May brings beloved old songs from Motown to the Loop’s Oriental Theatre, while Writers Theatre in Glencoe plays some brand-new tunes. A magical story about snakes slithers into theGoodman, and Skokie’s Northlight transports audiences back to 1940s Yonkers. The White Snake Through June 8 Following up her 2013 Goodman adaptation of “The Jungle Book,” Evanston […]
Shakespeare had a keen eye for spotting the foolishness of humanity, including the frequently bad behavior of Europe’s kings and noblemen. But “Henry V,” the drama now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, is a different sort of royal history. The king in the play’s title doesn’t experience any Hamlet-like doubts. And he isn’t an evil monster […]
From the very first moment of “The White Snake,” it’s clear that we’re in Mary Zimmerman Land—a magical and beguiling world that’s familiar from previous plays by this renowned Evanston director. “The White Snake” at Goodman Theatre is classic Zimmerman: an ancient story brought to life on the stage with a light, playful touch. As […]
Charles Darwin shocked the world with his theory of evolution 155 years ago, and people are still arguing about it. These impassioned discussions began right inside Darwin’s home, a story that playwright Sara Gmitterimagines in her new drama. Making its world premiere at Lookingglass Theatre, “In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story” is half romance, […]
It may finally be spring, but this month’s noteworthy plays have a dark tinge. Death will come dancing at Writers Theatre, while the past disturbs a young man at Next. Elsewhere, a sea captain’s obsessive quest will drive him toward destruction. But it won’t be all doom and gloom—hope springs eternal at the theater. Road […]
If “Venus in Fur” sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of “Venus in Furs,” the song that plays as the lights come up at Goodman Theatre. Or perhaps you’re thinking of the kinky 1870 book “Venus in Furs” by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, which inspired the song. Masochism was named after this Austrian author. That same novel also […]
March’s local stage highlights include the return of “Cats” and a play about an Irish cat lady. And if felines aren’t your thing, witty words should be plentiful in new plays at the Goodman and Piven. Chapatti March 7–April 13 American theaters have imported many great plays from Ireland over the past couple of decades, […]
The characters in “Russian Transport” sprinkle their conversations with Russian phrases. Sometimes, they switch over to the language of their motherland for a whole sentence or two. But you don’t need to be fluent in Russian to understand what they’re talking about. The Slavic accents—and the way these émigrés fluidly move back and forth between […]
A predominantly black neighborhood is gentrifying. Once known as a place to score drugs, it’s now welcoming more and more middle-class residents. However, young African-American men are still loitering on the streets, harassing the newcomers as they walk past. That’s the potentially fraught setting for Tracey Scott Wilson’s “Buzzer,” now at Goodman Theatre and directed […]
February brings a highly anticipated musical to Chicago Shakespeare, a festival of cutting-edge theater inside a garage, a musical about Chicago murders in the 1920s, and a new drama about murders in the city today. Gypsy February 6 to March 23 Two of Chicago’s most critically acclaimed shows in recent years were Stephen Sondheim musicals […]
