Top 5 Dramas of 2016
“Sunset Baby,” TimeLine Theatre Company
“The Flick,” Steppenwolf Theatre Company
“Dry Land,” Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
“good friday,” Oracle Productions
“Bobbie Clearly,” Steep Theatre Company
—Kevin Greene
Top 5 Comedies of 2016
“Le Switch,” About Face Theatre
“Carlyle,” Goodman Theatre
“Thaddeus and Slocum,” Lookingglass Theatre Company
“Hand to God,” Victory Gardens Theater
“King Charles III,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater
—Kevin Greene
“Bat Boy,” Griffin Theatre Company
“Fun Home,” Broadway In Chicago
“End of the Rainbow,” Porchlight Music Theatre
“Tonya and Nancy,” Underscore Theatre Company
—Kevin Greene
Top 5 Genre-Defying Productions of 2016
“The Hairy Ape,” Oracle Theatre
“Pop Waits,” The Neo-Futurists
“Learning Curve,” Albany Park Theater Project and Third Rails Project
“How We Got On” – Haven Theatre Company
“Octagon,” Jackalope Theatre Company
—Kevin Greene
Top 5 Operas of 2016
“Der Rosenkavalier,” Lyric Opera of Chicago
“Das Rheingold,” Lyric Opera of Chicago
“Dark Sisters,” Third Eye Theatre Ensemble
“Don Quichotte,” Lyric Opera of Chicago
“Les Troyens,” Lyric Opera of Chicago
—Aaron Hunt
Top 5 Chicago Choreographers of 2016
The Era Crew
Khecari (Jonathan Meyer and Julia Antonick)
Alejandro Cerrudo
Ayako Kato
Michelle Kranicke
Top 5 Stand-Up Sets in Chicago in 2016
Louis CK at Chicago Theatre (both times)
Maria Bamford at Athenaeum Theatre
Aparna Nancherla at The Hideout
Jerrod Carmichael at UP Comedy Club
T.J. Miller at The Vic Theatre, The Revival and Laugh Factory
—Zach Freeman
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Newcity’s Top 5 of Everything 2017: Stage The best in Theater, Opera and Comedy.
Write For Newcity Stage Newcity Stage is currently accepting applications for Contributing Writers Mission Statement: Newcity Stage believes that it’s the critic’s responsibility to advocate for high quality, inclusive theater for all Chicagoans. Job Description: A Newcity Stage Contributing Writer is responsible for regularly contributing to the critical output of the publication. A Contributing Writer (CW) will be expected to review at least one…
Stage Top 5 1 Paradise Blue (TimeLine Theatre Company) The music of Orbet Davis underscores Dominque Morisseau's jazz-infused drama about a gifted but troubled trumpeter in Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood Opens May 3 2 We're Gonna Die (Haven Theatre) A singer takes the stage, backed by her rock-band compatriots, to share Young Jean Lee’s life-affirming show about the one thing we all have…
Stage Top 5 1 Hir (Steppenwolf Theatre Company) Taylor Mac's crusade to shake up the patriarchy is disarmingly funny, absurd and surprising as it looks at an American family forced to build a new world out of the pieces of the old Opens July 8 2 Beauty's Daughter (American Blues Theater) This Obie Award-winning play by Dael Orlandersmith depicts one woman’s journey through…
Stage Top 5 1 Bright Half Life (About Face Theatre) This 2016 winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Play charts the complexity of commitment, relationships and marriage as it follows the ups and downs of a modern lesbian couple Opens June 1 2 Pivot Arts Festival The ten-day festival showcases some of Chicago's top artistic innovators in theater, dance, puppetry, hybrid/multidisciplinary works…
Stage Top 5 1 Ignition Festival (Victory Gardens Theater) Selected plays by Antoinette Nwandu, Tori Sampson, Ken Weitzman, Julia Doolittle, Hansol Jung and Kristiana Rae Colón will be presented in a festival of readings and directed by leading artists from Chicago Runs August 4-6 2 Peerless (First Floor Theater) The remount of this blisteringly funny riff on Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" will be a part of this…
