Girl From The North Country
Girl From The North Country has the best singing from a national touring cast I have heard since reviewing theatrical plays. Their singing and harmony were outstanding and worth the ticket price alone. Still, the acting in this production is superb.
Antigone
Bent brilliantly blends Greek tragedy with modern-day gospel, rap, and Greek step-dancing that's innovative and creatively opens the door to a new audience seeking to recreate its own unique genre when examining historical plays.
A Home What Howls
A Home What Howls deals with the resistance of a people seeking the rights to the land promised over the persistence of those placing governmental eminent domain laws to seize their land.
Judy’s Life’s Work
"Judy's Life's Work" is a touching and enthralling tear-jerker about Xavier and his sister Charli, who has loved and supported her brother since she was three. In the wake of their mother's passing, Xavier, an acclaimed former boxer wrongfully imprisoned for a crime committed by a friend, and Charli, a talented pre-med student, come together to navigate the path forward for their mother's revolutionary medical research.
Notes From The Field
The cast features Mildred Marie Langford, Adhana Reid, and Shariba Rivers, who performed outstandingly. Shariba Rivers' galvanizing and sterling rendition of Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant was compelling and inspiring, capturing the mystical movement Bryant calls for justice during Freddie Gray's eulogy.
Highway Patrol
With so many celebrities sharing their private lives for financial gain, the most genuine part about the play is that Delany opens up and allows us to see her vulnerability to getting trapped in an online relationship without doing her due diligence.
Selling Kabul
Selling Kabul's compelling and spine-tingling narrative provides an up-close, intense, and enthralling story of a sister's tested yet unyielding love, her brother, who the Tailban is pursuing. Afiya's (Aila Ayilam Peck) brother Taroon (Owais Ahmed) once served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. He is hiding in his sister's apartment, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a promised American visa.
In The Heights
In the Heights is a remarkable musical that showcases the beauty, passion, diversity, and struggles in the barrio of the Washington Heights community in New York City.
Peter Samelson's Magic, Love, Mystery
Although most of the card tricks and magical performances in Chicago seem to perform the same routine magic, like mind-reading, hiding an item from guests who are invited to participate in the performance, Samelson's narrative of love revealing the invisible bond between soul mates, crossing the boundaries of loss and mortality, which is a refreshing new twist.
It’s A Wonderful Life
There's something about this live performance that rekindles your spirit and makes you feel like a kid again. It transports you to your childhood and brings back all those happy and nostalgic memories. It makes you feel forever young, ready to go straight to bed to get your Christmas gifts.
Boop! The Betty Boop Musical
Boop symbolizes women's strength, independence, and empowerment and deals with females' inequities. This brand-new music is filled with high energy and is purely entertaining. Rogers turns back the hands of time, making you feel like you were in the 30s watching the real Betty Boop. She was made for this role!
Jamie Allan’s “Amaze”
Displaying the first magic box he used as a child, Allan has a plethora of sleight-of-hand card tricks, astonishing phone maneuvers, and some unbelievable trickeries that will make you wonder and make even the skeptic a dreamer.
The Wiz
The breathtaking stage design, stunning choreography, and impressive scenic, costume, and lighting design that is visually stunning is fantastic. Sharen Davis's vibrant costumes were spectacular, excluding part of the lion attire that looked like a giant diaper. The hair, wig, and make-up designs by Charles G. Lapointe and Kirk Cambridge Del-Pesche, respectively, were immaculate.
Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol
Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is a refreshing new twist on the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, seen through a widow's eyes. It passionately portrays heartbreak, loneliness, and the loss of a loved one during the pandemic.
A Christmas Carol
The holidays are officially here. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is back at Goodman Theatre, now in its 46th year; the classic tale delights tourists and Chicagoans with another awe-inspiring performance — and with the incredible performance from Larry Yando, who has formally become the universal image of Ebenezer Scrooge, it's hard to find a reason why this one-person redemption epic shouldn't be seen annually for years to come.
Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
Even though I've never seen a television dramatization, it will bring back nostalgic childhood memories that will get you in the holiday spirit. It's a yummy treat sure to get you into the Christmas spirit — and a family outing that will bring a smile to children's faces and rekindle the joys of your childhood Christmas. It's a must-see family event!
Cinderella
This refreshing retelling of the protagonist Ella - the name given to her by her parents, always seems to retain its glory and powerful message. Cinderella was a nickname her stepmother gave her after finding her near the fireplaces covered in ashes and cinder. This story is refreshing because it highlights women's empowerment, wisdom, internal kindness, and the power of sisterhood.
The Lion in Winter
The actors John Hoogenakker and Rebecca Spence performed excellently in The Lion in Winter. Their characters' manipulative wit and sarcastic bantering were convincing, and they successfully portrayed the complex emotions of their roles. The audience could feel their pain and passion, and it was clear that they were trying to outmaneuver each other cleverly.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
With Goffin writing the lyrics and King the music, they are known for writing many of the top soundtrack hits of the 1960s, which included "Up on The Roof" by The Drifters, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles, "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva, "One Fine Day" for the Chiffons, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" for Aretha Franklin, and many others songs, that changed the music world.
Beetlejuice
The life of this play is due to the exceptional performance of Collette, who was amazing as Beetlejuice. His awe-inspiring performance alone is worth the ticket price.