The Theater Loop: Chicago Theater News & Reviews - Chicago Tribune

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Review: ‘Christmas With Elvis’ at the Chopin Theatre feels like a trip back to fearless off-Loop theater, circa 1992

Playing a single woman visited by the ghost of Elvis, Brenda Barrie apparently has decided she is doing Eugene O’Neill and proceeds accordingly. She’s very funny, too.

December 01, 2023

Review: Promising new ‘The Wiz’ at Cadillac Palace has moments where it strays off the road

Few titles command the affection of “The Wiz,” and the show’s most fabulous songs, including “Ease On Down the Road,” have been sung now for close to 50 years.

November 30, 2023

Frances Sternhagen, who played Esther Clavin on ‘Cheers’ and Bunny MacDougal on ‘Sex and the City,’ dies at 93

Frances Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93.

November 29, 2023

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Goodman Theatre is a play to make you believe kindness can win

“A Christmas Carol” urges us to open our hearts to our fellow passengers through this life. May even the most cynical among us take heed.

November 29, 2023

What was Scrooge like as a child? Park Ridge seventh-grader portrays him at Goodman Theatre

Park Ridge 11-year-old Leighton Tantillo is playing Ebenezer Scrooge as a child, as well as Peter Cratchit, in the Goodman Theatre's "A Christmas Carol."

November 28, 2023

Review: Funny, moving ‘Who’s Holiday’ at Theater Wit is the Malört of holiday shows

After spending a boozy hour in Cindy Lou Who’s trailer, you’ll never again see the classic Dr. Seuss tale the same.

November 28, 2023

American Blues Theater opens a new home on Lincoln Avenue, carved from a former Walgreens

The impressive new two-theater complex will stage the upcoming “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!,” slated to open on Dec. 10.

November 27, 2023

Review: ‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ at the Studebaker is a happy holiday show for all ages

Any fan of Jim Henson shouldn’t miss this truly splendid addition to the seasonal attractions on offer in Chicago’s Loop.

November 21, 2023

Review: ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ at the Paramount has lots of chocolate, now it just needs to warm up

Granted, Roald Dahl’s dark and complex stories from the 1960s are not easy to adapt into family musicals.

November 20, 2023

Review: A swirling, fashionable ‘Cinderella’ at Drury Lane Theatre brings sparkle to the season

What you are seeing here is the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein “Cinderella,” retooled a bit for modern sensibilities.

November 17, 2023

‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ is a new holiday musical in Chicago with puppet otters and Broadway aspirations

Everyone involved in the production reveres the title's old-school Jim Henson legacy.

November 17, 2023

Review: In ‘Spamalot’ revival on Broadway, Eric Idle’s knights fight bravely on

Yes, there's a digital set in this revival of Eric Idle's hilarious musical and much of the audience doesn't know the material. But 'tis but a scratch.

November 16, 2023

Review: Cast lights up Lyric’s especially bleak ‘Jenůfa’ — and that’s saying something

This opera premiered in 1904, a year after the death of Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s daughter. That trauma seeped into every brutal detail.

November 16, 2023

Our holiday theater list: Top 10 shows to make your season bright, from Cirque to ‘Carols’

There’s no better time to get out and support Chicago theater than the festive season, when warm holiday performances abound.

November 15, 2023

Holiday shows for 2023: Our 35 concerts, ‘Nutcrackers’ and theater around Chicago this season

Whether you’re a staunch “Christmas Carol” traditionalist or looking for off-color holiday humor, our guide has concerts and shows that’ll appeal to all stripes.

November 15, 2023

Review: In ‘The Lion in Winter’ at Court Theatre, an old play is on the prowl again

John Hoogenakker is a fine Henry II, all cynical and weary. I’d forgotten how much talk there is in this script about aching bones and death.

November 14, 2023

Review: ‘Harmony’ opens on Broadway with music by Barry Manilow — in a potent moment for a story of a 1930s singing group

Here was a band that could have represented Germany at its best, a combination of Jews and Gentiles singing in perfect harmony.

November 13, 2023

Review: ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ superb, the best at Marriott Theatre in years

No. 1 reason here is Kaitlyn Davis, a vulnerable, unpretentious actress who knows just how to play Carole King.

November 13, 2023

‘The Choir of Man’ heads to Chicago’s Apollo Theater

This show bills itself partly as a 90-minute theater piece, partly as a concert and partly as a party.

November 13, 2023

Review: Akram Khan’s ‘Jungle Book reimagined’ is spectacular and frightening at Harris Theater. What if animals could talk?

This is not Disney's “Jungle Book." Touring dance theater work imagines a near future in climate crisis.

November 10, 2023

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