Michael Cristofer News

Guild Hall Players staged What the Constitution Means to Me, by playwright, screenwriter and actor, Heidi Schreck, the most produced show of 2023/2024. Nominated for a Tony and a Pulitzer, both in 2019, it’s a mini tour of the American Constitution, weaving personal accounts of how the seemingly distant, lofty, and perhaps decrepit, document plays out in actual American lives, namely, the lives of women. Directed by the accomplished Phil Speary.

The upcoming film The Great Lillian Hall with Tony Award nominee Jessica Lange will debut Friday, May 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. See the trailer for the film!

The upcoming film The Great Lillian Hall with Tony Award nominee Jessica Lange will debut Friday, May 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. As beloved Broadway star Lillian Hall (Lange) pours her heart, soul, and time into preparing for her next big role, she finds herself blindsided by confusion and forgetfulness. Battling against all odds to make it to opening night, while holding on to her fading memories and identity, she must navigate a tumultuous emotional journey – balancing her desire for the spotlight and the stark demands of the real world.

Playwright Lloyd Suh has won the 2024 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for his play The Heart Sellers.

Bittersweet serendipity will be in the air when actor Gordon Clapp takes the stage in the Boston premiere of “Robert Frost: This Verse Business,” being presented April 23–28 by Spring Pool Arts at the Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts.

Learn about the finalists for the 2024 Steinberg-ATCA New Play Award, announced by the American Theatre Critics Association.

Lyric Opera of Chicago has released video footage of Justin Austin performing 'What Makes a Man a Man' from Terence Blanchard's CHAMPION below. Ahead of his fateful fight with Benny 'Kid' Paret, Emile Griffith finds himself torn between societal expectations and the desire to be his true self. Watch the performance here!

Chicago is never lacking outstanding theatre, whether epic Broadway shows, engrossing dramas or bold fringe offerings. BroadwayWorld is rounding up our top recommended theatre every month. February 2024's top picks include Lyric Opera's Champion, Cinderella, Goodman's Highway Patrol and more.

The music of Terence Blanchard has returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago with his first opera: Champion, an 'opera in jazz' inspired by the true story of boxer Emile Griffith, a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who threw a fatal punch in the boxing ring in 1962. Get a first look at the production in an all-new trailer!

The music of Terence Blanchard has returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago with his first opera: Champion, an 'opera in jazz' inspired by the true story of boxer Emile Griffith, a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who threw a fatal punch in the boxing ring in 1962. Check out production photos here!

In an all-new video, Associate Choreographer Christopher Jackson discusses the gumbo of dance found in Terence Blanchard's CHAMPION.

Learn about the world champion boxer and see how his story inspired Grammy Award-winning composer Terence Blanchard's first foray into opera in this interview with director James Robinson in an all-new video.

Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting the Lyric premiere of Grammy Award-winning composer Terence Blanchard and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning librettist Michael Cristofer’s knockout opera Champion. Learn more about this opera!

Check out production photos from Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, running September 23 to October 7, 2023 here!

Rose Gregorio, a Tony nominee for her performance in The Shadow Box, has passed away at the age of 97. 

Get all the details about the upcoming performance of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman at The Lyric Opera of Chicago. From the storyline to the cast, this guide is a must-read for opera lovers and fans of Wagner's work.

Lyric Opera of Chicago is ushering in the 2023/24 cultural season on a high note with Sunday in the Park with Lyric, an evening of beautiful music led by Enrique Mazzola.

YATC, a completely teen-driven theater company with productions in the Seattle area is presenting its 16th season at Theatre 4 in Seattle Center.

Single tickets go on sale tomorrow — Thursday, June 15 at 10 a.m. CT — for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s compelling 2023/24 Season.

Playwright Christina Anderson has won the 2023 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for her play the ripple, the wave that carried me home.