All stories by Zach Freeman on BroadwayStars

Monday, November 9, 2015

Original guys of legendary Cook County Social Club to return to iO Chicago by Zach Freeman

In the crowded and competitive world of Chicago comedy, improvisational teams constantly come and go. Groups can be hot one week, performing a recurring show in a well-known comedy venue, an…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:07PM

Original guys of legendary Cook County Social Club to return to iO Chicago by Zach Freeman

In the crowded and competitive world of Chicago comedy, improvisational teams constantly come and go. Groups can be hot one week, performing a recurring show in a well-known comedy venue, an…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:51PM
Tuesday, November 3, 2015

No Escaping the Logistics: “Room Escape” Theater Business Faces Challenges From the Start by Zach Freeman

By Danielle Levsky Maren Rosenberg has a puzzle for you. But she’s also got one of her own. Rosenberg, Master of Mayhem/Principal Producer, has been working with a team of creative profess…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 10:07AM
Sunday, November 1, 2015

Review: The Firestorm/Stage Left Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED When I first read the description of Meridith Friedman’s “The Firestorm,” I thought I could categorize this play with all the others. I had been down this road countless ti…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 03:15PM
Friday, October 30, 2015

Bill Burr: Aggressively, hilariously middle-of-the-road by Zach Freeman

Within a minute of taking the stage at the Chicago Theatre Thursday night in jeans and a buttoned-up dress shirt, comedian Bill Burr is working the perplexed and frustrated angle he's cultiv…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:02PM

Bill Burr: Aggressively, hilariously middle-of-the-road by Zach Freeman

Within a minute of taking the stage at the Chicago Theatre Thursday night in jeans and a buttoned-up dress shirt, comedian Bill Burr is already working the perplexed and frustrated angle he'…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:30PM
Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Review: The Play About My Dad/Raven Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED George Bernard Shaw once said that there were only two ways a theatrical production could be successful. On one hand, the show could be timeless, dealing with themes that will al…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 03:25PM

Review: Tribulation: The Musical/The Mission Theater at iO by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED In “Tribulation: The Musical,” playing now in iO’s Mission Theater, mankind’s worst fears are confirmed—the world is burning and murderous Horsemen of the Apocalypse ri…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 10:30AM
Sunday, October 25, 2015

Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane/Chicago Children’s Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED The Chicago Children’s Theatre’s production of “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” is one of the rare family friendly offerings actually capable of entertaining the…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 04:45PM

Review: Audience Annihilated Part Three: The Trouble with Angels by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Not knowing what to expect while standing outside in the drizzle, waiting to be allowed into the Dream Laboratory, it is difficult not to stuff down the tittering giggle that hau…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 11:30AM
Thursday, October 22, 2015

Review: Charm/Northlight Theatre at Steppenwolf Garage Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED I remember being furious as a child when my mother threatened to find an etiquette class for me to attend. She seemed charmed by the idea of having a well-mannered little girl an…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 05:35PM
Monday, October 19, 2015

Review: Treasure Island/Lookingglass Theatre Company by Zach Freeman

Audience members without their sea legs might be cautioned that Mary Zimmerman’s new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” could leave them feeling queasy. For whe…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 12:00PM
Monday, October 12, 2015

Review: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution/City Lit Theater by Zach Freeman

My favorite part of Sherlock Holmes’ stories is always when, after Holmes relays a long list of facts about an individual’s life, he breaks down how he gleaned each and every fact from t…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 12:35PM
Sunday, October 11, 2015

Review: The Magic Cabaret/The Greenhouse Theater Center by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Among the many wonders presented by magicians David Parr and Joe Diamond, the most impressive trick the night I attended was pretty much filling up the house on Wednesday evening…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 09:40AM
Saturday, October 10, 2015

Review: No Beast So Fierce/Oracle Productions by Zach Freeman

The last time that actress Katherine Keberlein and director Max Truax collaborated together, the result was Oracle’s Jeff-Award winning production of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Mother,” w…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 08:00PM
Friday, October 9, 2015

Review: My Brilliant Divorce/Irish Theatre of Chicago by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Loneliness, at its worst, clamps down, feeling like a black box from which there is no escape. The claustrophobia of loneliness can sometimes feel so inescapable that dying of it…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 02:30PM

Review: Ride the Cyclone/Chicago Shakespeare Theater by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED To be a teenager is to be a creature of extremity. Not only your body but your emotions and ideas and opinions are expanding with the rush and fury of a newborn universe—your o…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 08:45AM
Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Review: Barefoot In The Park/Step Up Productions by Zach Freeman

“Well, it’s a relief to finally see something cheerful,” Gwen said, as they exited out to the street. “Yeah,” said Eleanor. “Though it ended weirdly with the traditional gender r…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 05:59PM
Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Review: Cinderella/Lyric Opera of Chicago by Zach Freeman

Last Sunday’s afternoon matinee of Gioachino Rossini’s “Cinderella” (“La Cenerentola”) at the Lyric Opera set me musing. Why would Lyric director Anthony Freud schedule a romanti…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 01:30PM

Review: Marvin’s Room/Shattered Globe Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Twenty-five years after it first premiered at the Goodman, Scott McPherson’s “Marvin’s Room” is still relevant because people are still dying—slowly, painfully, draggin…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 10:32AM
Monday, October 5, 2015

Review: For Her as a Piano/Pegasus Theatre Chicago by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED The strings that tie mothers to daughters are knotted, twisted and forever looping. Severing those strings is an impossible feat, though many spend their lives trying. Untangling…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 05:00PM

Cho preaches to her choir at Chicago Theatre by Zach Freeman

Lewis Black is not be bringing his brand of angry stand-up to the Chicago Theatre stage until the end of the week, but Margaret Cho's 80-minute set Saturday night, part of her international …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:52AM
Sunday, October 4, 2015

Review: Goblin Market/Black Button Eyes Productions by Zach Freeman

Sensuous excess comes to life in Christina Rossetti’s 1862 poem “Goblin Market,” with proliferation of rhymes, synonyms, luscious lists of fruits and “figs to fill your mouth.” It�…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 08:15PM

Cho preaches to her choir at Chicago Theatre by Zach Freeman

Lewis Black is not bringing his brand of angry stand-up to the Chicago Theatre stage until the end of the week, but Margaret Cho's 80-minute set Saturday night, part of her international "Th…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:07PM
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Can an app make me funny? Comedy Hack Day comes to Chicago by Zach Freeman

"I can Google it for you while we're talking …" I've been on the phone with Sandor Weisz for less than 30 seconds, and he's already proven that he is indeed a Web developer. As a fellow de…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:37PM

Review: Feathers and Teeth/Goodman Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Horror is a mighty genre, stealing you away from the present like no other genre can, activating the primal instincts that follow fear and focusing your attentions like a laser o…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 11:15AM
Monday, September 28, 2015

Finding Your Song: Pegasus Flies Again with Nambi E. Kelley’s “For Her as a Piano” by Zach Freeman

By Loy Webb Children have some of the most imaginative and exciting minds. Give them a cardboard box, they’ll create castles fit for any king and queen. Give them a blanket, and as it’s …

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 10:34AM

Review: East of Eden/Steppenwolf Theatre Company by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED John Steinbeck is the most Wagnerian of American novelists. He loves to dilate on cosmic themes. He permits himself loose speculation on big ideas – Guilt, Free Will, Forgi…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 10:30AM
Sunday, September 27, 2015

Review: Oklahoma!/Paramount Theatre by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Paramount Theatre opens their Broadway Musical Series with a rousing “Oklahoma!” as impressive as last season’s production of “Les Misérables.” It’s not just that Pa…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 12:30PM
Friday, September 25, 2015

Review: Jake’s Women/Spartan Theatre Company by Zach Freeman

RECOMMENDED Every time I see the name Neil Simon, I crack a smile because I know there are very few pieces of this comedic writing legend’s work I can get through without serious amounts o…

SOURCE: Newcity Stage at 02:00PM
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

John Hodgman's 'Vacationland' comes to Chicago's Thalia Hall by Zach Freeman

Last summer, my wife and I spent a memorable weekend in Bar Harbor, Maine. We hiked through Acadia National Park and made the low-tide crossing to Bar Island for a spectacular view of the ha…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards