Audrey Francis's Femme-Forward Steppenwolf Debut
A feminist political comedy kicks off coleader Audrey Francis’s new era for the storied theater company.
News and features on theater, comedy and dance.
Fall Guide: Catch a Local Actor’s Wicked Turn in a Broadway-Bound Musical
A Theatrical Take on Marginalized Americans’ Rights
In its dive into constitutional rights and wrongs, TimeLine Theatre grapples with a post-Roe world.
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
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.
The Art of Creative Protest
Court Theatre’s Gabrielle Randle-Bent directs an anti-apartheid play that echoes wider.
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.
King James Shows How Sports Help Us Express Ourselves
Rajiv Joseph’s new Steppenwolf play views friendship through the lens of fandom.
House Theatre of Chicago Gets a New Artistic Director
Lanise Antoine Shelley, House Theatre’s new artistic director, is doing away with boys’-club culture and changing the status quo.
Broadway in Chicago Returns in Paradise
A new musical about a progressive community in Civil War America debuts at the Nederlander this month before heading to Broadway.
Children’s Theater With Bite
A puppet-filled play about a child navigating the COVID pandemic kicks off an initiative by Chicago Children’s Theatre to commission work from diverse writers.
A User’s Guide to Stay-At-Home Holiday Theater
Audio plays, Zoom performances, and other ways theater companies are getting creative with their seasonal fare.
Take Your Tykes to a Drive-In Play
Chicago Children’s Theatre brings “Beatrix Potter and Friends” to an outdoor screen near you.
See a Steppenwolf Play … Online
The theater pivots to video (and radio, and animation, and…) with its Steppenwolf Now series of virtual productions.
Theaters Are Dark, But Manual Cinema Works in Shadows
Puppeteering powerhouse Manual Cinema celebrates its 10th anniversary with a livestreamed variety show.
Victory Gardens loses an ensemble of playwrights, again
Why the theater's board of directors really, really should have seen this coming.
“Where Did You Laugh?”
Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts talk spousal script reading, being almost famous, and bringing Bug back to Steppenwolf.
The best Chicago theater of the 2010s
As we enter a new decade, I was moved to look back over the one we’re ending, and the maybe-literally thousands of Chicago plays I saw in it.
SR Digest: Why aren’t Chicago playwrights getting more productions?
Are we falling down on the job when it comes to promoting our playwrights?
Fall Culture Guide: Marti Lyons
Lyons directs Eleanor Burgess’s “The Niceties” at Writers Theatre.
SR Digest: 18 shows to see in September
After a relatively quiet summer theatrically, the 2019–2020 season is here, and September has no chill.
The Hamilton Exhibition Was Doomed From the Start
Producers are closing the exhibit early to avoid congestion during North Coast Music Festival and a Bears game. But Northerly Island was a bad home to begin with.
Where to See Free Outdoor Theater in Chicago This Summer
You don’t need to be indoors to catch a show.
Where Does Non-Equity Theater Go Next?
Last night’s Jeff Awards for nonunion work were a reminder of the complicated circumstances of local companies.
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