Theater – Page 5 –

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 4, 2026 at 1:08 p.m.

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

Anne Trodden is one of four women playing the role of Heidi in "What the Constitution Means to Me" by Ways and Means Theatre. (Daniel Howie)

Review: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me,’ staged in an American Legion post, is a play that always feels timely

By Emily McClanathan

October 2, 2026 at 2:08 p.m.

Heidi Schreck’s 2017 play, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, gets authentic surroundings in this new production...

The company of the North American tour of "Operation Mincemeat," in Chicago at the CIBC Theatre. (Matthew Murphy)

Review: ‘Operation Mincemeat’ at CIBC Theatre spins a true wartime story into a nutty musical

By Chris Jones

October 1, 2026 at 4:05 p.m.

The British comedy troupe SpitLip took a real World War II caper and made it...

Joffrey Ballet dancers Victoria Jaiani and José Pablo Castro Cuevas in a promotional photo for "Liliom," taken at the carousel on Navy Pier. (Kyle Flubacker)

Dance for fall 2026: Joffrey’s dark new ‘Liliom,’ the annual Tap Summit and two guys named Bob

By Lauren Warnecke

September 2, 2026 at 5:15 a.m.

This fall, along with the Joffrey's local debut, a Giordano sizzler and some VIP out-of-towners...

Marisa Santiago programs dance at the Auditorium Theatre, which this fall will bring Dance Theatre of Harlem and Ballets Jazz de Montreal to Chicago, Aug. 5, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Marisa Santiago keeps the Auditorium Theatre dancing

By Lauren Warnecke

September 2, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Auditorium’s fall line-up is, hands down, among the most notable things in dance this...

Josef Brown, from left, playing Johnny Castle, Amanda Leigh Cobb, playing Baby, and Britta Lazenga, playing Penny, dance during a rehearsal for the Chicago production of a pre-Broadway tour of "Dirty Dancing" at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, in Chicago in 2011. (Abel Uribe/baiduhai)

Chicago Theater Report: A new ‘Dirty Dancing,’ the ‘Strange Loop’ cast and a timely Dolly Parton musical

By Chris Jones

September 1, 2026 at 3:50 p.m.

"Dirty Dancing" has a new tour arriving in Chicago and its distinguished director, Lonny Price,...

Janet Ulrich Brooks, María Victoria Martínez and Mary Beth Fisher will star in the world premiere of "The Birth of the Pill" at TimeLine Theatre’s new home in the Uptown neighborhood. (Joe Mazza)

Theater top 10 for fall 2026: Culture wars, campus controversies and epic change

By Chris Jones

September 1, 2026 at 5:04 p.m.

Our critic's picks for the season include "Birth of the Pill" at TimeLine, "Kowalski" at...

A scene from the film "The Front Page," directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Howard Hughes in 1931. Actor Edward Everett Horton is made fun of by his fellow reporters Eugene Strong, from left, Frank McHugh, Phil Tead and Fred Howard. (Newton Hopcraft/Getty)

Column: ‘The Front Page’ opens soon at the new Northlight Theatre. Why bring this old play back?

By Rick Kogan

September 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

This gruff and profane comedy was written by two Chicago newspaper guys named Ben Hecht...

Missy Wise Vanderzee and Kevin Webb in "Sunday in the Park with George," by Kokandy Productions at the Chopin Theatre. (Evan Hanover)

Review: For all these reasons, Kokandy’s ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ is simply magical

By Chris Jones

September 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Of all the musicals in the world, Sondheim's musical based on the Seurat painting "A...

Science educator Bill Nye and educator and science comedian Sophie Shrand participate in a forum talk titled, "Learning Democracy Through Laughter" at the Elie Wiesel Auditorium on the Obama Presidential Center campus on Aug. 28, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Live, at the Obama Center: Bill Nye, laughter and an experiment in democracy

By Christopher Borrelli

August 29, 2026 at 11:52 a.m.

The panel was titled “Learning Democracy Through Laughter,” and Bill Nye "the Science Guy" and...

Joey Chelius in "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. (Kyle Flubacker)

Review: A lively if familiar ‘Buddy Holly Story’ at Drury Lane

By Chris Jones

August 28, 2026 at 12:49 p.m.

I've reviewed Alan Janes' jukebox musical many times, and every time the show mentions Holly's...

Jordan Levene, Piper Jean Bailey and Brandon Joseph Acosta in "Adolescent Salvation" at Theater Wit. (Boris Martin)

Review: The kids are far from alright in superb ‘Adolescent Salvation’ at Theater Wit

By Chris Jones

August 27, 2026 at 2:33 p.m.

Plays written about teenagers are not easy to pull off with authenticity. But Tim Venable's...

Tim Curry at a Museum of the Moving Image event in New York in 2011. (New York Daily News)

Tim Curry, iconic character actor and ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ star, dies at 80

By Mark Kennedy

August 26, 2026 at 11:18 a.m.

“Rocky Horror Picture Show” star Tim Curry has died. He was 80.