Tom Williams Updated for 2026. Originally published October 4, 2022. Chicago has played almost every role on screen: a story setting, a production location, a stand-in for Gotham City and, in some films, a character in its own right. This guide focuses on memorable movies with a meaningful Chicago connection while distinguishing between films set in Chicago, … Read more
Updated September 2026. Originally published September 29, 2022. Chicago has been the setting for major comedies, crime dramas, documentaries and television series—and it has also doubled for other cities on screen. This guide focuses on movies and TV shows that are set in Chicago, substantially filmed in Chicago, or strongly connected to the Chicago area, … Read more
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The Chicago Critics Film Festival returns April 30–May 6, 2027. Find dates, venue updates, tickets, lineup information and tips for attending Chicago’s critic-curated film festival.
Chicago Critical Mass is a free monthly group bike ride that gathers at Daley Plaza on the last Friday of every month. Find current times, location, ride details and tips for first-time participants.
The Audience is terrific theatre. Two hours of riveting acting with many telling scenes told with wit, humor and stinging retorts. Nick Bowling’s staging in-the-round with an all-white set give an intimacy to those meetings. We become a ‘fly-on-the wall.’
The Audience makes history and powerful historical figures come to life, foibles and all. We see that Elizabeth II is more than a smiling lady with a handbag. Brooks is wonderful here. This is a gem!
During the 2016-17 season, Jeff Awards judges attended opening nights of 159 Equity productions offered by 42 producing organizations, and from these openings, 123 productions were “Jeff Recommended” and eligible for award nominations.
The 49th Annual Equity Jeff Awards ceremony honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area will be held on Monday, November 6th, at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.
I could probably state what the story was from the many press notes but I approach a new show as if I was an audience member. By the way, I asked an audience member both at the intermission and after the show if he had trouble understanding some of the characters? The young man said he could not understand the woman and the estate manager (Ross Frawley) because they slurred their words and spoke too fast to be understood. He was most dissatisfied with the play. He Asked me why they speak so fast? I told him to ask the director.
The ambitious, driven ultimate stage mother, Mama Rose is one of the great characters in all of American Broadway musicals. Any production of Gypsy depends on who plays Mama Rose. Mary Robin Roth’s booming voice channeled Ethel Merman takes over as the determined stage mother. Her voice grated on me after a time but Roth’s be
Somehow the creatives at Red Theater Chicago delivered a comical yet physically demanding satirical parody of wrestling and a unique take on the American Dream, From the players warming up the audience to groan and cheer to the wrestlers taking prat falls everytime the cross the ropes of the full-sized ring, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is two hours of entertaining theatre. This comic satire works better on the intimate staging of Strawdog’s new diggs on west Bernice street.