SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED Where: Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at No Exit Cafe, 690 N. Glenwood Ave. When: through January 31 2015 Tickets: $29-$34 Phone: 800-595-4849 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Ted Swindley’s “Always … Patsy Cline” takes its title from the “love always” sign-off the country singer used in her letters to uber-fan Louise Seger, but there’s little […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie When: through Dec. 14 Tickets: $25-$78 Phone: 847-673-6300 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Who doesn’t like a good whodunit for the holidays? That thought and Artistic Director BJ Jones’ realization that Northlight Theatre has never staged a “genuine mystery” in […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. When: through Dec. 14 Tickets: $20-$60 Phone: 773-871-3000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic It’s not easy being an icon. Consider, for example, Mary, the mother of Jesus, immortalized forever in paintings and sculptures: Receiving the angel of the annunciation, holding her infant or crucified son, being […]
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Where: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. When: through Dec. 7 Tickets: $45-$65 Phone: 773-753-4472 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Court Theatre’s production of Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Aulis” achieves a remarkable balance of realism and ritual to bring a play that’s more than 2000 years old vividly to life in a way that […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. When: through Nov. 16 Tickets: $20-$82 Phone: 312-335-1650 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Playwright Conor McPherson is a master at creating ordinary men who’ve screwed up their lives. Usually suffering from grief and loss, they’re nearing the end of their resources when a twist […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier When: through Nov. 9 Tickets: $48-$78 Phone: 312-595-5600 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic None of the productions of “King Lear” I’ve seen have provided a viscerally convincing reason for the title monarch’s misguided decision to divide his kingdom among his three daughters while he’s still alive. Until now. […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Remy Bumppo Theatre Company at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. When: through Nov. 9 Tickets: $42.50-$57.50 Phone: 733-404-7336 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic An idealistic young congressman from a Western state comes to Washington, D.C., to help pass a bill he believes in only to find that his fellow legislators have […]
SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED Where: Bank of America Theatre, When: through Nov. 2 Tickets: $33-$100 Phone: 800-775-2000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The treatment of a minor character epitomizes one of the many problems with the slickly staged and well-sung pre-Broadway world premiere of “Amazing Grace,” the musical by Christopher Smith (music, lyrics, book) and Arthur Giron […]
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Where: Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. When: through Oct. 26 Tickets: $25-$81 Phone: 312-443-3800 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Plenty of contemporary plays are thought-provoking, but Noah Haidle’s “Smokefall” is that rare work that actually makes you feel the love, loss and mystery of life that are the subjects of […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at the No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave. When: through Oct. 19 Tickets: $25-$29 Phone: 800-595-4849 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Kudos to Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre for having the moxie to include the entire “Mahagonny Songspiel” in “A Kurt Weill Cabaret.” The evening also benefits from the […]