Top Rated Plays In Chicago - Theatre In Chicago

Welcome to the greatest rock 'n' roll show not on Earth! LOKI arrives at Asgard, bringing chaos, comedy, and three monstrous (maybe) children. LOKI tangles with Odin, Thor, and the mysterious Freya; each with their own agenda; their own secrets-but all paths lead to one eternal question: In an us vs. them world, can we envision a new mythology? Ensemble member Heather Currie directs this epic musical world premiere from the Jeff award-winning team of Howe and Calvit.

Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
Chicago Stage and Screen- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
Chicago On Stage- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Highly Recommended

Million Dollar Quartet

Paramount Theatre

Four Legends. One Night. Music History Made. You may have loved Million Dollar Quartet in 2017 at Paramount Theatre - now imagine it set in Sun Studio itself. The new Stolp Island Theatre will be designed to immerse you in the experience so you can say "I was there!" On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins had a chance encounter at Sun Studio in Memphis. What transpired ?was one of the greatest impromptu jam sessions in music history.

Daily Herald- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Chicago Culture Authority- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

Crime and Punishment

TUTA Theatre

Dostoyevsky’s epic novel distilled into a 90-minute play for three-actors and performed in TUTA’s hyper-intimate 24-seat theater. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT focuses on the plight of an intellectual young man whose moral struggle with his belief system compels him to commit a horrendous crime. A psychological game of cat and mouse ensues with the investigator who hunts him down. Dreams, waking visions, even ghosts paint this psychological portrait of crime, guilt, and retribution.

Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
Splash Magazine- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

The Hula-Hoopin` Queen

Young People's Theatre of Chicago at The Greenhouse Theater Center

Evanston playwright Gloria Bond Clunie's sweet, funny, and energetic adaptation follows three Harlem girls as they vie for the crown of Hula-Hoopin' Queen! Championed by Oprah Winfrey, this Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" award-winner is a joyful reminder of the essentials that bind our communities.

Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
Werner's Theatre Reviews- Highly Recommended

Pandemonium, Please Hold

Second City

The Second City's 114th Mainstage Revue delivers a high-energy night of sketch and improv, led by a fearless ensemble who bring outrageous characters, show-stopping musical numbers, and audience-driven moments to life - making every performance feel alive and ever-changing. Smart, sharp, and ridiculously funny, the show transforms the chaos of everyday life into something shared, cathartic, and unapologetically hilarious.

Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Curtain Call Chicago- Highly Recommended
Splash Magazine- Highly Recommended
Allie and the After Party- Highly Recommended

An Enemy of the People

TimeLine Theatre Company

When a respected doctor in small-town Norway makes a deadly discovery that threatens the health of the entire village, he raises the alarm. But as local leaders—including his own brother, the mayor—scramble to protect their own interests, the truth becomes inconvenient, and the doctor finds himself the target of the very community he’s trying to protect. Winner of the 2024 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Adaptation, this vibrant new version of Ibsen’s thunderous masterwork asks: what happens when doing the right thing means losing everything?

Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
Chicago Sun Times- Recommended
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews- Highly Recommended
Chicago Stage and Screen- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
The Fourth Walsh- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
Curtain Call Chicago- Highly Recommended
Werner's Theatre Reviews- Highly Recommended

Job

Writers Theatre

Jane, an employee at a big tech company, has been placed on leave after video of her screaming breakdown at work went viral. Her employers tell Jane she must be evaluated by crisis therapist Loyd before she can be reinstated to the job that gives her life meaning. Their first session together, however, quickly escalates into an epic showdown with a shocking and disturbing twist. A Broadway and Off-Broadway sensation, this intense psychological thriller skewers the insidiousness of the internet, the meaning of work and the ramifications of a secret revealed.

Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Recommended
MaraTapp.org- Highly Recommended
Evanston Roundtable- Highly Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

Both

Teatro Vista at Steppenwolf Theatre

Xochi is dealing with a lot: a difficult pregnancy, a new relationship, a family that can't stand her and the loss of her twin brother Sebastian, who was declared missing last year. As she tries to navigate her life (and keep her sanity), the impossible happens: Sebastian reappears. Her family is overjoyed, but Xochi is suspicious: where has he been? And why does this version of Sebastian seem so different than the one she knew? BOTH is an eerie examination of family, love, memory and which version of the truth is the one worth believing.

Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
Chicago Stage and Screen- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Recommended
Broadway World- Highly Recommended

Goodnight Moon

Chicago Children's Theatre at The Station

This musical based on Margaret Wise Brown’s beloved children’s book is drenched in primary colors that pay homage to Clement Hurd’s vivid illustrations in an all-new, immersive setting. Catchy songs, delightful dancing, a technicolor set, the quiet poetry of the original tale, and the humorous antics of one very nocturnal bunny all play a part in this fun, family-friendly celebration of one of the most iconic children’s books of all time.

Chicago Tribune- Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
Chicago On Stage- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Highly Recommended

Octet

Raven Theatre

In a church basement meeting room, a group of people -always eight-gather to sing. Told via chamber-inspired, a cappella music, OCTET investigates the total impact of internet and technology addiction on modern society, from Dave Malloy, writer of Tony-winning NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812.

Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
Chicago Sun Times- Somewhat Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Chicago Stage and Screen- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
Curtain Call Chicago- Highly Recommended
Werner's Theatre Reviews- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

Covenant

Goodman Theatre

Expect one devilish twist after another in Covenant, a mythic and suspenseful new play hailed as "blackout-and-blood-curdling-scream deliciousness" (New York Magazine),"undeniably spooky (and) absolutely enjoyable" (TheaterMania). He left the small Georgia town a struggling guitarist-and returned a blues star. As rumors of a darker deal abound, it becomes clear that he's not the only one with a secret...or seeking salvation. This "striking Southern gothic work" (New York Times) explores the power of belief and the thin line between rumor and truth.

Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended
Daily Herald- Highly Recommended
Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
The Fourth Walsh- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
Chicago On Stage- Recommended
Curtain Call Chicago- Highly Recommended
Splash Magazine- Highly Recommended
Allie and the After Party- Recommended
Broadway World- Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Recommended

Windfall

Steppenwolf Theatre

This is a story about money. Don't let them fool you otherwise. When Mac loses his child in a clash with the local police, he is visited by three strangers who advise him to take the city's cash settlement, relocate and forget his grief - or else stay and remain impoverished surrounded by memories of the world his child fought so hard to protect. This world premiere from Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney explores how grief, justice, sexuality, gender, history and even pride become secondary concerns in the wake of currency.

Chicago Tribune- Recommended
Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended
Daily Herald- Highly Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
The Fourth Walsh- Highly Recommended
Third Coast Review- Recommended
Chicago Theater and Arts- Recommended
MaraTapp.org- Highly Recommended
Curtain Call Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Culture Authority- Highly Recommended
Splash Magazine- Recommended
Werner's Theatre Reviews- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

Always...Patsy Cline

American Blues Theater

This musical play, complete with down home country humor and big-hearted emotion, includes hits "Crazy", "I Fall to Pieces", "Sweet Dreams", "Walkin' After Midnight" and more!

Chicago Tribune- Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
Chicago On Stage- Recommended
People and Places- Highly Recommended

Ruthless The Musical

Citadel Theatre Company

8-year-old Tina Denmark is a charming, sociopathic child star who’ll stop at nothing to land the lead role in her school musical. As her ambitious mother, Judy, transforms from a naive housewife to a Broadway diva, Tina’s psychotic drive for fame escalates, leading to a hilariously dark and twisted musical journey.

Windy City Times- Highly Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theater and Arts- Recommended
Chicago On Stage- Recommended
Spotlight On Lake- Highly Recommended
Splash Magazine- Highly Recommended
NewCity Chicago- Recommended

Eelpout!

Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit

Sven Svensen and Ole Olsen have been best buds since kindergarten, but all that changes on the morning of Ole's ice-fishing bachelor party. Could they be something more than friends, or is Sven destined for something even more wild and strange. This fantasia on Midwestern masculinity invites us to consider the limits of Queerness. Dream ballet included.

Chicago Tribune- Somewhat Recommended
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
Windy City Times- Highly Recommended
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
Buzz Center Stage- Highly Recommended
MaraTapp.org- Highly Recommended
Broadway World- Recommended

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