The smash hit Broadway musical, which won three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, will be playing at the Bank of America Theatre for a limited engagement April 26–May 8. Individual tickets for “Next to Normal” go on sale on Friday, February 25. Alice Ripley, who received the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in […]
Subscription packages to local theaters and music venues are a great deal The best gifts are the ones that keep on giving. For Evanston residents and newlyweds Marc and Emily Zarefsky, it was season tickets to the Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire. Gifted to the couple by Marc’s parents, who themselves have been season ticket holders […]
North Shore native Betsy Morgan, who currently stars in Broadway in Chicago’s “Les Miserables,” launched her musical theater career right here in Chicago. She landed a role in “Mamma Mia!”—even after a flustered audition. “I forgot my shoes outside the room, I went in with bare feet and I swore by accident,” she remembered. “They […]
Rebecca Gilman never thought about being a playwright until as a freshman at Middlebury College in Vermont she entered a playwriting competition. “It was sponsored by the Dramatists Guild of America and was chosen for their new plays festival,” said Gilman. “I think that was when I got hooked.” Now, after a remarkable career she […]
Luscious music, elaborate sets, and color-saturated costumes grace this production. The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago’s show is based on Franz Lehar’s operetta of the same name. It boasts breathtaking choreography by Ronald Hynd, who came in to recreate the dances from his 1975 story ballet. The story is set in the Paris embassy of Ponteverdro, […]
This nerve-jangling, otherworldly world premiere travels deep into the emotional desperation of people who exist on society’s fringes. Illinois playwright Brett Neveu gets into the rhythmic thinking of those who survive by conning others. Aged street hustler Eddie Sisson (played with emotional vibrancy by esteemed Steppenwolf Theatre veteran Francis Guinan) has one last shot […]
My youngest son Luke didn’t get the nickname Tasmanian Devil because he likes to sit still. And while he’s almost completely non-verbal, he is wholly capable of communicating his wants and needs (though sometimes not in ways most people expect). No surprise that we’ve been hesitant to expose him to live theater, imagining our […]
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin” is glorious. In its first sinuous strains, the score, conducted by Lyric’s music director Sir Andrew Davis, creates a deceptively serene dreamscape. But the story, set in 10th century Antwerp, portrays a violent collision between vengence and virtue. To experience this, you must commit 4 and […]
The amazing civil rights story of Jackie Robinson is brought to life in Chicago Children’s Theatre’s delightful production “Jackie and Me.”
Whether you’re host or guest for the Oscars, a good playlist is a must! Download this one at Valslist.com. RED CARPET PLAYLIST (for your Oscars party) 1. Own It by The Black Eyed Peas 2. Do You Want It All? by Two Door Cinema Club 3. Big Dreams by Molehill 4. Binga Bong! by Glenn […]
