1,044 stories by "Kerry Reid"
"Here is a theater. No curtain, no wings, no scenery. Just an empty space." Konstantin Treplev, the young and hungry artist manqué in Anton Chekhov's Seagull, intones these words before the…
TimeLine Theatre unveils plans for their new Uptown home, while their longtime managing director transitions to a new role.
TimeLine Theatre's mission is to pre…
Jocelyn Bioh's smart comedy at the Goodman examines cliques, colonialism, and colorism.
From the Heathers to the Plastics, teenage girls and their cliques have p…
Changes in faces, places, and union rules might carry harbingers of a shifting landscape in Chicago theater.
There's been a tsunami of theater news over the past…
A trash island forms the background for Oak Park Festival Theatre's outdoor staging of The Tempest.
Choosing The Tempest as their first show to break the enforce…
Ross Compton's Henchpeople is a shaggy and endearing comedy about supervillain support staff.
I went to a play a few days ago. In the Before Times, that would ha…
Marti Lyons takes over at Remy Bumppo, while Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo share the top job at Teatro Vista.
There's been a lot of changeover in top leadership at…
$5 million helps BET regain lost ground from COVID, while Ken-Matt Martin reignites a VG tradition.
Back in 2012, just as Black Ensemble Theater was moving into…
Jay Españo brings international perspective as the new AD for PrideArts; plus Leaders for a New Chicago awards and a new fund in honor of the late Malcolm Ewen
…
Some performing arts groups are opening their doors, but others are inviting audiences to soak up the sun.
In just the past couple of weeks, theaters have starte…
DePaul's Theatre School retools the MFA acting program to be less expensive and more relevant; plus news from Collaboraction and Playmakers Laboratory
Twenty yea…
A Joyce Foundation grant paves the way for a community playmaking project at Congo Square focused on Black women and girls.
"I love Black women and girls. I love…
Director Iris Sowlat uses social isolation as a framework for the lovers; plus PARA.MAR Dance Theatre offers live classes and performances with THAWEN.
In the en…
The onetime Chicago theatermaker premieres his digital show for Mother's Day; plus major awards for playwrights and designers and a tribute to Russ Tutterow
Some…
The cowriter of We Broke Up talks about why she misses Chicago theater"and why it's hard to come home again.
Laura Jacqmin spent "a solid ten years" (2006 to 201…
The Southport corridor venue gets new life and new leadership.
Retractions generally aren't fun for journalists. But the announcement last week that Mercury Thea…
A movement for pay equity and transparency for theater designers scores a victory; Black Lives Black Words kicks off a new discussion series.
Back in 2019, I int…
Possibilities produces a live Zoom version of The Dining Room, but Melody DeRogatis has post-pandemic plans for her company.
Large family gatherings may still be…
Studio5's virtual speakeasy, Into the Mist, has echoes of the past and resonances for today.
The temptation to time travel during the past year has been strong. …
Two streaming shows from Theatre in the Dark and Strawdog capture the drama of obsession and isolation.
Whether you're on the vast endless seas or stuck in your …
The Infinite Wrench marks an anniversary in shutdown; plus Refugee Rhapsody wins the Blue Ink Playwriting Award.
When the shutdown hit a year ago, the Neo-Futuri…
After a tumultuous year, the theater's new artistic director is ready to listen as well as lead.
It's been a dramatic year for Victory Gardens Theater, even thou…
The new artistic director wants to take 'amazing feats of storytelling' into more diverse realms; Rick Bayless wants to give more money to local theaters.
The st…
The longtime Chicago playwright joins a new mini-renaissance of aural drama.
In Willy Russell's 1980 play Educating Rita, the title character (a working-class ha…
The crown jewel of Chicago nightclubs lives on at the Newberry Library and in an upcoming documentary.
Back when nightclubs were smoke-filled rooms, where people…
