Friday, 17 April 2026 12:24
Northlight’s Angel Offers Charm, Even Without Full Lift‑Off
Written by Angelo Campos
Screwball comedy went the way of the dinosaur after the 1940s, but Northlight Theatre attempts to revive it with The Angel Next Door. For those unfamiliar, screwball was a film subgenre that mixed romance, slapstick, and banter, like Mentos and Coke, and watched them explode to great effect. Stars like…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Northlight
- The Angel Next Door
- Paul Slade Smith
- Ferenc Molnar
- Garrett Lutz
- Sean Fortunato
- Katy Sullivan
- Aja Alcazar
- andres enriquez
- Erin Noel Grennan
- Linda Fortunato
- North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
- on stage
- live theatre
- chicago theatre
- plays Chicago
- Events Chicago
- Skokie
- comedy
- screwball comedy
Thursday, 16 April 2026 12:21
Marriott’s Heartbreak Hotel: The Rise, the Rebirth, the Return
Written by Kimberly Katz
Marriott Theatre’s Heartbreak Hotel takes on the tricky task of charting Elvis Presley’s early ascent, walking the line between the mythic figure we think we know and the unpolished young man still figuring out who he was becoming. What emerges is a brisk, music‑driven portrait that leans into the volatility…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Heartbreak Hotel
- Marriott theatre
- Elvis Presley
- Gladys Presley
- Vernon Presley
- Priscilla Presley
- AnnMargret
- ’68 Comeback Special
- Tyler Hanes
- Rob Lindley
- Jackson Evans
- Sam Phillips
- Colton Sims
- Elizabeth Telford
- Anna Louise Bramlett
- Amanda Walker
- Alexandra Palkovic
- Karl Hamilton
- Naiqui Macabroad
- Fredrick Webb Jr
- Jake Busse
- Zac Richey
- Trevor Lindley Craft
- Melanie Brezil
- Deidre Goodwin
- Scotty Moore
- Bill Black
- Fats Domino
- Ed Sullivan
- Frank Sinatra
- rock 'n' roll
- live theatre
- on stage
- chicago theatre
- Lincolnshire
- Now playing
- Chicago arts
- Performing Arts
- Musical theatre
Monday, 13 April 2026 13:21
Drury Lane’s Father of the Bride Charms with Effortless Fun
Written by Angelo Campos
The 1950s is easy to idealize. Men styled tailored suits, women dazzled in pleated dresses, and everything glimmered like it was in a commercial. Life’s troubles were solved with a talk from pop or a hug from mom – or that’s how it seemed. Drury Lane Theatre’s Father of the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Drury Lane Theatre
- Father of the Bride
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Spencer Tracy
- Steve Martin
- Michael Heitzman
- Joe Dempsey
- Rachel Sullivan
- Kyle Ringley
- Charlie Long
- Aurora Penepacker
- Jake DiMaggio Lopez
- Michele Vazaquez
- Ed Kross
- Maya Hlava
- Curtis Moore
- Oakbrook theatre
- live theatre
- plays Chicago
- Events Chicago
- on stage
- wedding day
- Stanley Banks
Monday, 13 April 2026 00:45
Poor Behavior at Oil Lamp Theatre: When Good Company Goes Bad
Written by Ken Payne
Theresa Rebeck’s Poor Behavior at Oil Lamp Theatre, directed by Lauren Katz, opens with the easy warmth of old friends reconnecting - only to reveal how quickly a shared history can curdle. Within minutes, the play exposes the messy, magnetic dynamics that will drive the evening off the rails. Peter…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 11 April 2026 12:13
BrightSide's Private Lives Bring Public Laughs
Written by Angelo Campos
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone and married someone else – that’s how Noel Coward’s Private Lives sees it. For those unfamiliar with Coward, his scripts have bite and humor that were ahead of its time when they first hit the stage in the 1930s. Today, the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 11 April 2026 12:22
Merry Mischief in Windsor: Chicago Shakespeare’s Fast, Funny Triumph
Written by Wesley David
Shakespeare’s comedies share a familiar architecture: mistaken identity, disguises, intersecting plotlines, a generous helping of prose, and language that delights in wordplay and double entendre. They are also, crucially, driven by sharp, intelligent women who often see more clearly than the men around them. With that foundation in mind, Chicago…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 11 April 2026 00:15
A Spoonful of Magic: Lyric Brings Mary Poppins to Life
Written by Ken Payne
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s film‑with‑live‑orchestra series has become one of the city’s most engaging hybrid arts experiences, transforming the opera house into a cinematic concert hall where classic films gain new dimension through live performance. Recent presentations such as Singin’ in the Rain (February 2025) and Coco in Concert (October…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Mary Poppins
- Lyric Opera of Chicago
- Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra
- orchestra
- Anthony Parnther
- Dick Van Dyke
- Julie Andrews
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- step in time
- feed the birds
- film to concert
- Live Music
- Events Chicago
- msuci Chicago
- Concert
- Chicago
- live orvhestra
- on stage
- Mary Poppins in Concert Live to Film
Friday, 10 April 2026 21:16
At Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Mrs. Krishnan’s Party Feeds the Soul
Written by Wesley David
As I entered the black box studio at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, I’ll admit - I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. Before leaving home, I’d watched the news: the endless cycle of violence, bombings, and that tired “us versus them” narrative that seems to define our moment. My spirit…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 10 April 2026 01:45
Where Rock Meets Ruin: Bat Out of Hell Ignites the Auditorium
Written by Ken Payne
Depending on the source, Bat Out of Hell ranks among the top‑selling albums of all time, so its eventual leap to the stage in 2017 felt almost inevitable. Written by Jim Steinman and performed by Meat Loaf, the album’s grandiose ‘70s sound hardly suggests a post‑apocalyptic narrative, yet that’s the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
More...
Tuesday, 07 April 2026 22:22
Goodman’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Delivers a Powerful Revival
Written by Wesley David
Goodman Theatre’s production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom arrives with the weight of expectation - and under the dual direction of Chuck Smith and Harry Lennix, it does not merely meet that weight, it reshapes it. This is not a revival of August Wilson’s searing text; it is a precise,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Ma Rainey
- Goodman Theatre
- CHUCK SMITH
- Harry Lennix
- august wilson
- E Faye Butler
- Al’Jaleel McGhee
- David Alan Anderson
- Matt Decaro
- Linda Buchanan
- Jared Gooding
- American blues
- Mother of the Blues
- live theatre
- on stage
- Theatre Chicago
- plays Chicago
- Events Chicago
- Chi Theatre
- blues
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Sunday, 05 April 2026 12:51
Eos Turns Ancient Anguish Electric in a Blazing Trojan Women
Sarz Maxwell
I’m going to start with a bit of backstory. In high school we all read (more or less voluntarily) The Iliad, Homer’s poetic exploration of a war that occurred during the Bronze Age yet continues to resonate with twenty-first century significance. Homer focuses (naturally!) on the guys: heroic Greek Achilles…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- The Trojan Women
- Eos Theatre Company
- Bramble Arts Loft
- Greek drama
- Ashway Lawver
- Morgan Lavenstein
- Rachel Sledd
- Brian Weddington
- Ben Page
- Jazmine Mazique
- Liliana Mastroianni
- Morgan Burkey
- Marcus Castillo
- Michael Lesko
- Shayna Patel
- Theatre Chicago
- theatre
- Chicago
- Events Chicago
- plays Chicago
- on stage
- live theatre
Sunday, 05 April 2026 16:38
Intriguing ‘The Sugar Wife’ Is Well Produced, But Its Restraint Is Limiting
Written by Bill Esler
The Artistic Home’s U.S. premiere of this 2024 revival by Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, “The Sugar Wife” is intellectually engaging but rather unemotional given its subject lines: marital infidelity, slavery, sexploitation, hypocrisy. Perhaps that goes with its Quaker storyline, a denomination known for an ascetic simplicity and rigorous moral discernment before engaging…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Nearly a decade after it first upended the American musical, Hamilton returns to Chicago’s CIBC Theatre as part of Broadway In Chicago’s 2026 season, and its cultural voltage hasn’t dimmed one bit. Inspired by Ron Chernow’s book, Alexander Hamilton, Lin‑Manuel Miranda’s genre‑shifting epic — part biography, part political thriller, part…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Hamilton
- Broadway in Chicago
- CIBC Theatre
- live theatre
- Alexander Hamilton
- George Washington
- Aaron Burr
- Thomas Jefferson
- Eliza Hamilton
- Founding Fathers
- Constitution
- on stage
- Events Chicago
- theatre
- Chicago
- hip hop
- Musical
- Lin Manuel Miranda
- Thomas Kail
- AD Weaver
- Jimmie “JJ” Jeter
- Lauren Mariasoosay
- Lily Soto
- Eddie Ortega
Register
Login
Latest Articles
-
Whammy, Indeed: Koechner’s Stand‑Up Evolves at The Den
Written by Ken PayneDavid Koechner stormed into The Den Theatre’s Mainstage this weekend with the kind of unruly, big‑hearted presence that instantly reminded audiences why he had been a comedy fixture for more than two decades. People knew him as the blustering Champ… -
Spaceman: Into the Quiet Terror of the Void
Written by Ken PayneSpaceman, presented by [producingbody], touches down at The Edge Off-Broadway with a quiet, unnerving force, pulling audiences into the fragile headspace of an astronaut drifting far from home and even farther from certainty. Under Eric Slater’s beautifully calibrated direction, playwright…
-
Inside a Real ‘Fire House’ You Are Immersed in Phantasmic Lives of Firefighters
Written by Bill EslerSet in Chicago’s oldest fire station (now Firehouse Art Studio) the immersive play "Fire House” is only loosely tethered to a realistic portrayal of what fire fighters do. What it conveys is an impressionistic vision of the experience that fire… -
Spamalot Is Every Monty Python Fan’s Dream Come to Life
Written by Angelo CamposSpamalot rides into the Windy City courtesy of Broadway In Chicago, inviting theatergoers to join King Arthur’s quest now through May 31 at the CIBC Theatre. Fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail - the 1975 cult classic -…
Does your theatre company want to connect with Buzz Center Stage or would you like to reach out and say "hello"? Message us through facebook or shoot us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.