The Chicago premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks’s play runs through May 18, 2025 

I usually appreciate when plays show and don’t tell, but THE BOOK OF GRACE really needs more exposition. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. Steppenwolf’s production is a new version of Parks’s 2010 play, expanded from its original 100-minute run-time to two and a half hours. Even with the extra run time, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks relies far too heavily on subtext that isn’t revealed to the audience.

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The TITANIC parody musical featuring an all-Chicago cast runs through July 13, 2025

Near, far, wherever you are…you need to see TITANIQUE if you love musicals and parody. Porchlight Music Theatre’s production, presented in partnership with Broadway In Chicago, easily passes the Marie Kondo test: This show sparks immense joy. I haven’t had this much fun or laughed this hard at the theater in awhile. With book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousoli and Tye Blue, TITANIQUE tells the story of James Cameron’s TITANIC movie. But this time none other than Celine Dion narrates the events. With direction from Blue and resident direction from Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber, the all-Chicago company keeps the laughs coming a mile a minute (or, I guess I should say, a knot a minute, this being a TITANIC parody). 

Continue reading “Review: TITANIQUE Presented by Broadway In Chicago and Porchlight Music Theatre” →

The U.S. premiere of The Kinks jukebox musical runs through April 27, 2025

If you enjoy the music of The Kinks, you’ll enjoy SUNNY AFTERNOON — especially if you want to hear the songs sung well. British actors Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare reprise their roles from the West End as Ray and Dave Davies, respectively, who along with Mick Avory (Kieran McCabe) and Pete Quaife (Michael Lepore) comprised the band’s four founding members. The show features music and lyrics by Ray Davies, with a book from Joe Penhall based on an original story by Ray Davies. I think that’s telling because while it’s a blast to hear The Kinks’ iconic songs performed by great talent, the storytelling isn’t as taut. 

Continue reading ” Review: SUNNY AFTERNOON, The Kinks Musical, at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre” →

The production of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize finalist one-act runs through March 23, 2025

FOOL FOR LOVE has peak Steppenwolf energy. I’ve long associated Steppenwolf Theatre Company with gritty, messy, feral family and relationship dramas — Sam Shepard’s one-act fits the bill. It’s also only 65 minutes — that run-time is short, but it’s a logical choice in the TikTok era when attention spans are, too. An hour is still plenty of time for genius Steppenwolf ensemble member Caroline Neff to go toe-to-toe with Nick Gehlfuss (who audiences might recognize from CHICAGO MED) as toxic couple May and Eddie. While the 1980s time period is deeply felt (no cell phones here) and the run-down motel room somewhere in the Mojave desert setting is classic Shepard, the way May and Eddie fight seems entirely modern. The couple’s crazy mood swings and spats have been replicated by many Netflix series since. 

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James Ijames’s 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning FAT HAM is an uproariously funny reinvention of HAMLET. In Ijames’s version, the Prince of Denmark becomes Juicy, an early twenties queer Black man living somewhere in the American South (the script notes “a house in North Carolina” or that it could be Maryland, Tennessee, or Virginia, but that it’s definitely not Alabama, Florida, or Mississippi — “That’s a different thing altogether.”) Juicy (Trumane Alston) wants to be left in peace so he can come to terms with his father’s untimely death and earn an online degree in Human Resources from the University of Phoenix. But no such luck — the play finds Juicy forced to throw together a wedding celebration for his mother Tedra (Anji White) and his uncle/brand-new stepfather Rev (who looks a lot like Juicy’s father, Pap, both hilariously played by Ronald L. Conner).

Continue reading “Review: FAT HAM Goodman Theatre” →

Porchlight Music Theatre’s FUN HOME, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s 2015 Tony Award winning musical, runs through March 2, 2025

Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s FUN HOME is a musical journey in sketches through the memories of Alison Bechdel, as she comes into her queer identity and as she tries to unpack her immensely complicated relationship with her troubled, stern, and closeted father, Bruce, who died by suicide when she was in college. Based on the graphic memoir of the same name — and so called because the Bechdel family business was a funeral home — Porchlight director Stephen Schellhardt’s production brings each scene sharply to life. 

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The Chicago engagement of Jocelyn Bioh’s play runs through February 2, 2025

With JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, Jocelyn Bioh pulls off a challenging theatrical feat: She makes a slice-of-life play consistently engaging and entertaining. Set in Harlem at a hair salon of the same name, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING follows a group of West African immigrant women working there — along with some of their customers. Bioh has populated her play with a cast of big personalities and peppers in just enough of the stylists’ backstories to allow us to learn more about them. Director Whitney White has assembled an ensemble that easily brings the play to charming life (Chicago audiences might notice Melanie Brezill and Tiffany Renee Johnson among them, in particular).

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The Chicago engagement of this corny musical runs through January 19, 2025

SHUCKED is a corny musical…in the best way possible. Book writer Robert Horn and composer team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally’s lyrics are chock-full (or should I say husk-full?) of puns, double entendres, and cringey punchlines. I was grinning ear-to-ear (of corn). SHUCKED is joyful, creative, and fun. 

Continue reading “Review: SHUCKED National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago” →

The latest iteration of TEATRO ZINZANNI plays through March 30, 2025

TEATRO ZINZANNI is still kicking it in the indoor Spiegeltent Zazou nestled on the fourteenth floor of the Cambria Hotel in the Loop. It’s still a reliably entertaining variety show, and this particular edition includes many returning performers. It remains a fun way to escape the cold for tourists, young theater audiences, and bored Chicagoans alike. The show’s mix of singing, comedy, and in particular, jaw-dropping circus acts is thoroughly enjoyable and easily digestible. This remains a unique offering in Chicago’s theater landscape. The four-course dinner served as part of the show remains solid, though not special, but it’s also nice that the show packages up an entire night’s entertainment.

Continue reading “Review: TEATRO ZINZANNI at Cambria Hotel” →

The Chicago engagement of the Max Martin jukebox musical runs through December 15, 2024

& JULIET is an unserious jukebox musical that’s deeply serious about its commitment to fun. Jukebox musicals are oversaturated in the theater marketplace, but I adore this one. It helps that & JULIET’s jukebox catalog is veritable millennial catnip: The show’s song line-up traces some 25 years of Max Martin pop hits. All songs are either written, co-written, or produced in some combination by the iconic Swedish pop producer. The songs are simply irresistible. 

Continue reading “Review: & JULIET National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago” →