Theater – Page 32 –

Jacqueline Guillén, Ariana Burks and Carmen Berkeley in "Dead Girl’s Quinceañera" at the Goodman Theatre. (Justin Barbin)

Review: ‘Dead Girl’s Quinceañera’ at Goodman Theatre turns an apparent abduction into a teenage caper

By Chris Jones

October 6, 2026 at 2:57 p.m.

Phanésia Pharel's new play has a lively cast of adults playing teenagers, and is not...

The actor John C. Reilly is returning to Steppenwolf Theatre for a second engagement of his show, “Mister Romantic.” (Bobbi Rich)

Chicago Theater Report: John C. Reilly is back in Chicago, Baby heads to Broadway and how to get into the Uptown Theatre

By Chris Jones

October 6, 2026 at 1:46 p.m.

The national tour of “Dirty Dancing” in Chicago last month turned out to be a...

Martin "Tre" Dumas III and Bril Barrett of M.A.D.D. Rythms at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago on Aug. 6, 2026. (Kevin Serna/for Chicago Magazine)

Review: M.A.D.D. Rhythms hoofers from past and present shine, despite technical challenges

By Lauren Warnecke

October 7, 2026 at 2:24 p.m.

M.A.D.D. Rhythms co-founders Bril Barrett and Martin “Tre” Dumas III performed some of the finest...

Garrett Forrestal plays Jerry Lee Lewis during a 2024 performance of "Million Dollar Quartet" at the Paramount's Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora. Previously set to run through Jan. 4, 2026, the show will now have a spring run from March 4-May 31, 2026, theater officials said. (Liz Lauren)

Paramount extends run of ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at Stolp Island Theatre in Aurora

By Aurora Beacon-News

December 26, 2025 at 9:40 a.m.

Paramount Theatre’s musical "Million Dollar Quartet" at the Stolp Island Theatre in downtown Aurora has...

Sondra Radvanovsky in "Medea" by Lyric Opera of Chicago. (Cory Weaver)

Best of 2025: Top 10 performances on Chicago stages this year

By Chris Jones

December 26, 2025 at 5:45 a.m.

Beginning with Sondra Radvanovsky at the Lyric and including Steppenwolf's Caroline Neff as well as...

Michael Metcalf (as Oliver Warbucks) and Elin Joy Seiler (as Annie) in "Annie" by Music Theater Works at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. (Brett Beiner)

Review: ‘Annie’ by Music Theater Works has a warm-hearted orphan and an over-the-top ending

By Emily McClanathan

December 22, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Family is the most important thing in this longtime favorite musical by Charles Strouse, Martin...

Blake Montgomery in "Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again" at Theater Wit. (Joe Mazza)

Review: ‘Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs “A Christmas Carol” Again’ (and again) at Theater Wit

By Chris Jones

December 18, 2025 at 11:52 a.m.

Blake Montgomery's solo show at Theater Wit both pokes holes in our annual obsession with...

Glenn Davis, co-artistic director at the Steppenwolf Theatre, is the Chicagoan of the Year in Theater, Dec. 11, 2025, in Chicago. Davis was a producer for the Tony and Pulitzer award wining play “Purpose.” (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Chicagoan of the Year in Theater: Glenn Davis is helping lead Steppenwolf into a new era

By Chris Jones

December 18, 2025 at 5:45 a.m.

Along with moving to Broadway with the Pulitzer Award-winning play "Purpose," he and co-artistic director...

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance is Erin Kilmurray, a choreographer and dancer and the creative force behind the popular "Fly Honey Show," on Dec. 8, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance: Dancemaker Erin Kilmurray looks for what’s next after ‘Fly Honey’

By Lauren Warnecke

December 18, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

The genre-defying, femme-forward burlesque "Fly Honey Show" was a force in DIY dance but won’t...

Dancers from the Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet perform during a dress rehearsal of The Nutcracker by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky in London's Royal Festival Hall, Tuesday Dec. 21, 2004. The show runs from Dec. 22 to Jan. 9, 2005. (AP Photo/John D McHugh)

Today in History: ‘The Nutcracker’ opens

By Associated Press

December 18, 2025 at 4:00 a.m.

On Dec. 18, 1892, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg,...

The entire “Peanuts” gang debuted on television on Dec. 8, 1965 to share “the meaning of the season” when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired for the first time on the CBS network. (Photo provided by CBS TV Archive)

Potempa: ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ celebrating 60 years

By Philip Potempa

December 17, 2025 at 7:49 p.m.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted on national television on Dec. 8, 1965, with nearly half...

Actor Anthony Rapp stands among lit trees along Michigan Avenue on Dec. 12, 2025, in Chicago. He is starring in “Home for the Holidays” at Lookingglass Theatre. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Anthony Rapp has an eclectic mix of songs for ‘Home for the Holidays’ at Lookingglass Theatre

By Chris Jones

December 17, 2025 at 12:24 p.m.

The actor recently relocated from New York with his family and is doing a first-time...

James Sparling and Adam Bitterman in "Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Clowns" by City Lit Theater. (Steven Townsend)

Review: ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Clowns’ mixes up British detectives for a light holiday mystery

By Emily McClanathan

December 15, 2025 at 11:15 a.m.

Detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and G.K. Chesterton blend to create this world...