Areas We Cover
Categories
Chicago
-
Opera Review: MACBETH (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
ENGLISH PLAY, ITALIAN OPERA, SCOTS-AMERICAN PRODUCTION The first performance I reviewed of Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth was simply terrible, so it was a delight to hear this new production at Lyric. But almost any opera would have been delightful after a pandemic hiatus of eighteen months. Mandatory masking did not fail to dampen the opening night…
-
Off-Broadway Opening: LOVE ACTUALLY? THE UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY (Jerry Orbach Theater at The Theater Center)
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS: Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody, a holiday season sendup of the iconic romantic comedy and Christmas movie Love Actually, will return off-Broadway and debut in Chicago this holiday season. The musical is written by Bob and Tobly McSmith, creators of the smash hits The Office! A Musical Parody and Friends! The Musical Parody….
-
Theater Review: KINKY BOOTS (Paramount Theatre in Aurora)
The Paramount begins the post-COVID pandemic theater scene with an exhilarating revival of Kinky Boots. We likely won’t see a better musical comedy production the rest of this season. The Paramount is offering area theatergoers the gift of a superlative revival of the musical Kinky Boots. This is the first staging of a major musical…
-
Upcoming Theater Season: PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE (2021-22 Live)
Chicago’s Porchlight Music Theatre’s 27th season has been announced. Single tickets and a variety of subscription options for the Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits are on sale now at Porchlight or by phone at 773.777.9884. Along with Mainstage productions, Porchlight Revisits celebrates the lost musical gems of Broadway and Off-Broadway and is your ticket to go…
-
Dance: THE JOFFREY BALLET (2021-22 Season Announcement)
The Joffrey Ballet’s inaugural season at the historic Lyric Opera House in downtown Chicago has been announced! The live performances feature several new-to-the-stage works, highly-anticipated remounts, company debuts, and the world-premiere adaptation of a classic American story. The 2021–2022 Season Home: a Celebration October 13–24, 2021 (10 performances) The Joffrey’s mixed rep fall program marks a celebratory…
-
CHICAGO THEATRES PLAN FOR VENUE REOPENINGS
CHICAGO THEATRES PLAN FOR VENUE REOPENINGS The League of Chicago Theatres announces the long-awaited reopening of the robust Chicago theatre industry. “After more than a year of introspection, planning, and change while theatres have been closed, it is a thrill to have live theatre back’”and to experience this great, collective art form in Chicago again,” comments League of…
-
Chicago Theater Opening: A RECIPE FOR DISASTER (Chef Rick Bayless and Windy City Playhouse at Petterino’s)
TASTY THEATER James Beard Award-winning Chef Rick Bayless and Windy City Playhouse Artistic Director Amy Rubenstein and Associate Artistic Director Carl Menninger are teaming up to create A Recipe for Disaster, an outrageous farcical experience set in the frenetic world of restaurants beginning October 6, 2021 at Petterino’s, located in the heart of the Chicago theater…
-
Virtual Opera: TWILIGHT: GODS (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
PARK YOURSELF AT HOME WITH PURE GOLD Leave it to Yuval Sharon (pronounced you-vahl sha-rhone). I’ve seen all of the L.A.-born wunderkind’s Los Angeles productions, and this opera re-thinker stages better and with more imagination than most opera directors combined. I found a few of his pieces musically inaccessible, but man oh man, can this…
-
Virtual Theater: AND AWAY WE STARED (Trap Door in Chicago)
GET CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP DOOR Bob Wilson, Maryam Abdi, Dennis Bisto, Emily Nichelson, Keith Surney, David Lovejoy In the absence of humans, the stage has gained the ability to put on mechanized performances to please only itself. Using text from the works of Charles Mee, Gertrude Stein, and Matei Vişniec (with translations by. Adam J. Sorkin and Lidia…
-
Chicago Theater: RAVEN THEATRE’S 2021-22 SEASON
Chicago’s Raven Theatre returns with live theater with the announcement of its 2021-22 season, featuring three productions previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new season also marks Raven’s transition to an Equity theatre company. Raven Theatre’s 2021-22 Season October 27 – December 12, 2021 The Last Pair of Earlies – World Premiere! By Joshua Allen Directed by Tyla…
-
Theater: MAMMA MIA! (Music Theater Works in Skokie)
GREAT MUSIC. GREAT THEATER. THE WORKS. Music Theater Works will present Mamma Mia! at the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts in Skokie, their new residence, from August 19, 2021 to August 29, 2021. Music Theater Works is a professional non-profit theater company based in Wilmette, Illinois featuring a colorful repertoire including operetta, the…
-
Chicago Theatre: ATHENAEUM THEATRE (Summer Season)
THE ATHENAEUM THEATRE IS BACK THIS SUMMER WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF ENTERTAINMENT ON ITS HISTORIC STAGES Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago’s oldest continuously operating Off-Loop theatre is back, with something for everyone: from comedy to theatre for all ages, to dance, to multiple live orchestra events and more. Athenaeum Theatre 2936 N. Southport Ave for tickets…
-
Theater: COOKING WITH BUBBIE (A New Musical at the Skokie Theatre, Chicagoland Area)
An original musical, Cooking with Bubbie begins its national tour in Skokie, Illinois, and will travel the country before setting in for a New York run. At a “taping” of her fictional TV cooking show, everyone’s favorite Jewish Grandmother, “The Bubbie” entertains you with an old-fashioned variety show with dancers, comedy sketches, and fourteen original songs…
-
Opera Season Announced: CHICAGO OPERA THEATER (2021-22)
Fresh on the heels of a high-stakes digital season, Chicago Opera Theater returns with in-person performances for its 2021-22 Season. The company’s commitment to showcasing new voices, fresh takes, and different styles of opera will be on full display in a varied season of premieres and high-profile debuts. ####################################### CARMEN Music by Georges Bizét; libretto…
-
Theater: STORIES UNDER THE SUN (PlayMakers Laboratory)
PlayMakers Laboratory’s STORIES UNDER THE SUN Tours Chicago Neighborhoods This Summer Through Night Out in the Parks PlayMakers Laboratory  is pleased to present  Stories Under the Sun, a series of free, family-friendly performances presented across the city this summer through the Chicago Park District’s  Night Out in the Parks  initiative. Performed in the style of PML’s much-lauded sketch comedy…
-
Pre-Broadway Run: PARADISE SQUARE, A NEW MUSICAL (Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre)
Paradise Square, A New Musical, sets pre-Broadway run in Chicago November 2-December 5, 2021 at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre; opens March 20, 2022 at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre Paradise Square is an original musical from a creative team that includes Moisés Kaufman, Bill T. Jones, Craig Lucas and Black 47 singer Larry Kirwan. It will…
-
Virtual Theater: WHERE WE STAND (Steppenwolf in Chicago)
Steppenwolf NOW Concludes First Virtual Season with Where We Stand A Filmed Play By Donnetta Lavinia Grays Directed by Tamilla Woodard Featuring Donnetta Lavinia Grays Streaming June 16 – August 31, 2021 A Remarkable Storytelling Tour-de-Force about Community and Accountability Donnetta Lavinia Grays in Where We Stand. Photo by Joan Marcus, courtesy of WP Theater….
-
Theater: NORTHLIGHT THEATRE’S 2021-22 SEASON (Chicagoland)
NORTHLIGHT THEATRE ANNOUNCES ITS 2021-22 SEASON SONGS FOR NOBODIES By Joanna Murray-Smith Directed by Rob Lindley Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon Featuring Bethany Thomas September 23 – October 31, 2021 This tour-de-force performance celebrates the iconic work of Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas. Share in the unexpected encounters…
-
Theater: THE COMPLETE SONDHEIM @ 90 ROUNDTABLE (Porchlight Music Theatre)
CELEBRATING SONDHEIM While we were all prepared to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday in 2020, and all of his accomplishments up until then, along comes COVID, which not only shut down Broadway (including the revival of Company, which had pandemic insurance, if you can believe that!), but also halted all of those Sondheim parties and…
-
Opera: LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO’S 2021|22 SEASON
Tickets now on sale for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2021|22 Season Call 312-827-5600 or visit lyricopera.org Here are the shows: NEW PRODUCTION Verdi MACBETH Sung in Italian with projected English texts September 17, 23m, 30, October 3m, 6m, 9, 2021 Lyric’s riveting season-opener is the inaugural production of Music Director Enrique Mazzola’s tenure, and a brand-new…
Search Articles
Please help keep
Stage and Cinema going!
