Chicago favorite Renee Matthews has been much in demand since walking away from this year's "Jeff" Awards with Best Supporting Actress in a Musical honors. Matthews parlayed her salty, chain-smoking, tough-talking pianist Jeanette in "The Full Monty" at Drury Lane Water Tower Theatre into a showstopping tour de force. Next up for the.... Read More
Chicago actor Sean Allan Krill turned down an opportunity to recreate the same role in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" that he played on the National Tour for the Marriott Theatre's local regional premiere. It seems he will be counting his "Money, Money, Money" by starring in the ABBA song and dance sensation "Mamma Mia." Krill,.... Read More
Chicago's resident company of the blockbuster musical Wicked is booking tickets well into 2006, but look for a few changes over at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre. Both Ana Gasteyer (Elphaba) and Kate Reinders (Glinda) will be exiting the Stephen Schwartz hit when their contracts end in late January. .... Read More
Little Women - The Musical based on the classic novel by Louise May Alcott, is coming to the Cadillac Palace Theatre where it will play from Tuesday, January 24th through Sunday, February 5th. Recording, concert and theater start Maureen McGovern, who starred in the show on Broadway, will headline the tour.
Maureen McGovern, .... Read More
Chicago audiences may be able to talk to the animals after all. The on-again, off-again touring stage production of the Leslie Bricusse musical 'Doctor Doolittle" is back on the schedule for Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre July 18-30, 2006. Legendary song and dance man Tommy Tune not only takes the lead but the directorial reins.... Read More
Chicago Jewish Theatre, the only professional theater in the Chicago area dedicated to celebrating and illuminating Jewish history, culture and identity, will be relocating to Skokie in July of 2006.
The theatre, which has occupied their own 50-seat storefront space in Andersonville, at 5123 N. Clark Street since 2003, will.... Read More
Chicago actor David New has been named as the new Associate Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. New replaces Curt Columbus, who left Chicago to become the new artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island.
New's Steppenwolf acting credits include roles in 'The Royal Family," 'The Ballad of Little Jo," 'Valparaiso,".... Read More
Breakthrough legislation which makes doing business with the city easier for live theaters in Chicago was published and made effective officially last week at the December 7th Chicago City Council meeting.
The new legislation, ushered through by 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller, establishes a brand new Performing Arts Venue (PAV) license.... Read More
George Gershwin Alone, Hershey Felder’s international production, and the first installment of the composer trilogy, which played to sold out houses for an entire year at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre, will return to the stage for a limited holiday engagement. Performances will run December 23 - January 8 at Chicago's Royal George .... Read More
Ray Frewen received a lump of coal in his Christmas stocking this year. According to an industry source, the much-lauded Artistic Director of Drury Lane Oakbrook was handed his walking papers when he attempted to collect a pay check for directing Drury Lane's children's production of "A Christmas Carol." Frewen was a co-writer as well as.... Read More
The opening of The LaSalle Bank Theatre, which was formerly the Shubert Theatre, has been pushed back until at least spring 2006. The refurbished theatre was originally scheduled to open in late January, however the reopening has been delayed because, of all things, an archaeological dig.
.... Read More
John Mahoney will return to the Goodman for the first time in 15 years to join the cast of Mamet’s most recent play, Romance. Mahoney—best known for his work on the television show Frasier and last seen at the Goodman in the critically acclaimed 1989/90 Mamet adaptation of Anton Chekov’s Uncle Vanya—will portray.... Read More
Though best known to audiences around the country as the energetic host of The Learning Channel's "Trading Spaces," Paige Davis has a long history in the musical theatre. She starred as Babette in the first national tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and has also been seen in productions of A Chorus.... Read More
John Malkovich made his name with Chicago's Steppenwolf theatre company. Now he has family so he says he is sticking to film
Malkovich started out in theatre as a co-founder of Steppenwolf in 1976 - his fellow troupers included Gary Sinise, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Allen and Terry Kinney - and estimates he must.... Read More
The 2005 Joseph Jefferson Awards, which celebrate excellence in the Chicago area’s Equity theatre community, were presented on November 7 at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place. A total of 29 theatre companies received nominations at the 37th annual event.
A total of 120 Equity productions by 51 Chicago producing companies were judged during.... Read More
Legendary stage director Sir Peter Hall has withdrawn from Lyric Opera of Chicago's premiere production of Sir Michael Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage that he was to have directed, William Mason, the Lyric's general director announced in a press release. The company has attributed Hall's departure from the production as stemming.... Read More
"The Pirate Queen," an epic musical tale from the writers of "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon," will open in Chicago next year on its way to Broadway.
The show, which will begin performances Oct. 3, 2006, at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, features a book and score by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg..... Read More
Edmund De Santis is a celebrated playwright and a founding member of the celebrated Harbor Theatre Company in New York City. De Santis has written many plays, including the award-winning Recensio, Thinking and Other Positions and American Subways to name a few. He is also coming to Chicago in November to see the Chicago.... Read More
The company of the sit-down production of Wicked at Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts have organized a benefit evening to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity/Operation Home Delivery, which will aid the recently displaced hurricane victims around the country.
The Nov. 14 evening, entitled There's No Place Like Home, will.... Read More
Chicago's Curt Columbus, head of the summer Theatre on the Lake and associate artisitc director at Steppenwolf Theatre is leaving the Chicago Theatre scene to become the artisitic director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island.
In addition to his duties at Steppenwolf and Theater on.... Read More