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Arts & Culture, Theater Preview Oct 30, 2019
Give thanks for some promising November live performances

The table is set this month with theater world premieres, dance works in progress, and comedy with cured meat.
- By Kerry Reid, Irene Hsiao, and Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Theater Preview, Rivendell Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Firebrand Theatre, The Seldoms, Poetry Foundation, Redance Group, North Bar, Pork Show, Becca Brown

Arts & Culture, Fall Theater and Dance Sep 11, 2019
Grit and heart: Arnel Sancianco draws on both for his evocative theater sets

With two major shows opening this fall, the designer's career is booming—but he's focused on making audiences connect emotionally with the world of the play.
- By Kerry Reid
- Tags: Fall Theater and Dance, Arnel Sancianco, Drury Lane Theatre, Writers Theatre, Court Theatre, Haven Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Sideshow Theatre, Rivendell Theatre

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Jan 18, 2019
I Call My Brothers explores the anxiety of being labeled ‘other‘

An Arab-Swede navigates the consequences of a car bomb in Stockholm.
- By Irene Hsiao
- Tags: Theater Review, I Call My Brothers, Interrobang Theatre Project, Rivendell Theatre, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Salar Ardebili, Abhi Shrestha, Sweden, terrorism, Stockholm bombings

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Nov 7, 2018
Recommended
Be patient and The Scientific Method will yield results

The Rivendell world premiere is a thrilling, harrowing ride.
- By Justin Hayford
- Tags: Theater Review, The Scientific Method, Rivendell Theatre, Jenny Connell Davis, Garfield University, Devon de Mayo, Recommended

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Sep 19, 2018
Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? is shocking, but not in the way the playwright intended

Interrobang Theatre Project doesn't do much to redeem its revival.
- By Justin Hayford
- Tags: Theater Review, The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, Interrobang Theatre Project, Edward Albee, Rivendell Theatre

Blogs, Bleader Apr 30, 2018
Jaden Smith and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

The Death of Stalin and more goings-on about town 4/30-5/3.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, jaden smith, lincoln hall, syre, wishbone, west loop, willennial, The Death of Stalin, veep, Armando Iannucci, lean on pete, andrew haigh, 45 years, things to do, lover for a day, philippe garrel, gene siskel film center, the cake, rivendell theatre

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Apr 26, 2018
The plot is ripped from the headlines, but The Cake lets in a whiff of ambiguity

Bekah Brunstetter's play takes its characters to exquisitely complicated places.
- By Justin Hayford
- Tags: Theater Review, The Cake, Rivendell Theatre, Bekah Brunstetter, Lauren Shouse, Tara Mallen, gay marriage, same-sex marriage, wedding cake

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Sep 20, 2017
Five Guys Named Moe, The Funny Papers, and eight more new stage shows to see

A Louis Jordan tribune and a satire of the 21st-century news biz are among this week's best bets.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace, Rivendell Theatre, Karen Kessler, Jennifer Blackmer, Ashley Neal, Jane Baxter Miller, Steve Haggard, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical, Woody Allen, NightBlue, Monica Szaflik, Kevin Bellie, Cole Porter, Let's Misbehave, Five Guys Named Moe, Louis Jordan, Court Theatre, Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens, Saturday Night Fish Fry, Ron OJ Parson, Caldonia, Felicia P. Fields, Abdul Hamid Royal, Clarke Peters, Fuck You, Stephen Hawking!, Sean Benjamin, Carolyn Benjamin, Drinking & Writing Theater, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, The Funny Papers, Benjamin Vigeant, Stephen Winchell, Erica Reid, Wildclaw Theatre, Night in Alachua County, Christopher M. Walsh, Jennifer Rumberger, Allison Cain, 1984, Robert Tobin, AstonRep Theatre Company, George Orwell, Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr., William A. Miles Jr., Amy Kasper, Huggable Riot, Panic! At the Honky Tonk, Destiny Strothers, Elisabeth Del Toro, Lea Ciatsko, Picture It! A Golden Girls Musical, Jeff Bouthiette, Jay Steigmann, MCL, Molly Todd Madison, Beau Nolan, Michael Silver

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature May 3, 2017
Chicago, Lady X: The Musical, and seven more new theater reviews

The hometown return of an iconic show and the tuneful reboot of a camp classic are among this week's best bets.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, Cabaret, Kander and Ebb, No Stakes Theater Project, Erin Shea Brady, Mollyanne Nunn, Emilie Modaff, Erick Rivera, Joe Masteroff, Cory Hardin, Chicago musical, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, William Osetek, Kelly Felthous, Aléna Watters, Rivendell Theatre, The Firebirds Take the Field, Lynn Rosen, Jessica Fisch, Forty-Two Stories, Douglas Post, City Lit Theatre, Scott Westerman, Gloria, Hell in a Handbag Productions, David Cerda, Scott Lamberty, Lady X: The Musical, Chazie Bly, Promethean Theatre Ensemble, The Liar, Pierre Corneille, Josh Hambrock, David Ives, Ed Rutherford, Underscore Theatre, My Name Is Annie King, Krista Pioppi, Alex Higgin-Houser, Aaron Albert, Katy Rea, Raven Theatre, Not About Nightingales, Tennessee Williams, Michael Menendian, Breon Arzell, Chuck Spencer, Brandon Greenhouse, Sophia Menendian, Curious Theatre Branch, Tattered and Wincing, Beau O'Reilly, Ryan Wright, Kelly Anchors

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Jul 28, 2016
Ad Hoc [Home], As You Like It, and nine more new stage shows and revivals

About Face Theatre Youth Ensemble and Arc Theatre make more with less.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, About Face Youth Theatre Ensemble, Ad Hoc [Home], Da Shona Johnson, Arc Theatre, As You Like It, Mark Boergers, The Awake, Ken Urban, First Floor Theater, Theater on the Lake, C.S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis Onstage: A Most Reluctant Convert, Max McLean, The Dead Boy Scout Musical, Philmont Scout Ranch, Eagle Scouts, Bruce Phillips, The Annoyance Theatre & Bar, Desert Cool, Mark Denny, Caleb Fullen, John O'Toole, Raven Theatre, Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys, Mark Stein, Now. Here. This., Rivendell Theatre, Jeff Bowen, Brown Paper Box Co., The Portrait, Gustav Klimt, Cameron Pfiffner, Show & Tell, the Harold, long-form improvisation, iO Theater, Thom Pain (Based on Nothing), Will Eno, Jake Baker, Dear Stone Theater Company, Susan Padveen

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature May 4, 2016
Mike Mother, Best of Enemies, The 180 Degree Rule, and eight more stage shows to see now

A Neo-Futurist performance piece, a drama about an almost unimaginable alliance, and a satire of Hollywood's golden age are among the hits this week.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, iO, Vienna Juvenile, Matt Besser, Layne Dixon, Provision Theater, Best of Enemies, Osha Gray Davidson, Mark St. Germain, C.P. Ellis, Ann Atwater, Rod Armentrout, Felicia Fields, Collaboraction, Anthony Moseley, Rivendell Theatre, Dry Land, Ruby Rae Spiegel, Hallie Gordon, Bryce Gangel, Jessica Ervin, Curious Theatre Branch, The Eviller Twin, Sue Cargill, Stefan Brün, Raven Theatre, House of Blue Leaves, John Guare, JoAnn Montemurro, Kelli Strickland, Sarah Hayes, Lyric Opera, The King and I, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Paolo Montalban, Kate Baldwin, Ali Ewoldt, Rona Figueroa, Matthew Uzarraga, Théâtre du Châtelet, Mike Mother, Neo-Futurarium, Jessica Anne, Mike Hamilton, Marsha Norman, 'Night, Mother, Babes With Blades, The 180 Degree Rule, M.E.H. Lewis, Barbara Lhota, Rachel Edwards Harvith, Lisa Herceg, Stage 773, Skin in the Game, one-act festival, The Living Canvas, Cathedral, Right Brain Project, the Ruckus, Hobo Junction Productions, Organic Theater Company, pH Comedy, Thanks for the Tip, Kayce Alltop, Dan Wright, Jared Miller, Theatre Y, 3 Sisters, Andrej Visky, Melissa Lorraine, Katie Stimpson, Kevlyn Hayes, Anton Chekhov, Earl H.E. Hill, Dan Christmann

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Apr 22, 2015
Recommended
Laura Jacqmin's new play is a requiem for a teenage jerk

Look, We Are Breathing brings to life the aftermath of a death by drunk driving.
- By Tony Adler
- Tags: Theater Review, Look, We Are Breathing, Rivendell Theatre, Laura Jacqmin, Ski Dubai, Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, Megan Shuchman, Brendan Meyer, Tara Mallen, Lily Mojekwu, Brennan Stacker, Recommended

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Aug 14, 2014
Some Men nails the small details—but misses the big picture about the gay rights movement

Pride Films and Plays' solid if sluggish Chicago premiere is the sort of material that's been dramatized more thoroughly and insightfully elsewhere.
- By Justin Hayford
- Tags: Theater Review, Some Men, Rivendell Theatre, Pride Films and Plays, Terrence McNally, the Bible, Harvard University, Yale University, David Zak, Derek Van Barham

Arts & Culture, Culture Vultures Mar 15, 2013
This week’s Culture Vultures recommend:

Cook County Social Club, The Still Point of the Turning World, and CCX
- By Hannah Gold, Janey Lee, and Katie Kather
- Tags: Culture Vultures, Cook County Social Club, J.R. Robinson, sound art, Wrekmeister Harmonies, CCX, The Motherfucker With the Hat, Jimmy Smits, Rushmore, Rushmore, Henri Watkins, David Lawrence, Michael Hahalyak, Elizabeth Williams, improv, Bill Cochran, Mark Raterman, Greg Hess, Brendan Jennings, Tim Robinson, Dan Bulla, Warm Milk, books, Rachel DeWoskin, Emily Rapp, Ronan Louis, iO Theater, Rivendell Theatre

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Jan 16, 2013
Cupcakes bring a man back to life in American Wee-Pie

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble premieres a new play by Chicago's Lisa Dillman.
- By Tony Adler
- Tags: Theater Review, Lisa Dillman, cupcakes, comedy, Megan Carney, Keith Kupferer, American Wee-Pie, Kurt Brocker, Regina Garcia, Jennifer Pompa, Rivendell Theatre

Blogs, Bleader Sep 21, 2012
A queer Hamlet and an earthbound turkey: new Reader performing arts reviews

Fresh reviews from the Reader's performing arts critics
- By Meg Pier
- Tags: Theater, Arts, Comedy, Dance, Hamlet, Writers Theatre, All in the Timing, Bard + Fool Theater Group, Barnstormers, Drinking + Writing Theater, Iphigenia 2.0, Next Theatre, Jitney, Court Theatre, One Nation Under 1%, Second City, People in the City, Dominizuelan, Teatro Luna, Shaw vs. Chesterton: The Debate, Provision Theater, A Skull in Connemara, Shapeshifters Theatre, Spitfire Grill, BoHo Theatre Ensemble, Tusk Tusk, Piven Theatre, What Was Mine to Do, Strangeloop Theatre, Woman in White, Lifeline Theatre, Wrens, Rivendell Theatre, Wrong Mountain, Rare Terra Theatre, Xanadu, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook, Brilliant Corners, Cover Band

Blogs, Bleader May 24, 2012
Rogue elephants and troubled teens: new Reader performing arts reviews

Fresh reviews from Reader theater critics
- By Rebecca Cohen
- Tags: Theater, Arts, Crooked, Sandy Shinner, Rivendell Theatre, After Miss Julie, Patrick Marber, Bang the Drum Slowly, Life Is a Dream, In the Continuum, Night Just Before the Forest, Adam Szymkowicz, Incendiary, The Marvin Gaye Story, Meredith Rae Lyons, Joan's Laughter, Desperate Affection

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Review May 23, 2012
Adolescence without the sexy vampires

Rivendell's Crooked looks straight into the hearts of teenage girls
- By Kerry Reid
- Tags: Performing Arts Review, Rivendell Theatre, Sandy Shinner, vampires, Catherine Trieschmann, dystonia, atheism, Martin McDonaugh, lesbian, grief, guilt, sublimation, the South, teenage girls

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The table is set this month with theater world premieres, dance works in progress, and comedy with cured meat.

With two major shows opening this fall, the designer's career is booming—but he's focused on making audiences connect emotionally with the world of the play.

An Arab-Swede navigates the consequences of a car bomb in Stockholm.

The Rivendell world premiere is a thrilling, harrowing ride.

Interrobang Theatre Project doesn't do much to redeem its revival.

The Death of Stalin and more goings-on about town 4/30-5/3.

Bekah Brunstetter's play takes its characters to exquisitely complicated places.

A Louis Jordan tribune and a satire of the 21st-century news biz are among this week's best bets.

The hometown return of an iconic show and the tuneful reboot of a camp classic are among this week's best bets.

About Face Theatre Youth Ensemble and Arc Theatre make more with less.

A Neo-Futurist performance piece, a drama about an almost unimaginable alliance, and a satire of Hollywood's golden age are among the hits this week.

Look, We Are Breathing brings to life the aftermath of a death by drunk driving.

Pride Films and Plays' solid if sluggish Chicago premiere is the sort of material that's been dramatized more thoroughly and insightfully elsewhere.

Cook County Social Club, The Still Point of the Turning World, and CCX

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble premieres a new play by Chicago's Lisa Dillman.

Fresh reviews from the Reader's performing arts critics

Fresh reviews from Reader theater critics

Rivendell's Crooked looks straight into the hearts of teenage girls

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