Chris Jones – Page 42

Corey Mach and Teal Wicks in the national tour of "& Juliet," in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. (Matthew Murphy)

Review: “& Juliet” at the Cadillac Palace is a crowd-pleasing musical with few ideas of its own

December 5, 2024 at 1:38 p.m.

The national tour, now in Chicago, has songs made famous by the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande. What it doesn't have is a story.

Will Koski and Brennan Martinez in "The Secret Garden" by Theo. (Time Stops)

Review: ‘The Secret Garden’ is a lovely musical that needs more storefront intimacy at Theo

November 27, 2024 at 1:56 p.m.

If you're doing "Secret Garden" in a small space, simplicity is your byword and there's a lot of extra stuff going on here that does not always work.

Richard Marsh "Yippee Ki Yay," a stage parody of the movie "Die Hard." (Rod Penn)

Review: ‘Yippee Ki Yay’ at the Broadway Playhouse is for ‘Die Hard’ superfans only

November 26, 2024 at 12:55 p.m.

As written and performed by Richard Marsh, this is a parody of what some consider a holiday movie, with John McClane and just a few props to tell the story.

Anthony Irons, Christopher Donahue, Ava Rose Doty, Xavier Irons, Henry Lombardo, Isabel Ackerman, Viva Boresi, Tafadzwa Diener and Susaan Jamshidi in the 2024 holiday production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Goodman Theatre. (Liz Lauren)

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Goodman Theatre has a new Scrooge, and he’s an inspired choice

November 25, 2024 at 12:05 p.m.

As Charles Dickens intended, Scrooge comes around by witnessing one moral lesson at a time, and that's where the actor Christopher Donahue excels.

Hazel Vogel (as Annie) with Kevin as Sandy the dog in the national tour of "Annie" at the Chicago Theatre. (Matthew Murphy)

Review: ‘Annie’ at the Chicago Theatre is a lovely new production with the best Sandy ever

November 22, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.

This is a wholly traditional "Annie," with an experienced cast and real emotional connection. And don't worry, kids, Sandy will be fine. A musical not to be missed.

Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in "Death Becomes Her" on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York. (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

Review: ‘Death Becomes Her’ on Broadway has fun frenemies and a wacky good time

November 21, 2024 at 8:00 p.m.

This musical based on the 1992 Robert Zemeckis movie is unapologetically silly as it opens in New York, much improved from its Chicago tryout.

Wayne Duvall, John Gallagher Jr., Stark Sands and Adrian Blake Enscoe in "Swept Away" on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre in New York. (Emilio Madrid)

Review: ‘Swept Away’ on Broadway has songs of the Avett Brothers in a very different kind of musical

November 19, 2024 at 10:00 p.m.

The story is rooted in "Mignonette," an album about an Australia-bound yacht that capsized in 1884, leaving four crew members trapped for weeks in a lifeboat.

Kris Vire, longtime Chicago arts journalist, has died at 47

November 19, 2024 at 5:12 p.m.

He was part of the founding editorial crew of the publication Time Out Chicago and his specialty was covering theater in his adopted hometown. He was particularly passionate about storefront...

Jackson Evans, Jack Ball, Sarah Bockel, Stephen Schellhardt and Charlie Long in "Falsettos" at Court Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)

Review: ‘Falsettos’ at Court Theatre heralds messy love in one of the best shows of the year

November 18, 2024 at 1:32 p.m.

William Finn and James Lapine’s musical came with a score that Stephen Sondheim would have been proud to have written, and was the first major musical to look at gay...

Kenneth Kellogg and Travon D. Walker in "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)

Review: Powerful ‘Blue’ by Lyric Opera charts the agony of Black parenting

November 17, 2024 at 11:40 a.m.

In this opera, composed by Jeanine Tesori with a libretto by Tazewell Thompson, you never see the event at the heart of the story of the Harlem family it rips...

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