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News. Criticism. Gossip. The shows not
to be missed — and the shows to avoid at all costs. The Theater Loop is hosted by
Chris Jones, chief theater critic for the Chicago Tribune. We're the online destination for breaking news and reviews of Chicago-area theater, from the downtown shows to suburban theaters to the off-Loop scene. Stop here often to feel the pulse of America’s most vibrant theater city. Plus coverage of Broadway and beyond, and reviews from Tribune writer
Nina Metz and contributor
Kerry Reid.
About Tribune theater critic Chris Jones |
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HOT NEW FACES: Our annual picks
of 10 young actors to watch for on Chicago-area stages.
2010 JEFF AWARDS: "Chad Deity" to "Ragtime," the winners of the Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards.
DEAR MR. NEW MAYOR: An open letter about the arts in Chicago, and how to follow in Richard M. Daley's remarkable footsteps. Plus
HEAR FROM MORE TRIBUNE CRITICS.
WHAT SHOWS FOR KIDS? What's the right age to bring your child to "Lion King"? To "Billy Elliot"?
SAME WHEN WE'RE OLDER? Pondering age for artists, critics and audiences.
"BILLY ELLIOT": When Elton John
first got to know a young dancer named Billy. |
REVIEW from the Oriental Theatre
MEET CHICAGO'S BILLYS: Sid Smith takes a few moments with Tommy Batchelor, Giuseppe Bausilio, J.P. Viernes and Cesar Corrales. |
SLIDESHOW of photos
Shows are rated on a ★★★★ scale
"The Absolute Best Friggin' Time of Your Life" ★ ★ ★ ★ Open run at Second City e.t.c.
"Aftermath" ★★★½ Through Dec. 12 at Signal Ensemble Theatre
"At Home at the Zoo" ★★★½ Through Oct. 31 at Victory Gardens Theater
"Billy Elliot the Musical" ★ ★ ★ ★ Through Nov. 28 at the Oriental Theatre
"A Brief History of Helen of Troy" ★★★ Through Nov. 13 at Steep Theatre
"A Chorus Line" ★★★★ Through Oct. 31 at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire
"Detroit" ★★★½ Through Nov. 7 at Steppenwolf Theatre
"The Four of Us" ★★★½ Through Dec. 4 at Theatre Wit
"Feast" Through Nov. 13 by the Albany Park Theatre Project
"The Hundred Dresses" ★★★½ Through Dec. 2 at North Shore Centre for Performing Arts
"The Lion King" ★★★★ Through Nov. 27 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
"Million Dollar Quartet" ★ ★ ★½ Through May 29 at the Apollo Theater
"Night and Day" ★★★ Through Nov. 14 by Remy Bumppo at the Greenhouse
"Scorched" ★★★½ Through Nov 21 by Silk Road at the Chicago Temple Building
"The Seagull" ★★★ Through Nov. 14 at the Goodman Theatre
"She Loves Me" ★★★ Through Nov. 21 at Writers’ Theatre
"Speed-the-Plow" ★★★★ Through Oct. 31 at American Theater Company
"Thieves Like Us" ★★★ Through Oct. 30 at the Chopin Theatre
"To Kill a Mockingbird" ★★★★ Through Nov. 18 by Steppenwolf for Young Audiences
"To Master the Art" ★★★ Through Dec. 19 at TimeLine Theatre
"Peter Pan" Through Dec. 12 at Lookingglass Theatre
"The Lonesome West" Through Dec. 19 at The Gift Theatre
"The War Plays" and "Stalk: The Musical"
"K." Through Nov. 28 by The Hypocrites at Chopin Theatre
"Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde"
and "Choose Thine Own Adventure"
"Hamlettes" Through Oct. 26 at Gorilla Tango Theatre
"Me Too, I Am Catherine Deneuve"
and "Dracula: A Tragedy"
"Three Sisters" Through Nov. 21 at the Piven Theatre Workshop
"McMeekin Finds Out" Through Nov. 14 at the Victory Gardens Biograph
"Sweet Bird of Youth" Through Nov. 28 at The Artistic Home
"The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story" Through Nov. 7 by First Folio at Mayslake Peabody Estate
"State of the Union" and "Lullaby"
"1985" Through Nov. 7 by Factory Theater at Storefront
"Company" Through Nov. 14 by Griffin Theatre at Stage 773
"The Franklin Expedition" and "A Delicate Balance"
"Zulu Fits" Through Nov. 7 by MCPAACT at Greenhouse Theater Center
"Obscura: A Voyeuristic Love Story" Through Oct. 23 at Red Tape Theatre
"The Lady's Not for Burning" Through Oct. 31 at the No Exit Cafe
"Seven Snakes" and "DIALogues"
"The Wedding Singer" Through Oct. 31 at Circle Theatre
"Candide" Through Oct. 31 at the Goodman Theatre
"Wuthering Heights" Through Oct. 31 at the Lifeline Theatre
"That Pretty Pretty; or the Rape Play"
and "The Sound of a Yellow Flower"
"Menorca" Through Oct. 16 at the 16th Street Theater
"Romeo and Juliet" Through Nov. 21 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
"Sunday in the Park With George" Through Oct. 31 by Porchlight at Stage 773
"Louis Slotin Sonata" Through Oct. 24 by A Red Orchid Theatre
"Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies" Open run on the Second City Mainstage
"The Addams Family" at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
"American Idiot" at the St. James Theatre
"Avenue Q" at the Golden Theatre
"Billy Elliot" at the Imperial Theatre
"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" at Bernard B. Jacobs
"Bye Bye Birdie" at the Roundabout Theatre
"Fela!" at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre
"Hair" at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre
"In the Heights" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
"La Bete" at the Music Box Theatre
"A Life in the Theatre" at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
"Memphis" at the Shubert Theatre
"Million Dollar Quartet" at the Nederlander Theatre
"Next to Normal" at Booth Theatre
"The Pitmen Painters" at the Friedman Theatre
"Promises, Promises" at the Broadway Theatre
"Race" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
"Rock of Ages" at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre
"The Scottsboro Boys" at the Lyceum Theatre
"Sondheim on Sondheim" at Studio 54
"South Pacific" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
"Time Stands Still" at the Friedman Theatre
"West Side Story" at the Palace Theatre
"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" at Belasco
Jerry Bock, the composer of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' is dead at 81
'Aftermath,' 'The Hundred Dresses': If you must close a hit, at least bring it back
Sam Shepard headed to town — and more news of the day
'Lonesome West' at Gift Theatre: Crazy brothers come to blows in McDonagh's rural Ireland
Levi Kreis in a million-dollar concert at the Apollo
'To Master the Art': In telling Julia Child's story, TimeLine Theatre finds a recipe all its own
'The Scottsboro Boys' on Broadway: Minstrels, cruelty and longing
'Peter Pan' at Lookingglass Theatre: This frenetic 'Pan' peters out quickly
REVIEW UPDATE: 'Billy Elliot the Musical' at the Oriental, still soaring with grand new Billy
'The Addams Family' has a Broadway replacement for Nathan Lane
"August: Osage County"
"Billy Elliot the Musical"
"Million Dollar Quartet"
"Shrek the Musical"
"The Addams Family"
16th Street Theatre
500 Clown
A Red Orchid Theatre
About Face Theatre
Actors Theatre Company
Albany Park Theatre Project
American Blues Theater
American Musical Theatre Project
American Players Theatre
American Theater Company
Annoyance Theatre
Apple Tree Theatre
Arie Crown Theatre
Artistic Home
Athenaeum Theatre
BackStage Theatre Company
Bailiwick Chicago
Black Ensemble Theatre
Blair Thomas & Co.
Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Broadway
Broadway in Chicago
Broadway Playhouse
Building Stage
Chicago Children's Theatre
Chicago Dramatists
Chicago Muse
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Circle Theatre
Cirque du Soleil
City Lit Theater
Collaboraction
Congo Square Theatre Company
Court Theatre
Dog & Pony Theatre Company
Drury Lane Theatre
Eclipse Theatre
Elephant Eye Theatricals
Factory Theater
First Folio Theatre
Gift Theatre
Goodman Theatre
Greenhouse Theater Center
Griffin Theatre
Hell in a Handbag Productions
Hoover-Leppen Theater
House Theatre of Chicago
Hypocrites
i.O. Theater
Infamous Commonwealth
Joseph Jefferson Awards
Just For Laughs
Lifeline Theatre
Light Opera Works
Live Bait Theater
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Marriott Theatre
Mary Arrchie Theatre
Mercury Theatre
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Neo-Futurists
New Colony
Next Theatre
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Northlight Theatre
Obituaries
Pegasus Players
Piven Theatre Workshop
Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Profiles Theatre
Provision Theatre
Raven Theatre
Ravinia Festival
Redmoon Theater
Redtwist Theatre
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Rosemont Theatre
Route 66 Theatre Company
Royal George Theatre
Second City
Shattered Globe
Side Project
Sideshow Theatre Company
Signal Ensemble Theatre
Silk Road Theatre Project
Stage 773
Stage Left Theatre
Steep Theatre
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Strangeloop
Stratford Festival
Strawdog Theatre
Teatro Vista
Teatro ZinZanni
Theater Oobleck
Theater Wit
Theatre at the Center
Theatre Building Chicago
Theatre Seven
Theatre-Hikes
Theo Ubique Theatre Company
TimeLine Theatre
Tony Awards
Trap Door Theatre
TUTA Theatre
Uptown Theatre
Victory Gardens
Writers' Theatre
November 2010 posts
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