During 2020, my running joke was that, although there weren’t any plays happening, there was always plenty of drama to report on in Chicago theater. In fall of 2021, we started seeing some theater return, though the season was cut short by last December’s COVID surge. (Not to be confused with the one we’re currently […]
Tag: House Theatre
Plays in a pandemic
By the time this year ends (it is gonna end, right?), Reader critics will, by my count, have reviewed 69 live theater and dance performances. That’s far less than in most years, but a veritable cornucopia after the onstage famine that began in March 2020. But just when we think it’s safe to go back […]
Two ways of looking at ‘The Snow Queen’
For all the gleeful gore of the Brothers Grimm, I’d have to say that Hans Christian Andersen was the more disturbing creator of childhood nightmares for me, because his stories seem just close enough to things that could actually—do actually—happen to kids. Especially if you’re an anxious kid who obsesses about the consequences of not […]
Chicago-style magic is ready for its close-up again
Magical thinking is both bane and balm. Without a little bit of belief in the possibility of miraculous transformation, I’d probably never get out of bed (especially lately). Yet amid the toxic noise of resolute anti-vaxxers-and-maskers and QAnon, it’s obvious that obdurate faith in the impossible against the tide of science, facts, and reality carries […]
Lanise Antoine Shelley is opening up the House
The new artistic director wants to take ‘amazing feats of storytelling’ into more diverse realms; Rick Bayless wants to give more money to local theaters.
The Nutcracker retains its hold on the heart
The House Theatre’s annual tradition remains one of Chicago’s best seasonal offerings.
House Theatre creates a Pinocchio for our time
And not just because the main character’s nose grows when he tells a lie.
House Theatre’s no-dancing Nutcracker finds light in wartime darkness
The show moves from holiday hijinks to deep sadness with plenty of sweetness throughout.
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.
A brief, wondrous history of Chicago magic
New York had Broadway. LA had Hollywood. Chicago had magic.
The Three Oaks Theater Festival brings off-Loop shows to Harbor County
Reprises of The Normal Heart and Exit Strategy are among the highlights at the second annual Three Oaks Theater Festival.
Teens in Trouble
Of two shows about kids, Spring Awakening and Girls vs. Boys, one’s juvenile