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Chicago
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Highly Recommended Dance: SUGAR HILL: THE ELLINGTON/ STRAYHORN NUTCRACKER (Auditorium Theatre)
An exhilarating story told in dance and live performance by a seventeen-piece jazz orchestra, SUGAR HILL is set to the music of the genre-defying collaboration between jazz icons bandleader/composer Duke Ellington and composer, Billy Strayhorn, in a captivating way that has never been done before. Nikolas Gaifullin, Alicia Mae Holloway, Josue Gomez In its world…
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Theater Review: BOOP! THE BETTY BOOP MUSICAL (Pre-Broadway World Premiere at CIBC Theatre in Chicago)
BOOP! BOPS, HOPS, AND PLOPS Light-hearted, rather silly, and occasionally preachy, BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical could have been so much more. Betty Boop seems an unlikely candidate for revival considering that her fame is almost entirely confined to cartoons animated by Max Fleischer in the 1930s. Although she has gained new fans through merchandising,…
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Opera Review: JENŮFA (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE JANÁČEK’S FIRST OPERA Jenůfa is now the third opera in a row this season whose plot features a woman with two suitors. Yet each opera puts its own spin on this common trope. In Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa, the titular heroine loves the carousing Števa, but not his half-brother Laca. Both…
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Chicago Opera Review: THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT (Lyric Opera)
THIS FILLE IS TRÉS TRÉS FUNNY It is hard to go wrong with Lawrence Brownlee: his sensuous and soaring tenor, knack for comedy, winsome smile and infectious energy warm every production he appears in. This Lyric production of Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) is no exception. Alongside Brownlee is the…
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Dance Review: FRANKENSTEIN (The Joffrey Ballet)
IT’S ALIVE! When you think of the Frankenstein story, what comes to mind? The mad scientist in the lab hovering over a green corpse when lightning strikes and electrifies the monster into reanimation ’” “It’s alive!” you might find yourself saying. But what if I told you Victor Frankenstein never actually uttered those words, at…
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Dance Review: HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO (Ahmanson Theatre)
SHOTA MYOSHI THRILLS WITH STREET PERFORMANCE The Chicago veteran contemporary dance company, one of America’s finest, doesn’t disappoint in a dancey triple bill at the Ahmanson in Los Angeles. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Triple Bill last Friday consisted of a variety of styles. The first piece, Aszure Barton’s Busk (2009) is a genre-bending contemporary piece,…
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Chicago Opera Review: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (Lyric Opera)
HAUNTED DUTCHMAN HERALDS HALLOWEEN SEASON A bold choice with which to open the opera and Halloween seasons, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman hits all the right notes and sets a spooky tone. From the composer’s magnificent and moody overture to the opera’s mythological subject (inspired by the Wandering Jew of legend), this Lyric production packs a…
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Streaming Opera: THE FACTOTUM (Free Viewing of Cinematic Version from Lyric Opera of Chicago)
LYRIC OFFERS FREE STREAMING OF HIT OPERA, THE FACTOTUM Stage and Cinema‘s review of The Factotum claimed that this Lyric Opera world premiere was redefining opera for the 21st century. “The Factotum celebrates the joys and struggles of African Americans living on the south side of Chicago. Created primarily by Will Liverman and DJ King Rico (who both perform in the…
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Recommended Theater: THE LAST LIVING GUN (World Premiere by The Impostors Theatre Company)
IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT GUNS. WE’LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT. If your imagination needs a hand, picture this: it’s an age where all guns and even metal are a relic of the past, a murmured bit of lore that instills both fixation and fear. When a rumor about the last existing gun in the world…
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Recommended Theater: GAY CARD (Chicago Premiere at Pride Arts Center)
Gay Card is the hilariously heartwarming story of Logan Kapler, a one-friend loser who has never belonged. But now he’s starting college with a trick up his sleeve: he’s gay. Gay people are awesome; therefore, he will be awesome. Except his new college housemates don’t agree. They revoke his “gay card” and deem him not-awesome-enough-to-be-gay…
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Recommended Theater: AMERICAN PSYCHO: THE MUSICAL (Chicago Premiere at The Chopin Theatre)
YOU’D BE PSYCHO TO MISS THIS American Psycho is a ruthless and daring musical from Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale, The Picture of Dorian Gray). Based on the electrifying novel by Bret Easton Ellis, the musical tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a young and handsome Wall Street banker with impeccable taste and unquenchable desires. Patrick and his…
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Recommended Theater: RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH (with Lance Guest, Drury Lane, Chicago)
Drury Lane Theatre continues its 2023 season with a celebration of one of America’s great music icons in Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. American film and television actor Lance Guest, best known for his starring role in 1984’s The Last Starfighter., will play the lead. Drury Lane’s production of Ring of Fire: The…
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Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (Lyric Opera)
WEST SIDE STORY HAPPILY REMAINS CLASSICAL AND SADLY REMAINS CONTEMPORARY Lyric Opera’s 2022-2023 season has been a challenging one, especially for audiences. The season began with the seldom-performed Verdi opera Don Carlos that had a run time of nearly four hours; it was followed by yet another obscure Verdi opera. The world premiere of The…
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Theater Festival: THE ONCE AND FUTURE FESTIVAL (Greenhouse Theatre Center in Chicago)
THE ONCE AND FUTURE FESTIVAL PRESENTS SIX NEW PLAYS BY CHICAGO PLAYWRIGHTS Six Chicago playwrights have come together to self-produce their own plays, their way. Inspired by previous self-producing collectives, the festival will feature two world premieres and four staged readings. The world premiere productions will be performed in rep with each other every night,…
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Recommended Theater: LONDON ROAD (U.S. Premiere; Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit; April 22-June 3)
NATIONAL THEATRE MUSICAL GETS US PREMIERE Determined and tenacious, the residents of Ipswich, UK mobilize to overcome the immense fear and media circus that unfolds following the serial murder of 5 sex workers in their small town. This experimental and innovative musical by Alecky Blythe (Book and Lyrics) and Adam Cork (Music and Lyrics) is…
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Opera Review: CARMEN (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
CARMEN FOR THE WOKE Like many organizations coming to grips with structural racism in American society, Lyric Opera has been making tremendous efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Lyric has done this above all by casting more performers of color, especially African-Americans, and by incubating a world-premiere opera by and about African-Americans —…
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Recommended Book: GIVE MY REGARDS TO NOWHERE (Richard Engling, Polarity Ensemble Books)
BACKSTAGE COMEDIC CAPERS Chicago “storefront” theaters have produced some of the most amazing productions that I have ever seen. Usually started by a ragtag group of friends or a brave individual to experiment and produce works on a budget, some companies move forward to Actors’ Equity status (Steppenwolf, Steep), or have a great run only…
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Opera Review: THE FACTOTUM (Lyric Chicago)
REDEFINING OPERA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY An ambitious, world premiere production, The Factotum celebrates the joys and struggles of African Americans living on the south side of Chicago. Created primarily by Will Liverman and DJ King Rico (who both perform in the show), it offers a mashup of genres and styles that can appeal to…
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Highly Recommended Theater: TRIAL IN THE DELTA: THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL (Collaboraction at The DuSable Museum in Chicago)
REAL LIFE TRANSCRIPT MAKES FOR RIVETING THEATER Collaboraction Theatre‘s Emmy-winning teleplay, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, is back at The DuSable Museum as a live, interactive, fully-produced stage production. It opened last night and runs through Feb. 19, 2023. Trial in the Delta is a live, interactive reenactment of what actually…
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Opera Review: HANSEL AND GRETEL (Lyric Chicago)
HANSEL AND GRETEL IS FOR THE CHILDREN IN ALL OF US Boasting a beautiful score, a fun-filled plot, and a handful of incredibly talented singer-actors, Hansel and Gretel is this season’s family-friendly opera. Any child who doesn’t mind reading supertitles and can sit still for two hours and twenty minutes minus the twenty-five-minute intermission will…
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