Chris Jones – Page 24

Aaron Tveit (Freddie Trumper), Lea Michele (Florence Vassy) and cast in "Chess" on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre in New York. (Matthew Murphy)

Review: ‘Chess’ on Broadway is ridiculously fun ’80s entertainment

November 17, 2025 at 9:21 a.m.

The new Broadway version starring Lea Michele makes no excuses for a musical with perhaps the most loathsome group of characters ever written.

Audrey Billings, Brandon Dahlquist, Michael Mahler and Dara Cameron in "It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!" by American Blues Theater in 2023. (Michael Brosilow)

Top 10 holiday shows in Chicago for 2025: Are you Scrooge, George Bailey or Jinkx this year?

November 16, 2025 at 8:02 a.m.

From the many shows on Chicago stages for the holidays, many of them familiar, we make our list of the 10 best bets this year.

Kaylah Marie Crosby (as Agnès), Aysia Slade (Odette) and Sierra Coachman (Maude Lynn) in "The House That Will Not Stand" by Invictus Theatre Company at the Windy City Playhouse. (Aaron Reese Boseman)

Review: ‘The House That Will Not Stand’ tells a complicated story from pre-Civil War New Orleans

November 14, 2025 at 1:03 p.m.

Invictus Theatre is cementing a reputation as the home of epic American drama, staging Marcus Gardley's drama about slavery, marriage and liberty.

Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in "Oedipus" on Broadway at Studio 54 in New York. (Julieta Cervantes)

Review: ‘Oedipus’ on Broadway feels like a tense, modern-day thriller

November 13, 2025 at 10:00 p.m.

Mark Strong leads a top-flight cast in Robert Icke's adaptation of the Greek tragedy, imported from the West End.

Maya Drake as Ali in the North American tour of the musical "Hell's Kitchen." (Marc J. Franklin)

Review: ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ arrives in Chicago with an amazing young singer in the Alicia Keys role

November 13, 2025 at 10:26 a.m.

This semi-autobiographical jukebox musical of Alicia Keys songs has arrived in Chicago with a remarkable cast, better singers than on Broadway.

Alicia Keys performs with the Broadway cast of "Hell's Kitchen" during the Tony Awards at Lincoln Center in New York on June 16, 2024. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Alicia Keys talks about her fiery life, her musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and her family in Chicago

November 12, 2025 at 5:45 a.m.

Her semi-autobiographical Broadway musical is now on a North American tour that will bring it to Chicago this week.

Tony Adler in San Miguel, Mexico, in March 2025. Adler was a longtime arts writer and critic in Chicago. (Beth Herman Adler)

Tony Adler, a Chicago critic, writer and Walt Whitman devotee, dies at 71

November 11, 2025 at 10:46 p.m.

He was a longtime critic for the Chicago Reader and contributed frequently to the Tribune. He was also a Walt Whitman devotee, hosting a yearly event with his wife that...

Andrea San Miguel, Phoebe Gonzalez and Benjamin Mathew in "As You Like It" at Writers Theatre in Glencoe. (Jenn Udoni)

Review: ‘As You Like It’ at Writers Theatre is a Shakespeare musical with a lot to say

November 10, 2025 at 3:21 p.m.

Collaborators Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery created this adaptation for Central Park in 2022; it's now at Writers Theatre in Glencoe.

Kristin Chenoweth and cast in "The Queen of Versailles" on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in New York. (Julieta Cervantes)

Review: Kristin Chenoweth stars as a very human ‘Queen of Versailles’ in a Broadway musical that skips the moralizing

November 9, 2025 at 11:00 p.m.

A whopping Broadway show called "The Queen of Versailles" needs a resplendent monarch reigning at its heart, played with great sincerity by Kristin Chenoweth.

Chicago magician Walter King Jr., aka The Spellbinder, performs "Diary of a Black Illusionist" at the Magic Lounge. (Sarah Elizabeth Larson)

Review: The Spellbinder has Wednesday night crowds under his spell at the Magic Lounge

November 5, 2025 at 5:15 a.m.

Walter King Jr.'s show, titled "Diary of a Black Illusionist," is both classic retro and very current and cool.

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