Theatre with a side of life
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company presents LOVE SONG. Witty dialogue. Slick condo. Superb acting. What’s not to love? Playwright John Kolvenbach explores love on multiple levels: man and woman, wife and husband, sister and brother, and self. His romcom is sharp. The banter is rapid-fire as interns are annihilated and calling-in-sick becomes a skillful art. The vibe is ...
Idle Muse Theatre returns to its origin story with the re-crafted and remounted WHAT THE WEIRD SISTERS SAW. Fifteen years ago Artistic Director Evan Jackson and Tristan Brandon adapted Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Jackson and Brandon’s tale tells the legendary tragedy from the perspective of the three witches. They create the backstory of the prophecy that sets Macbeth ...
Music Theater Works presents THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. Smart kids compete against each other in a spelling bee. The creative team of Rachel Sheinkin (book) and William Finn (music and lyrics) take an ordinary school function add in obsessed students blend it all up with an upbeat score. The result is pure e-n-t-e-r-t-a-i-n-m-e-n-t. ...
TimeLine Theatre presents the Chicago Premiere of NOTES FROM THE FIELD. The school-to-prison pipeline describes the phenomena that educational inequities lead to unjust incarceration.Whether it’s a woman watching her boyfriend kill a man trying to rape her or a student filming a classmate being thrown across the room by a police officer, if the individual is ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents ILLINOISE a new kind of musical. In 2005, singer, songwriter and composer Sufjan Stevens debuted his album “Illinois.” Stevens’ songs told the simplistic and complex eccentricities of Midwestern life. His composition had surprising depth as he weaved stories of aliens, zombies, serial killers, comic books, mental health and first loves into music. ...
Goodman Theatre presents the World-Premiere production of HIGHWAY PATROL. IRL!? What IS happening ‘in real life’? Is this a staged thriller or a cautionary Ted Talk for celebs? HIGHWAY PATROL blurs ALL the lines between reality and fantasy. The story is the actual experience of Emmy Award-winning actor Dana Delany. In 2012, Delany befriended a terminally ill ...
Porchlight Music Theatre launches its 29th season by presenting Cole Porter’s ANYTHING GOES. Ninety years ago ANYTHING GOES debuted as a madcap musical. The tale follows the antics of a stowaway, a debutante, a nightclub singer, a criminal and an English Lord on a cruise ship. Disguises, mistaken identities and vaudevillian-like gags pepper the quest for ...
Broadway in Chicago presents the pre-Broadway world premiere BOOP! THE MUSICAL. It’s official… I’ve been Boop-ed! Betty Boop is a cartoon character created by Max Fleischer in the 1930s. She gained fame in her portrayal of a damsel in distress. Although her curly hair, big eyes, short skirt and ample bosom are pretty recognizable, the story behind ...
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a WorldStage Event from Scotland, ISLANDER the Musical. ISLANDER captivates with its unique storytelling. Human song and spoken word mingle together with the clicks and pulsed calls of whales. Two performers, Lois Craig and Julia Murray, tell the tale onstage with a couple microphones, a soundboard, minimal scenery and ample talent. Craig ...
Broadway in Chicago presents the all-new North American and Pre-Broadway Premiere Revival of THE WIZ. In 1974, William F. Brown (book) and Charlie Small (music and lyrics) conceived the hipper version of L. Frank Baum’s children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” The Tony Award-winning musical was cast with black performers. The musical was later made ...