A piercing wind from the north whipped down darkened Dearborn Street, turning noses and fingers to icy lumps and testing the resolve of pedestrians on the opening night of Goodman Theatre’s 46th annual production of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol last weekend. As if current events weren’t already enough to chill the holiday spirit! Dreadful, […]
Tag: A Christmas Carol
Posted inArts & Culture
Beyond the mustache
Larry Yando has been a prominent presence on stages in Chicago and beyond for many years, including as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman’s annual production of A Christmas Carol (this year marks his 15th outing). He plays Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express at Drury Lane Theatre through October 23. (Read […]
Posted inArts & Culture
An actor who stayed
Editor’s note: William J. Norris, a veteran Chicago actor whose career included playing Scrooge for the Goodman production of A Christmas Carol for a dozen years and performing with the late Organic Theater in their legendary sci-fi serial, Warp!, died at his home in Iowa on November 30 at age 75. Mark Larson, author of […]
Posted inTheater Review
Eb & Belle riffs on A Christmas Carol
When the Ghost of Christmas Past visits decrepit miser Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, one painful memory the ghost has him swoop back over concerns a delightful young girl named Belle, who Scrooge was supposed to marry until greed eclipsed tenderness in his heart and she broke off the engagement. Adjusting the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Here are 19 shows to get you into the holiday spirit
Christmas trains, elves, bingo, showgirls, and many, many carols, plus the Quranic perspective and Hanukkah goblins.
Posted inArts & Culture
Thirteen holiday shows that will delight (or disgust or bore or just entertain) you
Hell in a Handbag’s 20th annual production of Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer is among the yuletide highlights.
Posted inArts & Culture
Beautiful, Bad Hombres, and nine more holiday stage shows to see
An Equity touring production of the Carole King musical and an evening of Latinx sketch comedy are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inArts & Culture
Barney the Elf, Hellcab, and ten more new stage shows
The best-ever explanation for what makes reindeer fly and the 25th anniversary of a Chicago classic are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inArts & Culture
A Dickens Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, and nine more new stage shows
A clever mashup of fact and fiction and a “radio show” version of the holiday classic are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inArts & Culture
Twist Your Dickens, A Klingon Christmas Carol, and nine more new theater and performance reviews
A Second City show at the Goodman and a Star Trek-inspired Dickens adaptation are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inBlogs
The Joffrey’s new Nutcracker is set in Chicago on the grounds of the 1893 World’s Fair
Christopher Wheeldon’s $4 million production grounds the fantasy in working-class life.
Posted inArts & Culture
From Scrooge to the Snow Queen: eight stage shows for the holidays
The Goodman’s A Christmas Carol leads the seasonal onslaught.
Posted inArts & Culture
Fifteen holiday shows to see now
There’s a lot more out there than A Christmas Carol.
Posted inArts & Culture
Ain’t Misbehavin’, Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy, and 11 more new reviews
Ain’t Misbehavin’, Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy, and 11 more new reviews
Posted inColumns & Opinion
How to win at box-office bingo
Now that dynamic pricing has come to the arts, you can score cheap seats—or get priced out.