Madcap enchantment and revelry abound in Summer Stage’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Madcap enchantment and revelry abound in Summer Stage’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Director Dustin J. Martin’s spin on the tale plays with the narrative’s play-within-a-play technique to present a charmingly transportive production that is as much about the high-minded nature of dramatic potential as it is a nimble farce full of bewitched lovers, vengeful fairies, and donkey-headed amateur actors.

Storytelling At Its Best

Dear Jack, Dear Louise – Northlight Theatre

Handwritten letters. Does anyone remember these blasts from the past? Nowadays, we read a person’s thoughts in Twitter comments, short texts or possibly email missives—all electronically produced. But Goethe once wrote that handwritten letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. For Ken Ludwig, the much-acclaimed prolific playwright of such popular comedies as “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Moon Over Buffalo,” and the George Gershwin musical “Crazy For You,” this sentiment is a  perfect description of his latest comic drama. It’s storytelling at its best, all told through the hundreds of imagined letters written by his parents, Jack and Louise Ludwig. And the result is a warm, very funny and often gripping true life story that’s also a heartfelt tribute to two wonderful, real life people.

A Night With Felicia P. Fields

Pearl’s Rollin’ With the Blues – Writers Theatre

When audiences think of the Blues, they most often associate that musical style with sadness, depression or melancholy. But the Blues can also have happy or even slightly bawdy lyrics, as the packed house at Writers Theatre joyfully discover when Chicago superstar, Felicia P. Fields takes the stage. Co-created by Ms Fields and Director Ron OJ Parson, the Tony Award-nominated actress/singer absolutely brings down the house in Glencoe. Closely harmonizing together with her onstage band, the talented company dazzles the audience with their salty and heartfelt words and music that provide additional heat to the summer night.

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady – Broadway in Chicago

If you like the classics, this is definitely a classic. Traditional and standard to what you might have seen if you saw the Loewe and Lerner version when it debuted 1956. It is family friendly, good for the young and the old. For me, being in the middle of those two demographics made it slightly harder to appreciate, but it did bring back memories of the matinees my Bubbie would get me dressed up for when I was a little kid. 

Murder is Such a Drag

A Fine Feathered Murder: A Miss Marbled Mystery – Hell in a Handbag Productions

Hell in a Handbag is back with it’s most ambitious project that I’ve seen. In the grand tradition of Clue or Gosford Park, David Cerda and company are tackling the country manor murder mystery. All the standards are here. The society maven. The aging aristocrat. Servants with secrets. And a quiet but shrewd spinster watching everyone from behind her knitting. The only way you can be sure that you didn’t accidentally buy tickets to The Moustrap is just about all the women on stage are drag queens.

Choir Boy

Choir Boy – Steppenwolf Theatre

Not often do I say a show is a must-see, but Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy most definitely is. The cast, set, music, and message all combine for a truly invigorating coming-of-age show that thoughtfully portrays the struggles of a young gay Black man trying to find acceptance from his peers. The production stars La Shawn Banks, Sheldon D. Brown, Richard David, William Dick, Gilbert Domally, Tyler Hardwick, and Samuel B. Jackson, all directed by Kent Gash. 

Life After

Life After – Goodman Theatre

There are only two things that are certain in this world: death and taxes. Although taxes can be quite annoying—especially when living in Cook County—death is something that lies far closer to our souls. For every human being, death is an important part of life; the show Life After, written by Britta Johnson, will tug on the heartstrings of every human who watches the performance for that very reason.

You’ll Be Charmed

Lucy Darling: Indulge – Rhapsody Theatre

Here’s a sentence I haven’t gotten to type very often in the last few years: a new theatre is opening! In the former space of the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park, the Rhapsody Theatre will host a variety of music and cabaret acts in its 200-seat theatre. To kick of their inaugural season, Carisa Hendrix dazzles as magician and all-around delight, Lucy Darling in an evening of magic, comedy, and a large number of martinis.

Tommy on Top

Tommy on Top – PrideArts

I don’t like giving bad reviews. I know how much work and energy go into a show and how vulnerable it makes the people who put in that work. I always try to respect that. I flatter myself that I am not in the class of reviewer who enjoys writing pans to make themselves feel smarter than everyone else who may have liked something. I always try to meet a show where it is and judge it not just for how I viewed it, but also through the lens of its intended audience. Even if something isn’t for me, it’s often for someone, and to me, a well written review looks for that. This is the long way of saying I can usually find something to hang my hat on to recommend a show to someone for some reason. Unfortunately, I cannot do that for PrideArts’ latest production, the Chicago premier of Tommy on Top, a farce by British playwright Chris Woodley. The story centers on hunky, young, and closeted actor Tommy Miller, on the cusp of winning an Oscar, having to deal with the possibility of being outed and the impact that will have on his career.