Stephen Best

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER JUST GETS BETTERER AND BETTERER After two Covid-19 delays, Lookingglass Alice  is once again high-flying and adored at the Lookingglass Theatre, whose glorious and highly imaginative production has quickly become the hallmark of its artistic brand. Stunning, entertaining, empowering and compelling, this gem of a show is a feast for the eyes and…

HARRIED HAPPENINGS AT NAVY PIER A rarely produced dark comedy from the annals of William Shakespeare’s folio is ushering in springtime at Navy Pier. All’s Well That Ends Well  might not have the popularity or recognizability of titles like  Romeo and Juliet  or  Othello, but the dark comedy is certainly high energy silliness. Director Shana Cooper keeps the pace…

UNDERSTATED PATHOS As timely now as it was when the original play was written over 150 years ago, Spring  Awakening is now rocking the stage at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. This edgy musical might seem a bit aggressive for the normal fare at this venue (known during the day as a Windy City…

HIGH FLYING ADORED Equal parts sassy and sexy, the latest version of the  Teatro  ZinZanni, aptly titled  Wishes & Dreams, is bringing much needed fun back downtown to The Loop. Set in an opulent Belgian mirror tent, carefully erected on the 14th  floor of the Cambria Hotel, one will marvel at the setting. Lavish and luxurious, sumptuous dark mahogany…

FAMILY FUN WITH A LATIN FLAIR Just in time for spring, the Chicago Children’s Theatre is back in bloom. Returning to live, in-person productions,  Carmela Full of Wishes  is a charming tale about the importance of imagination. Adapted for the stage by Alvaro Saar Rios from the children’s book by Matt de la Pena with illustrations by…

HAYES’S HARRIED HIT “It’d be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view.” The incomparable Oscar Levant is the subject of the latest premiere production at the Goodman Theatre. If you are not that familiar with Levant, don’t fret, by the end of the show,…

A WINNING WINNIE Just in time to join in Â the Â celebration of Â the Â 95th anniversary of Â the Â beloved children’s character, Â the Â Mercury Â Theater is making a bold and commemorative move on its mainstage. Never before have Â they put a children’s show in Â their regular rotation. After wonderfully received post-pandemic, yet more traditional productions, including Â Sister Act Â and Â Women of Soul, is Â their gamble worth it? Of course! Disney’s Â Winnie Â the Â Pooh — The Â New…