By William Donnelly Directed by Kimberly Senior Produced by Route 66 Theatre Company Playing at the Greenhouse Theater Center An Actor’s Dramedy about Lost Love and a Dead Kid The contemporary naturalistic drama is in some ways a rather cynical form of art. The people who are telling a story will look at a situation … Read more
Chicago Premiere By Pearl Cleage Directed by Daniel Bryant Produced by Congo Square Theatre At Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago Smartly Sophisticated Urban Comedy of Manners Awaits Congo Square Theatre long has been a troupe that mounts terrific plays about the African-American experience. Their latest, What I Learned In Paris, a Chicago premiere, is another fine production … Read more
By Eric Dufault Directed by Carrie Lee Patterson Produced by Red Theater Chicago Playing at the Frontier Theatre An Auspicious Beginning with this Chicken It’s a new year, and with it comes a new model for Red Theatre Chicago, the local branch of a boundary-breaking theatre company founded by rebellious students at the University of … Read more
Produced by Pegasus Theatre Chicago Playing at Chicago Dramatists It’s a new year, and Pegasus Theatre starts it off as usual by nurturing a new generation of playwrights. The Young Playwrights Festival is a year-long citywide event to which high schoolers submit their one-act play scripts. Among 500 entries, a few are selected for development … Read more
Top 12 Drama/Comedies of 2015
by Tom Williams & Jacob Davis
Top 12 Musicals of 2015 Picks by Tom Williams
and Jacob Davis
Created by Attila Glatz Concert Productions Featuring the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by Bernhard Schneider Featuring Patricia Nessy soprano (Vienna) and tenor Adam Luther With the Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine and International Champion Ballroom Dancers Concert Date: December 27 at ORCHESTRA HALL, SYMPHONY CENTER, Chicago The ageless beauty of Viennese music is a wonderful way … Read more
Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin Music by Matthew Sklar Lyrics by Nell Benjamin Additional Music by Marvin Hamlisch Directed and Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell Produced by Broadway in Chicago You’re Never Too Old for a Feel-Good Show People excited for Gotta Dance, the new pre-Broadway try-out playing at the Bank of America Theater, … Read more
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows Based on the Story and Characters of Damon Runyon Directed by Rudy Hogenmiller Choreographed by Clayton Cross Conducted by Shawn Stengel Produced by Light Opera Works, Evanston New Talent Keeps an Old Favorite Vital I’ve seen Light Opera Works do such a … Read more
By Jackie Taylor Directed by Rueben D. Echoles Musical Direction by Robert Reddick Produced by Black Ensemble Theater, Chicago The Divas Walk among Us 2016 will mark the Black Ensemble Theater’s fortieth anniversary, and their upcoming season looks set to be a fantastic retrospective. The Uptown/Ravenswood-based company, which is still led by its founder, Jackie … Read more