122 stories by "Lauren Whalen"
Although there are excellent performances throughout, Barbecue still, overall, feels false - and not in a deep, thought-provoking way. One can sense Playwright Robert O'Hara's desperation to…
The Audience is a must-see for fans of the British monarchy, the Windsor family and strong women in leadership roles. The production's acting is overall excellent, with TimeLine and Chicago …
Playwright Kristoffer Diaz takes a hard behind-the-scenes look at the complex world of wrestling: the ruthless producers, the arrogant *champions*, and the workhorses who genuinely love the …
Nearly 90 years after it first premiered, Machinal's fast-paced and ruthless exploration of what it means to be a woman trapped in a patriarchal society still rings true. Greenhouse Theater …
Controversial to the point of dangerous in the late 1960s, Hair is still edgy, with nudity, simulated drug use and profanity galore. Mercury Theater Chicago's production is explosive and tim…
Michael Perlman's play At The Table focuses on a group of college friends who reunite as adults and find that much has changed, and much remains, unfortunately, the same. In Broken Nose Thea…
Pride Arts Center's newest children's show is a rainbow take on the traditional story hour, aiming for younger audiences with its messages of love and recognition. Incorporating puppets, aud…
Chicago Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, presented throughout the city at various parks free of charge, is both delightful and tragic in its portrayal of young love and rash decisions, Marti …
The Neo-Fururists' The Food Show is an original work centered around the culture of food: why we eat it, how we eat it, who we eat it with, and includes music and dance, and a hands-on, inte…
It's difficult to see anything redeeming about In The Wake, as the script is so flawed and the main character is so screechy. Director Alex Mallory does her absolute best to keep things movi…
How you feel about They're Playing Our Song will depend on how you feel about Neil Simon and the 1970s. Simon wrote the 1970s-set script, Marvin Hamlisch the music. Luckily, Brown Paper Box …
Thanks to excellent direction and choreography from one of Chicago's best, Rachel Rockwell, as well as stunning production values and a great cast, this flashy production at Navy Pier will n…
In a nutshell, the musical Triassic Parq is *Jurassic Park* from the perspective of the dinosaurs who eventually escape their quarters and turn a dream theme park into a disaster. What ensu…
Steep Theatre's Lela & Co. is a difficult but vital watch. The title character presents her life story through the eyes of the men in her life as compared with what she actually experie…
Eclipse Theatre's mission of *one playwright one season* allows the audience to delve into a specific playwright's body of work. With the world premiere of Megastasis, playwright Kia Corthro…
Step into a lonely Amsterdam bar in 1959. What will you find? If you are the team behind Jacques Brel's Lonesome Losers of the Night, the answer is: an openhearted bartender, two winsome sol…
The Bridges of Madison County is well worth the jaunt outside of Chicago. The story is simple, the direction stellar, the music hauntingly beautiful and the actors stunning. Bridges is an in…
Now in its sixth season of presenting free Shakespeare in Chicago parks, Midsommer Flight both keeps Hamlet simple and dives into the complexities of mental illness, violence and the consequ…
Douglas Carter Beane's The Nance, a play exploring the gay-stereotypes used in 1930's New York vaudeville, premiered on Broadway in 2013 starring Nathan Lane " an actor who himself has playe…
Chicago Tap Theatre first staged Changes, its sci-fi tap tribute to David Bowie, 11 years ago in the company's infancy, and re-staged it 5 years later. Despite *Changes* being their most req…
Akvavit Theatre's Hitler on the Roof creates a stunning mural of physical theater where the action is darkly beautiful and the stage picture constantly changing. Taking place in a basement p…
Beautifully adapted by Jeff Award-winner Robert Kauzlaric, Her Majesty's Will, based on the novel by David Blixt, imagines Shakespeare's early years as a swashbuckling adventure full of intr…
With Strawdog Theatre's The Night Season, playwright and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz's creates a fable of a dysfunctional Irish family and the English actor who finds himself smack in th…
Johnny 10 Beers' Daughter, brought to us by Something Marvelous, profiles individuals in war zones " in this case a father and daughter " but instead of intelligent and unpredictable, this s…
Thoughtfully penned, directed and acted, AstonRep Theatre's Time Stands Still features a complex female lead, whose actions affect those around her in realistic and surprising ways. Highly R…
