Theater – Page 128 –

Highland Park native Marina Franklin, who has TV and film credits, including HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” is one of the headliners at the Funny is Female Comedy Festival, Oct. 22-25, at Comedy Plex in Oak Park. (Marina Franklin)

‘Now there’s a girls’ club’: Funny is Female fest draws 50 comedians to Oak Park

By Myrna Petlicki

October 15, 2026 at 5:04 a.m.

More than 50 comics from around the country will be performing at the Funny is...

Ferdinand (Lawrence Grimm) and Will (Lenin Izquierdo) in "Any Rebellion of Will" at Trap Door Theatre. (George Hudson)

Review: ‘Any Rebellion of Will’ is an absurdist breath of fresh air at Trap Door Theatre

By Chris Jones

October 14, 2026 at 1:24 p.m.

This world premiere, penned by S.L. Daniels and accurately billed as a dark, absurdist comedy...

Director Stuart Gordon, co-founder of the Organic Theater Company, on May 12, 1981. (Anne Cusack/baiduhai)

Column: The legendary Organic Theater is gone, ‘Scream! Bleed!’ brings memories roaring back

By Rick Kogan

October 14, 2026 at 10:25 a.m.

New book remembers the formative Chicago theater company that gave us Joe Mantegna, Dennis Franz,...

Look at those beaming faces celebrating the 10,000th show on Feb. 11, 2012! Over 10 years later, 'Phantom of the Opera' will take its final bow with just under 14,000 shows to its 35-year-long run—the longest run in all of Broadway history.

‘Phantom of the Opera’ takes final bow on Broadway after 35 years, $1.3B box office — and 14,000 chandelier drops

By Muri Assunção

April 16, 2023 at 12:21 p.m.

"Phantom of the Opera," Andrew Lloyd Webber's blockbuster musical about love, obsession, and a mysterious...

Heidi Blickenstaff and cast in "Jagged Little Pill," now at Nederlander Theatre in Chicago.

Review: A blistering lead performance in ‘Jagged Little Pill’ at Nederlander Theatre

By Chris Jones

April 14, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.

Heidi Blickenstaff only played the lead in the jukebox musical "Jagged Little Pill" at the...

Jordan Donica, Phillipa Soo (background), Andrew Burnap and company in Lincoln Center Theater's production of "Camelot."

Review: ‘Camelot’ on Broadway is a chilly Lincoln Center revival, shorn of love and heart

By Chris Jones

April 13, 2023 at 8:30 p.m.

Just weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, his grieving widow Jackie...

Emily Bosco and Chiké Johnson in "Galileo's Daughter" by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.

Review: ‘Galileo’s Daughter’ by Remy Bumppo tells the story of a daughter with a remarkable mind

By Chris Jones

April 13, 2023 at 2:20 p.m.

Galileo Galilei, the 16th century Italian astronomer, philosopher and mathematician who did much to advance...

Marcel Spears and Billy Eugene Jones in "Fat Ham" on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre in New York.

Review: ‘Fat Ham’ on Broadway is a juicy Shakespeare reinvention, with backyard mayhem and a barbecued ghost

By Chris Jones

April 12, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.

In playwright James Ijames' eye-popping "Fat Ham," a malcontent named Juicy, kinda like Hamlet, is...

Laurie Metcalf talks with Anna D. Shapiro, then artistic director of Steppenwolf, at the theater in 2016.

Steppenwolf Theatre’s 2023-24 season has Laurie Metcalf and a new play from the author of ‘The Whale’

By Chris Jones

April 12, 2023 at 1:12 p.m.

A rare appearance by longtime ensemble member and acclaimed American actress Laurie Metcalf in a...

Matt DeCaro, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Kate Fry, Alejandra Escalante and Kareem Bandealy in Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" at the Goodman Theatre. (Liz Lauren)

Review: ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at Goodman Theatre is the perfect final play for Robert Falls

By Chris Jones

April 11, 2023 at 1:10 p.m.

Had I been asked to predict Robert Falls' final show for the Goodman Theatre, following...

Mary Cross and Jessica Ervin in "Motherhouse" by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble.

Review: ‘Motherhouse’ at Rivendell Theatre is a fresh and offbeat portrait of women and grief

By Chris Jones

April 10, 2023 at 1:20 p.m.

It's been a while since a storefront Chicago theater put on one of its most...

The cast of "A Soldier's Play," in Chicago at the CIBC Theatre.

Review: In ‘A Soldier’s Play’ at CIBC Theatre, a great drama finally has its moment

By Chris Jones

April 5, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.

Charles Fuller's "A Soldier's Play," a dynamic drama if ever there was one, won the...

Alex Newell, Caroline Innerbichler, Kevin Cahoon, and Andrew Durand in "Shucked" at the Nederlander Theatre in New York.

Review: ‘Shucked’ on Broadway is a funny, gag-filled crowd pleaser set in corn country

By Chris Jones

April 4, 2023 at 8:13 p.m.

Like an episode of "Hee Haw" written by Mel Brooks, the timely new musical "Shucked"...