NORMAL PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT

by Rachel Weinberg - October 15, 2024

Namir Smallwood’s performance as Kenneth is a real testament to his superb abilities as a performer and the intimacy of PRIMARY TRUST becomes more profoundly emotional thanks to him. ...

by Rachel Weinberg - October 14, 2024

Magician Siegfried Tieber’s sparkling, genuine charm is every bit as magical as his tricks in his special engagement at THE MAGIC PARLOUR....

by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - October 10, 2024

A question from Archangel Michael to God. The newest production in the BOLD Series at the intimate Copley Theatre in Aurora is An Act of God. Alex Weisman, in his bravura Paramount Copley debut as God, delivers each of the revised Ten Commandments to the audience in a way they do not expect. Sarcasm...

by Rachel Weinberg - September 27, 2024

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD is three hours of nostalgia-fueled, utterly captivating theater...with heaps of stage magic. The Chicago engagement marks the national tour debut of the eighth installment in J.K. Rowling’s HARRY POTTER series....

by Zac Thriffiley - September 25, 2024

Despite some moving performances from the supporting cast, seasoned fans of and newcomers to THE OUTSIDERS may be underwhelmed by a production whose various elements leave it struggling to “stay golden.”...

by Rachel Weinberg - September 24, 2024

Goodman Theatre’s season-opening production of INHERIT THE WIND centers on a fictionalized version of the 1925 “Scopes Monkey” trial — at its heart, a debate on creationism vs. evolutionism. Though playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee make it clear they’re on the side of evolution, it’s sti...

by Rachel Weinberg - September 23, 2024

NOISES OFF is lengthy and occasionally redundant because the show literally runs through Act One three times from different perspectives. But it’s also legitimately funny — which is rare and welcome for a Steppenwolf show....

by Rachel Weinberg - September 20, 2024

It’s a joy to experience GREAT COMET end-to-end, and for musical theater lovers that want to hear a complicated score flawlessly performed, this is the ticket. This GREAT COMET soars....

by Zac Thriffiley - September 18, 2024

Open Space Arts's production of LIGHT SWITCH shines a much-needed spotlight (no pun intended) on the struggles of neurodiverse members of queer communities, thanks in large part to its captivating leading man....

by Zac Thriffiley - September 17, 2024

Featuring a strikingly charismatic yet grounded performance from its leading actor, HENRY V presents a compelling study of the excitement and danger inherent in even the best-intended feelings of nationalism....