“The Detective’s Wife” Unravels a Mesmerizing Mystery
This play is an engrossing account of one woman’s struggle to make sense of her world after her police detective husband’s untimely death.
Music For The Whole Family
Don’t miss this summer’s best concerts. We have the scoop on the bands you won’t want to miss. Playlist AMAZING YOU (download entire playlist at valslist.com) 1. Every Day Is Yours To Win by R.E.M. 2. Gratisfaction by The Strokes 3. The Other Side by Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 4. Old Old Fashioned […]
Drama Comes in as the “Tide” Goes Out
End of life issues punch us in the face in Northlight Theatre’s world premiere production of “The Outgoing Tide,” by Bruce Graham.
“Gospel According to James” Tackles Crime and Lies Surrounding It
Charles Smith’s “The Gospel According to James,” dramatizes a real-life 1930 Indiana lynching, examining the wily nature of truth and who defines it.
On the Red Carpet with “Glee” Star Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison, who stars on the hit Fox TV show “Glee” as teacher Will Shuester, spoke with Make It Better before his Goodman Theatre gala performance. “The last three years of my life have been very gleeful,” he said, introducing his performance, “but I’ve missed performing in theaters like this one.” That’s because the Emmy […]
“Hickory Dickory” at Chicago Dramatists: Provocative, Timely Fantasy
Embedded inside everyone is a mortal clock. The timepiece ticks down the minutes until death.
Lips and Laughter: Goodman Theatre’s “Stage Kiss”
When former lovers get cast as romantic leads in a 1930s melodrama, the line blurs between fake lip-locking on stage and real smooching. “Stage Kiss” is the latest collaboration by director Jessica Thebus and playwright Sarah Ruhl; most recently, Thebus directed Ruhl’s stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando” at the Court Theatre. But “Orlando” and […]
Joffrey's “Rising Stars” is the Stuff of Dreams
The Joffrey Ballet’s “Rising Stars” program, which opened May 4 at the Auditorium Theater, is an exercise in abstraction. It’s filled with sublime, graceful movement, punctuated with surprises, and packed with tried and truly beautiful dancing. Two world premieres, “Woven Dreams” by Edwaard Liang and “Bells” by Yuri Possokhov, plus a company premiere, “Night” by […]
Peter Pan, the iPad of Theater, Flies into Chicago
Like the first generation Apple tablet, Broadway in Chicago and threesixty° entertainment’s “Peter Pan” flew into town with deserved graduation-season pomp and circumstance, befitting theater’s prospective next big thing. Common to most new technology, this production simultaneously wows and disappoints. The wow begins walking up to the 1,300-seat, in-the-round theater tent parked in a lot […]
Lisa Loeb: Singer-Songwriter, Philanthropist and New Mom
You might remember Lisa Loeb, who will perform locally on June 3 and 4, from her meteoric ‘90s hit, “Stay.” (“You say, I only hear what I want to … ”) But you might not know that the prolific singer-songwriter and Grammy nominee is passionate about making music for children, has her own foundation to […]
