RECOMMENDED Where: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace When: through Jan. 13 Tickets: $35-$46 Phone: 630-530-0111 There are several reasons to make the trip to Oakbrook to see Drury Lane Theatre’s production of “Singin’ In The Rain,” the 1983 musical based on the beloved 1952 film, but the top one is the performance(…)
RECOMMENDED Where: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St. When: through Jan. 5 Tickets: $42-$172 Phone: 800-775-2000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Just in case you haven’t heard, “War Horse” is all about the horses. Mainly Joey, a gorgeous chestnut half-thoroughbred who’s incredibly expressive from each twitch of his ears to every flick of his(…)
RECOMMENDED Where: American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St. When: through Dec. 30 Tickets: $35-$40 Phone: 773-409-4125 There are three main reasons to catch American Theater Company’s “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play,” which is competing for your attention, as it has in years past, with American Blues Theatre’s delightful radio adaptation of the(…)
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: The House Theatre of Chicago at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. When: through Dec. 30 Tickets: $25-$35 Phone: 773-769-3832 Anyone who is familiar with The House Theatre of Chicago won’t be surprised to learn that the iconoclastic company’s version of “The Nutcracker” is nothing like the ballet. Based on E.T.A. Hoffmann‘s(…)
RECOMMENDED Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearnborn St. When: through Dec. 29 Tickets: $25-$82 Phone: 312-443-3800 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic In honor of the 35th anniversary of Goodman Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol,” I looked up my Hyde Park Herald review of the first production in 1978. Boy, was I a grinch (or is that(…)
RECOMMENDED Where: Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. When: through Dec. 16 Tickets: $25 Phone: 312-335-1650 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Reviewing a Jeff Garlin show is almost an exercise in futility, because it changes every night. The Second City alum, co-star of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and frequent voice-over artist (in Pixar films)(…)
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., upstairs When: through Dec. 30 Tickets: $35-$50 Phone: 773-871-3000 ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic If Victory Gardens Theater were presenting “Failure: A Love Story” as a work-in-progress to supplement its regular reason, I’d be perfectly comfortable with the decision. Staged by director Seth Bockley(…)
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie When: through Dec. 16 Tickets: $25-$74 Phone: 847-673-6300 What do you do when you plan a whole production around a pair of stars and one of them has to pull out shortly before the opening? That was the panic-inducing(…)