It’s that most wonderful time of the year (groan) when we force ourselves to once again face some hard truths: we will not be gifted with a Lexus adorned with a giant bow or (thankfully) a generic piece of jewelry designed by Jane Seymour, nor will we slip while ice skating and fall right into the arms of a stranger who turns out to be our soul mate. And for a special 2009 bonus, President Obama’s speech preempted our favorite Christmas special of all time. We’re hopeful that one of the many holiday shows on stage this month will lift our spirits. more ›

Call it a hunch, but we’re guessing you weren’t invited to Redmoon Theater’s Halloween performance at the White House. Yeah, we weren’t either. But no worries, there are plenty of shows to check out this weekend. In no particular order: more ›

Did you catch the forty person masked chorus making random appearances throughout the city this summer? That was Redmoon Theater’s Momentary Opera. Have you seen weird mechanical contraptions being installed at Belmont Harbor? That’s for Redmoon’s Spectacle ’09 (subtitled Last Of My Species: The Fearless Songs of Laarna Cortaan). What is ricocheting around in these people’s brains? We have no idea. But we tried to find out. more ›

Well, we've been hearing about Looptopia for awhile. A big overnight festival held in the Loop, blah blah. We didn't think too much about it. We pretty much dismiss the Loop after 5 p.m. and give it up for lost on the weekends. Looptopia is obviously working hard to change all that. It's going on this Friday through early Saturday morning and since we're going to be down there, we decided to check out the... more ›

For this month's preview, we were going to compare our local theater companies to figures on Capitol Hill, contemplating that special, intimate relationship between more experienced hands and up-and-coming ensembles. But well, scandals happen. Instead, we'll stick to the “neighbors” metaphor. This week: Running Away With the Circus: Redmoon Theater Spectacle ’06: Twilight Orchard The Scene: Over 60 actors frolic and flourish in Columbus Park for an audience largely there for the first time and... more ›

A few Chicago theaters are on vacation but this summer’s slowdown is much subtler than past years. The Reader lists over a dozen shows opening this weekend and, between now and autumn, more than a dozen local outdoor productions may indulge our insatiable need to slather on the SPF65, don our big floppy hat, and watch actors sweat in the great outdoors. Performing Shakespeare in the park remains a rite of passage for thousands of... more ›

Here's what we can tell you about Redmoon Theater's From Nothing, a "non-theatrical theater event" opening Wednesday. It's different. It's a spectacle presented at Redmoon Central, the company's new West Loop space. Timed, ticketed admission will limit the crowds to 50 people at a time. It's replacing their annual Winter Pageant. And it's got a really large design team. more ›

We're feeling awfully artsy fartsy today, so here are three weekend activities to cure your humanities jones. If you hate books, reading, writing, authors, drama, talking, performing, microphones, or puppets, this post is not for you. But we're curious how you get through the day and if you can offer us a few tips. more ›

, this season's outdoor spectacle from the Redmoon Theater, opens tonight and runs through Sunday. We're pretty excited. According to Redmoon's website, more ›

Sunday cools things off a bit, but you can still catch a live taping of . Music events will continue throughout the day. Feeling ambitious? See all the weekend's events here. The weather is supposed to be nice, so slap on some sunscreen and head downtown. more ›

in 2002, he cut Fortinbras completely out of the story. Jim Lasko, artistic director at Redmoon, is known for his avant-garde use of puppetry, masks, and community spectacles. The two have combined forces to retell the familiar love-triangle saga in a new way: out of order. The adaptation thwarts linear convention and instead has the first four acts sequenced as a flashback. more ›