Barbara Vitello
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Spotlight: ‘Drunk Dracula’ monster mashup and Elgin’s Fringe Fest continuesSep 23, 2025 10:46 am - The monster mashup “Drunk Dracula” opens, Elgin’s Fringe Festival continues, Oil Lamp Theater revives the 1938 suspense drama “Gaslight,” and Iambe Theatre stages an all-female production of Shakespeare’s comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”
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American Airlines pilot whose grounded flight on 9/11 inspired musical plans to attend Paramount’s productionSep 19, 2025 6:39 pm - Beverley Bass, the retired American Airlines pilot who inspired one of the characters in the Tony Award-winning “Come From Away” will be a special guest of the Paramount Theatre at Saturday’s performance of the heartwarming tuner about the residents of a small town in Canada who welcomed some 7,000 stranded airline passengers following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
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Almost golden: Goodman Theatre’s ‘Ashland Avenue’ needs a little polishSep 17, 2025 4:45 pm - Goodman Theatre marks the beginning of its centennial with the premiere of the Chicago-set “Ashland Avenue,” starring Francis Guinan as a TV shop owner struggling to keep his business afloat.
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Best Bets: Cantigny’s First Division Museum salutes Bob HopeSep 17, 2025 9:38 am - Cantigny’s First Division Museum examines the legacy of comedian Bob Hope, Buddy Guy plays a free concert during Chicago Live! at Navy Pier, comedians host a fundraiser at Zanies Rosemont, and it’s the last weekend for Cleve Carney Museum of Art’s “Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World.”
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Spotlight: Evanston native Elizabeth McGovern channels Ava GardnerSep 16, 2025 9:51 am - Actress Elizabeth McGovern channels Ava Gardner in “Ava: The Secret Conversations” at Chicago’s Studebaker Theater, plus world premieres open at Chicago Shakespeare and A Red Orchid theaters.
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Gold star: Ideally cast, timely ‘First Lady of Television’ shines at NorthlightSep 15, 2025 5:21 pm - Cindy Gold, ideally cast as broadcast pioneer Gertrude Berg, is outstanding in Northlight Theatre’s timely premiere of “The First Lady of Television,” James Sherman’s 1950-set drama about McCarthyism.
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Drury Lane delivers stylish revival of classic suspense thriller ‘Dial M for Murder’Sep 11, 2025 11:20 am - Drury Lane Theatre delivers a stylish, wonderfully designed revival of “Dial M for Murder,” Jeffrey Hatcher’s taut examination of greed, sex, jealousy and revenge adapted from Frederick Knott’s classic 1952 suspense thriller.
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Best Bets: Monster Jam, Halloween scares, craft beers and Joffrey premieres ‘Carmen’Sep 10, 2025 9:08 am - Monster Jam rolls into Rosemont’s Allstate Arena, the new immersive haunted house Duchess Manor opens at The Arboretum, Elmhurst hosts the 10th Elmhurst Craft Beer Fest and The Joffrey Ballet premieres “Carmen.”
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Spotlight: Citadel Theatre revives psychological thriller ‘Misery’Sep 09, 2025 6:23 am - In the suburbs, Metropolis revives “Grease” and Citadel stages the thriller “Misery” while Chicago’s Remy Bumppo theatre presents the Chicago premiere of “Wish You Were Here.”
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Strong cast, great design propels Marriott Theatre’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’Sep 08, 2025 5:54 pm - Marriott Theatre’s “Catch Me If You Can” is a well-cast, great-looking revival of a so-so show. That’s typical of the Lincolnshire theater, which has the ability to make even a middling musical entertaining.