Review: ‘Back to the Future’ on Broadway races for jokes and leaves the story strandedFrenetically paced, relentlessly comedic and visually chaotic, this show is aimed squarely at middle America. God bless it for that. August 03, 2023
Column: Paramount’s powerful ‘Next to Normal’ confronts mental illness and griefSecond Bold Series launches at Copley Theatre with a Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical that's hard to turn away from. August 03, 2023
‘The Notebook’ musical, born at Chicago Shakespeare, will open on Broadway in the springThe new musical based on the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel and the hit 2004 movie is New York-bound. August 03, 2023
Review: ‘Marie and Rosetta’ at Northlight Theatre takes an intimate look at the ‘Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Sister Rosetta Tharpe's music and the story of her cherished relationship with Marie Knight are revived for a new generation at Northlight Theatre. August 02, 2023
Naperville’s North Central College announces its upcoming entertainment season with tickets now on saleTickets are on sale for North Central College’s upcoming performing arts season, which features a mixture of returning favorites and new performers, a variety of genres and talented college musicians, vocalists and actors. August 01, 2023
Review: Fun just oozes from ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ by Kokandy ProductionsThis is a show about never giving up. Sure, it’s geared toward kids, but not exclusively so. July 31, 2023
Becoming Michael: ‘MJ the Musical’ will star Roman Banks as the king of pop as tour launches in Chicago“I want people who are fans of him to have a great time and I want people who never listen to Michael Jackson to have a great time." July 28, 2023
Review: This lovely outdoor ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Oak Park Festival Theatre adds some up-to-date casting While changing little of the text, director Peter G. Andersen transforms several of the key relationships, shaking up the power dynamics and exploring complex layers in a play written more than 400 years ago. July 27, 2023
Review: In ‘Rock of Ages’ at Mercury Theater, knockout singers bring nothin’ but a good time This show celebrates the power ballads, guitar-driven romps and heavy-metal masterworks of 1980s classic rock, god rest its soul. July 26, 2023
Review: ‘The Cottage’ on Broadway is a freewheeling farce that may not be for everyoneIn essence, Sandy Rustin (known for ”Clue,” the play) has penned an ersatz version of a Noel Coward comedy, as retrofitted for today’s sensibilities. July 25, 2023
Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at Chicago Shakespeare is a straightforward, bite-sized bit of Disney Despite my quibbles with the production, this bite-sized “Beauty and the Beast” is a good candidate to help youngsters catch the theater bug. July 25, 2023
Review: Jeff Perry is the intense center of Harold Pinter’s ‘No Man’s Land’ at Steppenwolf TheatreThe audience at my performance was well aware it was sitting in a great Chicago theater, listening to the words of one of the greatest playwrights ever born. July 24, 2023
Review: Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is focus of artfully inventive ‘Here Lies Love’ on BroadwayThe new show at the Broadway Theatre is as artful as it is radically inventive: Think Imelda as a needy, up-from-the-sticks Evita and you won’t be far wrong. July 20, 2023
Chicago Shakespeare hires Edward Hall, a celebrated director from London, as its new artistic directorThe theater also announced the hiring of Kimberly Motes as its new executive director. July 19, 2023
Austin Pendleton drops out of Steppenwolf’s ‘No Man’s Land’The Chicago actor Mark Ulrich has taken over the role of Spooner. July 18, 2023
7 outdoor theater options for summer 2023: Shakespeare dominates under the starsThis list, with stops in Chicago and just beyond, should help those looking to experience theater in a way only summer can provide. July 12, 2023
Up and Coming Theatre Company showcases ‘Fame’Up and Coming Theatre Company and Elgin Summer Theatre present the musical “Fame” July 14-23. July 07, 2023
Review: ‘A Distinct Society’ at Writers Theatre is set in a library straddling the Canadian borderThe playwright and director has a terrific setting and concept for a great play, but not yet that play. July 05, 2023
Teatro ZinZanni will return to Chicago in the fallThis follows news last month that the current dinner-and-cirque production Cabaret ZaZou was closing. July 05, 2023
Review: In ‘The 39 Steps’ at Drury Lane Theatre, a worthy cast tries to untangle HitchcockThe joke in this parody whodunit is the impossibility of the actors' collective task. July 03, 2023
‘My Worst Moment’: Your favorite celebs tell us their most cringe-worthy momentsBy Nina Metz●August 01, 2023
‘Meg 2: The Trench’ review: This murky, underwater sequel doesn’t even have enough sharksBy Michael Phillips●August 04, 2023
Review: ‘A Compassionate Spy’ is a Manhattan Project espionage story that began at UChicagoBy Michael Phillips●August 04, 2023
This movie critic went looking for the biggest, best way to see ‘Oppenheimer.’ Here’s what I found.By Michael Phillips●August 03, 2023
‘Talk to Me’ review: When a game of talk-to-the-hand turns into a nightmareBy Michael Phillips●July 28, 2023
Review: ‘Lane Call: A Night of Closing’ at Factory Theater is a throwback to the heyday of discount retailThe nostalgic workplace comedy captures the absurdities of working at a Midwestern discount department store chain. July 03, 2023
Review: ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’ at the Marriott is an enjoyable way to keep these songs aliveFans get a surround-sound concert of an artist who recorded so much in so short a time. July 01, 2023
Alan Arkin, Oscar-winning ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ actor, dies at 89Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in comedy and drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died. He was 89. June 30, 2023
Lookingglass Theatre will pause shows, lay off much of its staffThe theater has seen audiences drop away in recent months, artistic director Heidi Stillman said. June 30, 2023
Review: ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ by Blank Theatre is an enchanting storefront journey to SondheimWhat better show is there for a ]young non-Equity Chicago theater company than Stephen Sondheim’s backwards-moving musical of artistic dreams? June 29, 2023
Review: An intensely rebooted ‘Tommy’ explodes with life on the Goodman Theatre stageThis new version of the 1969 album is truly a ready-for-prime-time stunner with enough assets to bring its Chicago audience to its feet. June 27, 2023
Review: In ‘Another Marriage’ at Steppenwolf Theatre, can a relationship survive celebrity fame?Writers write what they know, and it seems reasonable to assume that Kate Arrington is drawing from her relationship with movie star Michael Shannon. June 26, 2023
Sheldon Harnick, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ lyricist, dies at 99Sheldon Harnick went on to collaborate with Michel Legrand on “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” in 1979 and a musical of “A Christmas Carol” in 1981 June 23, 2023
Review: ‘Once Upon a One More Time’ on Broadway: Britney Spears songs in an ill-shaped musicalThere is nothing in the plot to make you even remotely look forward to Act 2. June 22, 2023
Review: ‘Passing Strange’ at Theo Ubique is still finding this autobiographical show’s heartViewed now, this musical feels prescient. You can see it now in Evanston. June 20, 2023