Chicago Theater Reviews

Review: JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE at Goodman Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - April 25, 2024

Under the meticulous direction of Chuck Smith, the Goodman’s newest revival of JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE emphasizes the play’s continued relevance through masterful performances that find cause for celebration and laughter even in the face of oppression. The production has already been extended thr...

Review: BROOKLYN LAUNDRY at Northlight Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - April 22, 2024

Under the direction of BJ Jones, John Patrick Shanley's newest play boasts a talented cast gifted with good humor and heartfelt emotion, but the uneven script feels as though it shrank in a dryer fed by clichés rather than coins....

Review: GUYS AND DOLLS at Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - April 19, 2024

The number of sinners at the mission impresses General Cartwright (Heidi Kettenring in another comedic gem), especially Big Jule (KC McNeil in his Drury debut).  As Adelaide and Nathan are trying to leave to get married, the mission band arrives with its new leader Sky Masterson. He and Sarah were m...

Review: THE MUSIC MAN at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - April 22, 2024

The newest production at Marriott Lincolnshire is Meredith Willson’s classic and beloved The Music Man. Director/choreographer Katie Spelman has stayed true to the script and has made the fictional town of River City – based on Willson’s hometown of Mason City, Iowa – come to life....

Review: ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD at Court Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - April 09, 2024

Charles Newell's final project as Court Theatre's artistic director offers audiences a hilarious exploration of what makes us human as well as a stunning reminder of his keen dramaturgical instincts. The production has already been extended through April 28 due to critical acclaim and popular demand...

Review: THE CHOIR OF MAN at Apollo Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - April 04, 2024

Raise a glass to THE CHOIR OF MAN, a rollicking good time of a show. The show’s a UK transfer and it transports audiences to the fictitious pub The Jungle, modeled after classic Irish and British pubs. Therein, the eponymous nine man choir serves up pop and rock hits on tap. THE CHOIR OF MAN is all ...

Review: PETER PAN National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Zac Thriffiley - March 29, 2024

This newest adaptation of PETER PAN unquestionably corrects injustices that never should have been committed in the first place. But by flying Peter so enthusiastically into 2024, the creative team has stripped him and his story of some of their magic, making the boy who wouldn't grow up more out of...

Review: JERSEY BOYS at Mercury Theater Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - March 29, 2024

Mercury Theater Chicago has staged a “homegrown” production of JERSEY BOYS full of Chicago heart. The bio jukebox musical has graced Chicago tour stages over the years (in fact, I had a chuckle looking back at the review of the first national tour I wrote for my high school newspaper), but this is t...

Review: PURPOSE at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - March 25, 2024

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has set the table for one hell of a family dinner in PURPOSE. Directed by Phylicia Rashad in a world premiere for Steppenwolf, this family drama keenly focuses on the privileged Jasper family, whose patriarch is a Civil Rights icon. The first act moves at a brilliant clip with...

Review: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL CRYSTAL at NOW Arena Hoffman Estates
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 23, 2024

Crystal, the latest Cirque du Soleil production and playing through Sunday, March 24 at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, is the story about a young woman escaping the realities of her life by living in her imagination....

Review: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Paramount Copley Theatre Aurora
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 22, 2024

Read BroadwayWorld's review of A Streetcar Named Desire at Paramount Copley Theatre Aurora. ...

Review: SONDHEIM TRIBUTE REVUE at Theo Ubique
by Zac Thriffiley - March 21, 2024

No matter your preference, your favorite Sondheim shows will be represented in Theo Ubique's latest cabaret revue, which is as much an informative crash course in the composer's oeuvre as it is a heartfelt memorial to his rich life and lasting legacy. The production runs through April 28 at Theo's p...

Review: THE PENELOPIAD at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - March 17, 2024

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Susan V. Booth puts her own spin on Margaret Atwood’s decidedly feminist tale THE PENELOPIAD. As with her famous novel THE HANDMAID’S TALE, Atwood uses THE PENELOPIAD as a device to convey the horrors and abuse committed against women. Atwood’s points are valid and ...

Review: WIPEOUT at Rivendell Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - March 12, 2024

Premiering at Rivendell Theatre under the inventive direction of Tara Mallen, WIPEOUT gifts audiences a hilarious exploration of aging, friendship, and womanhood that's as fun as a day at the beach and as bittersweet as a setting sun....

Review: DEATHTRAP at BrightSide Theatre
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 11, 2024

This is the description of Ira Levin’s comedic-thriller Deathrap. It is running through March 24 at BrightSide Theatre in Naperville. It ran on Broadway for 4 years and was made into a successful film starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon. ...

Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at Music Theater Works
by Zac Thriffiley - March 10, 2024

The semi-improvised, fourth-wall-breaking musical now receives a delightful production at Music Theater Works that's heavy on humor if occasionally light on heart. It runs through March 31 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie....

Review: MRS. DOUBTFIRE National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - February 29, 2024

MRS. DOUBTFIRE is escapist musical theater fun with tremendous character actor Rob McClure (reprising the role from Broadway) carrying on Robin Williams’s immense legacy from the 1993 film in the lead role....

Review: THE MATCHBOX MAGIC FLUTE at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - February 28, 2024

Director Mary Zimmerman returns to the Goodman with the whimsical and inventive THE MATCHBOX MAGIC FLUTE. Zimmerman’s adaptation of Mozart’s iconic opera is lively and accessible; this would be a great introduction for those new to the opera. ...

Review: TOPDOG/UNDERDOG at Invictus Theatre Company
by Zac Thriffiley - February 20, 2024

Invictus Theatre Company's production of the Pulitzer Prize-winner TOPDOG/UNDERDOG has moments of comedic entertainment and dramatic import, but it struggles to live up to the play's substantial reputation. It runs through March 31....

Review: THE BAND'S VISIT at Writers Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - February 18, 2024

Director Zi Alikhan has gifted Chicago audiences with a production of THE BAND'S VISIT whose talent and creative execution equal---and may even exceed---those of the Broadway and touring productions. It runs through March 17 at Writers Theatre in Glencoe....

Review: BILLY ELLIOT at Paramount Theatre Aurora IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 19, 2024

That was my feeling after seeing this new production of Billy Elliot at the Paramount Theatre. It runs through March 24. The book and lyrics were written by Lee Hall. The amazing score was written by Sir Elton John. The original 2005 stage musical was inspired by the 2000 film....

Review: ALEX EDELMAN'S JUST FOR US at Steppenwolf Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - February 17, 2024

Alex Edelman's newest solo show JUST FOR US is a riotously hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt meditation on internet culture, Jewish identity, and the limits of radical empathy. It runs through February 25 at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater. Critic's recommendation: get your tickets immediately....

Review: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - February 15, 2024

“Like a Rolling Stone,” the Bob Dylan jukebox musical GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY rolls along at an erratic pace with haphazard direction....

Review: BROTHER SISTER CYBORG SPACE at Raven Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - February 13, 2024

Paul Michael Thomson's newest dramedy BROTHER SISTER CYBORG SPACE, now receiving its world premiere at Raven Theatre, occasionally loses itself in a flood of introspection. But it's buoyed along by a cast of thoughtful and charismatic performers....

Review: A HOME WHAT HOWLS (OR THE HOUSE WHAT WAS RAVINE) at Steppenwolf Theatre
by Zac Thriffiley - February 11, 2024

Receiving its world premiere as part of Steppenwolf for Young Adults programming, Matthew Paul Olmos's A HOME WHAT HOWLS features moving performances and a haunting creative vision that make the most of an often frustrating script. It runs through March 2 at Steppenwolf's in-the-round Ensemble Theat...