Miller's ambitious and personal 1964 masterpiece explores a new sense of non-linear theatricality in its powerful study of one man's search for meaning through his memories and relationships. Images and scenes intertwine, illuminating his humanity and probing into the revealing, often painful events of his past.
What would you be willing to sacrifice for eternal love? Elton John and Tim Rice's beautiful and moving rock musical transports us to Egypt in the time of pharaohs and pyramids. Featuring a stellar cast of 20 and choreography by the modern dance company Deeply Rooted, this first production of the show in Chicago since the Broadway tour promises to be the theatrical event of the summer.
Billy Elliot the Musical is the funny, heartwarming tale of a young boy with a dream, and a celebration of his triumph against the odds. Set against the historic British miners' strike of the 1980s, the story follows Billy's journey as a boy in a small mining town who, after stumbling across a ballet class while on his way to a boxing lesson, realizes that his future lay not in the boxing ring but on stage as a dancer.
Blue Man Group is best known for its award-winning theatrical productions which critics have described as "ground-breaking," "hilarious," "visually stunning" and "musically powerful." These performances feature three enigmatic bald and blue characters who take the audience through a multi-sensory experience that combines theatre, percussive music, art, science and vaudeville into a form of entertainment that is like nothing else.
Embraced by Chicagoans and visitors alike as “Chicago’s Summer Circus,” Cirque Shanghai will perform once again this summer at the 1,500-seat, canopied, open-air theater at Navy Pier. This daring spectacle, breathtaking artistry, and the sheer joy of its dazzling young cast make Cirque Shanghai: Cloud 9 a brand new theatrical experience for audiences of all ages, with acrobats careening from sway poles suspending high above the stage, gravity-defying ladder balances, a unicyclist riding atop a spinning umbrella , the fun and skill of "hat juggling," and featuring "Imperial Thunder," China's finest daredevil motorcycle troupe riding precariously in steel globe center stage at Pepsi Skyline Stage.
Anderson plays Doug, a newly released petty criminal, forced to take reluctant residence with his sister’s husband, their teenage son, and a tank of tropical fish. The rehabilitation process, both absurdly funny and heartbreakingly sad, is by no means limited to the ex-con.
The second of three thematically-linked new dramas, “Hesperia” follows Claudia, a former porn star, as she takes a new name and a new faith in the Midwestern cornfields of Hesperia. Her fiancée Trick, an idealistic youth minister, shepherds her in her new life. But when Ian, her former partner-in-porn and childhood best friend, follows her, the whole community is affected, and Claudia must decide on whose terms she will be saved. “Hesperia” explores the complications of conversion and the depth of sacrifice necessary to become born-again. A gentle story of innocence and redemption, the RBP asks the audience to question the role sexual power plays in our relationships and in our own personal sense of identity.
The first collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be performed on the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar illuminates the transcendent power of the human spirit with a passion that goes straight to the heart. The production features a stirring score including “Superstar”, “Everything’s Alright” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”. In Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus is portrayed as a prophet / rock star whose appeal stems as much from the crowd’s energy as from his own inspirational message. Jesus' meteor-like rise in renown provides, as the title suggests, a parallel to contemporary celebrity worship. As his radical teachings are evermore embraced, Judas increasingly questions the enlightened motives of this new prophet, resulting in betrayal. In this production, Christ's final days are dramatized with emotional intensity, thought-provoking edge and explosive theatricality.
The superheroes of The League Of Awesome have done it again. A villain has been vanquished, the city's fears have been quelled, newspapers have their story and all is well. See, they decided to punish this villain by trapping him inside a Hardy Boys book. Yeah, it was a little unconventional. Sure, they know that. But it's not like The SorrowMaker, a horrible evil mastermind who inflicted sadness upon an entire city, is gonna get out of the book. Zoe, Sylvia, Penny, Kitty & Rumble wouldn't let him escape. I mean....come on! What are they gonna do, accidentally create another hero who is clueless enough to join Drake's forces or something? That's ridiculous! They'd have to be drunk to do that! Now let's watch them celebrate their victory over him with mojitos.
Adapted by Ensemble Member and Artistic Director David Catlin from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Lookingglass Alice is a muscular, acrobatic, and dizzyingly playful show for all ages. This Alice falls, floats, flies, defies gravity and the rules of logic during her wonderland journey through the looking glass to become a queen. With a juggling Mad Hatter, a precariously balancing Humpty Dumpty, and a bumbling Knight who invents his way into Alice’s heart, Lookingglass Alice revisits the stories that inspired the founding of Lookingglass Theatre Company twenty years ago.
Medieval Times is an exciting, family-friendly dinner attraction inspired by an 11th century feast and tournament. Guests are served a four-course banquet and cheer for one of six knights as they compete in the joust and other tests of skill. Expect lots of jousting, swordsmanship, thrilling hand-to-hand combat, and displays of extraordinary horsemanship as part of an exciting story set in Medieval Spain.
On December 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. The place was Sun Records’ storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was the “Father of Rock-n-Roll,” Sam Phillips, who discovered them all. The four legends-to-be united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording session that embodied the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time.
Listen to "Talk Theatre In Chicago" for an interview with Gigi Pritzker who co-produced Million Dollar Quartet.
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Written by Joe Plummer and produced and directed by Jackie Taylor, “Nothin But The Blues” stars Rhonda Preston as Theresa Needham, the infamous owner of the South Side Chicago blues club Theresa’s Lounge. Black Ensemble Theater will come alive with dancing, drinking and of course, the blues. “Nothin But The Blues” will explore the magic of the blues as well as the lives of those who celebrated it.
Once on this Island is a musical love story set in the beautiful Caribbean islands. Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy and the classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid, Once on this Island tells the story of Ti Moune, a poor peasant girl who falls in love with an upper-class gentleman named Daniel. The island gods of Love, Earth, Water, and Death try to manipulate the young lovers on a fateful journey that tests the strength of their love. The show features a contemporary, calypso-flavored score by the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime). An enchanting story for all ages, Once on this Island received eight Tony Award Nominations in 1991, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.
If you knew your fate—would you accept it? Or try to change it? Bee is a young woman who believes she has an uncanny ability to see the future, and maybe even alter it. From the playwright and Tony Award-winning director who brought you The Unmentionables and The Pain and the Itch comes this dark, funny world premiere about a woman bent on reinventing her own destiny—and possibly the world.
When Pinkalicious eats one too many pink cupcakes, she catches a case of Pinkitis and turns pink from head to toe! It'll take the wisdom of her broccoli-eating little brother to help her get out of this predicament. Don't miss this smash hit musical's Midwest premiere, based on the popular book by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann.
The Legendary Second City comes to Metropolis for a limited engagement run of their mega-hit musical comedy revue, Rod Blagojevich Superstar. It’s a monumentally hilarious comedy about the rise and fall of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, hair and all. The now famous show was featured on NPR, Good Morning America and ABC and NBC Nightly News and was nearly sold out in Chicago for seven months. Laugh out loud at this comedic gem as they sharply skewer Illinois’ cast of political characters, especially the most well-coiffed Illinois Governor ever. Don’t miss this wickedly funny comedy, playing only at Metropolis.
Shrek The Musical tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales.
Blanche DuBois, an aging southern belle, arrives unexpectedly on the doorstep of her sister Stella and her explosive brother-in-law Stanley. Over the course of one hot and steamy New Orleans summer, Blanche’s fragile façade slowly crumbles, wreaking havoc on Stella and Stanley’s already turbulent relationship. Embodying the turmoil and drama of a changing nation, A Streetcar Named Desire strips Williams’ tortured characters of their illusions, leaving a wake of destruction in their path.
Sugar originally debuted as the widely known film Some Like it Hot, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and the blonde goddess, Marilyn Monroe. The film then was transformed into the musical Sugar, which opened at the Majestic Theater in 1972, running for 505 performances and earning four Tony Award nominations. In this side-splitting musical, two struggling musicians witness what appears to be the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and try to find a way out of the city under the threat of the mob. Unfortunately, they are in no position to finance such a move. Desperate times call for desperate measure and the pair take on the only job available—as an all-female band heading to Florida. The cross-dressing frauds board a train and ride right into a world of trouble.
"Sweet and Hot" is musical revue of Harold Arlen’s famous, toe-tapping songs, including Over the Rainbow from the film The Wizard of Oz and voted the #1 song of the 20th century. Arlen composed all songs from the movie as well other perennial favorites as It’s Only a Paper Moon, Stormy Weather, Get Happy and Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive.
Listen to "Talk Theatre In Chicago" for an interview with Fred Anzevino, the Artistic Director and one of the founders of Theo Ubique Cabaret Listen
Mixing modern American story-telling devices with the traditions of Greek theatre to bring you a hilarious and heart-wrenching tale of a boy in search of his past. As the curtain opens on the play “That Sordid Little Story,” the stage is set for a concert celebrating the latest release from the band, That Sordid Little Story, in 1963. However, as the story continues stories, music, themes, plots and stories combine, collide and clash. At first, the album eerily reveals aspects of Billy’s life but as his journey across America begins, Billy’s actions affect the rest of the album. Leaving the audience to ask the question; “Is Billy in charge of his own life or is his destiny and his future already decided for him?”
Listen to "Talk Theatre In Chicago" for an interview with Artistic Director Andrew Hobgood, writers Will Cavedo and Benno Nelson, and Music Director Henry Riggs, as they talk about That Sordid Little Story. Listen
There are bums. There are tramps. There are hobos. And then there’s Tony. Some guys just can’t fit in. Fine artist, poet and storyteller Tony Fitzpatrick delves into the Hobo Alphabet for a musically-entertaining, visually-rich and never dull night of theater. With returning side-kick Stash: aka Stan Klein, mean-guitarist John Rice, and new guest vocalist Kat Eggleston.
Fitzpatrick’s "This Train" was developed with Ann Filmer for 16th Street where all tickets were sold-out before it even opened in its premiere in Berwyn. Now THIS TRAIN returns with some additional material, an intermission (so Tony may take a smoke break), and with Kat Eggleston coming in from Seattle.
When Viola is shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria, she must re-invent herself as a man in order to survive. After she falls in love with the Duke, though, she must choose between love and loyalty. Directed by Artistic Associate Michael Goldberg, this tale of mistaken identities is a tour-de-force of romance and laughter.
