Chicago Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 13

BWW Review: IF I FORGET at Victory Gardens Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - June 16, 2019

In IF I FORGET, Steven Levenson provides a close study of the kitchen sink family drama. At its center, the play addresses fundamental questions about what it means to be Jewish in America at the turn of the 21st century (the first act of the play takes place in July of 2000, while the second jumps ...

BWW Review: EMMA at Lifeline Theatre
by Emily McClanathan - June 09, 2019

'I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.' So Jane Austen famously prefaced the vivacious Emma Woodhouse, whom she describes as 'handsome, clever, and rich' in the opening words of her 1815 novel. Indeed, Emma, the meddlesome, would-be matchmaker is arguably the most contr...

BWW Review: MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - June 05, 2019

While MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT's narrative flounders in certain points, the play's integrity never flounders. Watching the play unfold, there's no denying the relevance of the issues that Blakk faced in 1992 to today's society. But the play brilliantly conveys that resonance while also still maintain...

BWW Review: Cirque du Soleil VOLTA in Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - June 03, 2019

French Canadian troupe Cirque du Soleil delivers a death-defying and dazzling array of acrobatic acts with VOLTA, now resident in a large tent occupying Soldier Field's South Parking Lot. Each of VOLTA's astounding, seemingly superhuman acts grow increasingly more jaw-dropping as the show progresses...

BWW Review: MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN at Lookingglass Theatre Company
by Emily McClanathan - May 30, 2019

With Lookingglass Theatre Company being the fourth Chicago theater to produce a Frankenstein adaptation over the past year in celebration of the novel's 200th anniversary, audiences may well ask what more can be said about this classic tale. Rest assured: in MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN, writer and d...

BWW Review: FALSETTOS National Tour in Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - May 30, 2019

The national tour of the 2016 Broadway revival of FALSETTOS, once again helmed by director James Lapine, has landed in Chicago with a first-rate production and cast. The mighty touring ensemble of seven captures all the neuroses and emotional journeys of the musical's composite 'Tight-Knit Family.'...

BWW Review: SIX at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - May 25, 2019

Bow down to the queens of SIX. In this new musical from Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (with direction from Moss and Jamie Armitage), the six wives of King Henry VIII are taking back their mics and sharing their stories-in the form of contemporary pop musical songs. This masterful musical sizzles with el...

BWW Review: NEXT TO NORMAL at Writers Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - May 17, 2019

Under the direction of David Cromer, Writers Theatre presents a NEXT TO NORMAL that is raw and electric. Tom Kitt's music and Brian Yorkey's book and lyrics have an utter immediacy to them in this production (and each note sounds great thanks to the music direction of Andra Velis Simon and the six-p...

BWW Review: THE WINTER'S TALE at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - May 14, 2019

Goodman Theatre's THE WINTER'S TALE is one of the most inventive and playful productions of Shakespeare I've seen....

BWW Review: WEST SIDE STORY at Lyric Opera
by Rachel Weinberg - May 06, 2019

Lyric Opera has staged a grand, traditional WEST SIDE STORY that serves as a veritable primer for this iconic musical. With director Francesca Zambello at the helm, who is no stranger to directing classic musicals, Lyric's production celebrates the beauty and complexity of Leonard Bernstein's stunni...

BWW Review: The Adrienne Arsht Center and The House Theatre of Chicago's UNITED FLIGHT 232
by Cristina Pla-Guzman - May 06, 2019

Last night the heaven's opened the flood gates and it rained as if a hurricane was upon us in Miami, Florida. I have never seen so many lightning bolts nor that much flooding on I-95. Although not many people braved the storm, I was proud to be among the few that came to watch the Adrienne Arsht Cen...

BWW Review: ROALD DAHL'S MATILDA THE MUSICAL at Drury Lane Theatre
by Emily McClanathan - May 05, 2019

British novelist Roald Dahl possessed that rare quality in an author of children's books: the ability to captivate the imaginations of his young readers and simultaneously entertain their parents. His distinctive witty prose, dark humor, and eccentric characters are beloved worldwide: a daunting pre...

BWW Review: THE CHILDREN at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - May 02, 2019

Lucy Kirkwood's aptly titled THE CHILDREN, now in its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, poses thought-provoking questions about the responsibilities that humankind has to future generations. Kirkwood's intentionally crafted play filters these broad themes through the specific narrativ...

BWW Review: FOOTLOOSE at Marriott Theatre
by Emily McClanathan - April 30, 2019

Marriott Theatre's FOOTLOOSE is a fun-filled throwback to the '80s, with a strong ensemble cast that does full justice to the original film's chart-topping hits. Directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by William Carlos Angulo, this production radiates infectious energy....

BWW Review: HAMLET at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - April 27, 2019

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Barbara Gaines has staged a HAMLET that captures both the universality of Shakespeare's language and the equally universal-but also profoundly personal-experience of grief for the title character....

BWW Review: HANNAH AND MARTIN at Shattered Globe Theatre
by Emily McClanathan - April 21, 2019

A thought-provoking blend of philosophy, politics, and personal ethics, Kate Fodor's HANNAH AND MARTIN explores the fall-out of one German intellectual's entanglement with the Nazi party. Now playing at Shattered Globe Theatre under the direction of Louis Contey, Fodor's historical drama recreates t...

BWW Review: A CHORUS LINE at Porchlight Music Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - April 19, 2019

Under the direction of Brenda Didier and with show-stopping choreography from Christopher Chase Carter, Porchlight's A CHORUS LINE captures the emotional heart at the center of this classic musical and has plenty of pizzazz. Whether you're a long-time fan of A CHORUS LINE or experiencing this musica...

BWW Review: A Country's Soul Beats in CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND
by Misha Davenport - April 16, 2019

BWW Review: A Country's Soul Beats in CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND...

BWW Review: LOTTERY DAY at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - April 10, 2019

It seems only fitting that Ike Holter would conclude his seven-play "Rightlynd Saga," set in the fictional 51st Ward of Chicago, by literally sending it off with a party. And this is no ordinary celebration. A cast of characters from previous installments in the "Rightlynd Saga" gathers in Mallory's...

BWW Review: CRUEL INTENTIONS: THE '90S MUSICAL
by Rachel Weinberg - April 05, 2019

If you're feeling nostalgic for the catchy pop hits of the '90s, CRUEL INTENTIONS: THE '90S MUSICAL is just the ticket....

BWW Review: ADMISSIONS at Theater Wit
by Rachel Weinberg - April 02, 2019

Now in its Chicago debut at Theater Wit under the direction of Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler, Joshua Harmon's ADMISSIONS is entirely prescient. The play takes a critical look at both prep school and college admissions, and the lengths to which people will go to have their children admitted. The ...

BWW Review: A NUMBER at Writers Theatre
by Emily McClanathan - April 02, 2019

In true science fiction fashion, British playwright Caryl Churchill's gripping two-hander, A NUMBER, raises more questions than it answers. Set in the near future and structured as a series of tense encounters between a father and his grown son(s), the play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 20...

Set Sail for Hell in a Handbag's Stellar POSEIDON!
by Misha Davenport - March 27, 2019

Hell in a Handbag's parody of the classic 1972 disaster film, is in top ship-shape and worthy of you booking a passage. It's a laugh riot of epic proportions....

BWW Review: BRIGHT STAR at BoHo Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - March 24, 2019

Launching BoHo Theatre's fifteenth season, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's BRIGHT STAR is an earnest and charming show that wears its heart proudly on its musical sleeve....

BWW Review: SWEAT at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - March 20, 2019

Lynn Nottage's 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning SWEAT, now in its Chicago premiere at Goodman Theatre under the direction of Ron OJ Parson, focuses on a group of blue-collar factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania. Bound together by the toils of working-class life in the town's steel-tubing factory, the...