Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
Podcast episodes and video related to theater and performance art in Chicago including reviews, interviews and other information.
Written in 1978 by Ira Levin DEATHTRAP holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway, offering multiple plot twists over two acts with one set and five characters. This now classic play presented by Madkap Productions onstage at the Skokie Theatre will capture you …
Taking place in New Orleans around 1813, the dialog by playwright Marcus Gardley skillfully explains that Napoleon has recently sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States and with statehood, the status of many free people of color and those of mixed-race heritage is going …
Beginning in the 1950s and ending in the 1970s Mr. Kelly’s on Rush Street was the premiere Chicago nightclub featuring some of the most popular entertainers of the period. The documentary film, “Live at Mr. Kelly’s” directed by Ted Bogosian is about 90 minutes long …
Ashland Avenue at The Goodman is a humorous and poignant look at the end of an era. A dusty TV store on Ashland Avenue in Chicago is the flagging flagship of a once great regional empire that boasted multiple locations. Over his tenure owner Pete …
The Chicago premiere of Amélie the Musical by Kokandy Productions based on the popular motion picture is a highly recommended musical mosaic, composed by Daniel Messe, whose colorful jagged pieces eventually come together into an enjoyable if not perfectly clear image. Not a musical in …
Buddha’s Birthday, is a story of academic prejudice and unresolved anxiety written by Amy Crider produced by Lucid Theater at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago through August 17, 2025. Run time 2 hours with no intermission. Visit www.lucidtheater.com for tickets and more information. …
Tom & Eliza is a fairly brilliant example of absurdist theater written by Celine Song, expertly directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy and beautifully performed by Clifton Frei as Tom and Seoyoung Park as Eliza. EXTENDED: TOM & ELIZA will take a two-week hiatus after its …
Podcast review of FOREVER PLAID by Reno Lovison. Presented by MadKap Productions at Skokie Theater, the performance is reminiscent of a nightclub act from the fifties channeling the sounds of singing groups like the Four Freshmen, Four Aces or The Crew Cuts. * * *EXTENDED …
MadKap Productions live up to their name in this production of Stephen Sondheim’s ridiculous musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the Skokie Theatre outside Chicago, directed by Wayne Mell. The story ostensibly takes place in ancient Rome spoofing the …
Highly recommended. Extended through August 3, 2025 Tragic, hilarious, loud, energetic, fun and heartwarming, The Color Purple on stage at Goodman Theatre is nearly three hours of nonstop entertainment featuring an outrageously talented cast. Full Company of The Color Purple The Musical (in alphabetical order)Directed …
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, concludes its 49th Season with Noah Diaz’s whimsical, wild, unpredictable and deeply moving Chicago premiere of You Will Get Sick, directed by Artistic Director Audrey Francis extended through July 20, 2025 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets …
A laugh-out-loud comical attack of geopolitical humor invades Lookingglass Theater in “Iraq but Funny.” Playwright / performer Astra Asdou recalls the history of the Assyrian people through this semi-autobiographical story of five generations of the women in her family. The production has an improvisational vibe, …