Theater – Page 35 –

Puppeteers Felix Mayes and Kevin Michael Wesson, with a puppet by Grace Needlman, in a production by Rough House Puppet Arts of Chicago. The company is contributing to this year's Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. (Evan Barr)

Chicago Theater Report: Puppet Festival shows, Idina Menzel at the Lyric and other upcoming hot tickets

By Chris Jones

November 3, 2026 at 3:51 p.m.

Along with a sneak peek at this year's Puppet Festival, we have news about a...

Isidora Kowalchuck, left, and Audrey Ollier playing Wilbur and Fern in LATTE Theater’s production of "Charlotte’s Web.” (Felicia Pfluger)

La Grange’s LATTE Theater takes ‘Charlotte’s Web’ production on the road

By Hank Beckman

November 3, 2026 at 6:02 a.m.

LATTE Theater Company of La Grange is introducing a new wrinkle to its fall production...

Sadieh Rifai, Katrina Lenk and Wendy Mateo in "Adirondack Chair Circle" at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)

Review: Stacked decks in ‘Adirondack Chair Circle’ at Steppenwolf Theatre

By Chris Jones

November 2, 2026 at 1:03 p.m.

Steppenwolf is staging the world premiere of a predictable moral satire that's mostly designed to...

Natalie Merchant leaps as she performs a song during the Mother Goose & the Cabinet of Wonder show with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago’s Loop, May 9, 2026. (Josh Boland/baiduhai)

Musician Natalie Merchant brings Mother Goose and other rhymes to life for the next generation with Cabinet of Wonder

By Darcel Rockett

May 12, 2026 at 1:21 p.m.

Melding music, play and Mother Goose tales, singer Natalie Merchant worked with the Chicago Symphony...

A baby enjoys the Australian version of "RAIN: for babies and their carers." (ArtPlay)

Theater’s newest audience: Babies

By Nina Metz

January 1, 2026 at 1:44 p.m.

Chicago's Filament Theatre has created a sensory performance installation for babies.

Alana Arenas (as Morgan), Kara Young (Aziza) and cast in "Purpose" on Broadway at the Hayes Theater in New York. (Marc J. Franklin)

Best Broadway of 2025: ‘Purpose,’ George Clooney and ‘Boop!’ in our top 10

By Chris Jones

December 29, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

Our list of the best shows on New York's Great White Way this past year...

Garrett Forrestal plays Jerry Lee Lewis during a 2024 performance of "Million Dollar Quartet" at the Paramount's Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora. Previously set to run through Jan. 4, 2026, the show will now have a spring run from March 4-May 31, 2026, theater officials said. (Liz Lauren)

Paramount extends run of ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at Stolp Island Theatre in Aurora

By Aurora Beacon-News

December 26, 2025 at 9:40 a.m.

Paramount Theatre’s musical "Million Dollar Quartet" at the Stolp Island Theatre in downtown Aurora has...

Sondra Radvanovsky in "Medea" by Lyric Opera of Chicago. (Cory Weaver)

Best of 2025: Top 10 performances on Chicago stages this year

By Chris Jones

December 26, 2025 at 5:45 a.m.

Beginning with Sondra Radvanovsky at the Lyric and including Steppenwolf's Caroline Neff as well as...

Michael Metcalf (as Oliver Warbucks) and Elin Joy Seiler (as Annie) in "Annie" by Music Theater Works at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. (Brett Beiner)

Review: ‘Annie’ by Music Theater Works has a warm-hearted orphan and an over-the-top ending

By Emily McClanathan

December 22, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Family is the most important thing in this longtime favorite musical by Charles Strouse, Martin...

Blake Montgomery in "Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again" at Theater Wit. (Joe Mazza)

Review: ‘Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs “A Christmas Carol” Again’ (and again) at Theater Wit

By Chris Jones

December 18, 2025 at 11:52 a.m.

Blake Montgomery's solo show at Theater Wit both pokes holes in our annual obsession with...

Glenn Davis, co-artistic director at the Steppenwolf Theatre, is the Chicagoan of the Year in Theater, Dec. 11, 2025, in Chicago. Davis was a producer for the Tony and Pulitzer award wining play “Purpose.” (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Chicagoan of the Year in Theater: Glenn Davis is helping lead Steppenwolf into a new era

By Chris Jones

December 18, 2025 at 5:45 a.m.

Along with moving to Broadway with the Pulitzer Award-winning play "Purpose," he and co-artistic director...

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance is Erin Kilmurray, a choreographer and dancer and the creative force behind the popular "Fly Honey Show," on Dec. 8, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance: Dancemaker Erin Kilmurray looks for what’s next after ‘Fly Honey’

By Lauren Warnecke

December 18, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

The genre-defying, femme-forward burlesque "Fly Honey Show" was a force in DIY dance but won’t...

Dancers from the Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet perform during a dress rehearsal of The Nutcracker by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky in London's Royal Festival Hall, Tuesday Dec. 21, 2004. The show runs from Dec. 22 to Jan. 9, 2005. (AP Photo/John D McHugh)

Today in History: ‘The Nutcracker’ opens

By Associated Press

December 18, 2025 at 4:00 a.m.

On Dec. 18, 1892, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg,...