VISITING EDNA Marks An Uneven Journey Between Mother and Son
Helmed by Steppenwolf Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro as she launches her first curated season, David Rabe’s world premiere play VISITING EDNA gives audiences a nearly three-hour exploration of the relationship between the elderly Edna (Debra Monk), who has terminal cancer, and her middle-aged son Andrew (Ian Barford).
Victory Gardens Theater’s HAND TO GOD is Devilishly Good
A theatrical whirlwind that takes audiences from laugh-out-loud, outrageous comedy to moments of intense darkness and pure emotion—all of which are balanced in Askins’s brilliant, bold play.
WONDERFUL TOWN is Simply Wonderful
(l-r) Jordan Brown (Wreck), Kristin Villanueva (Helen), Bri Sudia (Ruth) and Lauren Molina (Eileen). Photo by Liz Lauren. WONDERFUL TOWN, now playing at the Goodman Theatre, is the quintessential example of the traditional musical. Big chorus numbers, a simple, but heartfelt plot, and an ending that wraps up suddenly and...
THRONES! THE MUSICAL PARODY: My Abdominal Muscles Haven’t Recovered
This stellar sendup is the hit of the 2016 season. That settles it—I have to see it again. Want to be my date? We can wear braids, drink red wine, and don capes and furs because, after all, winter is coming.
Julius Caesar at Writers Will Make You Think, and it Should.
I have this visceral reaction when a politician I did not vote for is elected, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
Women Rule Porchlight’s IN THE HEIGHTS
Porchlight Music Theatre’s timely production of the 2008 Tony Award-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS offers audiences the chance to experience this earlier work by HAMILTON creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (with book by Quiara Alegría Hudes) in a fittingly intimate setting.
SMOKEY JOE’S Delivers Chicago History and Non-Stop Talent
Turning west on Maxwell and then north on Halsted Street, a neighborhood miraculously transforms into street storefronts, with crooners and music lovers hugging the corners as shoppers moved tightly up and down the market.
HAVING IT ALL – A Hilariously Real Combination of Storytelling and Improv
Is “Having It All” as straightforward a concept as having a fulfilling career/love life/family? Who decides what “it” is anyways? Why is this question rarely if ever pointed at men?
AMOUR is a Lovely Night at the Theater
I love a good rom-com. I’ve watched countless movies of tortured, misunderstood “bad boys” who bare their muscley souls to the “nice girl” in town, overcome adversity, live happily ever after, and ride off into the sunset, and it never.gets.old.
Excellent Acting and Design Drive TimeLine’s BAKERSFIELD MIST
On the surface, Stephen Sachs’ BAKERSFIELD MIST explores the artistic first impression—the “blink”, as Mike Nussbaum’s art scholar Lionel Percy calls it, or the moment when we experience the art before we’re able to come to judgment.