Kill Hannah frontman Mat Devine chatted with Do312 last week about his experiences as a cast member of the Broadway disaster-in-the-making Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. It's notable for being one of the few positive things we've read about the production since professional theatre critics got tired of waiting fo the show to finish previews and filed a torrent of scathing reviews last week. more ›

Mat Devine is headed to Broadway. No, we can't believe it either. more ›

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists take the next logical career step: Broadway. more ›

You're probably dying to know what the Theatre Office did over our winter break instead of writing li'l bits of brilliance for you, our adoring fans. Right. Well, we're going to tell you anyway. more ›

We know The Hypocrites Our Town is good, but now, it's officially the best. The acclaimed production, which moved to New York almost a year ago, is the longest running production of the play. Ever. Considering it's a very commonly produced play - more than 4,000 performances according to The New York Times - that's quite an accomplishment. This production, Off Broadway at the Barrow Street Theater, broke the record set by the original Broadway production from 1938. more ›

Superior Donuts, playwright Tracy Letts' follow-up to blockbuster hit August:Osage County, will close on Broadway in January, according to playbill.com. As we've written many times before, the show originated at the Steppenwolf, and a booking period through March has originally been on schedule for the show's run at the Music Box Theatre. The critics generally enjoyed the show, but unfortunately, Broadway longevity is not the easiest thing to come by. more ›

In case you plan your theater-going 4 months in advance, tickets for the much-anticipated Chicago-run of West End, then Broadway, blockbuster Billy Elliot went on sale yesterday. The show is scheduled to open in March and could be the next Jersey Boys or Wicked. According to the Tribune, the show will play for as long as it makes money. We enjoyed the show in London but we have no idea what the Chicago production will be like. We'd say it's worth the gamble, though. more ›

We really hope the Nederlander Theatre isn’t cursed, like we said last week. After the fateful closing of Cromer’s plays, another Chicago show will fill the theater. Million Dollar Quartet, which celebrated its one-year anniversary at the Apollo Theater last Thursday, is making the Broadway transfer in the spring. more ›

Broadway doesn’t love Chicago as much as it led on. Just one week after the opening of Chicago director David Cromer’s Broadway debut with Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, producers posted a closing notice for Sunday and cancelled plans for Broadway Bound, another Cromer-directed Simon show scheduled to open in a few weeks. Memoirs received mixed reviews, but apparently it needed rave reviews to live on. The show didn’t do well in the box office and advance ticket sales were weak. more ›

Despite what you may think, we don’t set out to be cruel. But, in the case of Cats, showing this weekend at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, rather than pointlessly ridiculing spandex clad actors who are clearly happy to have a job, we thought we would put this famously bad musical in perspective. more ›

After Keanu Reeves starred in that remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, we thought we'd seen the bottom of the barrel. What idiots we are. Courtesy of Variety we've just learned of something even worse. Much, much worse. more ›

• David Cromer’s acclaimed production of Our Town, which originated at Hypocrites last fall, has been extended Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre until January 31. However, Cromer, who also plays the role of the stage manager, will only be in the production until August 16, and then he has to go onto his bigger Broadway obligations - directing Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound and Brighton Beach Memoirs. His replacement has not been announced.
• The original cast of Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts, which premiered at the Steppenwolf last summer, will keep the same cast for its Broadway run, opening in October at the Music Box Theatre. The cast includes Michael McKean, known for his roles in Christopher Guest mockumentaries, as the donut shop owner, and ensemble member Jon Michael Hill as his only employee. We’re happy about the cast, but from what we’ve heard, the script should definitely not remain the same. Good luck editing Mr. Letts.

We’ve done and heard lots of complaining about the lack of new musical theater in Chicago and even on Broadway. But there are some glimmers of hope, and while they may not be in Chicago yet, one of them is coming to a television near you. more ›

The Theatre Office at Chicagoist Towers almost can't handle the amount of news we’ve heard this week. Here’s everything we’re talking about: more ›

Just as the hullabaloo surrounding last year’s “it” play August: Osage County dies down, Chicago takes on the Great White Way for a second time with the Goodman Theatre’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms. The show is scheduled to start performances on April 14 at the St. James Theatre with opening night on April 27, making the Tony Award eligibility cutoff by 3 days. more ›

Mayor Daley today informed aldermen of a plan to increase the city's amusement tax in another effort to generate revenue to help fill that wide budget hole. Under the new plan, the amusement tax on tickets would increase at mid-sized venues from 4 to 5 percent and from 8 to 9 percent at larger sporting venues. And if you're paying $12 and up to park downtown, the tax on that will increase from $2.25 to $3. So as if tickets weren't expensive enough, that's more money to see Broadway, Bruce, and the Bears. more ›

is amazing. Like most great rock operas, Awakening has 19th century German source material and is mostly about screwing, but is a little about dying and growing up, too. Take a listen to "The Bitch of Living", which is one of our faves from the show. more ›

“Avenue Q,” the Tony-award winning Broadway sensation has finally made its way to Chicago after beginning a national tour last summer. The musical follows the lives of a group of recent college graduates while struggling to make ends meet as young urbanites. “Avenue Q” is unlike other musicals, though, in that it stars a cast of puppets who sing outrageously funny, candid, and un-P.C. songs about their life: “It’s OK If You’re Gay,” “The Internet is for Porn,” and “Everyone’s a Little Racist.” more ›

Many would say Chicago tops the list of America’s funniest cities, so it’s fitting that our town created an awards show exclusively to honor Chicago comics. The Second Annual Chicago Comedy Awards, a three-day extravaganza taking place this weekend, sets the stage for local comedians to, well, celebrate themselves. more ›

We have read enough Roald Dahl to be instantly sold on anything influenced by him or based on his work. He could certainly knock out a mean children’s book, but this time it’s his adult content that is being adapted for the stage. Every Saturday from now through April 5, The Annoyance Theater is showing Georgy Porgy and Other Stories by Roald Dahl, using both video and the stage to interpret several of Dahl’s darker, mature-content short stories. more ›

We sometimes wonder how many people think seeing a dance performance will be something like out of The Big Lebowski. But considering the depth and versatility of the Chicago dance scene, finding a dance show really becomes a matter of how you prefer to be entertained, rather than expecting to be disappointed. more ›

We love t-shirts, and it seems we can’t ever have too many balled up in our dresser drawers, but it’s never fun to have the same ones everyone else has. (Think “Vote For Pedro,” or “More Cowbell.”) Thank goodness for Threadless, the online t-shirt vendor and Lakeview store that keeps its merchandise constantly rotating and therefore minty fresh. more ›

If you're cramming for a test, need a post-dinner pick me up or want a Paul McCartney CD between the hours of 5:30 and 8:30 tonight, you'll have to go somewhere other than Starbucks. Nearly all of the coffee chain's locations will be closed for a company-wide education and training session for employees. Dunkin' Donuts just happens to have a promotion running today and will be giving away free lattes. Our favorite quote in the Trib's story comes courtesy of Frances Allen, Dunkin' Donuts' brand marketing officer: "We never want any customers to ever be denied access to their specialty drinks." You tell 'em, Ms. Allen. Let's draft a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Frappuncino availability. more ›

Did the president of Medill use made-up quotes in a newsletter? We...barely care. What really bugs us is journalists citing the existence of Facebook group as some kind of indicator of anything--"students and alumni joined the new 'Save Journalism at Medill' group on Facebook. On Tuesday afternoon, there were nearly 90 members ...." There are 650 fulltime students at Medill. Fewer than 90 of them . Agh, not news. [Trib] more ›

, About Face Theater's current production up at Center on Halsted, is supposed to have a nude scene in it. But the Chicago version has the boys in their manpanties, and the playwright is none too pleased with the sanitized version of his work. more ›

Who needs a drink after this year's primaries? Don't worry, with both Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday today, there's plenty going on around town where you can get your drink on, and watch the election returns. more ›

It's been a hard week for Oprah. Seems some peeps are mad that Oprah signed Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (mouthful of a name) to her Oprah and Friends XM radio station. They're questioning how Oprah could sign someone who backs Giuliani when her support is so strong for Obama. Wah? This is why we don't wish for fame. Oh, and this reason: one of the other news stories this week is how Oprah is a traitor for backing a male candidate instead of the female candidate. Damned if, damned if. Oh, and if you're planning a trip to New York so you can see "The Color Purple" on Broadway (we just know you are) you better head out quick, the show ends February 24th after over 900 performances. more ›

Our pal Ben spotted this Chase ad at the Jackson red line stop and noticed that, despite touting the bank's new Chicago locations, the sign had some local geography issues. more ›

Stella's on Broadway in Lakeview is packed to the gills for brunch every weekend. If you ask us, however, the most interesting times to eat here are Monday through Friday nights just after 5 o'clock. You'll encounter the early dinner crowd: people who just don't have the patience or inclination to wait until 7. One of the things they like to eat the most is the egg salad sandwich. more ›