18 Ways to Celebrate Pride Month
From parades to dance parties to family-friendly fests.
Here’s a selection of my most recent work.
Go: June-July Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this summer
A Theatrical Take on Marginalized Americans’ Rights
In its dive into constitutional rights and wrongs, TimeLine Theatre grapples with a post-Roe world.
Go: May Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month
Go: April Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month
Go: March Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month
Chicago's Rising Stars: Omer Abbas Salem
On a frigid Sunday morning in December, the Goodman Theatre had a full house for a staged reading of Modern Women, a work in progress by actor-turned-playwright Omer Abbas Salem. The piece is a riff on Steel Magnolias, with the setting transferred from Louisiana to Skokie, and Southern belle archetypes remade into Arab and Indian aunties.
Steel Magnolias was among the first plays Salem saw as a student at Hinsdale South High School two decades ago. “It stuck with me because it was a story of pe
Steel Magnolias was among the first plays Salem saw as a student at Hinsdale South High School two decades ago. “It stuck with me because it was a story of pe
Go: February Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month
Billie Holiday Lives On In Alexis J. Roston
Alexis J. Roston embarks on her second decade of embodying Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
Go: January Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month
‘Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol’ adds layers to the Dickens story with light, puppets and people
Seeing the multimedia artists work their magic enhances first live staging of the troupe’s streaming hit.
Emerald Visions
Artist Max Guy is off to see the Wizard with his first solo show.
Go: December Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month
The Art of Creative Protest
Court Theatre’s Gabrielle Randle-Bent directs an anti-apartheid play that echoes wider.
Go: November Agenda
Top 10 reasons to fill up your calendar this month.
Creepy and morbid, ‘The Malignant Ampersands’ is ultimately just too confusing
“The Malignant Ampersands” is a new play by Brett Neveu that A Red Orchid Theatre describes as a “very unofficial sequel” to Orson Welles’ 1942 film “The Magnificent Ambersons.” But is it really?
‘1919’ a searing, unflinching portrait of Black Chicago’s past, present and future
Eve L. Ewing’s collection of poems is adapted for the stage by J. Nicole Brooks in a powerhouse production at Steppenwolf Theatre.
Expectations and reality duke it out in thought-provoking and witty ‘Tiger Style!’
Mike Lew’s script falters a bit in the second act, but as a whole “Tiger Style!” rings true on so many levels.
Fall Guide: Reflect on Segregation in Steppenwolf’s <em>1919</em>
I spoke to playwright J. Nicole Brooks about her stage adaptation of Eve L. Ewing's poetry collection 1919 as part of Chicago magazine's fall culture guide.
Poignant summer romance a Sweet affair in captivating ‘Girlfriend’ musical
Quirky conceit, endearing characters, captivating actors and clever soundtrack — “Girlfriend” is a winning mix.
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