Theatre with a side of life
Jackalope Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of DUTCH MASTERS. Patrick Agada (Eric) holds Sam Boeck (Steve) and the audience captive for a tumultuous eighty minutes. We meet Agada on a bus. He playfully tries to start a chat with Boeck, who is trying to read a book. Agada kicks up his antics to get Boeck’s attention. ...
The Gift Theatre presents DOUBT: A PARABLE. Playwright John Patrick Shanley debuted this play in 2004. The story, set in the Bronx in 1964, is about a priest accused by a nun of molesting a child. Shanley’s premiere was after the Boston Globe’s 2002 report on numerous pedophile priests and before a decade long avalanche of ...
Lookingglass Theatre presents ACT(S) OF GOD. Playwright Kareen Bandealy pens a dark comedy anchored in religious fervor. The play starts with a couple relocated to the desert in 2029. The wife (played by a noteworthy Shannon Cochran) sorts through mail. The husband (played by Rom Barkhordar) is trying to read his book. The noise from the ...
Lifeline Theatre presents THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY. Gabriel Syme (played by an outstanding Eduardo Xavier Curley-Carrillo) infiltrates an anarchist movement by going undercover. He becomes ‘Thursday’ in the group of sophisticated villains named after days of the week. As these anarchists unleash their reign of terror, the absurdity goes off the chain. Beards come off. ...
The Factory Theater presents the World Premiere of MAY THE ROAD RISE UP. ‘May the road rise up’ is the first line in a popular Irish blessing. Wishes for an easier life is the perfect sentiment for people struggling under the weight of hardship. The title sets the tone as Playwright Shannon O’Neill debuts her story about ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents The National Theatre of Great Britian’s Landmark Production of JB Priestley’s Classic Thriller, AN INSPECTOR CALLS. This show is about the intrigue from story to style. It starts with a little boy ( played by a spunky Judah Abner Paul)running through the theatre. Once onstage, he attempts to raise the massive red ...
Lyric Opera presents LA TRAVIATA. Verdi’s scorching score heats up the Lyric this winter! Paris’ favorite party girl falls into an all consuming love. Verdi gives us a roller coaster of emotion as Violetta is on a life-altering pursuit. Based on the play ‘La Dame aux camelias” by Alexandre Dumas with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, ...
Broadway in Chicago presents the Tony Award-winning musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN. Dear Steven Levenson (book) and Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (music and lyrics), This musical is amazing! You have brilliantly captured loneliness and isolation in this era of digital connectivity. And you tackled the desolation of this contemporary relevance with humor and hope. The stage (Designer ...
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2. ‘What happened next?’ is a question pondered at the end of many stories. The ambitious Lucas Hnath decides to answer that question in his sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Ibsen ended his play with Nora, a nineteenth century wife and mother, walking ...
Remy Bumppo Theatre presents THE FATHER. Florian Zeller’s play is a bit of a puzzle. Zeller won the 2014 Molière Award for Best Play. Christoper Hampton translated Zeller’s Le Père into English. THE FATHER debuted on Broadway in 2016 and led to Frank Langella winning a Tony for Best Actor in a play. The show has critical ...