Princess. Musician. Writer. Spy. The short description of all of Noor Inayat Khan’s identities during her brief lifetime reads like the title of a John le Carré novel. Yet despite the fact that her work as an undercover radio operator and liaison between the French resistance and British intelligence during World War II was an […]
Category: Theater Preview
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Sleeping With Beauty brings an irreverent take to a British holiday tradition
There likely aren’t many Americans familiar with the UK’s pantomime (often shortened to panto) musical comedy tradition, but PrideArts in Uptown is aiming to change that—at least for Chicago audiences. Panto performances have traditionally been geared towards the whole family in the UK, but not so much at PrideArts. Last year the theater scored a […]
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John Michael teaches us how to time travel with the Neo-Futurists
Solo performer John Michael returns to Chicago’s stages this week with a new interactive show and, this time, he’s bringing 500 “time machines” in the form of naloxone to the Neo-Futurist Theater. Spank Bank Time Machine, his tenth show, is an ode to loved ones John Michael has lost to overdose, an experience he says […]
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Nyra’s Dreams uses Indian dance to explore contemporary women’s experiences
Traditional Indian dance is a form that is rooted in storytelling, folk literature, and sacred texts. Its forms are myriad and complex and are divided into three main categories: classical, folk/tribal, and Bollywood. Classical forms are highly stylized with prescribed movements that accompany sacred and traditional texts in the mode of dance and theater. Folk/tribal […]
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Rats—now and forever
Rats run rampant on Chicago streets, but on Chicago stages? Not so much. Kids’ productions of Charlotte’s Web may shine a light now and again on Templeton, the sneaky (but ultimately praiseworthy) barn rat who helps save Wilbur’s life, as well as Charlotte’s progeny. Some versions of The Nutcracker go with a Rat King instead […]
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From cab culture to throuples with the Destinos festival
What Modesto “Flako” Jimenez misses the most about his days as a cabdriver in New York City are the conversations with his passengers, fellow cab drivers, and even the silent riders who just wanted to get from point A to point B. “Even that gave me the moment to paint my story. Like, why are […]
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Setting the stage for queer stories
One of Chicago’s greatest treasures for its LGBTQ+ community and its allies is the city’s queer theater scene. As the 2023–24 season kicks in, there will be no shortage of queer stories playing out on Chicago’s stages. Uptown-based LGBTQ+ theater stalwart PrideArts got an early start, kicking off its fall season back in August with […]
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A dramatic top ten for fall
Since opening in March 2023, Andersonville’s Understudy bookstore and cafe has stayed busy by offering a robust selection of theater-related titles, coffee, pastries, and public programming. With the fall theater season about to kick into high gear, we asked the staff what they’ve been reading lately. The UnderstudyMon-Thu 7 AM-6 PM, Fri-Sun 7 AM-7 PM, […]
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Murder, she sang
The last episode of Murder, She Wrote aired on May 19, 1996. Yet, 27 years later, the Internet bristles with fan sites. There’s Murder, She Watched, and two rival sites that both use the name Murder, She Blogged (though one of those is actually a site about true crime, not the television series). And on […]
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Building hope with Free Street
Free Street Theater has been making theater in Chicago, connecting communities through art, since 1969. They do itinerant touring work across the city, creating accessible, inclusive, and transformational performances that seek connections between different issues facing Chicago communities. Their newest performance, There Is a Future/Tenemos un Futuro (TIAF), is an outdoor show directed by Elizabeth […]
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Port of Entry creates a home for immigrant stories
In 2016, Albany Park Theater Project took over the closed Saint Hyacinth Basilica School in Logan Square and transformed it into the fictional Ellen Gates Starr High School for their ambitious (and hugely successful) immersive ambulatory production, Learning Curve. That show took audiences throughout the school—from classrooms to bathrooms—and deep into the experience of being […]
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CLATA launches an incubator for new Latine voices
Through theater, we can experience a variety of perspectives, while examining dialogue, monologue, and characters that allow us to reflect, learn, and connect. The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) is an organization that helps foment this idea by supporting Latine theater through rich storytelling locally and worldwide with theater projects like Destinos: Chicago International Latino […]
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In Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon, renegade lovers are on the lam
Actor, writer, composer, musician, lyricist, visual artist, short film director, and stop-motion animator Matthew C. Yee is no still water. But he does run deep. Yee is currently playing the lead male in Lookingglass Theatre’s Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon, a country-and-western musical about an Asian American couple on the lam from the law. He also […]
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Subconscious romance
“What is it like to be a character in a dream?,” asks the protagonist of Waking Life (2001), Richard Linklater’s first stab at rotoscope animation. The question lies at the heart of clown, mime, and musician Marvin Quijada’s The Dream King, Teatro Vista’s new production codirected by ensemble member Sandra Marquez and Physical Theater Festival […]
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London Road centers voices of survivors
British imports are common enough on Chicago’s stages. The plays of Simon Stephens regularly appear at storefront theaters; Court Theatre will revive Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead next season; and Six continues its Broadway reign following its 2019 North American premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. But it’s safe to say that Chicago audiences […]