Monday, 26 January 2026 12:37
More than $1.76 million awarded to Chicago's small arts organizations and arts advocacy nonprofits from Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation in 2025, with 27 organizations receiving $30,000 or more
Written by Buzz Center Stage
The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation (GDDF) is pleased to announce it awarded more than $1.76 million in grants to 66 of Chicago's small arts organizations and arts advocacy organizations in 2025. Twenty-seven Chicago area arts organizations received multiyear grants of $30,000 or more. Additionally, GDDF granted $725,000 to the Arts Work…
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Thursday, 22 January 2026 18:37
Timeline Theatre’s Biting Production of EUREKA DAY Astounds and Intrigues
Written by Lauren Katz
Let’s face it – in today’s world, “vaccinations” are a hot-button topic. More than ever, anything around health has become highly politicized, and for some, can elicit a deeply emotional reaction. Therefore, consensus is even harder to come by, and for some, even entering the debate feels impossible. Despite all…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 22 January 2026 11:39
The Second City e.t.c. announces Improv Supernova
Written by Buzz Center Stage
The Second City e.t.c. is proud to announce its next hit show Improv Supernova, a fully improvised explosion of comedy starting January 22. While Second City is legendary for both razor-sharp sketch comedy and world-class improv, Improv Supernova is all about the latter: no pre-written material, no scripts, and no safety net. Fueled by audience suggestions and inspired…
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Upcoming Theatre
Wednesday, 14 January 2026 14:31
Invictus Theatre Company announces its 2026 season
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Invictus Theatre Company, whose summer 2025 production of the two-part epic, ANGELS IN AMERICA, was named top Chicago theatre production of the year and "the best non-Equity production here since before the pandemic" by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Chris Jones, has announced programming for its 2026 season. All performances will be…
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Upcoming Theatre
Saturday, 10 January 2026 13:21
Echoes in the Opera House: BrightSide's 'Phantom' A Concert Triumph
Written by Kimberly Katz
As a lifelong Phantom of the Opera devotee in every form it takes, I was genuinely delighted to see BrightSide Theatre tackling Phantom in Concert. As the title promises, this version reimagines Gaston Leroux’s classic novel as a sweeping musical experience. With actors reading from scripts accompanied by a full…
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Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 06 January 2026 14:15
Black Ensemble Theater announces plans for the 50th Anniversary Season
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Black Ensemble Theater celebrates 50 years of its mission-based theater with a full season of musicals and special events. The season opens with the return of one of its biggest national hits The Jackie Wilson Story, followed by Muddy Waters: The Hoochie Coochie Man, the celebration of You Can't Fake the Funk: A Journey Through Funk Music and the…
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Upcoming Theatre
Monday, 22 December 2025 14:22
Kokandy Productions Announces 2026 Season
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Hot off their record-breaking runs of Jekyll & Hyde and Amélie the Musical, Kokandy Productions is back in 2026 with three full productions, including their first play with music. The season begins with the revolutionary "love-rock" musical HAIR, taking over the Chopin Theater Mainstage for an exhilarating summer of hope and fury. Splashes of tie dye…
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Upcoming Theatre
Wednesday, 17 December 2025 13:01
Music Theater Works Announces International Recognized Drag Artist and "RuPaul's Drag Race's" Mrs. Kasha Davis as "Edna Turnblad" in its 2026 Production of HAIRSPRAY
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Producing Artistic Director Kyle Dougan-LeBlanc and Music Theater Works are proud to announce that Mrs. Kasha Davis will star as “Edna Turnblad” in the upcoming production of Hairspray, Dec. 17, 2026 - Jan. 3, 2027, directed by Keely Vasquez, choreographed by Reneisha Jenkins and music directed by Linda Madonia, in the George Van Dusen Theatre, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts…
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Monday, 15 December 2025 11:24
Review: Couch Penny Ensemble's 'Everybody' at Greenhouse Theater Center
Written by Maddie Burroughs
A quick disclaimer for this review: Couch Penny Ensemble's Everybody, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, is written with a caveat for anyone who dares to perform it. At the start of each performance, the actors are randomly assigned their roles by lottery, creating 120 possible cast combinations. In other words, the Everybody I…
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Theatre in Review
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Monday, 15 December 2025 11:14
Review: Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol at Studebaker Theater
Written by Maddie Burroughs
As someone who is ever the cynic about telling the same old stories every year under the guise of tradition, A Christmas Carol rarely draws me in. Manual Cinema’s latest production, however, takes a Christmas classic and makes it new again. Told through the eyes of a narrator who shares…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 12 December 2025 14:54
Jane Lynch & Kate Flannery Return to Steppenwolf in THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Steppenwolf Theatre is pleased to present five-time Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch, the hilariously charming Kate Flannery and The Tony Guerrero Quartet in The Trouble With Angels, a raucous night of comedy, song and unapologetic mischief playing four performances only, April 9 – 11, 2026 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St in Chicago. Tickets cost $79 - $149*. A special Steppenwolf…
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Upcoming Theatre
Thursday, 11 December 2025 13:29
Playwrights’ group THE VIVERO granted a three-year residency at City Lit Theater
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the cast for Porchlight in Concert production Follies, starring (in alphabetical order) Michelle Duffy (Broadway's Leap of Faith, Drury Lane's Sister Act) as "Phyllis Rogers Stone," Alexander Gemignani (Broadway's Assassins and Sweeney Todd) as "Buddy Plummer," Angela Ingersoll (Jeff Award winner for…
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Theatre Buzz
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Monday, 08 December 2025 12:14
Outrageous, Heartfelt, and Hilarious: Jinkx & DeLa’s Holiday Magic Lands in Chicago
Written by Maddie Burroughs
Now in its eighth year, global drag icons and RuPaul’s Drag Race stars BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon are back on tour with The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show – a hilarious, unhinged, and queer production that pushes the boundaries of the holiday spectacle. The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show has touched…
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Theatre in Review
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Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl returns to Paramount Theatre to perform folk dances from Mexico’s different regions, Thursday, July 30th
Written by Buzz Center StageImmerse yourself in the enchanting wonder, vibrant magic and joyous celebration that is Mexican folkloric dance when Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl presents its 43rd Anniversary Concert, Thursday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown… -
Oak Park Festival Theatre's 51st Season Opens with HAMLET and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Written by Buzz Center StageFor the first time in company history, Oak Park Festival Theatre presents two productions in repertory: William Shakespeare's HAMLET and Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Though separated by centuries and radically different in tone, both plays explore questions of identity, performance,…
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Guest’s New Andy Warhol Play A Study in Primo Theater
Written by Mitchell OldhamWhen Terry Guest left Atlanta and arrived in Chicago ten years or so ago, a bracing reality check caused the young actor to make a bold pivot. Three years of auditions and zero bites on the acting front, he turned… -
Intimate and Unflinching: The Last Five Years at Oil Lamp Theater
Written by Angelo CamposWhen Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years premiered at Chicago’s Northlight Theatre in 2001, it flipped the traditional rom-com musical blueprint on its head. Off came the rose-colored glasses, and what was presented was an intimate, searing, and structurally…
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*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.