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.

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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” →

Director Nick Bowling’s superbly sung revival of William Finn and James Lapine’s musical runs through December 15, 2024

FALSETTOS, originally written as two-one act musicals set in 1979 and 1981, respectively, feels simultaneously dated and prescient. In this co-production from Court Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company, director Nick Bowling leads a first-rate ensemble that preserves the musical as a period piece but also makes it feel utterly alive. Lauren Nichols’s set design evokes a 1970s retro roller rink and Theresa Ham’s costume designs also use extremely ‘70s colors (and each character wears a signature color). But many of the show’s central themes hit now as ahead of their time and eerily relevant. In particular, the musical’s reverence for Jewish culture and tradition and its unabashed embrace of queer love are especially moving at a time when anti-Semitism and homophobia seem tragically on the rise in America. 

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The world premiere runs through December 15, 2024 in Steppenwolf’s in-the-round Ensemble Theater

In Ngozi Anyanwu’s LEROY AND LUCY, two strangers meet at a crossroads in Mississippi…and not much happens. Based upon the myth of Robert Johnson, who supposedly sold his soul to the devil to make it as a blues musician, the play finds Leroy (Jon Michael Hill) and Lucy (Brittany Bradford) in a liminal space. And that’s precisely the challenge of this play: Anyanwu’s characters don’t know each other and literally exist on Andrew Boyce’s empty (but pretty) set. It’s a tall order to create high stakes when characters are unknown to each other, and unfortunately, Anyanwu’s play isn’t dynamic enough to sustain its 90-minute run time. 

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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. 

Continue reading “Review: PRIMARY TRUST at Goodman Theatre” →

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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