Kokandy Productions’ expertly sung JEKYLL & HYDE arrives just in time for spooky season — or cold winter nights. This is exactly how I like my Halloween-adjacent fare: Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn’s eerie and contemplative musical has a sense of creepiness, but there’s no blood or gore. Even the body horror here is imagined — yes, David Moreland transforms from the kind Dr. Henry Jekyll to his evil inner counterpart Mr. Edward Hyde, but his physical appearance remains unchanged. That’s precisely the question the musical explores though: If you suppress your true self and inner darkness for too long, what untold horrors unfold when it finally comes out? 

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This new PARANORMAL ACTIVITY stage play (based on Paramount Pictures’ PARANORMAL ACTIVITY horror films) has terrific stage effects and absolutely creeped me out. While I’m decidedly not a horror fan (in fact, I actively avoid the genre), this production captures that “edge of your seat, what terrifying thing will emerge from the dark next” energy. Levi Holloway’s script itself is extremely light on plot and character development. Based on the merits of the script alone, there’s not much to recommend in the material. But it leaves plenty of room for creepy effects and terrifying stage surprises — and the inventive and frightful production is definitely the selling point! 

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Sandra Delgado’s new play HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF STARS hits the stage at an eerily relevant time. Set in 2015, it follows Clara, a Green Card holder who’s been in the United States since she was two. Now facing the possibility of deportation on two counts of cannabis possession, Clara may have to leave behind the only home she’s ever known — and her 12-year-old daughter Stella, her ex-husband David, and her father. Delgado’s story is an important one, especially right now with the forcible ICE presence on the streets of Chicago. That said, Delgado’s storytelling methods are straightforward and overtly didactic.

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The world premiere musical runs through November 22, 2025 in the Owen Theatre

The world premiere musical REVOLUTION(S) at Goodman Theatre is provocative and timely. With direction by Steve H. Broadnax III, book by Zayd Ayers Dohrn and music and lyrics by Tom Morello (with a host of lyrics by other artists) — of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame — this is a show that draws on rock musical traditions. As a musical theater fan for whom RENT was a critical introduction to the art form, I see a lot of that same youthful, rebellious energy in REVOLUTION(S) — but this material is more radical and violent. Fans of shows like RENT and AMERICAN IDIOT will find much that’s intriguing here. Likewise, I think the musical is highly interesting, engaging, and genuinely provocative  — even if it doesn’t always cohere. 

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All the spectacle and creativity of director Julie Taylor’s original vision for THE LION KING remains gloriously intact in this new national tour. THE LION KING was one of the first touring musicals I ever saw many years ago in Chicago. And for sure I was hit with a wave of nostalgia listening to Elton John and Tim Rice’s classic Disney score (with additional music and lyrics for the stage musical by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taylor, and Hans Zimmer). It’s impossible to resist the allure of tunes like “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and “Hakuna Matata.” 

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