The Theater Loop: Chicago Theater News & Reviews - Chicago Tribune

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Review: In ‘Antonio’s Song’ at Goodman Theatre, the arts become a roadmap for a life

Actor Antonio Edwards Suarez attended a performance by Mikhail Baryshnikov, he tells us, and came to a realization.

Review: In ‘Damn Yankees’ at the Marriott Theatre, old-fashioned heart means more than hitting

But this zesty new 2023 production, directed by James Vásquez, has an admirable crackle of the bat.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater 2023-24 season: Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Illinois,’ Paralympian Katy Sullivan and ‘Seinfeld’ star Jason Alexander

The theater returns to large-scale producing on Navy Pier next season with a new work based on the 2005 concept album "Illinois."

Review: ‘From the Mississippi Delta’ by Lifeline and Pegasus Theatre has a lot of civil rights-era ground to cover

Music plays an important role in Endesha Ida Mae Holland’s autobiographical play.

Review: ‘The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window’: The Goodman play shines on Broadway with Rachel Brosnahan

Either Lorraine Hansberry's genius 1964 play was ahead of its time, or we have slid backwards.

Review: ‘Big River’ a musical journey with Jim and Huck Finn at Mercury Theater

In the mid-1980s, Broadway tasked country artist Roger Miller with writing the music for a new adaptation of Mark Twain’s 1884 novel.

Writers Theatre for 2023-24: Braden Abraham’s first season includes ‘The Band’s Visit’

Writers Theatre in Glencoe now has a new artistic director, Braden Abraham.

National theater conference headed to Chicago in 2024

Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for non-profit U.S. theater, is coming in June 2024.

Review: ‘London Road’ by Shattered Globe is about yearning for normalcy in a crisis — and reminds us what off-Loop theater can do

Deeply dedicated to honoring actual events and revealing human truths, “London Road” has so very much to offer.

Musical ‘Some Like It Hot’ leads Tony Award nominations with 13 nods

“Some Like It Hot,” a musical adaptation of the cross-dressing movie comedy that starred Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, waltzed away with a leading 13 Tony Award nominations.

Review: ‘The Porch on Windy Hill’ at Northlight Theatre explores family and folk music, but has a long way to go

“The Porch on Windy Hill” should dial back the lecturing and sloganeering and focus on how music can heal and bring people together.

Review: In the lovely ‘Into The Woods’ now in Chicago, Sondheim’s fairytale forest is deep indeed

Herein, you’ll find some of Sondheim’s greatest songs. I’m going through a bit of an empty-nest crisis, so “Stay With Me” has me at “Don’t you know what’s out there in the world?"

Review: With ‘School of Rock,’ the Paramount Theatre hits all the power chords, yet again

This hugely enjoyable show is filled with talented kids and helmed by the big-hearted Nick Druzbanski in the role made famous by Jack Black.

Chicago’s Windy City Playhouse goes up for sale

The theater opened in 2015 and had a string of notable successes, including the long-running “Southern Gothic."

Review: Broadway’s ‘New York, New York’ has hot jazz but a disjointed story

The show based on the Martin Scorsese film has five lyricists and writers, and it feels like all of the writers got to do their own thing.

Lake Zurich High School theater wins rights to stage ‘Frozen’ musical, only school in Illinois

"Frozen" the musical onstage at Lake Zurich High School after the Theater Department won a national contest for the rights.

Review: ‘We Are Proud to Present’ is a brave beginning for Theatre Y in North Lawndale

After several years of working to relocate from Lincoln Square to North Lawndale, Theatre Y finally has a new home a block south of the Pink Line’s Central Park stop.

Review: Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht heat up Broadway’s ‘Summer, 1976′

When you have actors of the quality and appeal of Laura Linney (”Ozark,” of late) and Jessica Hecht (”Breaking Bad”), the two stars of David Auburn’s subtle “Summer, 1976,” an intimate chance to visit with them can be reason enough to buy a ticket.

Review: ‘Grease’ at Drury Lane Theatre: Rizzo and the rest arrive just before summer

Watching all the kids, many dressed as the Pink Ladies or 1950s rockers, filing into the theater was a fun sight.

Northlight Theatre’s 2023-24 season includes BJ Jones directing a new John Patrick Shanley play

The upcoming slate will be performed at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.

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