Chris Jones – Page 5 –

A Teatro ZinZanni performance in the Spiegeltent theater at the Cambria Hotel in downtown Chicago on July 17, 2019. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Chicago Theater Report: New life in Chicago’s spiegeltent, Kokandy musicians unionize, Writers Theatre scores at the box office

August 11, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.

The former home of Teatro ZinZanni is getting a new show, Dennis Watkins' Magic Parlour has a new look and Anna D. Shapiro has a new job.

Laura Benanti in "Nobody Cares" at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Avery Brunkus)

Review: ‘Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares’ is sharp-elbowed satire from a recovering ingenue

August 17, 2026 at 5:34 p.m.

"I'm a little nervous about doing an autobiographical one-woman show," Laura Benanti said Friday at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. "Because, first of all, gross."

Alysha Deslorieux (Middle Allie) and Ken Wulf Clark (Middle Noah) in the North American tour of "The Notebook," in Chicago at the Nederlander Theatre. (Roger Mastroianni)

Review: ‘The Notebook’ touring musical is for lovers who dance in the rain

August 6, 2026 at 1:24 p.m.

Now in the Loop for a short run at the Nederlander Theatre, this musical adapted from the novel and movie has only become more sensual over time.

Nora Dunn performs during "The Paper Machete" at the Horseshoe Tavern in Chicago on March 10, 2012. She stars in an upcoming show by Victory Gardens. (William DeShazer/baiduhai)

Chicago Theater Report: Nora Dunn to headline Victory Gardens return, Goodman has record-breaking summer

August 4, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.

Also in theater news, J. Harrison Ghee will play the title role of Mary Todd Lincoln in the national tour of "Oh, Mary!," in Chicago in early 2027.

Brittany Burch and cast in "Marble" by Gift Theatre at the Copernicus Center. (Joe Mazza)

Review: In Gift Theatre’s ‘Marble,’ sex dreams do their damage on a pair of Irish marriages

August 4, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

Gift Theatre delivers its usual intense, Chicago-style production of this Irish play that has not been seen here before. Brittany Burch and Cyd Blakewell are devastating as the wives.

The ensemble in "Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular" at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Danny Kaan)

Review: ‘Les Misérables’ becomes ‘The Arena Concert Spectacular’ — and what other musical could?

July 28, 2026 at 9:30 p.m.

Look down! This glorious crowd-pleaser by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg has been scaled up for an arena-sized audience. Some intimacy is lost, but much is gained.

A view of the lobby for The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier, as the new theater space opened in 2017. (Nancy Stone / baiduhai)

Chicago Theater Report: A visit from the Umbilical Brothers and a 40th birthday for Chicago Shakes

July 28, 2026 at 6:08 p.m.

Also, Yuriy Sardarov will star in a new off-Broadway play written by and starring Laura Lapidus, and A Red Orchid's next season includes a world premiere.

Artistic director BJ Jones, left, and executive director Tim Evans at the new home of Northlight Theatre in Evanston, July 21, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Northlight Theatre cuts a fresh ribbon in its former Evanston hometown

July 29, 2026 at 11:01 a.m.

The longtime Chicago-area theater company has proven itself as a survivor, and now it has a new theater in the town where it began.

Evan C. Dolan, Jessie J. Potter, Alex Syiek, Sophie Grimm and cast in "White Christmas" at Paramount Theatre in Aurora, a musical with seven nominations for Equity Jeff Awards. (Boris Martin)

For the 2026 Equity Jeff Awards, (almost) everyone is a nominee

July 22, 2026 at 1:17 p.m.

This year's theater award nominations for Chicago's largest Equity theaters put the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakes and the Paramount at the top of a long list.

Diana Marilyn Álvarez, Catherine Rodríguez O’Connor and Stone TeSelle in "Hair," by Kokandy Productions in the Chopin Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)

Review: A not-so-mellow ‘Hair’ from Kokandy Productions

July 22, 2026 at 5:15 a.m.

This intense new production of "The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" strips away any sense of 1960s hippy-dippy idealism — and that's missed.

All Stories