Review: Lyric Opera’s Hip-Hopera The Factotum Is a Cut Above
Barbershops and beauty salons are important cultural hubs for communities of color. “In my day, a barber was more than just somebody who sit around in a FUBU shirt with […]
Category: Theater - Page 40
Review: Witnessing the Swan Song of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Quite a few people say they love the music of Billie Holiday, having heard only God Bless the Child or—the song controversial in its time—Strange Fruit. Those songs cannot come […]
Review: Wuthering Heights at Chicago Shakes Deftly Adapts Brontë’s Dense Novel with Innovation, Palpable Passion
Since its publication in 1847, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights has been adapted into numerous film versions, but only a few brave souls have tried to wrangle her complicated, multi-generational story […]
Dispatch: Puppet Fest Wraps Up With Shows Garish, Gorgeous and Grand Guignol
Chicago’s 5th annual International Puppet Theater Festival wrapped up this weekend after presenting more than 100 puppet productions and events around the city. The final production was an inventive staging […]
Review: At Goodman Theatre, the ripple, the wave that carried me home Dramatizes Racial Injustice Through Swimming Pool Segregation
“Water is a complicated element. It heals, destroys, rescues, erases. It drowns. It saves. It holds memory. It washes away pain….” That statement by Janice, the narrator in the ripple, […]
Review: Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel Is a Feast for the Senses at Lyric Opera
What do you get when you mix Englebert Humperdinck, a visual homage to German expressionism, Weimar decadence, and gorgeous singing? The answer is Hansel and Gretel at the Lyric Opera. […]
Dispatch: Puppet Theater Festival Opens With Moby Dick, Tells Comic and Dramatic Stories Through Puppetry
Chicago’s 5th annual International Puppet Theater Festival opened with a dramatic splash last week with a French-Norwegian production of Moby Dick at the beautifully refurbished Studebaker Theater. Productions are being […]
Review: Shakespeare for a Younger Generation in Milwaukee Rep’s Much Ado About Nothing
One of Shakespeare’s most-popular romantic comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, comes thrillingly to life on the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s largest stage. As explained in pre-performance remarks by Artistic Director Mark […]
Review: Trap Door Stages Princess Ivona, a Political Satire and a Theatrical Carnival
Princess Ivona inspires Trap Door Theatre to show us what it does best: Take a clever script and turn it into a carnival with exaggerated style and physical performance, while […]
Review: Bald Sisters at Steppenwolf Is a Story of Cambodian Immigrants Searching for Identity
I suspect that for Cambodians and Cambodian Americans, the racist and genocidal history of the Khmer Rouge is a stain on their history just as slavery, racism and the Civil […]
2022 in Review: Our Favorite Theater Productions of the Year
This isn’t a “best theater of the year” list. As we’ve noted about past lists, we don’t see everything. Most of our writers are freelancers, business owners or employed with […]
On the Road: Broadway Prepares to Freeze Out Some Popular Shows in January
Going to watch a Broadway show during the holiday months of late November through December is a rite of passage for some individuals, friends and families. What better time to […]