Right around this time last year, we had just learned about World Theatre Day. The almost-50-year-old event will be celebrated once again this Saturday, and for the second year in a row, Chicago is joining the party - and throwing one. more ›

On our way into Chopin's basement theatre to see T.U.T.A.'s (The Utopian Theatre Asylum) production of Bertolt Brecht's The Wedding, a patron in front of us joked with the box office manager about whose side to sit on - the bride or groom's. The manager’s response: “It’s all a hot mess.” She wasn’t kidding. And we mean that in the nicest way possible. Director Zeljko Djukic has orchestrated an alternating succession of coalescence and deterioration with exact timing, resulting in a highly entertaining 80 minutes. more ›

Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., $25, $10 children more ›

Edward Albee’s adaptation of Carson McCullers’ novella of the same name, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe is a folktale about love, infatuation and loneliness. Signal Ensemble Theatre’s production impressed us with its compelling and tenacious performances, but the script ultimately left too many questions unanswered. more ›

We all know a marriage creates a single existence out of two individual lives, but composer Sarah Ritch and violinist Aurelien Pederzoli's wedding also created a music ensemble. Pederzoli's gift to his new bride was a concert of her works, and the subsequent collaboration between them and two others, Cory Tiffin and Lisa Dell, was so successful, they decided to run with it. more ›

Third Coast Percussion wraps up their season tomorrow night at the Chopin Theatre with a concert featuring music with a political bent. more ›

We’ll admit it. Last week, we hadn’t heard of World Theatre Day, celebrated on March 27. Although our shame increased upon learning that the celebration, created by the UNESCO-sponsored International Theatre Institute (ITI), has existed for almost 50 years, we were comforted to learn that New Leaf Theatre company members Jessica Hutchinson (Artistic Director) and Nick Keenan (Artist-in-Residence), who have spear-headed the effort to bring the fête to Chicago this year, came across World Theatre Day just a few months ago, via Twitter. The shock of finding evidence of Twitter’s usefulness was quickly eclipsed by our discovery that 2009 will be the first year, at least according to Mayor Daley’s proclamation, Chicago has joined the party. more ›

A: Damn well worth seeing! more ›

Would Hollywood make a movie about a swingin' 70's housewife, complete with musical numbers? Or a documentary about New York City's Union Square in the days immediately following 9/11? Would Hollywood make a movie about Thax? more ›

Who was Ingmar Bergman? You probably heard the news that he died last week, at age 89, and somewhere you mostly likely read Woody Allen’s pronouncement that he was, “probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion-picture camera.” But you shouldn’t feel ashamed if you don’t really know who he is. For example, he was not the father of Ingrid Bergman (although they did make one film together, Autumn... more ›

‘Tis the season for all sizes and flavors of “Christmas Carol” offerings, plus variations on its time-honored (some might say “tired”) theme. Our favorite standby is ye olde Muppets version, costarring a surprisingly tuneful Michael Caine, but our job here is to send you out into the world, not to your sofa zones. Luckily, Chicagoland has plenty of theatrical Scrooges to please everyone, everywhere, over the holidays: For the Purists: “A Christmas Carol” The... more ›