Chicago Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 9

BWW Review: IN EVERY GENERATION at Victory Gardens Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - April 10, 2022

IN EVERY GENERATION explores the duality of the cyclical nature of humanity - specifically, in this play, the Jewish experience. As playwright Ali Viterbi's text reveals, sometimes cycles can be sources of comfort and tradition - as is the case with the Levi-Katz's family annual Passover Seder and m...

BWW Review: THE KING AND I at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - April 09, 2022

This production is simply exquisite!The current production at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, IL is Rodgers and Hammerstein's timeless story of the puzzled King of Siam and the British schoolteacher who educates more than just his children. Of course, it's The King and I. Read our critic's r...

BWW Review: GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - March 22, 2022

Doug Wright’s GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR, now in its world premiere production at Goodman Theatre, is an engaging play that brings the story of one infamous night in the life of Oscar Levant to the stage. Read our critic's review. ...

BWW Review: WHITE at Definition Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - March 20, 2022

WHITE is a sharp and genuinely funny critique of the modern art world, the subjectivity of contemporary art, and the question of who should be represented and who has access to the upper echelons of said art world....

BWW Review: SWEAT at Copley Theatre, Aurora IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 21, 2022

If the first production at the new Copley Theatre in Aurora is an indication of what the new BOLD series will be, patrons will be riveted to the action on the stage....

BWW Review: KING JAMES at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - March 16, 2022

KING JAMES is a platonic male love story — and Rajiv Joseph’s world premiere play at Steppenwolf is one slam dunk of a bromance....

BWW Review: GROUNDHOG DAY at Paramount Theater, Aurora IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 06, 2022

The current production of Groundhog Day at the Paramount Theater in Aurora, IL (under the direction of Jim Corti) is not the movie - and that's not being negative at all! All the familiar elements are evident in this well staged and directed musical. When we first meet Phil Connors (the talented and...

BWW Review: HADESTOWN National Tour Presented By Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - March 03, 2022

HADESTOWN takes audiences on a wild and original ride into Hades's underworld. With music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell, HADESTOWN combines the Greek myths of the ill-fated lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, along with that of Hades and Persephone, lord of the underworld and his beloved wife who spe...

BWW Review: THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - February 23, 2022

Rarely do I see theater that feels truly unique, but Mary Zimmerman's THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI at Goodman Theater is indeed unlike any other piece of theater....

BWW Review: BLUES IN THE NIGHT at Porchlight Music Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - February 20, 2022

Porchlight Music Theatre has staged a number of similar revues over the years, and I look back on those most fondly for the tremendous talent they have showcased. That could not be more true of director Kenny Ingram's production of Sheldon Epps's BLUES IN THE NIGHT....

BWW Review: QUEEN OF THE NIGHT at Victory Gardens Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - February 06, 2022

Victory Gardens Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin ushers in a new age for the company with a play that trods familiar territory....

BWW Review: WOMEN OF SOUL at Mercury Theater Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - February 04, 2022

WOMEN OF SOUL delivers the kind of high-energy tribute that makes up the best kind of revue, and the songs are irresistible....

BWW Review: BACHELOR: THE UNAUTHORIZED PARODY MUSICAL at Apollo Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - January 20, 2022

BACHELOR: THE UNAUTHORIZED PARODY MUSICAL is exceedingly clever, legitimately funny, and far wittier than the ABC series itself. This show earns my rose....

BWW Review: THE MOORS at A Red Orchid Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - January 16, 2022

A Red Orchid Theatre returns with Jen Silverman’s THE MOORS, which overturns the conventions of a Victorian era-style drama by infusing commentary on gender roles and elements of absurdism....

BWW Review: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, LIVE IN CHICAGO! at American Blues Theater
by Patrick Rybarczyk - December 08, 2021

It's that time of year when we celebrate our favorite cherished holiday traditions. For many, that includes watching a classic Frank Capra film that tells the story of Bedford Falls' own George Bailey. It's filled with many iconic Hollywood moments that are forever etched in our hearts and minds. Pe...

BWW Review: FROZEN National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - November 20, 2021

FROZEN is a fun and sparkly production to ring in the holiday season, and this touring cast is first-rate. If all the little Annas and Elsas in the audience on opening night were any indication, it’s also a great show to introduce young theatergoers to musicals. And it’s enjoyable for the young at h...

BWW Review: PARADISE SQUARE Pre-Broadway Production
by Rachel Weinberg - November 18, 2021

PARADISE SQUARE takes the theme of the proverbial American melting pot deeply to heart. The musical centers on the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Five Points in the 1860s, where many white Irish immigrants and free Black Americans lived together. Though the show's narrator, Paradise Square saloon o...

BWW Review: SISTER ACT at Mercury Theater Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - November 12, 2021

Mercury Theater Chicago returns with SISTER ACT - and it's pure musical theater elation. This 'Joyful, Joyful' (SISTER ACT II reference intended) production, with direction from Reneisha Jenkins and choreography by Mercury's new Artistic Director Christopher Chase Carter, meets the goal of delightin...

BWW Review: PUMP BOYS & DINETTES at Porchlight Music Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - November 05, 2021

After the long pandemic hiatus, Porchlight Music Theatre returns to in-person productions with a feel-good staging of PUMP BOYS & DINETTES. It’s clear that Artistic Director Michael Weber knew that audiences would be craving some classic, lighthearted musical theater sentiment after such a long time...

BWW Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at The Broadway Playhouse
by Patrick Rybarczyk - October 29, 2021

Is it a patchwork? Is it a cauldron? Is it a document that needs to abolish, essentially scrapped, and rewritten? It can be argued that The Constitution of the United States is any of these things. That's precisely what is discussed in the fascinatingly urgent WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME....

BWW Review: FANNIE at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - October 26, 2021

E. Faye Butler gives a formidable performance as civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Cheryl L. West’s one-woman play....

BWW Review: AS YOU LIKE IT at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - October 17, 2021

Cloran’s production cleverly unites Shakespeare’s text and the Beatles’ music to come together (pun intended) in a lively and original version of AS YOU LIKE IT....

BWW Review: AMERICAN MARIACHI at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - September 28, 2021

AMERICAN MARIACHI is an enchanting celebration of female empowerment and mariachi music....

BWW REVIEW: MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY at Theater Wit
by Rachel Weinberg - September 09, 2021

It’s not just fitting that MR. BURNS is a play about a post-apocalyptic world, but also one that deeply underscores why art is so important to humanity. Indeed, this production demonstrates that art is what makes us human and empowers us to survive. After such a long time without live theater here ...

BWW Review: SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - August 03, 2021

After such a long wait, it’s particularly magical to see this uproariously funny but also tender play that puts young Black women right at its center....