All stories by Chris Jones on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Review: ‘Islander’ at Chicago Shakespeare is a welcome, beguiling musical visitor from Scotland by Chris Jones

This is a contemporary folk tale inspired by the music and sounds of Scotland, earlier seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Friday, December 1, 2023

Review: ‘Christmas With Elvis’ at the Chopin Theatre feels like a trip back to fearless off-Loop theater, circa 1992 by Chris Jones

Playing a single woman visited by the ghost of Elvis, Brenda Barrie apparently has decided she is doing Eugene O’Neill and proceeds accordingly. She’s very funny, too.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:30AM
Thursday, November 30, 2023

Review: Promising new ‘The Wiz’ at Cadillac Palace has moments where it strays off the road by Chris Jones

Few titles command the affection of “The Wiz,” and the show’s most fabulous songs, including “Ease On Down the Road,” have been sung now for close to 50 years.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:04PM
Monday, November 27, 2023

American Blues Theater opens a new home on Lincoln Avenue, carved from a former Walgreens by Chris Jones

The impressive new two-theater complex will stage the upcoming “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!,” slated to open on Dec. 10.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:32PM
Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Review: ‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ at the Studebaker is a happy holiday show for all ages by Chris Jones

Any fan of Jim Henson shouldn’t miss this truly splendid addition to the seasonal attractions on offer in Chicago’s Loop.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:15PM
Monday, November 20, 2023

Review: ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ at the Paramount has lots of chocolate, now it just needs to warm up by Chris Jones

Granted, Roald Dahl’s dark and complex stories from the 1960s are not easy to adapt into family musicals.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:54PM
Friday, November 17, 2023

Review: A swirling, fashionable ‘Cinderella’ at Drury Lane Theatre brings sparkle to the season by Chris Jones

What you are seeing here is the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein “Cinderella,” retooled a bit for modern sensibilities.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:21PM

‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ is a new holiday musical in Chicago with puppet otters and Broadway aspirations by Chris Jones

Everyone involved in the production reveres the title's old-school Jim Henson legacy.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Thursday, November 16, 2023

Review: In ‘Spamalot’ revival on Broadway, Eric Idle’s knights fight bravely on by Chris Jones

Yes, there's a digital set in this revival of Eric Idle's hilarious musical and much of the audience doesn't know the material. But 'tis but a scratch.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00PM
Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Our holiday theater list: Top 10 shows to make your season bright, from Cirque to ‘Carols’ by Chris Jones

There’s no better time to get out and support Chicago theater than the festive season, when warm holiday performances abound.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Review: In ‘The Lion in Winter’ at Court Theatre, an old play is on the prowl again by Chris Jones

John Hoogenakker is a fine Henry II, all cynical and weary. I’d forgotten how much talk there is in this script about aching bones and death.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:30AM
Monday, November 13, 2023

Review: ‘Harmony’ opens on Broadway with music by Barry Manilow — in a potent moment for a story of a 1930s singing group by Chris Jones

Here was a band that could have represented Germany at its best, a combination of Jews and Gentiles singing in perfect harmony.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:18PM

‘The Choir of Man’ heads to Chicago’s Apollo Theater by Chris Jones

This show bills itself partly as a 90-minute theater piece, partly as a concert and partly as a party.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:00AM

Review: ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ superb, the best at Marriott Theatre in years by Chris Jones

No. 1 reason here is Kaitlyn Davis, a vulnerable, unpretentious actress who knows just how to play Carole King.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Friday, November 10, 2023

Review: In ‘The Lifespan of a Fact’ at TimeLine Theatre, the fun is in the debate by Chris Jones

In one corner, you have D’Agata, author of a piece about a suicidal kid jumping off the top of a Las Vegas hotel. In the other corner, you have Jim, who gets the job of fact-checking it.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Thursday, November 9, 2023

Review: ‘Beetlejuice the Musical’ at the Auditorium is unstoppable — nothing this critic can do by Chris Jones

My objections? Oh, an incoherent and crass book and tasteless jokes about “Creepy Old Guys” and so on. But Isabella Esler is a huge young talent as Lydia.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:10PM

Review: ‘Assassins’ at Theo speaks to the moment, as Sondheim usually does by Chris Jones

This show about killers and wanna-be killers of presidents is profoundly cynical, often an effective point of view for a musical, but somehow always troubling here.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:05PM
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Boop-Oop-a-Doop. ‘Boop! The Musical’ follows its cartoon heroine Betty into present day New York by Chris Jones

Opening soon, the latest in a string of pre-Broadway musicals that director Jerry Mitchell has first brought to life in Chicago.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Monday, November 6, 2023

Review: In ‘POTUS’ at Steppenwolf Theatre, it’s hard to keep track of the chaos in this White House by Chris Jones

Selina Fillinger’s comedy has become the most-produced play at American regional theaters this season. It’s not hard to see why.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:10PM
Sunday, November 5, 2023

Review: ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Glow!’ is a zany new revue at Second City e.t.c. by Chris Jones

This is a goofy and warm-centered show that put me in mind of all the different trends I’ve seen at Second City.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:25AM
Friday, November 3, 2023

Review: A warm and lovely ‘Twelfth Night’ on the islands at Chicago Shakespeare Theater by Chris Jones

There's a contagious happiness, warmth and openness in this Shakespeare play. I guarantee you will not be bored.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:15PM
Thursday, November 2, 2023

Review: An always funny Danny DeVito double-teams with his daughter in Broadway’s ‘I Need That’ by Chris Jones

Playwright Theresa Rebeck’s new three-character play is about old age and the joy and tyranny of stuff.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:00PM

Review: ‘Company’ at the Cadillac Palace has a stellar cast — though this will never be my favorite ‘Company’ by Chris Jones

Stephen Sondheim believed in the power of love, and in the someone who makes us "aware of being alive." This director has other ideas.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Friday, October 27, 2023

Review: ‘Magic Parlour’ is a special retro magic experience in new digs at Petterino’s by Chris Jones

Dennis Watkins, Chicago’s premiere resident magician, has plied his trade for some 15 years in the Loop and now has the fancy new venue he deserves.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:30PM
Thursday, October 26, 2023

‘Tommy’ moves from the Goodman Theatre to Broadway by Chris Jones

The quick Broadway transfer replaces a previous plan to first tour the show to more cities, but was not a surprise given the success of the Chicago run.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:00AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Review: Teatro ZinZanni reopens its dinner-cirque show in fine, trimmer form by Chris Jones

The host for your evening is the magician-comedian Lucy Darling, adept at crowd work and adding to that supper-club vibe.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Review: ‘Young Frankenstein’ comes alive at Mercury Theater, thanks to Igor and the Monster by Chris Jones

Compared to the Broadway overblown spectacle, the show sits far more easily at Chicago’s intimate Mercury as a fun, Halloween-season entertainment.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:45AM
Sunday, October 22, 2023

Review: ‘Here We Are’ opens off-Broadway, Sondheim’s final, life-loving musical by Chris Jones

As this new musical confirms, Stephen Sondheim died happy, at the top of his lyrical and compositional game, and clearly in love.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:00PM
Friday, October 20, 2023

Review: In Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil’s ‘O’ is both an analog throwback and one of the greatest shows ever by Chris Jones

The 25th anniversary of “O” was a reminder of many things, not the least of which the power of live actors and stage sets over video projections.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:15AM
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Review: ‘Night Watch’ at Raven Theatre is a lively mystery-thriller that’ll keep you guessing by Chris Jones

“Night Watch” is no great masterpiece, but the late Lucille Fletcher, who wrote for “The Twilight Zone," sure knew how to craft a mystery.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:33PM
Saturday, October 14, 2023

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