Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
In “Changing Channels” at City Lit Theater in Chicago through April 12, 2026. Maggie Carlin (Kat Evans) and boss Eddie Gilroy (Orion Lay-Sleeper) abruptly learn that creating what will become an iconic TV comedy show is not all fun and games. Currently appearing on the …
Music Theater Works’ production of CATS at Skokie’s North Shore Center for the Performing Arts is a nonstop “catcaphony” of frenzied feline fun. With elements of musical theater, dance, opera and acrobatics there is definitely something for everyone. CATS is a must-see for anyone looking …
On one level this is a joyous expression of the Irish people through song but it is also a reminder of pain and struggle but with a wink and nod because Frank McCourt wants us to see the absurdity of life and the humor in being human.
You’ll probably love this if you’re of Irish heritage because of the familiarity of the songs and background message. If you’re a few generations removed or have no Irish heritage you will likely find some insight into this segment of America that makes up about 10% of the overall population.
The Irish and How They Got That Way by Porchlight Theatre Company is at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, through March 15, 2026. Runtime is about 110 minutes with one intermission. Tickets are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight box office at 773.777.9884.
This podcast concludes with an original live rendering of Danny Boy recorded by Reno Lovison at the Roots Room a few years ago.
Be sure to click through and listen to the entire review.
More about Irish music– Learn about Chief O’Neill, the Chicago policeman who saved Irish music.
There are two good reasons to see Harvey, by St. Sebastian Players. One is the humorous quirky Pulitzer Prize winning script by Mary Chase and the other is the exceptional performance of Jeff Broitman as Elwood Dowd, the pleasant oddball fellow whose companion and best …
Confederates by playwright Dominique Morrisseau and directed by Aaron Reese Boseman is the level of writing and performance I hope to see when attending a play. This intimate drama at Redtwist Theater delivers a message of unconscious bias and institutional slavery put into motion generations …
The highlight of The Dance of Death at Steppenwolf is the outstanding set design of Collette Pollard, that dominates the stage. Featuring an impressive, ancient, oppressive, dimly lit three story plaster and brick edifice, that apparently was a former jail, it is now the military home of a company commander and his wife located on an offshore island.
Set in Scandinavia sometime in the late 19th or early 20th Century, Alice (Kathryn Erbe) and Edgar (Jeff Perry) will soon be marking the 25TH anniversary of their mostly unhappy marriage. The structure serves as a physical representation of the couple’s own feelings of entrapment and isolation.
The two are alienated from their community, their extended family, their teenaged children and most importantly from each other.
Edgar is an aging soldier who only feels alive when there is conflict in his life, while Alice a former actress requires constant drama.
The arrival of an old friend Kurt (Cliff Chamberlain) offers an opportunity for distraction as each try to engage him as an ally, but ultimately, they treat him more like a mouse that has wandered in and is unable to find his way out, becoming simultaneously an object of amusement, intrusion and torment.
Details: Dance of Death at Steppenwolf, 1650 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, through March 22, 2026. Runtime about 2 and a half hours with one intermission. For tickets visit Steppenwolf.org or call (312)335-1650.
Be sure to click through and listen to the entire podcast.
There are two more plays coming up this weekend so if you are a current subscriber there will be a flurry of activity in your inbox from us. But keep in mind we drop podcasts as things occur rather than on a regular schedule so it can be rather uneven in terms of frequency.
My goal is also to keep my podcasts short ( around 5 to 7 minutes or so) to provide informative, actionable, informative and hopefully at least occasionally entertaining advice and insight.
Reviewer: Reno Lovison
“Holiday” at The Goodman is a fresh world-premiere adaptation of the classic boy meets girl – – boy meets girl’s sister romcom by Richard Greenberg based on the original 1928 version by playwright Philip Barry and featuring an outstanding cast. This is a …
If you’re a subscriber or regular listener to our podcast this is going to be a busy week. Beginning with this review of Company at Skokie Theater, followed immediately by Holiday at the Goodman Theater then Dance of Death at Steppenwolf followed by Confederates at …
By Reno Lovison
February has started out with a mix of interesting one-off events which I did not include as a podcast episode because I try to reserve those for events that run awhile, giving listeners a chance to see them based on my comments.
However, there are often times when one-off events deserve a mention so that performers can get recognition for their efforts and alert others – – not to what they’ve missed – but to artists they should be paying attention to and looking out for in the future.
Old Town School
To begin – – thanks to Paul Sailor for alerting us to a concert at the Old Town School on Lincoln that took place Friday, 2/6/2026. Paul is my wife’s cousin and is based in Central Illinois. He’s a devotee of 80s power-pop rock band “Modern Drugs.” The band includes Ryan Groff (vocals & guitar), Cara Maurizi (vocals & keys), Alan Honeycutt (bass & vocals), Mallory Simonds (guitar & vocals), Jim Standerfer, (drums).
“Modern Drugs” was the opening act for “A Congress of Starlings,” an indie folk group performing in the venue’s Myron R. Szold Music & Dance Hall, to kick off their new LP “Orphans.”
“Orphans” is a collection of songs composed by front performer, Aerin Tedesco a passionate birder, with several solo albums including Birthmark, Faun Songs, and Albedo (recorded with Congress of Starlings).
Tedesco apparently has a large flock of fellow bird lovers, no doubt attributable to their name and the number of songs devoted to birds in their repertoire. She is joined on stage by Andrea Bunch (guitar and vocals) as well as Greg Nergaard (bass), Janet Cramer (drums) and Lindsay Weinberg (keys, guitar, and vocals). Interestingly Tedesco plays a four-string tenor guitar that offers a slightly more unusual sound and nice vibe. Ryan Groff and his band mates joined “Starlings” on guitar and vocals for a few numbers.
Blues at Fitzgerald’s
Another cousin, Saint Louis based, Luke Sailor will be playing keyboards with GA-20 featuring Tony Holiday at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn Thursday, February 12, 2026.
GA‑20 is known for raw, vintage‑leaning electric blues. Tony Holiday has been described as soul‑inflected, groove‑forward, modern blues.
Luke is a natural fit for Holiday —stylistically aligned, tonally appropriate, and already connected to that scene. His St. Louis soul‑jazz background aligns perfectly with Holiday’s Memphis‑leaning blues. His organ/piano versatility gives Holiday more dynamic options—swampy organ pads, gospel‑leaning fills, or punchy R&B comping. His credits with Dylan Triplett and other blues/soul artists show he’s already fluent in this lane.
Candlemas Home Concert
My wife Julie Lovison presented a candlelight home concert lit by over fifty candles (safe LED bulbs, in our living room) featuring five piano works of Claude Debussy plus a few impromptu performances by guest pianists.
The event was inspired by Candlemas celebrated in France and throughout Europe. Based originally on an ancient Roman festival it was modified to fit Catholic traditions and used to welcome the coming of spring including longer hours of daylight. Eventually in the United States it morphed into Groundhog Day.
Julie was looking for a good excuse to do a French inspired home recital and this seemed like as good a reason as any. The event was enjoyed by family and friends of The Lake Shore Music Studio where she is director – – providing piano lessons for all ages.
Music Box
It’s nice to be appreciated even more than 50 years after the fact. A short 8mm film that my brother Dave Powell and I created when we were teens was “featured” in a showing of home movies curated by Agata Zborowska presented at the Music Box Theater in Chicago.
Our film was part of a small collection of 8mm films that I contributed to an archive as part of a project Agata is working on in conjunction with the University of Warsaw preserving the legacy of Chicagoans with Polish Heritage. The archive digitized the films and preserved the originals for posterity.
Agata explained that she included our “Moon Landing” re-creation in the offering as it stood out as a creative effort rather than a traditional documentary film. Admittedly it was oddly satisfying seeing it projected on a big screen in front of a live audience and hear their chuckles.
Chicago International Puppet Festival Bonus Review
The puppet festival has concluded but contributor Kim Campbell has written a bonus review of “The Left Hand of Darkness” produced by Untitled Theater Company No. 61 (with additional support by Yara Arts Group) based on a popular book of the same name. I’ve added that review to the Puppet Festival page on our website for your enjoyment.
Upcoming Podcast Theater Reviews
In February I will be reviewing the following plays. Subscribers will be alerted via email when the podcasts are available. If you’re not a subscriber please consider subscribing now.
Company by Madkap Productions at Skokie Theater
Holiday at The Goodman Theatre
Dance of Death at Steppenwolf
Confederates at Redtwist
The Irish and How They Got That Way at Ruth Page
Harvey at St. Sebastian Church
Cats at Music Theatre Works in Skokie
Special Lunar New Year Announcement
South-East Asia Center is having a Lunar New Year Celebration at Furama Restaurant in Uptown on February 21, 2026. $40 includes entertainment and family style luncheon.
UPDATE: The 10-time 2025 Jeff Award–nominated musical JEKYLL & HYDE will make its Broadway In Chicago debut at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St.), September 8—October 25. For those unfamiliar with the 1886 original story of Jekyll and Hyde – …
NOTE: Look for a BONUS REVIEW added at the bottom of this review page.
There will be 100 puppet-based events over 12 days in Chicago this January from the Chicago International Puppet Fest running January 21st to February 1st 2026.
Besides the festival, there are other Puppet & Puppet Adjacent Stuff to See:
This year we reviewed over 30 Chicago plays and events. This podcast recaps favorites and highlights of the 2025 season plus a few ideas for 2026.
We have prepared both an audio and a video version of this podcast.
Some productions mentioned include:
Iraq But Funny, Amelie, Color Purple, Tom & Eliza, Galileo, Hedda Gabler
and a few more plus favorite costume designer, set designer and favorite Chicago theater company.
Special thanks to Kim Campbell who contributed two podcasts this year and just submitted a third that will technically be the first for 2026.
I’m planning to experiment in 2026 with some more video podcasts as well as the audio versions, we’ll see how it goes.
Be sure to click on the one you prefer to listen or view right here at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com then be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. if you are not already a subscriber. You can do so at our website, at youtube.com, Spotify or where ever you prefer to listen to podcasts.
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