We haven't caught Billy Elliot yet, but it's been on our list ever since Ben Brantley, our favorite New York Times curmudgeon, declared it was actually good. The Chicago production - starring no less than four Billys, opened to rave reviews earlier this month. more ›

From Hollywood to the West End to Broadway, Billy Elliot has been around the world and back, and now the show’s making its fourth stop in the Windy City. The twirling and tumbling Billys are chasséing their way into the Loop next spring for the show’s first post-Broadway incarnation. The show opens in March, tickets go on sale in November, and the show will run as long as Chicagoans are willing to pay top dollar for seats. more ›

Larry Bortniker and Sally Deering like to write about doctors. First it was “father of the sexual revolution” Alfred Kinsey in their Jeff-Award winning musical Dr. Sex and now its Dr. Barry Mishkin, a Broadway musicologist who has a collection of musical numbers cut from classic Broadway musicals. Mishkin, a fictional character, is the subject of their latest musical comedy, Bombs Away!, which recently opened at Mary’s Attic in Andersonville. more ›

Script is not the first word that comes to mind when you think about improv, but Second City’s training center likes to try new things. Hence the brand-new scripted musical, The Timeless Tale of New Portsmouth. Set in 1876, the show explores the life of New Englanders who are stuck in their ways and refuse to move into the future. (Maybe they should take up blogging…) While we don’t know much about the music other than there’s a sea shanty and an angry love song, we’re certain it won't be like Jersey Boys or Wicked, unless it's a parody. more ›

Musical theater has been on our minds lately because frankly, we’re having trouble finding it in Chicago. Not just any musical theater - new work that originates in the second city. Sure Wicked had a nice run but the show began with an out-of-town try-out in San Francisco. Jersey Boys is still going strong, but the show’s ticket prices don’t really appeal to the masses. National tours come through all the time, most rrecently with Rent opening this week. But let’s face it: it’s just a cheap ploy to make a lot of money. (Original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal are way too old to play struggling 20 year olds in the East Village.) And to add insult to injury, each one of those shows is based on some prior piece of work. more ›

After today’s sold-out matinee, “Wicked” will close after its 3-1/2 year run and 1,500 performances. The show has been seen by more than 2.9 million people here in Chicago, and has earned more than $210 million in box office revenue. more ›

Photo by trippchicago
• Mayor Daley on Blago: "I’ve said, ‘cuckoo’ once. I’ll say it again: ‘Cuckoo.’"
• We remember skipping college classes to stay home to eat popcorn and watch the OJ Simpson verdict. We might have to play hooky again on Monday, when ABC7 will have live coverage of the start of Blago's impeachment trial.
• Chicago police officer William Cozzi has pleaded guilty to the 2005 beating of a 60-year-old man shackled and handcuffed to a wheelchair. So can somebody please fire this asshole now?

Dance more ›

Happy First Day of Autumn! Fall makes us think of many things, with the most predominant being Halloween. We get easily excited about seasonal themes and events, so we made this list as much for our benefit as for yours, dear Readers. We might actually go to … all of these. more ›

Drew Peterson urned himself in on felony weapons charges today. He's been charged with knowingly possessing a rifle whose barrel is less than 16 inches long, which is illegal, but Peterson's lawyer says Peterson was a cop at the time the gun was seized, and police weapons are exempt from the law. Police seized 11 of Peterson's guns back in November, so the lag in arrest time is "suspicious," according to Joel Brodsky, Peterson's lawyer. [S-T] more ›

There are no shortage of opportunities to see a theater performance in Chicago, and that certainly applies to children’s theater or theater based on children’s literature. A number of of these productions have enjoyed some popular success as well. This goes to show that these performances are not attended only by dutiful schoolchildren, but are considered to be viable options in the Chicago theater scene, due to the effort and imagination that goes into adapting children’s literature for the stage. more ›

October in Chicago makes us feel like kids again. This month, the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Park District have filled the calendar with Halloween-themed activities perfect for the toddler set and their kid-at-heart parents. Here are our favorites in the lead up to the big holiday. The park district (along with Walgreens) is sponsoring events to get you in the spirit at over forty different neighborhood parks from Bessemer to Oz throughout... more ›

had some impressive credentials when it set out on its national tour. Oddly enough, its last engagement is here in Chicago at The Auditorium Theatre in the south loop. more ›

It's springtime and Chicago theatre is blooming again like the tulips on Ashland. For the last few years, in part because of Mayor Daley's plans to make downtown Chicago a major player in the theatre scene, many of the biggest and brightest shows leaving the Big Apple have made their way to the Windy City. The now-sitting Wicked proves the formula can be successful. It outperformed the New York version and is still going strong.... more ›

Yawn. That’s our initial response to the free music at the Taste of Chicago this year. We know not every concert should cater to us alone, but should we suffer because of the need to cater to the balding, khaki-wearer’s bland taste in music? Thanks, XRT, for taking this to a new level of disinterest. Who’s having the BBQ? That’s where we’ll be instead of Grant Park. The Taste of Chicago has released the Fourth... more ›

A study commissioned by Broadway in Chicago about Broadway in Chicago reveals — surprise! — Broadway in Chicago is injecting big bucks into the city. How big? Around $635 million in 2006, give or take a few hundred million. An article in today’s Sun Times blew a big sloppy kiss to the Live Nation/Clear Channel/Nederlander money machine, leading with that impressive figure which they concede is a tad inflated. Around half of it ($320 million)... more ›

You bought tickets months in advance, cleared your schedule, and surprised your relatives with tickets to Chicago’s hottest show. Turns out your Wicked tickets were one of 2006’s least original holiday gifts. Last week’s gross for the Broadway in Chicago cash cow set a new local record — around $1.4 million. Remarkable as that sounds, the Chicago production was still outdone by its counterparts in Toronto ($1.5M), London ($1.7M) and New York, whose $1.8 million... more ›

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the first network television broadcast of The Wizard of Oz. The first CBS broadcast (which was on WBBM Channel 2 in Chicago) was introduced by Bert Lahr with a 10-year-old Liza Minnelli sitting on his lap. Back then, people were unfamiliar enough with the film that viewers were warned that it opens in black and white, lest they think something was wrong with their color televisions. Except for the years 1957-1958 and 1963 (because of JFK's assassination), it has been broadcast annually. The Wizard of Oz has been seen by more people than any other movie (an estimated one billion), and a 1998 Gallup Poll reported that 94% of American adults had seen the film. more ›

The trial is beginning for Michael Jackson, the guy who ran his cabbie over on purpose and killed him in an argument over an $8 fare. ACT scores are up in Chicago and Illinois this year. Rush is one of the first hospitals to switch to healthier cooking oils. Uh... shouldn't this have been a no-brainer for a hospital!? We knew Wicked pulled in mad cash, but a million a week? Wow. Get your... more ›

It seems as though not a week goes by without an alderman doing or saying something that makes Chicago look like just another parochial, hick town. If they're not banning foie gras, or passing a smoking ban that allows bars a time frame for compliance that more resembles an exit strategy from Iraq, then they're feuding with each other on the Council floor, passing salary increases for themselves, and getting caught in the occasional compromising... more ›

The Chicago production of Wicked marks its one year anniversary today. Sigh… We know we’re not part of this show’s target audience, just as we know our criticism won’t really affect whether or not you go see it. For a moment we’ll forget about that irretrievable night we spent in the Oriental Theater and say a kind word about the show’s marketing. It’s brilliant. Their relentless campaign taps into everything that makes their core... more ›

When Chicagoist went out to check out Chef Carol Wallack's new restaurant, sola (3868 N. Lincoln Ave.), this week we had high hopes. Luckily, we were not disappointed. The cuisine at sola is contemporary American, but because of Chef Wallack's background, there's a lot of Hawaiian and Asian flair. Chicagoist started off with the lobster and shitake potstickers (no-brainer!) and a carmelized onion tartlet (gruyere, sweet Maui onions, and apple) that we thought was intruging and ended up being really "wow"ed by. Delish. We also tried the hot and sour soup. Best. Hot & Sour. Ever. For entrees we stuck with seafood, which is the majority of the menu, but there is a NY Strip for those who need to get their meat on. Chicagoist got the ono and miso black cod - Nobu's famous. Both were cooked perfectly, flavorful with sides and sauces that complimented, but didn't overwhelm these tender fish. Oh, also, the waiter didn't need to twist our arm very hard to get us to try the parmesan truffle french fries. Holy smokes, pommes frites used to be our favorite fried pototo, but not any more. more ›

One major drawback to having an endless array of cultural offerings at our front yard is that any attempt to condense our experiences into a year-end summary or “Best Of” list necessarily falls short. Not a huge loss since Top 10 lists are so passe. [Note to our editors: this doesn’t apply to you, we’re sure any lists you publish will be awesome!] Instead we turn our attention to an overriding theme of ’05: the... more ›

The local theater community weathered the first big snowfall of the season yesterday. Snowstorms can sucker punch a company’s attendance but Old Man Winter was courteous enough to strike on Thursday, when smaller crowds are the norm. Chicagoist spent last night at The Theatre Building, which aside from a few no shows was not affected by the weather. As our curtain time approached, we were informed that two actors were still stuck in traffic and... more ›

Chicagoist believes the only thing better than finding fun shows and exhibits for our readers is watching them develop. The arts and theater communities continue working long after their 15 minutes on the web expire, we just try to keep up. Consider this report a “Where Are They Now?” sans washed-up celebrities. The Snubfest ’06 lineup has been announced, and it looks good. Not Aspen Comedy Festival good, but that’s kind of the point. The... more ›

Chicagoist has already railed against the Broadway in Chicago cash machine that is Wicked. New twists on classic tales intrigue us, and this new take on The Wiz caught our attention. But entrusting the man who scored The Baker’s Wife with such an idea made us queasy. more ›

Note: This is Part 3 of an occasional series. more ›

Nominees for the 2005 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Equity Theaters, or Jeff Equities for short, have been announced. The nominees are selected from a pool of shows that impressed members of the Jeff Nominating Committee (a.k.a. “Jeff Recommended” productions). You can peruse the full list here. The Jeff Committee loves the big splashy musicals. Beauty and the Beast, a classic fairy tale, and Sweeney Todd, a classic cannibal tale, received 7 and 6 nominations, respectively,... more ›

August is Chicago theater’s pre-season, just a month away from a new round of mainstage magic and hype. This weekend three companies help prepare us, presenting 22 new shows on 3 stages. But unlike another pre-season, these performances may actually serve as a barometer for future success. Steppenwolf Theatre’s First Look Repertory of New Work is a showcase as antidote to endless workshopping, offering three shows in their developmental stages. These scripts represent the cream... more ›

Ugh. We’re not here to pass judgment (so not true), but today’s announcement in the Tribune that the Oriental Theatre will be overrun for the next 200 years by the theatrical misfire that is places us on the horns of a real dilemma. more ›