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Chicago
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Theater Review: 42 BALLOONS (North American Premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
A MUSICAL COMEDY TO REMIND YOU WHY YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH THE ARTFORM IN THE FIRST PLACE “In 1982 a man called Larry put himself in a lawn chair, got some 42 balloons, and went to sixteen thousand feet up in the air. This actually happened. You can look it up,” creator Jack Godfrey…
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Theater Review: HITCH*COCKTAILS (“Summer of Suspense” at Annoyance Theatre & Bar in Chicago)
DIAL M FOR MURDEROUS LAUGHTER Chicago is the city of improv, but excellent improv can still be hard to come by. Yet the magnificent company Hitch*Cocktails always delivers, and they do it while under the influence. Hitch*Cocktails has been a staple of the mainstage at The Annoyance Theatre & Bar for over a decade, and…
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Dance Review: ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (Joffrey Ballet)
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE INTO THE SUBLIME: THIS IS BALLET GONE DELICIOUSLY MAD Venerated displays of creativity can have the most innocent of beginnings. But in the case of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, accomplishing the astronomically exceptional may have been the end goal all along in 2011. That’s when London’s Royal Ballet first performed its…
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Obituary: GEORGE WENDT (October 17, 1948 – May 20, 2025)
George Wendt: Actor of Warmth, Precision, and Chicago Stage Grit George Wendt, who died peacefully in his sleep on May 20, 2025, at age 76, will always be Norm to the millions who tuned in week after week to Cheers. But if you stop there—if you freeze him forever on that Boston barstool, beer in…
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Theater Review: HYMN (Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier)
TO KNOW HYMN IS TO LOVE HYMN It’s not unusual to hear creatives, especially Black creatives, quote Toni Morrison when talking about what inspires them to write, paint or compose. “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” That notion seems to have…
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Theater Review: GARY: A SEQUEL TO TITUS ANDRONICUS (Redtwist Theatre)
UNCONVENTIONAL SPIN, DARING THEATER, CAUTIOUSLY RECOMMENDED There are sequels and there are sequels. Few can be considered as aspirational or as pioneering as Taylor Mac’s Gary, a continuation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus now playing at Redtwist Theatre. Easily the Bard’s most sensational blood fest, Redtwist brought Titus’s “vicious circle of revenge and counter-revenge” to their…
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Theater Review: KAIROS (Red Theater in Chicago)
Red Theater’s Kairos Makes Us Look at Time and Life from an Unexpected Perspective Chance encounters rarely end this interestingly. In Lisa Sanaye Dring’s new play Kairos—premiering now at The Edge Off Broadway by Red Theater—a run-of-the -mill fender bender leads to love and the opportunity to attain immortality. The latter prospect raises a myriad…
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Theater Review: THE BOOK OF GRACE (Steppenwolf Theatre)
JUDGING THE BOOK OF GRACE BY ITS (VERY IMPRESSIVE) COVER The Chicago Premiere of The Book of Grace at Steppenwolf Theatre is an expertly executed production of an underwhelming family drama. I’m a long-time fan of Steppenwolf, and every aspect of this production demonstrated the artistic excellence that I’ve come to expect, but the play…
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Theater Review: HENRY JOHNSON (David Mamet Midwest Premiere at Victory Gardens)
MAMET’S HENRY JOHNSON PROVES A DIFFICULT PROTAGONIST Along with blazingly rapid dialog, there’s something aggressively determined about David Mamet plays—like Glengarry Glen Ross now being revived on Broadway—and his latest Henry Johnson is no exception. Written in 2023 where it premiered at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California, Mamet’s stage effort is now enjoying its…
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Opera Review: THE LISTENERS (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
LISTEN TO THE LISTENERS. DO YOU HEAR THE HUM? Perhaps the most contemporary opera ever to grace the Lyric stage, Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners borrows heavily from reality television, social media, conspiracy theories and science fiction. Liberally sprinkled with f-bombs, Royce Vavrek’s edgy libretto is based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill (b. 1988)….
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Opera Review: LA BOHÈME (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
BACALING’S BOHÈME CAPTURED MY HEART The operas of Giacomo Puccini are ever-present on the Lyric Opera stage. Only a month ago, Sondra Radvanovsky sang a whole program of Puccini arias, including one from La Bohème, Now audiences have the opportunity to hear the entire opera in all its beloved glory. If Lyric’s last production of…
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Theater Review: GUYS AND DOLLS (Music Theater Works)
JOYOUSLY, GUYS & DOLLS HAS IT ALL Still touted as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time, Guys and Dolls turns 75 in November. You’d never know it based on Music Theater Works feisty little production of this all-American classic playing now in Skokie’s North Shore Center. Frisky as a rambunctious puppy, this…
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Concert Review: LEONIDAS KAVAKOS AND DANIIL TRIFONOV (CSO at Symphony Center)
KAVAKOS AND TRIFONOV USHER IN SPRING FOR INTIMATE CHAMBER PROGRAM On an unseasonably warm late spring afternoon, Symphony Center buzzed with anticipation as the crowd waited for Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov and Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos to begin their scheduled performance. The two men, dressed all in black, unceremoniously walked onstage and began playing Beethoven’s…
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Dance Review: GOLDEN HOUR (Joffrey Ballet Mixed Rep)
JOFFREY ADDS SURPRISE TO A PROGRAM ALREADY BRIMMING WITH EXCELLENT DANCE Joffrey Ballet certainly must be conscious of its earth shifting habits. More likely, its propensity for greatly broadening ballet’s possibilities has been welded into the dance company’s DNA. Joffrey’s four-piece winter program Golden Hour showcases adventurously inventive choreography and splendid dance converge to prove borders and limits…
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Dance Review: ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER (The Auditorium Theatre in Chicago)
THE PERPETUATION OF LEGACY Once a year we’re reminded of the unique space Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) occupies in the global dance sphere. And every year we’re also reminded how the venerable dance company remains as relentlessly intent on stretching its horizons as it is in honoring and maintaining the legacy of its…
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Highly Recommended Dance: 15th ANNUAL WINNING WORKS CHOREOGRAPHIC COMPETITION (The Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet)
The Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet’s 15th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition is set to showcase five world premieres that are guaranteed to stir things up. This annual event, which highlights ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) choreographers, gives a fresh platform to voices that are shaping the future of ballet. With…
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Dance Review: GOLDEN HOUR (Joffrey Ballet Mixed Rep)
JOFFREY ADDS SURPRISE TO A PROGRAM ALREADY BRIMMING WITH EXCELLENT DANCE Joffrey Ballet certainly must be conscious of its earth shifting habits. More likely, its propensity for greatly broadening ballet’s possibilities has been welded into the dance company’s DNA. Joffrey’s four-piece winter program Golden Hour showcases adventurously inventive choreography and splendid dance converge to prove…
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Recommended Theater: TITUS ANDRONICUS (Redtwist Theatre)
Titus Andronicus brings prejudice and the politics of revenge to the forefront in Shakespeare’s bloodiest script. Foreign wars have left the country divided, an impulsive leader stokes resentment, and now the country teeters on the brink of civil war over petty grievances and personal vendettas. Can Rome’s leaders save the empire from itself? It’s literally…
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Theater Review: CIRCUS QUIXOTE (Lookingglass Theatre)
KNIGHTS AND ACROBATS AN ODD PAIR AT LOOKINGGLASS Circus Quixote—Lookingglass Theatre’s fun spectacle best suited for a family crowd—is an ambitious attempt to merge Miguel de Cervantes’ timeless tale, Don Quijote of La Mancha, with impressive circus artistry. While the production offers tantalizing talents, it ultimately feels like an unfinished work. Michel Rodríguez Cintra The…
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Theater Review: FRIDA … A SELF PORTRAIT (Writers Theatre in Glencoe)
Frida … A Self Portrait Enlightens and Beguiles with Impressive Force You’d have to go a long way to find someone with as potent a life force as Frida Kahlo’s. She left this branch of existence just over 70 years ago, in 1954, and still, there’s something about her spirit that continues to enthrall the…
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