Saturday, 11 April 2026 12:13
BrightSide's Private Lives Bring Public Laughs
Written by Angelo Campos
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone and married someone else – that’s how Noel Coward’s Private Lives sees it. For those unfamiliar with Coward, his scripts have bite and humor that were ahead of its time when they first hit the stage in the 1930s. Today, the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 11 April 2026 12:22
Merry Mischief in Windsor: Chicago Shakespeare’s Fast, Funny Triumph
Written by Wesley David
Shakespeare’s comedies share a familiar architecture: mistaken identity, disguises, intersecting plotlines, a generous helping of prose, and language that delights in wordplay and double entendre. They are also, crucially, driven by sharp, intelligent women who often see more clearly than the men around them. With that foundation in mind, Chicago…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 11 April 2026 00:15
A Spoonful of Magic: Lyric Brings Mary Poppins to Life
Written by Ken Payne
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s film‑with‑live‑orchestra series has become one of the city’s most engaging hybrid arts experiences, transforming the opera house into a cinematic concert hall where classic films gain new dimension through live performance. Recent presentations such as Singin’ in the Rain (February 2025) and Coco in Concert (October…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Mary Poppins
- Lyric Opera of Chicago
- Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra
- orchestra
- Anthony Parnther
- Dick Van Dyke
- Julie Andrews
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- step in time
- feed the birds
- film to concert
- Live Music
- Events Chicago
- msuci Chicago
- Concert
- Chicago
- live orvhestra
- on stage
- Mary Poppins in Concert Live to Film
Friday, 10 April 2026 21:16
At Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Mrs. Krishnan’s Party Feeds the Soul
Written by Wesley David
As I entered the black box studio at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, I’ll admit - I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. Before leaving home, I’d watched the news: the endless cycle of violence, bombings, and that tired “us versus them” narrative that seems to define our moment. My spirit…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 10 April 2026 01:45
Where Rock Meets Ruin: Bat Out of Hell Ignites the Auditorium
Written by Ken Payne
Depending on the source, Bat Out of Hell ranks among the top‑selling albums of all time, so its eventual leap to the stage in 2017 felt almost inevitable. Written by Jim Steinman and performed by Meat Loaf, the album’s grandiose ‘70s sound hardly suggests a post‑apocalyptic narrative, yet that’s the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 07 April 2026 22:22
Goodman’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Delivers a Powerful Revival
Written by Wesley David
Goodman Theatre’s production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom arrives with the weight of expectation - and under the dual direction of Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix, it does not merely meet that weight, it reshapes it. This is not a revival of August Wilson’s searing text; it is a precise,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Ma Rainey
- Goodman Theatre
- CHUCK SMITH
- Harry Lennix
- august wilson
- E Faye Butler
- Al’Jaleel McGhee
- David Alan Anderson
- Matt Decaro
- Linda Buchanan
- Jared Gooding
- American blues
- Mother of the Blues
- live theatre
- on stage
- Theatre Chicago
- plays Chicago
- Events Chicago
- Chi Theatre
- blues
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Sunday, 05 April 2026 12:51
Eos Turns Ancient Anguish Electric in a Blazing Trojan Women
Sarz Maxwell
I’m going to start with a bit of backstory. In high school we all read (more or less voluntarily) The Iliad, Homer’s poetic exploration of a war that occurred during the Bronze Age yet continues to resonate with twenty-first century significance. Homer focuses (naturally!) on the guys: heroic Greek Achilles…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- The Trojan Women
- Eos Theatre Company
- Bramble Arts Loft
- Greek drama
- Ashway Lawver
- Morgan Lavenstein
- Rachel Sledd
- Brian Weddington
- Ben Page
- Jazmine Mazique
- Liliana Mastroianni
- Morgan Burkey
- Marcus Castillo
- Michael Lesko
- Shayna Patel
- Theatre Chicago
- theatre
- Chicago
- Events Chicago
- plays Chicago
- on stage
- live theatre
Sunday, 05 April 2026 16:38
Intriguing ‘The Sugar Wife’ Is Well Produced, But Its Restraint Is Limiting
Written by Bill Esler
The Artistic Home’s U.S. premiere of this 2024 revival by Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, “The Sugar Wife” is intellectually engaging but rather unemotional given its subject lines: marital infidelity, slavery, sexploitation, hypocrisy. Perhaps that goes with its Quaker storyline, a denomination known for an ascetic simplicity and rigorous moral discernment before engaging…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Nearly a decade after it first upended the American musical, Hamilton returns to Chicago’s CIBC Theatre as part of Broadway In Chicago’s 2026 season, and its cultural voltage hasn’t dimmed one bit. Inspired by Ron Chernow’s book, Alexander Hamilton, Lin‑Manuel Miranda’s genre‑shifting epic — part biography, part political thriller, part…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Hamilton
- Broadway in Chicago
- CIBC Theatre
- live theatre
- Alexander Hamilton
- George Washington
- Aaron Burr
- Thomas Jefferson
- Eliza Hamilton
- Founding Fathers
- Constitution
- on stage
- Events Chicago
- theatre
- Chicago
- hip hop
- Musical
- Lin Manuel Miranda
- Thomas Kail
- AD Weaver
- Jimmie “JJ” Jeter
- Lauren Mariasoosay
- Lily Soto
- Eddie Ortega
More...
Saturday, 04 April 2026 13:25
Hear Us Roar: The Trojan Women Will Leave You Speechless
Written by Kendall Royzen
Last night, while waiting in the tranquil lounge of the Bramble Arts Loft, a familiar question floated around the theatergoers: Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? It’s a philosophical question that has been around for ages. It probably passed through the minds of those who first saw…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 31 March 2026 13:53
The Three Musketeers Deliver a Swashbuckling Smash at The Edge
Sarz Maxwell
ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL! Or is it one for all and all for one? No matter: either way it’s a rallying cry during a time of severe political unrest in France, where persistent insurrections incited erratic leadership, oscillating between Royalists and Republicans. The Republicans were the liberals,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Tuesday, 31 March 2026 00:16
MadKap’s Streetcar Reveals a Woman’s Life Burning with Death and Desire
Written by Kimberly Katz
MadKap Production’s A Streetcar Named Desire at Skokie Theatre offers a raw, riveting interpretation of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece, immersing the audience in a world where beauty and brutality constantly collide. The production captures the oppressive heat and emotional volatility of New Orleans as Blanche DuBois arrives at her sister Stella’s…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 01 April 2026 15:06
Delayed by Pandemic, ‘The Ally’ Even More Timely in Rock Solid Chicago Premier
Written by Bill Esler
Since its original 2020 Off-Broadway debut was postponed until 2024 by the Covid-19 Pandemic, Itamar Moses’ “The Ally” has likely ripened in its effectiveness. Not because the play has changed, but because the world has. A 2025 Pulitzer finalist, now in its Midwest premier at Theater Wit, it revolves around…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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