RECOMMENDED Where: Porchlight Music Theatre at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. When: through Dec. 8 Tickets: $39-$66 Phone: 773-777-9884 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic I’ve been looking forward to Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Sunset Boulevard” ever since casting was announced for the company’s 25th anniversary season opener months ago. Andrew […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: The Royal George Cabaret Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St. When: through Dec. 1 Tickets: $69-$79 Phone: 312-988-9000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic More sad than funny, the aptly titled “I’m Not A Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce” begins with the ending, as if to make the point. The first thing we see in this […]
RECOMMENDED Where: The Gift Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. When: through Nov. 16 Tickets: $42 Phone: 773-975-8150 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic At the beginning of Leah Nanako Winkler’s 2015 “Kentucky,” a mini Greek chorus of two Bridesmaids (Maryam Abdi, Ana Silva) in long pink gowns sings “These people have shaped you. […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St. When: through Nov. 3 Tickets: $70 Phone: 800-775-2000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic If you’re looking for insights into the content and composition of “The Screwtape Letters,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Space Trilogy,” or other works by famous British author and Christian […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. When: through Nov. 17 Tickets: $43-$46 Phone: 773-338-2177 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The press release for the Chicago premiere of Rachel Bonds’ “Sundown, Yellow Moon” at Raven Theatre said that it featured music and lyrics by The Bengsons. I wasn’t familiar with the married couple […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Windy City Playhouse South— The Loft, 2229 S. Michigan Ave. When: through Dec. 8 (with possible extensions) Tickets: $55-$75 Phone: 773-891-8985 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Every Brilliant Thing” is an oddity: a play about depression and suicide designed to make us feel better. Not about dying, but about living. It’s also an […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. When: through Oct. 20 Tickets: $20-$89 Phone: 312-335-1650 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic It takes a great leap of faith to buy the improbable plot of Lauren Yee’s “The Great Leap,” but the payoff is an engrossing examination of a cultural clash that combines the personal […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire When: through Oct. 20 Tickets: $50-$60 Phone: 847-634-0200 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic In the anachronistic alternative Elizabethan England of “Something Rotten!” struggling playwright Nick Bottom, desperate to knock Shakespeare off his “greatest ever” perch, seeks out a soothsayer to learn what’s going to be the next […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie When: through Oct. 20 Tickets: $30-$89 Phone: 847-673-6300 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Twenty-four years after Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, her mother, Isabelle Romée, then in her 70s, appealed to the […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Goodman Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. When: through Oct. 20 Tickets: $25-$80 Phone: 312-443-3800 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic On May 20, 1899, Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress of her era, made her debut in the title role of “Hamlet” in a prose adaptation of Shakespeare’s play written for her by […]
RECOMMENDED Where: TimeLine Theatre Company at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St. When: through Oct. 20 Tickets: $35-$95 Phone: 800-775-2000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Most of us probably remember the iconic photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat shaking hands in the White House Rose Garden […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. When: through Oct. 19 Tickets: $42 Phone: 773-975-8150 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Can a generous spirit compensate for a contrived plot? If characters are caring, does it matter that they’re poorly motivated? How much repetition is acceptable in a 90-minute play […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. When: through Oct. 13 Tickets: $37.50-$84 Phone: 773-753-4472 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic After seeing director Ron OJ Parson’s revelatory take on August Wilson’s “Radio Golf” at Court Theatre last season, I was hopeful that he would bring the same brilliance to bear on “King Hedley II,” […]
RECOMMENDED Where: The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier When: through Oct. 20 Tickets: $50-$90 Phone: 312-595-5600 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Whenever Harry Hadden-Paton and James Frain appear on stage together in the North American premiere of David Seidler’s “The King’s Speech” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, sparks fly. That’s the main reason to […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: American Blues Theater at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. When: through Oct. 19 Tickets: $19-$39 Phone: 773-654-3103 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic As we were leaving the Chicago premiere of Rick Cleveland’s “Five Presidents” at American Blues Theater, my companion said that he didn’t really see the purpose of the play. […]