Tuesday, 19 May 2026 15:27
Chicago Magic Lounge welcomes back fan favorite Ondřej Pšenička for a limited run this summer
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Chicago Magic Lounge, Chicago's home for close-up magic, announces the return of world-renowned magician Ondřej Pšenička in a limited run of his hit show 52 Lovers, directed by Stepan Gajdos. Spend an evening with one of magic's most inventive contemporary voices in 52 Lovers, an intimate performance presented up close in Chicago Magic Lounge's Harry Blackstone…
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Upcoming Theatre
Tuesday, 19 May 2026 15:19
Porchlight's FREE Summer Concert Series Returns - BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the return of its free summer concert series Broadway in your Backyard, July 6 - September 19, sponsored by Chicago Free For All Fund. Broadway in your Backyard is directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber, music directed by Linda Madonia and starring Tafadzwa Diener, Nik Kmiecik, Juwon Tyrel Perry and Bethany Thomas. For more information go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Now…
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Upcoming Theatre
Tagged under
- BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD
- Porchlight Music Theatre
- Chicago Free For All Fund
- Michael Weber
- Linda Madonia
- Tafadzwa Diener
- Nik Kmiecik
- Juwon Tyrel Perry
- Bethany Thomas
- Northcenter Town Square
- Welles Park
- Berger Park
- Washington Square Park
- Navy Pier
- outdoor theatre
- summer theatre
- live theatre
- on stage
- Chicago plays
- Chicago events
- free performance
Tuesday, 19 May 2026 15:15
Ian Frank named Shattered Globe Theatre’s new Producing Artistic Director
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre announced today that Ian Frank has been selected, following a national search, to be the company’s new Producing Artistic Director. Frank comes to Shattered Globe from Mudlark Theater in Evanston, where he has been the Executive Director since 2023. “On behalf of the Shattered Globe Theatre…
Published in
Theatre Buzz
Tuesday, 19 May 2026 15:09
OPERA FESTIVAL OF CHICAGO PRESENTS VERY VERISMO! JUNE 13 AT THE JARVIS OPERA HALL
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Opera Festival of Chicago opens its 2026 festival season with Very Verismo!, that includes a VIP reception and a captivating concert celebrating the richness and beauty of Italian opera through works by leading verismo composers. The concert takes place Saturday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jarvis Opera Hall in the Holtschneider Performance Center at…
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Upcoming Theatre
Tagged under
- Opera Festival of Chicago
- Jarvis Opera Hall
- Very Verismo
- DePaul University School of Music
- La Boheme
- Giacomo Puccini
- North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
- Sasha Gerritson
- Emanuele Andrizzi
- Adriana Lecouvreur
- Francesco Cilea
- Skokie
- George Van Dusen Theatre
- Shifra Werch
- Opera Festival of Chicago Orchestra and Chorus
- Opera
- Chicago
- chicago theatre
- live theatre
- live opera
- Chicago events
- on stage
- Giordano
- Mascagni
Monday, 18 May 2026 13:34
A Red Orchid’s The Targeted Builds a Case for Compassion
Written by John Accrocco
If you’ve ever worked in an urban coffee shop, chances are you’ve encountered at least one ultra-paranoid kook who believes the government is spying on them. Often they’re filling out long journals or manifestos. Or perhaps that one crazy uncle we all seem to have who believes in way too…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 18 May 2026 16:40
Couch Penny Ensemble presents An Oak Tree by Tim Crouch, running June 19-July 5 at the Greenhouse Theater Center
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Two actors. One has rehearsed the play. The other has neither seen nor read it. A different performer joins the show each night. The play is as new to them as it is to you. The result is unpredictable and ephemeral. An Oak Tree is a meditation on identity, loss,…
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Upcoming Theatre
Saturday, 16 May 2026 11:02
No Dialog, Yet Strongly Affecting, Trap Door's 'Le Bal' Is Like Nothing You've Seen
Written by Bill Esler
Can you have a play run 90 minutes with no dialog? Indubitably, as Trap Door Theatre demonstrates with its new production, “Le Bal.” Adapted to the stage by Stephen Buescher, it is inspired by a 1983 French film of the same title. Of the absence of dialog, one Trap Door…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 17 May 2026 00:30
Rocky in Concert Delivers a Knockout Night Despite Technical Stumbles
Written by Ken Payne
Marking Rocky’s 50th anniversary, Rocky in Concert arrived at the Auditorium Theatre in a highly anticipated Auditorium Philms presentation featuring the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra performing Bill Conti’s score live. The setup is simple but effective: the film plays above the stage while the Philharmonic brings new clarity and presence to…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Rocky in Concert
- Rocky Balboa
- Rocky
- Chicago Philharmonic
- Auditorium Theatre
- Boxing
- Oscar Winner
- classic film
- Auditorium Philms
- Sylvester Stallone
- Carl Weathers
- Burgess Meredith
- Talia Shire
- orchestra
- orchestra with film
- movies
- live orchestra
- Bill Conti
- James Olmstead
- Chicago events
- things to do in chicago
Friday, 15 May 2026 13:34
A New Home, A Necessary Warning: Timeline’s Enemy Lands Hard
Written by John Accrocco
Timeline Theatre unveils their chic, new Uptown home with its inaugural production–Henrik Ibsen’s ever-relevant “An Enemy of the People”. A streamlined text by acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog cuts right to the bone in this fast-paced version straight from Broadway. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Timeline chose to open…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Timeline Theatre
- An Enemy of the People
- Maren Robinson
- Will Allan
- Behzad Dabu
- Campbell Krausen
- Amy Herzog
- Ron OJ Parson
- John Culbert
- on stage
- live theatre
- Chicago plays
- Chicago events
- Now playing
- henrik ibsen
- TimeLine Uptown
- Chi Theatre
- Uptown Chicago
- Public Health Crisis
- Political Drama
- Civic Responsibility
More...
Friday, 15 May 2026 20:31
C'est Drôle: Tartuffe, or, The Charlatan brings classic humor to Wrigleyville theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
While many of my classmates were signing up for Spanish classes, I thought it would be terribly useful to sign up for French. French? In Southern California? What good would that possibly do? A degree and several trips to French-speaking countries later, and I’m proud to say French is not…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 15 May 2026 12:34
Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces 40th Anniversary Season
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) Artistic Director Edward Hall and Executive Director Kimberly Motes announce today the company's 40th Anniversary Season. America's leading Shakespeare Theater curates a season rooted in Shakespeare and Chicago with a complement of world-class contemporary work—emblematic of the Theater's global, yet unmistakably Chicago perspective. Celebrating four decades of vivid and entertaining performances…
Published in
Theatre Buzz
Tagged under
- Chicago Shakespeare Theater
- Edward Hall
- Kimberly Motes
- 40th Anniversary Season
- Shakespeare
- Play On!
- Duke Ellington
- Sheldon Epps
- The Winter's Tale
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Romeo y Julieta
- Henry Godinez
- Reunion in Bartersville
- Jerry Dixon
- Heartbreakers
- chicago theatre
- Chicago plays
- Musical theatre
- Chicago events
- live theatre
- on stage
- Chicago stage
Tuesday, 12 May 2026 16:41
OAK PARK FESTIVAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES 51ST SEASON "HAMLET" AND "THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST"
Written by Buzz Center Stage
The Oak Park Festival Theatre, Oak Park's premiere Equity theatre and the oldest professional classical theatre in the Midwest, today announced the casts and production teams for its Summer 2026 productions of William Shakespeare's HAMLET and Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Presented in repertory for the first time in company history, the productions run concurrently…
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Upcoming Theatre
Tuesday, 12 May 2026 16:35
METROPOLIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE ANNOUNCES ITS UPCOMING 2026-27 SEASON INCLUDING RIDE THE CYCLONE, THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER, DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID, THE MATCH GAME AND RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S OKLAHOMA!
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, located in the heart of downtown Arlington Heights at 111 W. Campbell St., is proud to announce its 2026-27 season launching with Ride the Cyclone, September 16 - October 18; followed by a Chicago-rooted holiday classic The Christmas Schooner, November 24 - January 3, 2027; an in-concert production of Disney's The…
Published in
Upcoming Theatre
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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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