The Second City’s 48th e.t.c. revue plays an open run

The Second City’s latest e.t.c. revue BEST KEPT SECRET: TELL EVERYONE wants to remind audiences that life is a cabaret, old chum. While some Second City revue themes hang together better than others, BEST KEPT SECRET slyly pays homage to the classic Kander and Ebb musical CABARET and the general idea of cabaret shows. For this musical theater nerd, that’s a win. Ensemble members Meghan Babbe, Claudia Martinez, Tim Metzler, Terrence Carey, Jenelle Cheyne, and Javid Iqbal consistently carry that theme through the show’s various sketches and improvised moments. 

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The Broadway In Chicago engagement of the SOME LIKE IT HOT national tour runs through November 3, 2024

SOME LIKE IT HOT brings old-fashioned musical comedy, hijinks, and a ton of superbly executed tap dancing to the stage. 

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The Goodman’s production of Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play runs through November 3

Eboni Booth’s PRIMARY TRUST is a slight and intimate play, made more heartfelt by Namir Smallwood’s beautifully realized central performance as Kenneth. Set in a time vaguely before smart phones, the 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner finds 38-year-old Kenneth, who’s extremely attached to his routine, in a moment of profound change. For the past 15 years, Kenneth has worked at a local rare bookstore in the small town of Cranberry, New York. And every evening after work, Kenneth goes to Wally’s for Mai Tais with his best and only friend Bert (even if Bert can’t always be there for Kenneth in the way he wants him to be.) When Kenneth’s boss announces he’s closing up shop, Kenneth takes a new position as a bank teller at Primary Trust — incidentally, the source of the play’s title. Kenneth’s new role forces him to become more social than ever before, and he soon finds that this transition piques his curiosity for becoming more social  outside of work, as well. 

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Tieber’s limited engagement at THE MAGIC PARLOUR runs through Sunday, October 20

Magician Siegfried Tieber’s sparkling, genuine charm is every bit as magical as his tricks in his special engagement at THE MAGIC PARLOUR. As part of the Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, THE MAGIC PARLOUR hosts Tieber for a limited engagement including performances in both English and Spanish. The fact that Tieber, who was born in Ecuador and now lives in Los Angeles, can perform his mentalist tricks in two languages makes his feats all the more dazzling.

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