About Chicago Critic

ChicagoCritic.com is an independent guide to Chicago theatre and live performance. We help readers decide what to see on Chicago stages, from Loop Broadway tours to storefront premieres and suburban playhouses, and we maintain an archive of thousands of reviews.

Who We Are

ChicagoCritic.com was founded by Chicago theatre critic Tom Williams in 2001. For more than two decades, the publication has documented plays, musicals, opera, cabaret, classical music and other live performance across Chicago and its suburbs. Today the site preserves roughly 2,700 published reviews and articles by Williams and a long roster of contributing critics, creating a first-hand record of Chicago-area productions across multiple generations of artists and companies.

Tom and more than 25 critics have reviewed for ChicagoCritic.com; meet them on our Contributors page.

What We Cover

• Reviews: Our theatre review archive covers thousands of Chicago-area productions, along with music, opera, cabaret and art reviews.
• What’s playing: The Chicago Shows Now Playing guide lists current plays, musicals and Broadway tours.
• Monthly theatre guides: Each month we pick the shows worth your time, such as October on Chicago Stages.
• Jeff Awards: Our Jeff Awards guide and awards coverage follow the nominees and winners of Chicago’s theatre awards.
• Holiday shows: Seasonal guides, including Chicago Holiday Shows & Musicals and Where to See The Nutcracker in Chicago.
• Festivals and events: Coverage of Chicago festivals and cultural events beyond the theatre.
• Planning a night out: The Chicago Theatre District Guide covers the downtown theatres, tickets and visitor tips.

Our Editorial Approach

ChicagoCritic.com is independent and Chicago-first. We focus on Chicago and suburban stages instead of national entertainment news. For dates, venues, casting and tickets, we rely on official sources such as theatre companies, venues and box offices, and we point readers to them so they can check the latest details before they buy. When a request for a review comes in, we consider it editorially; a request does not guarantee a review.

Tom Williams, Founder and Longtime Chicago Theatre Critic

Tom Williams founded ChicagoCritic.com in 2001 and spent decades documenting theatre and live performance across Chicago and its suburbs. By 2013, Williams wrote that he had seen and written approximately 3,000 reviews over the preceding 12 years. His coverage ranged from Broadway musicals and major Chicago institutions to storefront theatre, opera, cabaret, classical music and emerging companies.

In 2010, the Society of Midland Authors honored Williams with its James Friend Memorial Award for Literary and Dramatic Criticism, identifying him as the originator of ChicagoCritic.com (our 2010 announcement). WBEZ also reported his receipt of the award. Over the years, Chicago theatre companies have cited and preserved Williams’ criticism in their production histories and promotional materials, and Concord Theatricals quotes his reviews on its licensing pages for A Grand Night for Singing, Crazy for You and City of Angels.

Williams’ work forms the foundation of the ChicagoCritic archive. His reviews preserve first-hand assessments of productions, performers and theatre companies at specific moments in Chicago’s theatrical history. You can browse Tom Williams’ reviews in the archive.

Critics Who Built the ChicagoCritic Archive

ChicagoCritic has always been the work of more than one voice. Over the years, dozens of critics have contributed first-hand reviews of Chicago-area theatre and live performance. Their work documents productions that have closed, companies that have evolved and artists at different stages of their careers.

Jacob Davis

Jacob Davis is one of the most prolific contributors in the ChicagoCritic archive. His ChicagoCritic work included long-form theatre criticism and coverage of opera and other live performance, making his reviews an important part of the site’s record of Chicago theatre during the 2010s.

Will Fink

Will Fink’s ChicagoCritic work included theatre and music criticism, adding another distinct critical voice to the publication’s coverage of Chicago performance.

Beverly Friend

Beverly Friend is an academic, writer and critic whose work extended beyond theatre. Her ChicagoCritic reviews broadened the range of voices represented in the ChicagoCritic archive.

Other ChicagoCritic Contributors

Other substantial contributors include August Lysy, Anthony J. Mangini, Clint May, Jake Lindquist, Margaret Eva, Samuel Wigutow, Randy Hardwick, John B. Reinhardt, Chris Arnold, Sally Jo Osborne and Timothy McGuire. The archive also includes work by Evan Kuchar, Joe Stead, Michael Gerrity, Gabriel Kalcheim, Matthew Wrobel, Al Bresloff, Samuel Ezra Fisch, John Stuckert, Matt Koske, Kevin Armistead, Ciar O’Mahony, and Luke Heiden. Meet them all on our Critics & Contributors page.

Our Review Archive

ChicagoCritic’s archive preserves reviews of Chicago-area productions spanning more than two decades. Historical reviews remain substantially as originally published so they continue to reflect the critic’s assessment of a particular production at a particular moment. We may add updated context, navigation, links or factual information to older pages to help today’s readers understand the production and discover related coverage without changing the original critical viewpoint.

Request a Review

Producing a play, musical, concert or other live performance in the Chicago area? Use our Request a Review form. Please send requests at least two weeks before your preferred performance date whenever possible. For announcements and press releases, use the press release submission form.

Contact Us

For corrections, feedback, advertising or general questions, visit our Contact page or email us at info at ChicagoCritic.com. You can meet the critics behind our reviews on our Critics & Contributors page.

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