Liz Lauren News

Get a first look at photos of the cast of Paramount Theatre's ROCK OF AGES on stage.

Although the play takes place in 1919, Tyla Abercrumbie’s RELENTLESS probes prescient themes of family secrets, inherited trauma, and the enduring legacy of racism for two affluent Black sisters living in the northern part of the United States. Director Ron OJ Parson remounts TimeLine Theatre Company’s production at the Goodman’s Owen Theatre after a sold-out initial run.

IN EVERY GENERATION explores the duality of the cyclical nature of humanity - specifically, in this play, the Jewish experience. As playwright Ali Viterbi's text reveals, sometimes cycles can be sources of comfort and tradition - as is the case with the Levi-Katz's family annual Passover Seder and many other Jewish holidays. In this case, the cycle of ritual is a powerful moment of family gathering and remembrance. But in other ways, the cycles that humans perpetuate can be damaging - for grandparents Paola and Davide, the trauma from their experiences as Holocaust survivors lives on many years later as the family gathers for Passover 2019 in the play's first scene. The play asks if not just the Jewish people, but American society on the whole will uphold the phrase 'Never Again' - are we now truly moving towards a world in which hatred - and specifically anti-Semitism - might someday be eliminated? Or are we doomed to repeat this cycle of trauma and xenophobia because human memory is simultaneously long and short?

Doug Wright’s GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR, now in its world premiere production at Goodman Theatre, is an engaging play that brings the story of one infamous night in the life of Oscar Levant to the stage. Read our critic's review.

Over the course of a four-hour release from a mental ward, and in front of thousands on live TV, the irrepressible and witty Oscar Levant, played by Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actor Sean Hayes, lays bare the necessity of insanity in the making of brilliant work and the cost he is willing to pay to entertain the masses.

Rarely do I see theater that feels truly unique, but Mary Zimmerman's THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI at Goodman Theater is indeed unlike any other piece of theater.

The Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr. in Lincolnshire, is kicking off the New Year with WEST SIDE STORY, the revolutionary Tony Award-winning musical that forever changed American theater running now through March 27, 2022.

Paramount Theatre presents the Midwest regional premiere of this uproariously funny, surprisingly touching and simply inspirational musical comedy. Previews start Wednesday, January 26, 2022. Performances run now through Sunday, March 13. Paramount Theatre is located at 23 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora. Single tickets, $36-$79, are on sale now.

Dear Readers, before I talk about the current Seattle Rep production of Cheryl L. West’s, “Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer” I need to step up on my soapbox for a minute. And if what I’m about to talk about offends, then something tells me you wouldn’t want to see the show anyway, so you can just move on. But I need to address the lack of advance knowledge I had about Fannie Lou Hamer and the struggle for black people to get to vote in this country. A struggle that sadly still exists today, making this show quite timely. But the fact that this stain on our history, among others, are not readily taught in our schools is appalling and why the inclusion of Critical Race Theory needs to be included in our curriculum. We’re more than happy to talk about the atrocities of other countries but when it comes to our own, we look the other way. And I doubt I was the only one last night who wasn’t familiar with the works of Hamer and the horrors she endured. Something we all should think about. OK, off the soapbox, let’s talk about Fannie.

Get a sneak-peek at Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol back on stage in the heart of the Chicago Loop following a year of darkened stages.

Step inside rehearsal for Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol returning to the stage for its 44th annual production in the heart of the Chicago Loop following a year of darkened stages.

E. Faye Butler gives a formidable performance as civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Cheryl L. West’s one-woman play.

Get a first look at the powerful and electric Fannie (The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer) by Cheryl L. West, directed by Goodman Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez.

Cloran’s production cleverly unites Shakespeare’s text and the Beatles’ music to come together (pun intended) in a lively and original version of AS YOU LIKE IT.

AMERICAN MARIACHI is an enchanting celebration of female empowerment and mariachi music.

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University announced today that members of the A.R.T./Broadway cast of the hit musical sensation SIX will reunite on The Lunch Room on Tuesday, June 1 at 12PM ET. 

It seems most fitting that Goodman Theatre's current encore streaming production of SMOKEFALL exists both in and out of time. Noah Haidle's whimsical play, beloved by critics and audiences when it originally premiered at the Goodman in 2013 (and remounted in 2014), occupies an achronological space.

Smokefall is streaming free and on demand, April 12 – 25, 2021 at Goodman Theatre. Insider her womb, her unborn sons contemplate their future, while the world around her is in transformation: her husband is secretly planning to leave her, her father is slipping into senility and her daughter has taken a vow of silence.

As the Goodman's stages remain dark, audiences everywhere can experience a beloved past production-or discover one they may have missed-through Encore, an on-demand video streaming opportunity.

Live-outdoor theatre, an incredible view of the water at the Wharf, and E. Faye Butler are all we could ask or hope for at the moment. Arena Stage has delivered big with its limited engagement of Cheryl L. West's timely Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!.