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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This “ad-rap-tation” of JULIUS CAESAR runs through October 19, 2025

ROME SWEET ROME, the latest production from the Q Brothers Collective at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, has a cool concept: JULIUS CAESAR, but make it hip hop. Like the group’s previous endeavors, the show takes a classic Shakespeare play and updates it with modern sensibilities. The resulting show, though, is really on the nose, both in terms of parallels to the current political climate (here, Caesar is an authoritarian leader who loves the sound of his own voice) and in the writing itself.

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Steppenwolf opens its 50th anniversary season with Rajiv Joseph’s dark play about a kidnapped 15-year-old girl returned to her parents

MR. WOLF simultaneously fascinated and repulsed me. This play from Rajiv Joseph, now in its Chicago premiere to kick off Steppenwolf’s 50th anniversary season, is gripping and terrifying. It centers on 15-year-old Theresa, who was kidnapped at the age of 3 by the titular Mr. Wolf. Now, by a miracle, Theresa has been safely returned home to her parents. And while Theresa is in good physical health, the play slowly unfolds a number of twists and turns that reveal just how much trauma the teenager has endured.

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The Goodman’s centennial season opens with this world premiere set in Chicago and featuring Jenna Fischer from THE OFFICE — Now playing through October 12 

ASHLAND AVENUE is a genial and charming play set in Chicago. Directed by Goodman Theatre’s Artistic Director Susan Booth, the Chicago setting of Lee Kirk’s world premiere certainly seems fitting for the opening of the theater’s centennial season. But this isn’t the kind of gritty, metaphorical “blood on the walls” kind of play often associated with Chicago-style theater. Instead, Kirk’s story about a Chicago family-owned business is much gentler. 

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Kristoffer Diaz’s world premiere play runs through October 5, 2025

Kristoffer Diaz’s THINGS WITH FRIENDS is one extremely chaotic, messy dinner party. This world premiere introduces a variety of different flavors that come together for an undercooked meal. Directed by Dexter Bullard, THINGS WITH FRIENDS introduces us to dinner party hosts Adele (Audrey Billings) and Burt (Casey Campbell) who live comfortably on the 27th floor of a cushy Manhattan apartment. The twist? Their fabulous apartment (gorgeously designed by Grant Sabin, by the way) overlooks the recently collapsed George Washington Bridge. Adele often looks out worriedly at the bridge and panics at the prospect of rain. She also frets over the forthcoming arrival of the couple’s slick friends Vy (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel) and Chabby (Jon Hudson Odom). The play implies they’re close friends, but there’s clearly friction between the couples — especially once Chabby reveals a rather unorthodox proposal in the wake of NYC’s recent climate change disasters.

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The charming Chicago premiere of this musical based on the cult classic 2001 film runs through September 28, 2025

With AMÉLIE, Kokandy Productions has turned an obscure musical into a charming and intimate production sure to give the warm fuzzies. Based on the 2001 film of the same name (notably starring Audrey Tatou in the title role), Kokandy Artistic Director Derek Van Barham’s staging captures all the charm and whimsy of its source material (and, to my mind, improves upon it even more with the musical treatment). With book by Craig Lucas, music by Daniel Messé, and lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Messé, the show sweeps audiences up into the tale of the quirky Amélie and her desire to become a “do-gooder” and improve the lives of those around her.

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Otherworld Theatre Company’s limited engagement runs through August 31, 2025

TWIHARD! A TWILIGHT MUSICAL PARODY should be veritable millennial theater nerd catnip. I read the first of Stephenie Meyer’s books about mere mortal Bella Swan and her glittery vampire love Edward Cullen in eighth grade, and I continued to devour the rest of the series throughout high school (plus the films notoriously starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson). In retrospect, the cringeworthy elements of Meyer’s book series practically parody themselves — which makes them ripe for a parody stage adaptation from director/book writer and lyricist Tiffany Keane Schaefer and composer Brian Rasmussen. 

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The world premiere play about the tennis legend from playwright Lauren Gunderson runs through August 10 in the Yard

In Chilina Kennedy, director Marc Bruni and Lauren M. Gunderson have found a tenacious and hard-hitting actor to play the eponymous tennis legend in BILLIE JEAN. The role of Billie Jean King, who tirelessly fought for women to have equal pay in professional tennis, necessarily centers the play. Kennedy’s boundless energy and appealing spunk really give it life. 

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Enjoy the dazzling stage tour of this “tale as old as time” through August 2, 2025

The new national tour of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is gorgeous and full of Disney stage magic. Disney Theatrical Group has pulled out all the stops for the first tour of this musical in 25 years. I wore out my VHS tape of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST as a child; Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s classic music and lyrics have a special place in my heart. But this was actually my first time seeing any stage version of this show—and it was absolutely the one to see.

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