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Chicago

  • Streaming Opera: THE FACTOTUM (Free Viewing of Cinematic Version from Lyric Opera of Chicago)

    Colorful abstract portrait with bold stripes and text.
    By Tony Frankel | September 1, 2023
    in ,

    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…

  • Recommended Theater: THE LAST LIVING GUN (World Premiere by The Impostors Theatre Company)

    Colorful abstract artwork featuring a woman's face and the words 'the Last'.
    By Lamont Washington | August 23, 2023
    in

    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…

  • Recommended Theater: GAY CARD (Chicago Premiere at Pride Arts Center)

    Close-up of a hand holding a colorful "Gay Card" with names listed below.
    By Lamont Washington | August 22, 2023
    in

    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…

  • Recommended Theater: AMERICAN PSYCHO: THE MUSICAL (Chicago Premiere at The Chopin Theatre)

    Poster for 'American Psycho The Musical' with a split red and blue background.
    By Gregory Bernard | July 25, 2023
    in

    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…

  • Recommended Theater: RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH (with Lance Guest, Drury Lane, Chicago)

    Poster with 'Ring of Fire' and 'CASH' over a fiery desert road.
    By Connor McCormick | July 23, 2023
    in

    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…

  • Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (Lyric Opera)

    A dancer in a red dress leaps gracefully on stage during a performance.
    By Barnaby Hughes | June 7, 2023
    in ,

    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…

  • Theater Festival: THE ONCE AND FUTURE FESTIVAL (Greenhouse Theatre Center in Chicago)

    Logo for The Once and Future Festival, April 20-May 15, 2023.
    By Nia Liat | April 18, 2023
    in

    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,…

  • Recommended Theater: LONDON ROAD (U.S. Premiere; Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit; April 22-June 3)

    Group of six people sitting in a star formation on a black floor.
    By Nia Liat | March 29, 2023
    in

    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…

  • Opera Review: CARMEN (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

    A woman posing with the text 'CARMEN' in bold white letters.
    By Barnaby Hughes | March 23, 2023
    in

    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 —…

  • Recommended Book: GIVE MY REGARDS TO NOWHERE (Richard Engling, Polarity Ensemble Books)

    Poster for 'Regards to Nowhere' documentary about an artist.
    By Tony Frankel | March 10, 2023
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    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…

  • Opera Review: THE FACTOTUM (Lyric Chicago)

    Colorful graffiti art of a woman's face with the word Totum.
    By Barnaby Hughes | February 12, 2023
    in ,

    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…

  • Highly Recommended Theater: TRIAL IN THE DELTA: THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL (Collaboraction at The DuSable Museum in Chicago)

    A man speaks passionately at a microphone during the 'Trial in the Delta' event.
    By Tony Frankel | February 11, 2023
    in

    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…

  • Opera Review: HANSEL AND GRETEL (Lyric Chicago)

    A theatrical scene with two characters and a child at a table under red lighting.
    By Barnaby Hughes | January 29, 2023
    in ,

    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…

  • Recommended Theater: EXTRA YARN (Lifeline Theatre)

    Colorful letters spelling 'EXTRA YARN' with a small figure inside the text.
    By Tony Frankel | January 17, 2023
    in

    One of my favorite theater companies is also one of the best at putting on what we used to call “Children’s Theater.” I was hooked almost 10 years ago with my first: The Emperor’s New Threads: A Fashion Statement. Sure, the “KidSeries” is great for the younger ones, but great theater is great theater. And…

  • Opera Review: LE COMTE ORY (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

    Medieval knights and a nun in period attire pose on stage.
    By Barnaby Hughes | November 22, 2022
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    LE COMTE ORY: BEL CANTO GOES DRAG After two very serious and heavily-plotted Verdi operas, it’s incredibly refreshing to see Rossini’s sexy and riotous Le Comte Ory. This Lyric premiere production boasts a stunning bel canto score, an entertaining and talented cast, a relatively short (by comparison) run-time of 2 hours 40 minutes, and lots…

  • Opera Review: DON CARLOS (Lyric Opera Chicago)

    Actors in medieval armor performing on stage in a dramatic scene.
    By Barnaby Hughes | November 14, 2022
    in ,

    THE FULLEST AND GRANDEST DON CARLOS OF ALL Don Carlos is every bit the grand opera that audiences should expect, from the size of the chorus and the number of principal roles to the length of the performance and complexity of plot. It’s full of gorgeous music that ranges from the introspective to the anguished,…

  • Theater Recommendation: TROUBLE IN MIND (TimeLine Theatre Co.)

    Vintage poster for the play 'Trouble in Mind' by Alice Childress.
    By Tony Frankel | November 7, 2022
    in

    GET INTO TROUBLE Written by Alice   Childress — the first Black woman to have a play professionally produced in New York City — Trouble in Mind recently played on Broadway, and it amazed me how a play written in 1955 can remain resilient and provocative and prescient and timely (the production was nominated for four…

  • Theater Recommendation: LOOKOUT, WINTER 2023 (Steppenwolf Theatre Company)

    Green-tinted cloudy sky with the word 'LOOKOUT' in the corner.
    By Nia Liat | October 21, 2022
    in

    LOOKOUT FOR STEPPENWOLF’S NEW SERIES LookOut,  Steppenwolf Theatre’s performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, presents the Winter 2023 season, showcasing the work of Chicago’s exciting experimental devisers, choreographers, performers and more. All  LookOut  performances take place in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, an intimate and flexible venue nestled behind Front Bar, 1700…

  • Chicago Opera Review: ERNANI (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

    By Barnaby Hughes | September 16, 2022
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    ERR: NAH, NI? MAYBE Ernani is billed as the second installment in Lyric Opera’s early Verdi series, which began with Luisa Miller in 2019-20. This, despite a production of Nabucco in 2016, which is earlier than both Ernani and Luisa Miller. No matter. Ernani contains some very beautiful music that deserves to be better known…

  • Season Announcement: STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY’S 2022/23 SEASON

    By John Todd | July 15, 2022
    in

    Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 2022/23 Season Chicago Premiere The Most Spectaularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington By  James Ijames Directed by  Whitney White Featuring ensemble member  Celeste M. Cooper September 1 – October 9, 2022 In the  Downstairs Theater The recently widowed “Mother of America” lies alone in her Mount Vernon bed, ravaged by illness and attended to by…

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