by Rob Silverman Ascher | August 31, 2026The Teenagers in “Adolescent Salvation” Are Not Just Kids The Chicago premiere of Tim Venable's play starts as a Zoomer screwball and ends as an indictment of the way adults fail to protect their children.
by Christine Trevino | July 30, 2026“Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares,” A Show Starring One of Broadway’s Favorite Leading Ladies Benanti bridges the gap between Broadway and stand-up in this playful one-woman show.
by Hugh Iglarsh | July 29, 2026“The American Project” Translates Hard-Won Truth into Heartfelt Beauty Presented by the youth and community-focused Albany Park Theater Project, the production is completely sold out for good reason: this is drama that glows red hot with passion and authenticity.
by Mary Wisniewski | July 24, 2026American Players Theatre’s Wondrous “As You Like It,” Staged in the Woods In Shakespeare's comedy, the characters go to the forest and become more fully human. The same thing happens when you see theater in the woods at Spring Green, Wisconsin.
by Dennis Polkow | July 15, 2026“Suffs” Offers Sustenance to Keep Marching for Gender Equality Broadway in Chicago's musical on the suffragist movement makes feminism sing.
by Mary Wisniewski | July 13, 2026In a Room Full of Empty Chairs, a Couple Grapples With Nothingness The Eugène Ionesco play, on stage at American Players Theatre, is philosophically bleak, but with a comedic vaudeville feeling.
by Rob Silverman Ascher | July 10, 2026“Hamlet” Plays Under the Oak Park Skies The Oak Park Festival Theatre's take on Shakespeare's classic, directed by Peter G. Andersen, is a blend of modernization and appreciation.
by Hugh Iglarsh | June 25, 2026Couch Penny Ensemble’s Solid “An Oak Tree” Plays With Our Mind While Stirring Our Feelings Tim Crouch’s 2006 melancholic memory play about loss and healing features two outstanding performances, one of them unrehearsed.
by Mary Wisniewski | June 22, 2026The Invisible Costumes of “Catch as Catch Can” In this production at Steppenwolf Theatre, three gifted ensemble members transition between genders and ages to tell a family story in a new way.
by Tristan Bruns | June 17, 2026“Leopoldstadt” Is Writers Theatre’s Largest Production in Its History The final play written by Tom Stoppard is a sweeping saga that follows a Jewish family in Vienna across generations.
by Noel Schecter | June 5, 2026In “Andy Warhol Presents: The Cocaine Play,” Life Imitates Art (Imitating Life) Jackalope Theatre presents Terry Guest’s twisted tale of artistic ambition and vengeance set during the Pop Art era.
by Hugh Iglarsh | June 3, 2026In a Dog-Eat-Dog World, It’s Not Easy Being Human Ego Death Theatre Collective’s sure-handed production of “A Dog’s House” shows the impact of a pet’s violent death on the owners’ relationships.
by Charles Kenney | May 21, 2026The Conspirators Adapt Moliere’s “Tartuffe” With a Neo-Commedia Style The Style combines mime-ish facepaint, frequent confrontation with the audience and musical accompaniment of each movement.
by Mary Wisniewski | May 20, 2026“An Enemy of the People” Tells Inconvenient Truths TimeLine Theatre christens its new Uptown building with the Henrik Ibsen work, adapted by Amy Herzog in 2024, about a doctor whose alarming discovery makes him a town pariah.
by Robert Eric Shoemaker | May 15, 2026In This “Covenant,” Thrills Will Have You Say “Jesus, Don’t Do That!” Goodman Theatre’s gothic thriller delivers us from and unto evil.
