On Monday, Trap Door Theatre received a special citation at the Non-Equity Jeff Awards, recognizing the company's "endeavors in opening a magical door to an evocative and surreal world over …
Given the state of the world, who wouldn't want to be abducted? I mean, it would at least be nice to keep that option in one's back pocket: When our streets fill with water and our planet be…
The Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, a recent transplant to Evanston and a longtime favorite of the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee, shared top honors at the 2019 Non-Equity Jeffs with The Art…
A political soothsayer and savant, the English playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham despised the hypocrisy of war. And as early as 1933, from his home in southern France, Maugham coul…
There are a number of checklist items that allow a comedian to claim Chicago roots. A comic could be born here (luck), live here currently (choice), or develop their comedic voice in the clu…
Dance offerings at Ravinia are not nearly as robust as they used to be, but the festival's long-standing kinship with Chicago legend Ruth Page and her legacy remains, 93 years after Page fir…
This was no ordinary night at the CSO. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has invited dancers to the stage at Orchestra Hall on a handful of occasions, but surprisingly, a collaborative concert …
Near the end of the first of his two nights of shows at the Chicago Theatre on Thursday, the British comedian Eddie Izzard let out a kind of goodbye to all this: "This might be my last tour,…
Chicagoans are the lucky ones because they are among the few who get to see Broadway musicals before they become Broadway musicals. The Windy City is many times the tryout location for the g…
Terrence McNally's "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" begins with climactic sex between a middle-aged waitress and her short-order cook. In the script he wrote in the late 1980s, McNa…
"If I said I love him," sings Marvin, the leading character in "Falsettos," "you might think my words come cheap. Let's just say I'm glad he's mine awake, asleep." Truths about love and rela…
It's 9:45 p.m. on a drizzly Wednesday night in early May and I'm making my way through a crowded dive bar in Logan Square. A comedy open mic " some might say the comedy open mic " started ju…
The other day, Instagram followers of Virgil Abloh, the 38-year-old creator of Off-White and also now the "artistic director" of Louis Vuitton's entire menswear line, got a treat " the clear…
The House Theatre of Chicago has announced its 2019-20 season, the 18th for the Chicago company. All mainstage shows will be performed in the Chopin Upstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.; s…
Court Theatre is in the final weeks of a truly extraordinary five-show season, featuring a quartet of four-star shows. Taken as a whole, Court's 2018-19 productions were far and away the bes…
MONDAY "Ms. Blakk For President": Steppenwolf ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney stars in this play based on the true story of Joan Jett Blakk, the radical drag persona of Terence Smith w…
Style and grace fill the stage with abundance in Black Ensemble Theater's latest show. When you're focusing on Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson, how could they not? But if you're looking for deep…
In 2016 a group of four young unknown comedians kicked off a monthly comedy show in a Puerto Rican restaurant in Humboldt Park in front of an audience of 30 people (mostly family members). L…
A Red Orchid Theatre said Friday that it was adding eight new members to its artistic ensemble: Karen Aldridge, Myron Elliott-Cisneros, Levi Holloway, Travis A. Knight, Jess McLeod, Sadieh R…
Hit shows " and, make no mistake, the dynamic new pop musical "Six" has clear Broadway potential " invariably arise from great ideas that fit a moment. Get a load of this mighty shrewd notio…
Choreographer Stephanie Martinez is a chameleon. She spent much of her performance career at River North Dance Chicago, and upon retirement began creating dances for contemporary and hip-hop…
As always, it takes long enough to get here " and summer in Chicago can be gone before we know it. But that doesn't mean you can't make time for great theater, which never takes time off in …
SUNDAY "For Services Rendered": Unearthing W. Somerset Maugham's 1933 play about the aftermath of war and its effect on survivors. Griffin Theatre Company at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwauk…
What makes an acting performance worthy of a Tony Award? It's always a fascinating question on Broadway: Must such a performance command a marquee, spare no prisoners and take change of any …
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago on Wednesday announced its 2019-20 season, including world premieres by Kyle Abraham and Robyn Mineko Williams and a return of "Decadance." Subscriptions to the …