RECOMMENDED Where: Firebrand Theatre with TimeLine Theatre Company at The Den Theatre Heath’s Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. When: through Oct. 28 Tickets: $45 For tickets: firebrandtheatre.org By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic I haven’t seen “Caroline, or Change” since the stunning Chicago premiere at Court Theatre in 2008 with E. Faye Butler in the […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: The House Theatre of Chicago, 1543 W. Division St. When: through Oct. 21 Tickets: $30-$50 Phone: 773-769-3832 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The world premiere of Bennet Fisher’s “Borealis,” the season opener at The House Theatre of Chicago, tries to combine a sci-fi adventure, coming-of-age tale, and corporate satire, but the sprawling […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Goodman Theatre Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. When: through Oct. 21 Tickets: $25-$70 Phone: 312-443-3800 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic I’m not usually a fan of one-person shows, but the performances David Cale has given at Goodman Theatre over the last 30 years are exceptions. Cale is a mesmerizing storyteller who weaves […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie When: through Oct. 21 Tickets: $30-$88 Phone: 847-673-6300 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Put a cranky, irreverent old character on stage, and he’s likely to be a hit. If he’s played by Mike Nussbaum, at 94 the oldest actor still […]
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Where: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. When: through Sept. 30 Tickets: $50-$74 Phone: 773-753-4472 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic “Radio Golf,” the last installment in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle documenting the 20th-century African American experience decade by decade, was first produced in 2005, but it’s equally relevant today, especially given current […]
By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic When Charles Newell came to Court Theatre to direct Marivaux’s “The Triumph of Love” during the 1993-1994 season, he had no idea he’d still be around a quarter-of-a-century later. A freelancer and resident director at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to whom Chicago meant Steppenwolf and contemporary plays, he was […]
RECOMMENDED Where: TimeLine Theatre Company, 615 W. Wellington Ave. When: through Nov. 5 Tickets: $40-$54 Phone: 773-281-8463, ext. 6 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Barbara Lebow’s “A Shayna Maidel” has an old-fashioned structure and historical subject, but TimeLine Theatre Company’s inspired production directed by Vanessa Stalling infuses it with enough humor, heart, hope, and humanity […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Rd. When: through Dec. 9 Tickets: $65-$100 Phone: 773-891-8985 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The world premiere of “Southern Gothic” has been such a huge hit for the Windy City Playhouse that it already has been extended several times. It’s easy to see why. A prime […]
RECOMMENDED Where:Writers Theatre Nichols Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe When: through Sept. 23 Tickets: $35-$80 Phone: 847-242-6000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone,” which premiered in 2015 and is making its Chicago debut at Writers Theatre, tells an old story in a new way, using ingenious techniques to challenge our preconceptions and subvert […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Lookingglass Theatre Company, Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. When: through Sept. 9 Tickets: $45-$80 Phone: 312-337-0665 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Lookingglass Theatre Company may be the victim of its own success. If any other theater in town presented this “20,000 Leagues Under the Seas,” it would be hailed as […]