Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
Podcast episodes and video related to theater and performance art in Chicago including reviews, interviews and other information.
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, …
Feeling controlled by outside forces, two people on the opposite ends of life are each trying to manage their own destiny in the Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s “Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues” at American Blues Theater. Isolation is a concern that often goes unaddressed. Details: …
The world premiere of Neighborhood Watch at Jackalope Theatre is a humorous look at what can happen when curiosity leads to suspicion. Recommended. “There is a lot to enjoy in this sitcom style production that relies heavily on broad humor and predictable stereotypes.” Written by …
What if robots take over the world? What would be their relationship to humans? Would it be a carefree utopia with happy automatons cheerfully laboring away while people enjoy a life of leisure or will the robots develop ideas and aspirations of their own, eventually …