Theater – Page 131 –

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. (Ashley Chappell)

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

By Myrna Petlicki

October 15, 2026 at 10:20 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,...

J'Nai Bridges (as Carmen) and Charles Castronovo (as Don José), and company, in "Carmen" by Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Review: With a cast like this, ‘Carmen’ at Lyric Opera is a sure thing

By Hannah Edgar

March 16, 2023 at 1:42 p.m.

You know what they say about people who assume, but based on casting alone, it...

Zurin Villanueva and Garrett Turner, and cast, in the Broadway tour of "Tina - The Tina Turner Musical" at Nederlander Theatre.

Review: ‘Tina — The Tina Turner Musical’ at the Nederlander Theatre is a rush of musical stardom

By Chris Jones

March 16, 2023 at 6:49 p.m.

The 2019 Broadway musical "Tina — The Tina Turner Musical" played its 200th performance on...

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim at Symphony Center in Chicago in 2011.

Last Sondheim musical to premiere in September

By Chris Jones

March 16, 2023 at 10:01 a.m.

Stephen Sondheim's much-anticipated final musical, "Here We Are," will premiere in September at the electric...

Sally Murphy, Glenn Davis and Charence Higgins in "Describe the Night" in Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater.

Review: ‘Describe the Night’ at Steppenwolf Theatre is a long night exploring the origins of Putin’s Russia

By Chris Jones

March 15, 2023 at 12:16 p.m.

Steppenwolf Theatre's production of Rajiv Joseph's "Describe the Night" is one weird cat of a...

Enrique Mazzola at Lyric Opera of Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022. He's been music director since the the 2021-22 season and will open the 2023-24 season with "The Flying Dutchman," his first Wagner opera at the Lyric.

Lyric Opera 2023-24 season: Wagner, ‘Cinderella’ and an opera about a boxer

By Chris Jones

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

Chicago's Lyric Opera announced the company's 2023-24 season Tuesday, billing the extensive slate as a...

Ali Louis Bourzgui in Martin Yousif Zebari's "Layalina."

Review: ‘Layalina’ at Goodman Theatre is about the strength of family bonds, from Baghdad to Skokie

By Chris Jones

March 14, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.

The first act of Martin Yousif Zebari's "Layalina" at the Goodman Theatre is set in...

Okieriete Onaodowan and Jessica Chastain in "A Doll's House" at The Hudson Theatre in New York.

Review: ‘A Doll’s House’ on Broadway with Jessica Chastain and Michael Patrick Thornton: It’s all in your head

By Chris Jones

March 9, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Experiencing the fascinating new revival of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House," which reduces the iconic...

Akili Ni Mali with Alexis Ward, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Demetra Dee, Samuel B. Jackson and Destini Huston in Steppenwolf Theatre's "Chlorine Sky."

Review: ‘Chlorine Sky’ by Steppenwolf for Young Adults is poetry that meets teens where they live

By Chris Jones

March 9, 2023 at 12:38 p.m.

In 2021, as it emerged from the pandemic lockdown, New York's Lincoln Center named the...

Vernard Gilmore of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in "Revelations."

Review: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is back at the Auditorium, timely and timeless

By Lauren Warnecke

March 9, 2023 at 12:07 p.m.

A palpable buzz overtook the Auditorium Theatre Wednesday, with a who's who from the Chicago...

Jazzmeia Horn performs during the 60th Grammy Awards pre-telecast show in 2018.

Harris Theater’s 2023-24 season includes return of the New York City Ballet and a reimagined ‘Jungle Book’

By Kayla Samoy

March 8, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance has announced its 20th anniversary season, which will...