James Baldwin is the greatest American writer. Period. Even more so during Black History Month 2025. Among Baldwin’s many, many gifts was prescience. As a gay Black midcentury man, he […]
The new production of The Mannequins’ Ball at Trap Door Theatre is a whole lot of 1930s agitprop choreographed with music, singing and dancing. Nicole Weisner and Miguel Long direct 90 minutes […]
Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero blends working relationships tested by an ethical dilemma in this comedic drama that gets a timely staging by Shattered Globe Theatre. Is the titular Lobby Hero the loopy […]
The second and final week of the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival concluded yesterday, after 12 days of international puppet theater productions at dozens of venues plus free neighborhood […]
Fat Ham, the prize-winning play by James Ijames, is now on stage at Goodman Theatre in a co-production with Definition Theatre. Ijames’ script was inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet and incorporates some of the original’s […]
Alison Bechdel released an autobiographical book in 2006 titled Fun Home, based on her life growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania. It was a graphic novel that told the story […]
Glassheart is a show bursting with quirky charm, memorable performances and perhaps one too many ideas. This reimagining of Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day Chicago—helmed by newly minted […]
We are in a hair salon in Harlem, New York. Miriam (Bisserat Tseggai) is braiding Jennifer’s (Mia Ellis) hair. Hours have passed and there are still many more to go. […]
This is our first dispatch with brief reviews of some of the shows from the first week of the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. From vampire dreams to dancing […]
If you hated reading Shakespeare in high school, the new musical Juliet and Romeo is for you. Watching this world premiere may prove to be sweet revenge (oh, no! That’s […]
I had considered a few ways to start this review, but after consulting the details for the first national tour of Shucked, an eight-time Tony-nominated musical comedy (for which Alex […]
It’s the top of the second act. Fans of the musical will recognize the familiar bop of “Whipped into Shape” start to play from the stellar orchestra. This is the […]