory, Yeston's 'Death Takes A Holiday' and more from Circle Theatre, all our top current runs, plus the premieres 'Straight Camp,' 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Next Stop!'

By the author of LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!, MASTER CLASS and RAGTIME, Terrence McNally, Circle Theatre's production of THE RITZ opened on February 15th.When straight businessman Gaetano Proclo discovers he's being pursued by the mob, he unwittingly takes cover in a gay bathhouse with an increasingly bizarre and endearing cast of characters. He takes on the guise of a Broadway producer to further hide his identity and farcical merriment ensues. Check out photos from opening night below!