Chicago Shakespeare's *Tug of War* boasts a stunning ensemble and top-notch design and live music. Despite all of its strengths, however, Tug of War doesn't quite work - it has a very specif…
The spirit of Strawdog Theatre will live on wherever this ensemble lands, so an overly elegiac tone need not be invoked. That said, as a finale for their home, Strawdog does what all great p…
With American Blue's production of Little Shop of Horrors, we find a reliably fun vehicle with a stellar Equity cast, and Jonathan Berry's direction presents it with all the skill and care t…
About Face Theatre's The Secretaries is a bloody good time, though a bit inconsistent. Grab your most-twisted friends, order a few drinks, tuck in and wait patiently through exposition and s…
Thursday, December 16 Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally Hubris Productions at the Greenhouse Theater Center 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago (map) Join Hu…
The foundation of the production " Matt Pelfrey's script " is rock-solid. But Louis Contey's cast never fully captures either the heat or the darkness so crucial to the story. They deliver t…
Taste is absolutely not for the faint of heart, and is like nothing I've ever seen. If you have a strong stomach and a sick sense of humor, I highly recommend this Chicago premiere. (read La…
A Red Line Runs Through It is a funny commentary on the anxiety-laden life in Chicago specifically, with a definite bias toward northside-near-the-lakefront crowd. It has a good share of imp…
The Midwest premiere of Ruby Rae Spiegel's 'Dry Land' is a bold new work that takes on the thorny issue of abortion with brutal honesty and surprising notes of grace and humor. Highly Recomm…
Complete with traditional Appalachian songs, some bizarre choral dialogue and an older woman telling very symbolic stories, New Colony's Even Longer and Farther Away is a genuine attempt at …
With a stronger lead, Marriott Theatre's 'Evita' would have been much more memorable. Nonethelss, the ensemble and other principals do fantastic work, especially in their warm blending and g…
With Raven Theatre's 'House of Blue Leaves' by John Guare, director JoAnn Montemurro's shows her deftness and keen insight into staging Guare's pathetic characters. The show's superb cast, e…
Despite a talented playwright and cast, Ike Holter's newest production at A Red Orchid Theatre, 'Sender' has an overarching problem in that nobody on stage acts in a way that feels true. (re…
There's no denying that AstonRep Theatre's 'The Women of Lockerbie' is a special story. Unfortunately, Deborah Brevoort's script doesn't do the powerful real-life women justice. Slightly Rec…
Babes With Blades' 180 Degree Rule is a triple dose of nostalgia, intrigue and humor, and a story that could easily be true, and Babes With Blades is an ideal match for presenting these comp…
Measure for measure, Dreamgirls has more star turns in its first 15 minutes than many musicals have in their entirety. And Porchlight Music Theatre's production, directed by Brenda Didier, d…
Eclipse Theatre's *Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train* is a treasure in every sense of the word. Then embrace the encrusted grime as part of the tarnished gold. Engross yourself in Playwright Stephe…
Broadway in Chicago's 'Bullets Over Broadway' is a bizarre, cartoonish musicalization of the 1994 movie of the same name. By the time the show wraps up, it's abundantly clear why this Woody…
Victory Gardens Theater's world-premiere 'Hillary and Clinton' is at once very broad and very niche. Playwright Lucas Hnath's play challenges the audience to imagine a parallel universe almo…
Walt McGough's baffling, juvenile commentary 'Paper City Phoenix' is truly one of the most inscrutable plots this critic has ever had to try and parse, filled with shallow characters and vap…
The subject matter of Chicago Childrens Theatre's world premiere 'Jabari Dreams of Freedom' is essential and timely. The talent is excellent, the production values beautiful. If Nambi E. Kel…
Abe Koogler's 'Kill Floor' is filled with complex, dynamic characters whose damaged lives will intrigue you from the stark, eerie, opening image. As the piece winds through a series of fraug…
Royal George Theatre's 'Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin,' directed by Trevor Hay and performed on a gorgeous set designed by Hay and Felder that represents Berlin's last home, is a marvelous…
Playwright Samuel D. Hunter is his laser-like focus on outsiders of the heartland, and his dedication to presenting them as the humans they are. Steep Theatre's The Few showcases Hunter at h…
New American Folk Theatre's 'Trash' runs like an extended riff on the tropes of Southern Gothic. Playwright Johnny Drago's characters feel like an inverted and exaggerated caricature of some…