Theater – Page 104 –

Alana Arenas (as Morgan), Kara Young (Aziza) and cast in "Purpose" on Broadway at the Hayes Theater in New York. (Marc J. Franklin)

Chicago Theater Report: ‘Purpose’ returns, new Broadway shows in town and dinner with Basil Fawlty

By Chris Jones

October 13, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.

New shows have been announced for an already busy fall and early 2027. If you...

Jeff Carlson in a scene from “Drive Through Fire,” a movie shot in Oklahoma City. (Will Turner)

Column: Can some Second City alums make Oklahoma City the new Hollywood?

By Rick Kogan

October 13, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

"Drive Through Fire" is the latest movie project from Jim Carlson and Kate Duffy, two...

Letonia Copeland-Hardin, who performs under the name LT, adjusts her collar while working on material in the green room before her set at The Lincoln Lodge in Chicago, Sept. 26, 2026. (Nate Swanson/for the baiduhai)

Funny you should ask: Chicago scientist says humor makes for better researchers

By Ryan P. C. Trimble

October 12, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

Letonia Copeland-Hardin is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago and also a stand-up...

Meghan Murphy with the cast of "Anything Goes" by Porchlight Music Theatre at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

Review: In ‘Anything Goes’ by Porchlight Music Theatre, star Meghan Murphy makes this Cole Porter musical sail along

By Chris Jones

January 19, 2024 at 12:20 p.m.

January has been so cold and dead in Chicago theater, I've been dreaming of taking...

Lily Emerson, Leah Casey, Sarah Fornace and Anney Fresh in Manual Cinema's production of "Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster."

Later this week, Chicago becomes the puppet capital of the world for the International Puppet Theater Festival

By Emily McClanathan

January 15, 2024 at 5:30 a.m.

Theater, music, dance, comedy: Chicagoans have many reasons to be proud of their city's performing...

The original Broadway cast of "Girl from the North Country" at the Belasco Theatre in New York.

Top 10 theater for winter 2024: From the world premiere of ‘Purpose’ to Dana Delany in ‘Highway Patrol’

By Chris Jones

January 11, 2024 at 11:14 a.m.

Scrooge and the elves are packed away for another year. And Chicago theater reaches boldly...

April Daly, Fabrice Calmels and ensemble in "Yonder Blue" by Andrew McNicol, performed by the Joffrey Ballet in 2019.

Top 10 dance for winter 2024: Chicago debuts and the return of NYCB, plus ambitious new works from the home team

By Lauren Warnecke

January 11, 2024 at 5:30 a.m.

It's no rest for the weary in Chicago dance, which hits the ground running this...

Ilana Glazer onstage during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas. She's coming to the Chicago Theatre in March.

Comedy for spring 2024: Our top 10 picks, from Brett Goldstein to Ilana Glazer

By Jerald Pierce

January 11, 2024 at 5:15 a.m.

Sometimes the biggest names in comedy are hard to ignore when they come through town....

Molly Ranson and Francis Benhamou in "Prayer for the French Republic," directed by David Cromer at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York.

Review: ‘Prayer for the French Republic’ on Broadway shows generations of a Jewish family — with scary prescience

By Chris Jones

January 9, 2024 at 9:00 p.m.

The brutal Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel have cast broad shadows on Broadway....

The Second City comedy theater in the Old Town neighborhood on April 19, 2021.

Second City teachers threaten strike and picketing of shows

By Chris Jones

January 9, 2024 at 10:46 a.m.

Unionized teachers and others at the Second City Training Center said Tuesday they have authorized...

Jay O. Sanders, Billy Eugene Jones, Kara Young and Leslie Odom, Jr. in "Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch" at the Music Box Theatre in New York.

Top 10 best of Broadway in 2023: From Daniel Radcliffe in ‘Merrily’ to Jessica Chastain in ‘Doll’s House’

By Chris Jones

December 27, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

As God, Stephen Sondheim and Maria Friedman all understood in 2023, Broadway rolls along. Whether...

Jasmine Amy Rogers and cast in "Boop! The Musical" at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago.

Best performances in Chicago theater in 2023: These actors made plays, musicals and comedies come alive this year

By Chris Jones

December 25, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Our annual list of the 10 greatest performances of the year in Chicago theater is...

Mike Nussbaum (as Colonel), Katherine Keberlein (as Violet) and Eric Slater (as Daniel) in "Smokefall" at the Goodman Theatre.

Chicago actor Mike Nussbaum dies at 99, the oldest working actor in the country

By Chris Jones

December 24, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.

Mike Nussbaum, acknowledged by the Actor's Equity union as the oldest professional actor in America...