Chicago

WINDOWS NEEDS MORE SPIT AND POLISH An appealing young cast can’t overcome a world-premiere script that remains frustratingly unformed On a couch in a small apartment sits a sullen young woman. Piles of snack bags and junk food remnants surround her. She doesn’t move, except to adjust the blanket on her lap. Behind her is…

SOUND AND FURY, SIGNIFYING PLENTY A sound artist steps out of the booth with a powerful, deeply personal work that, in production, may be better heard than seen Over five thousand shows: that’s how many productions Ryn Hardiman has sound engineered for the Neo-Futurists, an avant-garde group of performers who delight in violating the rules…

A CRACK IN THE ORDINARY Four remarkable performances make the leap from surrealism to domestic drama worthwhile Marina Carr’s Marble, now in its Chicago premiere at the Copernicus Center as part of The Gift Theatre‘s 25th Anniversary “Homecoming” season, opens with a delicious premise. Two old friends, Ben (John Gawlik) and Art (Paul D’Addario), are…

CRAM SESSION, CRASH COURSE Natalie Margolin’s sharply observed comedy captures the fleeting intensity of college friendships Natalie Margolin’s All Nighter, which opened Off-Broadway in 2025, makes its Midwest premiere at Rivendell Theatre in a production from The Village Theater. The play unfolds over one long night in a study hall at a small liberal arts…

ALL ABOARD THE S.S. SEX FARCE These gender-liberated pirates need to boink more and bicker less On the deck of the pirate ship Revenge, a buxom young lass leads a blindfolded young man to a chair. Asking him to trust her, she ties him up and then promptly walks off with a bag of money…

GOOD PEOPLE, GREAT SHOW David Lindsay-Abaire’s poignant drama delivers a powerful reminder that luck, circumstance, and class often shape lives as much as talent or determination In an alley behind a Dollar General store in South Boston, a middle-aged woman is embroiled in an argument with her manager. Margie has been late to work for…

YESTERDAY’S REBELS Time has softened the musical’s edges, but not its beating heart In 1968, a rock musical featuring a ragtag group of hippies took Broadway by storm. With book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, a score by Galt MacDermot, and featuring a large cast of mostly unknowns, minimal dialogue and no…

STILL ANGRY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS A daring revival proves the musical’s power endures, even when one major directorial gamble doesn’t When people think of musicals, the stereotype is a show with a large cast, lots of singing and dancing, an orchestra, and usually an elaborate set. And that’s not entirely untrue. But there is…

A PERFECT EIGHT Dave Malloy’s singular a cappella musical proves just as spellbinding in its Goodman transfer Theatrical sensations happen when audiences find themselves captivated by something utterly unique. Stories resonate not only because they’re piercingly relatable, but because they’re presented in a way unlike anything else onstage. That, in essence, is Octet. Dave Malloy’s…

COYOTES, KILLERS, AND SECOND CHANCES Tim Kough’s unconventional thriller finds surprising humanity beneath its violence Theater comes wrapped in all manner of trappings, and it’s often the works that stray furthest from convention that linger longest in the memory. Safe Landing: Coyote Embrace, now playing at Theater Wit, is one of those productions. Written by…

THE HAIRY APE COMETH This gleefully unhinged musical comedy is a strong play’s journey into wisecracks The Goodman closes out its centennial season in spectacular fashion with a big, brash new musical composed by Mark Hollmann (Urinetown), lyrics by Hollmann and Jay Reiss (Spelling Bee), and book by Reiss and Erin Quinn Purcell. Directed by…

CRITIC’S BITE A gripping solo performance anchors this haunting tale I had not encountered arithmomania in any form of entertainment media in well over two decades. Now it’s popped up twice in a few weeks on two different Chicago stages: in Kevin Douglas’ hilarious Untitled Vampire Play at Lookingglass, and now in Black Button Eyes‘ sharp…

BAD FENCES MAKE GOOD COMEDY Big laughs bloom from a tiny patch of disputed ground. In a tony suburb of Washington, D.C., a young upwardly mobile Hispanic couple move into their first house, a charming fixer-upper with a small backyard. Pablo Del Valle (Rio Soliz Ragazzone) is an attorney—the only one of color—in a prestigious…

THE WEIGHT OF HERITAGE A thoughtful work that doesn’t always come together An unusual and ambitious production, L.M. Feldman’s A People is a sort of theatrical mosaic. Mounted by Arts Judaica and YI Love Jewish and currently playing at Theater Wit in Lakeview, the show attempts to condense five thousand years of Jewish culture and…

THE STUFF OF LEGENDS A musical revue that honors both talent and tenacity Nine days after the euphoric high of Juneteenth and the jubilant opening-day celebrations of the Obama Center, Black Ensemble Theater (BE) opened its revival of Men of Soul. Written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks, longtime BE stalwart and now the company’s…

A VERISMO MIXED BAG Opera Festival of Chicago tackles a neglected verismo work with admirable ambition but uneven results Opera Festival of Chicago’s sixth season features the company’s characteristic blend of classic and lesser-known verismo operas. Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, which falls into the latter category, hasn’t been performed in Chicago since Renata Tebaldi sang the…