:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/VUSSQVAC6ZB7NIAQMQQAZKSD2E.JPG)
Review: ‘Young Frankenstein’ comes alive at Mercury Theater, thanks to Igor and the Monster
Compared to the Broadway overblown spectacle, the show sits far more easily at Chicago’s intimate Mercury as a fun, Halloween-season entertainment.
Advertisement
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/LHYMINHHVJAZFLTSPKK2EE5GSY.JPG)
New director of Governors State Center for Performing Arts focuses on diversity in effort ‘to make this place essential’
Scott Sowinski, in his first season as director of Governors State University's Center for Performing Arts, wants to fail, he said, because “If we don’t fail, how do we grow?"
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/XEPHNAHRVJA7VB5EBMOHBCSBOM.jpg)
First-time 312 Comedy Festival opens this week: Our 5 picks from a lineup of dozens of comics at Zanies, the Chicago Theatre and beyond
The first 312 Comedy Festival will include performers such as Hannibal Buress, Craig Robinson, Nicole Byer and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/KGR4ILUBJRDWPIPXZVEY74LEU4.jpg)
Review: ‘Here We Are’ opens off-Broadway, Sondheim’s final, life-loving musical
As this new musical confirms, Stephen Sondheim died happy, at the top of his lyrical and compositional game, and clearly in love.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/4UUMVH23OJEDXMZQGAXC64JQ7M.JPG)
Review: In Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil’s ‘O’ is both an analog throwback and one of the greatest shows ever
The 25th anniversary of “O” was a reminder of many things, not the least of which the power of live actors and stage sets over video projections.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/HYCCY2XRJFE4NFPQFKPBOIZ73Q.JPG)
Review: ‘Night Watch’ at Raven Theatre is a lively mystery-thriller that’ll keep you guessing
“Night Watch” is no great masterpiece, but the late Lucille Fletcher, who wrote for “The Twilight Zone," sure knew how to craft a mystery.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/HXDGFDOOHJDXVMYWU643MPROA4.JPG)
Review: Joffrey Ballet’s ‘Frankenstein’ is terrific and terrifying at Lyric Opera House. Don’t miss it.
One scene is an example of ballet at its finest, with some of the world’s best artists coming together to make inconceivable theatrical magic.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/W7ZEKBPWABBH3FTXYG5M5ILZ5M.JPG)
Review: ‘A Wonderful World’ opens at the Cadillac Palace with a knockout Louis Armstrong and a tone-deaf story
I hope Broadway gets to see the star James Monroe Iglehart in this role.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/S5G4WHHUKBDLZL7Z3EJP4SLT5M.jpg)
Review: ‘Gutenberg! The Musical!’ on Broadway is best for fans of Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells
This new show relies for its appeal mostly on the rapport of its two contrasting stars, and the edgy material took guts.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/NNL7F3X635F47MTNJBPYIUN2IQ.JPG)
New Louis Armstrong musical ‘A Wonderful World’ sounds its trumpet in Chicago
“We tell the Louis Armstrong story through each of his four wives,” star James Monroe Iglehart says. “He took a long time to understand himself.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/WGZWFL34ORDJ5J4PGZKM63ER5Y.jpg)
‘As Much As I Can’ is an up-close theater experience about HIV/AIDS
The touring production comes to Chicago as a free work designed as an intervention to educate people on the HIV epidemic in marginalized communities.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/H2EBRYCTBBDSJK72G2FTCNVAZY.jpg)
Review: In ‘Lucha Teotl’ at Goodman Theatre, the story takes second to full-on wrestling action
Kudos to the show for delivering the full-blown experience, but it struggles to build a narrative we care about.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/E756AZQV3VGPBJBLLQVB5GEMXM.JPG)
Congo Square’s Charlique Rolle is the new leader of Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago
You may know Charlique Rolle as Congo Square Theater's executive director. Now she is the new president of the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/JUNRXJ727ZBD7BL3DNFDTL5VDY.jpg)
Review: ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ on Broadway has a cast that’s wonderful to watch
The year 1957, the setting of the final scene of “Merrily,” is all about possibility. But we already know friends have disappointed friends.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/MUVYVAJ27FFKPDD7GE5XDX6TMI.jpg)
Review: In ‘Wolves’ at Redtwist Theatre, the terror may already be inside the door
As I emerged from Redtwist’s black box theater, I knew I’d be thinking about this one for a while.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/M4QPQMQBKVGYRKOCK6K5D4IF2E.jpg)
Review: ‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’ on Broadway is a lively slice of life, one braid at a time
Salons are usually havens for gossip, always good for a laugh. But as we see in "Jaja’s African Hair Braiding," they can also be safe spaces.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/OIQT2T7AYREKXBUVN7L7ANMHIQ.JPG)
Review: ‘American Psycho’ is now a bloody and gutsy musical in the Chopin basement
This is the '90s story of handsome serial killer Patrick Bateman, with a score by Duncan Sheik, staged right there in front of you.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/NKZE4ZDRYBDGVOMPNRWXXF6KGM.JPG)
A citywide salute to playwright Pearl Cleage, from ‘The Nacirema Society’ to ‘Mad at Miles’
Pearl Cleage on what it means to have a Chicago festival focused on her work, including "The Nacirema Society" at the Goodman Theatre.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/7ERGNIDN3ZGCNFT3MK4D33ZVQI.jpg)
2023 Equity Jeff Awards: Goodman, Teatro Vista and American Blues are the big winners
Monday was an especially good night for the Goodman Theatre, winning for “The Cherry Orchard” and “The Who’s Tommy.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/EDKGPFUXHBDRDD6YLETXSUJBZE.JPG)
Haunted houses 2023: Our 18 must-scares this Halloween season
Many are open this weekend. There are even a few new ones this year — and whether or not you’ve heard of Raven’s Grin Inn in Mount Carroll, read on.