FREE STREET'S STORYFRONT

by Rachel Weinberg - January 21, 2025

With JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, Jocelyn Bioh pulls off a challenging theatrical feat: She makes a slice-of-life play consistently engaging and entertaining. Set in Harlem at a hair salon of the same name, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING follows a group of West African immigrant women working there —...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - January 19, 2025

This is the moment – when Dr. Henry Jekyll decides to try an experiment. Jekyll and Hyde in Concert is the newest production from BrightSide Theatre. ...

by Rachel Weinberg - January 09, 2025

SHUCKED is a corny musical...in the best way possible. Book writer Robert Horn and composer team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally’s lyrics are chock-full (or should I say husk-full?) of puns, double entendres, and cringey punchlines. I was grinning ear-to-ear (of corn). SHUCKED is joyful, creative, a...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - December 23, 2024

This story is definitely geared to young females. They do identify with it. It was apparent in the audience. It is about respecting yourself but also treating each other with respect. Believe in yourself. Have faith in others but ultimately, have faith in yourself. We all need to remember these impo...

by Rachel Weinberg - December 12, 2024

TEATRO ZINZANNI is still kicking it in the indoor Spiegeltent Zazou nestled on the fourteenth floor of the Cambria Hotel in the Loop. It’s still a reliably entertaining variety show, and this particular edition includes many returning performers....

by Rachel Weinberg - December 05, 2024

& JULIET is an unserious jukebox musical that’s deeply serious about its commitment to fun....

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 24, 2024

This is the crucial moment in the current childrens’ theatre production at Marriott Lincolnshire of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical, Cinderella. The cast of ten, under the direction of Laura Rook, brings delight and joy to the littlest members of the audience, many of the girls dressed as ...

by Rachel Weinberg - November 25, 2024

FALSETTOS, originally written as two-one act musicals set in 1979 and 1981, respectively, feels simultaneously dated and prescient. In this co-production from Court Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company, director Nick Bowling leads a first-rate ensemble that preserves the musical as a period piece bu...

by Misha Davenport - November 22, 2024

What did our critic think of THE SECRET GARDEN at Theo Ubique?...

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - November 10, 2024

What did our critic think of FROZEN at Paramount Theatre Aurora, IL?...