Rivendell Theatre Archives

Audrey Francis, a white woman in blue jeans and a black jacket, is standing left, and Glenn Davis, a Black man in dark trousers and shirt, is standing right in front of the empty new theater at Steppenwolf.

It’s season-announcement season

by Kerry Reid April 13, 2023April 14, 2023

The warmer temperatures, blossoming flowers, and budding trees aren’t the only harbingers of spring. It’s also the season of the season announcements, with the major Chicago companies letting us know what to expect in 2023-24 on their stages. The Goodman presents the first season selected by Susan V. Booth, who took over as artistic director […]

Agenda

Readings from Remaking the Exceptional, Interrobang Theatre Project, and more

by Kerry Reid and Salem Collo-Julin November 15, 2022November 15, 2022

This summer, DePaul Art Museum hosted “Remaking the Exceptional,” a group exhibition curated by artist and activists Aaron Hughes and Amber Ginsburg that explored the similarities between survivors of torture at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and survivors of police torture in Chicago. This evening, Ginsburg and fellow activists celebrate the release of Remaking the […]

Two women sit on a couch underneath a blanket. The woman on the left is Black, with her hair in braids. The woman on the right is white, with short blond hair.

Theater Review

West Virginia woes

by Kerry Reid March 31, 2022April 4, 2022

Williamson, West Virginia, is in the heart of Hatfield-McCoy history, but the conflict driving apart a family in Madison Fiedler’s Spay, now in a world premiere at Rivendell under Georgette Verdin’s direction, is rooted in opioids, not moonshine. Kindergarten teacher Harper (Krystel McNeil) has just brought home her half-sister Noah (Rae Gray) from the hospital, […]

Arts & Culture

Give thanks for some promising November live performances

by Kerry Reid, Irene Hsiao and Brianna Wellen October 30, 2019August 18, 2021

The table is set this month with theater world premieres, dance works in progress, and comedy with cured meat.

Arts & Culture

Grit and heart: Arnel Sancianco draws on both for his evocative theater sets

by Kerry Reid September 11, 2019August 18, 2021

With two major shows opening this fall, the designer’s career is booming—but he’s focused on making audiences connect emotionally with the world of the play.