Chicago Theater Reviews

Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at TimeLine Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - May 21, 2023

I’m not exaggerating when I say that WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME is the kind of play that reminds me why I love theater....

Review: THE WHISTLEBLOWER at Theater Wit
by Rachel Weinberg - May 18, 2023

It’s ironic that THE WHISTLEBLOWER begins with a meta pitch of the play’s concept. While the idea is witty, Moses’s concept loses steam in this full-length play. Though it’s billed as a comedy, THE WHISTLEBLOWER is mildly amusing rather than uproariously funny....

Review: ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME at Porchlight Music Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - May 17, 2023

I didn't think I'd ever see a singing Antarctic explorer in a musical, but that's exactly what ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME delivers. This quirky but conventionally structured two-hander introduces audiences to Kat, a struggling experimental musician with a newborn baby and a deadbeat, absent boyfrien...

Review: ANTONIO'S SONG/I WAS DREAMING OF A SON at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - May 11, 2023

“Stop trying to be what everyone else wants you to be, man. Just be you.” Antonio Edwards Suarez recounts that his childhood best friend, Curtis, said to him growing up. This sentiment becomes in many ways the mantra for ANTONIO’S SONG: It’s a deeply human exploration of identity — and specifically ...

Review: BIG RIVER at Mercury Theater Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - April 30, 2023

Mercury’s production has some fabulous performances, but it doesn’t entirely answer the question of why BIG RIVER needed to be brought out of the archives....

Review: SCHOOL OF ROCK at Paramount Theatre, Aurora IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - April 22, 2023

What did our critic think of SCHOOL OF ROCK at Paramount Theatre, Aurora IL?...

Review: DAMN YANKEES at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - April 20, 2023

The new production at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire is Damn Yankees, a truly classic old time big Broadway musical. With a book by George Abbott (died at age 107) and Douglass Wallop and one of the great scores by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (died at the young age of 29), this has always been an un...

Review: LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - April 18, 2023

LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE explores the in-between, the murkiness of transitioning life stages and fraught family relationships....

Review: JAGGED LITTLE PILL electrifies at James M. Nedlerlander Theatre
by Misha Davenport - April 13, 2023

What did our critic think of JAGGED LITTLE PILL SCORCHES at James M. Nedlerlander Theatre?...

Review: THE CHERRY ORCHARD at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - April 11, 2023

It’s only fitting that for his swan song at Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls has adapted and directed Anton Chekhov’s THE CHERRY ORCHARD, a play that’s also very much a swan song. With this staging, Falls has completed the cycle of directing all four of Chekov’s full-length plays for t...

Review: A SOLDIER'S PLAY National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - April 06, 2023

A SOLDIER’S PLAY is a solid and well-structured play from Charles Fuller that explores the deep-seated roots of American racism. Centered on a Black regiment in 1944 Fort Neal, Louisiana, the play takes the form of a murder investigation when Captain Richard Davenport arrives on the scene following ...

Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON National Tour Presented By Broadway In Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - March 30, 2023

I was curious about the changes to Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone’s THE BOOK OF MORMON, which underwent revisions before its post-pandemic return to Broadway in 2021. I imagined a substantial overhaul of the material, along with input from co-director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw (Parker ...

Review: THE COMEDY OF ERRORS at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
by Rachel Weinberg - March 17, 2023

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Barbara Gaines cleverly marries play and production concept in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS for her final production....

Review: TINA- THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL at James M. Nederlander Theatre
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 16, 2023

What did our critic think of TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL at James M. Nederlander Theatre?...

Review: LAYALINA at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - March 15, 2023

Martin Yousif Zebari’s LAYALINA is a heartwarming multigenerational family play that spans from Baghdad to Skokie. While Zebari doesn’t shy away from portraying the family’s trauma and the challenges of their immigrant experiences, LAYALINA is the opposite of many other family plays. It’s about how ...

Review: DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg - March 13, 2023

Rajiv Joseph’s DESCRIBE THE NIGHT, now in its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, is a sprawling exploration of the blurring of fiction and fact, censorship, and the quest to preserve truth....

Review: CARMEN at Lyric Opera Of Chicago
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 12, 2023

What did our critic think of CARMEN at Lyric Opera Of Chicago?...

Review: ANNIE at Cadillac Palace
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - March 09, 2023

What did our critic think of ANNIE at Cadillac Palace? The new national tour of Annie is the current offering at Chicago's Cadillac Palace. Hard to believe Annie has been entertaining audiences since it opened on Broadway in 1977. The book was written by Thomas Meehan with lyrics by Charles Strouse ...

Review: YOU'RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN at Marriott Theatre
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 26, 2023

What did our critic think of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL?...

Review: INTO THE WOODS at Paramount Theatre
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 12, 2023

What did our critic think of INTO THE WOODS at Paramount Theatre?...

Review: TONI STONE at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - February 08, 2023

What did our critic think of TONI STONE at Goodman Theatre? TONI STONE is a memory play-in more ways than one. Lydia R. Diamond's play is indeed structured in non-linear (and yet, still mostly chronological order) as the titular Toni Stone recounts her memories as the first woman to regularly play p...

Review: LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL at Mercury Theater Chicago
by Rachel Weinberg - February 05, 2023

What did our critic think of LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL at Mercury Theater Chicago? To say Alexis J. Roston's performance as Billie Holiday in LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL is a masterclass in acting and singing is no exaggeration. Roston gives the kind of lived-in, seamless performan...

Review: A CHORUS LINE at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 03, 2023

What did our critic think of A CHORUS LINE at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, IL? A Chorus Line, Michael Bennett's iconic love letter to performers on the line anywhere, opened last night at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. How do I write about this show which holds a special place in my...

Review: BIG FISH at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL
by Tina St. Angelo Wetzel - February 02, 2023

What did our critic think of Big Fish? The new theater season has begun. The current production at Marriott Theatre is Big Fish which is based upon the novel by Daniel Wallace and the Columbia Motion Picture written by John August. The book is by John August and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Und...

Review: THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg - January 24, 2023

In the ripple, the wave that carried me home, protagonist Janice must metaphorically reckon with her homecoming and her childhood in the fictional Beacon, Kansas....