Theater – Page 188 –

Eddie Weaver and cast in "A Strange Loop" at Raven Theatre in a co-production with About Face. (Joe Mazza)

Review: ‘A Strange Loop’ at Raven Theatre is very off-Loop, and breathtakingly good

By Chris Jones

October 15, 2026 at 12:45 p.m.

Michael R. Jackson's musical won the Pulitzer and Tony Awards, but it's just now being...

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...

Assistant stage manager Devonte Washington and "Aya" Stephanie Shum lead participants in a training exercise prior to the "Hummingbird" VR performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago on June 20, 2021.

‘Hummingbird’: UIC debuts virtual-reality play, allowing audience to participate in the story

By Darcel Rockett

June 22, 2021 at 11:20 a.m.

Live theaters have yet to reopen as much of the state has, but when they...

The entrance to Black Ensemble Theater in 2014 in Chicago. Founder and artistic director Jackie Taylor confirmed a $5 million grant Wednesday.

Column: In giving $5 million to Black Ensemble and $8 million to National Museum of Mexican Art, MacKenzie Scott is good to Chicago and has a message along with her money

By Chris Jones

June 17, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and a woman with a...

Cars pass the Auditorium Theatre at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago on Dec. 9, 2014.

Auditorium Theatre will reopen in Chicago this fall, announces 2021-22 season

By Hannah Herrera Greenspan

June 16, 2021 at 3:18 p.m.

On Wednesday, the Auditorium Theatre announced its plan to reopen this fall along with the...

John Oliver from "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver." Maybe we'll see Second City popping up on his show.

With Stephen Colbert, ‘John Oliver’ and others on board, Second City has a new path to late-night TV

By Chris Jones

June 16, 2021 at 10:28 a.m.

The recent news that Chicago's The Second City comedy theater is adding Stephen Colbert to...

"Blue Man Group" performs during a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors in 2019 at the United Center in Chicago. The company's home is at the Briar Street Theatre.

Blue Man Group to reopen in Chicago but with post-COVID modifications

By Chris Jones

June 15, 2021 at 8:14 a.m.

"Blue Man Group," the long-running entertainment featuring cobalt characters drumming, spilling paint and lobbing marshmallows,...

Stephen Colbert joins new powerhouse Second City board

By Chris Jones

June 10, 2021 at 8:54 a.m.

Stephen Colbert, whose career was launched at the Second City comedy theater, is to re-engage...

Magda Krance, longtime director of media relations for the Lyric Opera, stands outside the Civic Opera House Wednesday in Chicago. Krance will retire from the Lyric at the end of June.

Remember divas and globe-shaking opening nights? Magda Krance makes her operatic exit from Lyric

By Chris Jones

June 10, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

There was that time one lawyer shushed another at "La Traviata" and it led to...

Goodman Theatre announces 2021-22 season, with live performances beginning this summer

By Chris Jones

June 9, 2021 at 12:17 p.m.

The Goodman Theatre has announced its 2021-22 season, featuring many of the productions originally announced...

Comedian Patton Oswalt performs in a benefit show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California in 2019.

Patton Oswalt, Hasan Minhaj and other comics coming to Chicago Theatre

By Doug George

June 9, 2021 at 10:53 a.m.

Comedians Hasan Minhaj, Randy Rainbow, Brian Regan and Patton Oswalt are all coming to the...

Martha Lavey, artistic director of the Steppenwolf Theatre, stands in the balconey of the theater above the set for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in 2010. Lavey died in 2017, having left her role at the theater on Halsted Street at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Column: Martha Lavey, sorely missed, will be aptly remembered on the walls of Steppenwolf

By Chris Jones

June 9, 2021 at 7:23 a.m.

When Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre opened its new Lincoln Park home in 1991, it debuted...