RECOMMENDED Where: The Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave. When: through Oct. 27 Tickets: $22-$59 Phone: 773-325-1700 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic After the opening number of the new production of “The Color Purple” at the Mercury Theater, I was seriously worried. It had all the earmarks of a high school or college show. Bob […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace When: through Oct. 6 Tickets: $35-$49 (lunch and dinner packages $50-$74) Phone: 630-530-0111 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic When the touring production of the Broadway hit, “Next to Normal,” came to downtown Chicago in 2011, I found Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics) and Tom Kitt’s […]
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Where: Steppenwolf Theatre Company Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. When: through Sept. 1 Tickets: $20-$78 Phone: 312-335-1650 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of Greg Pierce’s “Slowgirl” shows just how good a quiet little two-character play can be in the hands of the right director and actors. Sensitively directed […]
RECOMMENDED Where: A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St. When: through September 15 Tickets: $30-$40 Phone: 312-943-8722 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Of all the familiar Sam Shepard themes that resonate in his 1994 “Simpatico,” none is more potent than the inevitability that a past filled with secrets will poison the present, resulting in […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Steppenwolf Theatre Company Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. When: through Aug. 25 Tickets: $20-$78 Phone: 312-335-1650 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The American couple at the center of Amy Herzog’s “Belleville” is seriously screwed up, but nothing in the play or Steppenwolf Theatre’s production, ably directed by Anne Kauffman and expertly acted, […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks, various parks When: through Aug. 25 Tickets: free, no tickets required Phone: 312-595-5600 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Chicago Shakespeare Theater kicked off its second summer of Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks on Sunday, July 28, at Eckhart Park in the Noble Square neighborhood, and a rollicking good […]
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED Where: Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. When: through Aug. 11 Tickets: $20-$60 Phone: 773-871-3000 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The interview with Luis Alfaro in the program for Victory Gardens Theater’s world premiere of his “Mojada” (“wetback”) provides some clues as to why his adaptation of the Medea legend just doesn’t […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. When: through Aug. 18 Tickets: $27-$125 Phone: 312-443-3800 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic Centering a whole show around a child can be a recipe for disaster, especially if it’s a coming-of-age story requiring the kid to grow and develop emotionally. But when you’re adapting the beloved 1967 […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Lookingglass Theatre Company, Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave, When: through Aug. 25 Tickets: $36-$79 Phone: 312-337-0665 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic The world premiere of “Big Lake Big City” opened at Lookingglass Theatre to great expectations. Local playwright Keith Huff catapulted to fame when his gritty two-character Chicago cop drama, […]
RECOMMENDED Where: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. When: through July 21 Tickets: $45-$65 Phone: 773-753-4472 By ANNE SPISELMAN Theater Critic At its best, Court Theatre’s “Tartuffe,” part of a two-play Molière festival that started with “The Misanthrope,” effectively pairs the wit of Richard Wilbur’s translation with canny physical comedy to illuminate the double-pronged satire […]