Profile for Hyde Park Hildy

The Court Theatre in Hyde Park is doing a revival of A Raisin in the Sun in February. Their productions are almost always quite good and their current one, a revival of Falsettos, is excellent. The Trib critic said it's better than the recent Broadway revival.Fat Ham which will also be at the Goodman at that time is probably worth a look. Definition Theatre, the theatre company that's doing it in conjunction with the Goodman, has done some fine work.If you're interested in experimental/avant ...

Saw this tonight and found it immensely enjoyable. Not a great play but captivating and very funny, with memorable characters and a killer dinner scene. At tonight's performance the role of Naz was played by the understudy, an actor named Jabari Khaliq. It's the central role in the play and a demanding one. Naz narrates the play and has many long monologues. But Khaliq knocked it out of the park. It's always thrilling to see an understudy rise to the occasion like this. Another current Chicag...

So is this ever going to happen? It was supposed to arrive this year but obviously that never happened. And AFAIK there haven't been any updates.

Some good resources for Chicago theatergoers are:1. For basic information, https://www.theatreinchicago.com/ . Especially useful are the Now Playing, Review Round-Up, and Top-Rated Plays pages (links are on the upper left of the main page).2. For discounted tickets, all these sources are good. It's worth checking out all of them because sometimes one will have tickets for shows that the other sites don't have: Gold Star - https://www.goldstar.com/chicago/categories/theater-tickets?page=6Hot T...

I saw Gospel at Colonus over the weekend and it is indeed amazing. It retells the Oedipus story via African-American gospel music, an inspired approach because it takes a story that could seem dry, distant, and academic and turns it into overwhelmingly emotional, intensely moving experience.The Court's take is vividly theatrical, with beautiful costumes and sets. The music, which includes a variety of gospel genres, is soul-stirring and exciting, and includes some of the best live singing I h...

I walked out of a storefront theater production of Richard III here in Chicago last year. It was well-reviewed but much of the acting was so bad that I had no desire to stick it out.I would have walked out of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson on Broadway, because it was godawful. But there was no intermission so I stayed.

I know it’s semantics, but two out of the four theatres you mention are not in the “Loop.” Correct. I was using "the Loop" as shorthand for the downtown, touristy part of Chicago.Bummed I didn't see the recent Churchill cause that looked really interesting. It was! Churchill's Fen is a brilliant play--a socialist feminist masterpiece. Even though the Court's production was flawed (performances were uneven and actors didn't even attempt to authentic accents), it managed to be a riveting evenin...

Some of you sound like your impressions of Chicago come from Fox News.As a long-time resident, I can assure you that Hyde Park, the neighborhood where I live and where the Court is located, is reasonably safe. I mean, *obviously* excercise all the caution you normally would in any urban neighborhood. But Hyde Park is the location of a posh, elite university (the University of Chicago), and the university has a vested interest in maintaining safety here--if only because they want to continue t...

Another upcoming production I forgot to mention above that looks interesting is the revival of Big River at the Mercury Theater.

A production of The Woman in Black that played here in Chicago a few years ago was wonderfully creepy.I guess I'd also have to say Death Trap, but I saw it so long ago that I have only vague memories of it.

There's been some outstanding stuff here lately, including The Cherry Orchard at the Goodman and the dark Stalin-era Russian farce Dying for It at the Artistic Home. But unfortunately those productions just closed. For May, I've got my eye on a revival of the musical The Gospel at Colonus at the Court Theatre and a new play from Poland, Bowie in Warsaw, at the Trap Door Theatre. The Trap Door is an outstanding storefront theater troop that specializes in experimental and avant-garde works.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Julie Benko is subbing for Lea Michele this afternoon. But I thought Ephie Aardema was the understudy who is supposed to sub for Lea if she's ill, while Benko only performs regularly on Thursday nights.I saw the show on Monday, during my annual sojourn to New York, and I am another satisfied customer. Yes, Lea Michele is really all that and a bag of chips. She nails every aspect of this demanding role, from the vocals (she is a very exciting singer) to the comedy to the drama to the romantic ...

Robert Stack was supposed to replace Barry but was fired during rehearsals, apparently because his singing was deemed inadequate.

I went to Southern Gothic alone and I didn't find it awkward. I wasn't terribly impressed with the play, however.Kokandy's production of Sweeney Todd is wonderful, as is Porchlight's revival of Rent, which I just saw tonight. I also liked Timeline's production of the Alice Childress play, Trouble in Mind, which I saw in previews this week.I've had excellent luck this year with digital lotteries for Chicago shows. I was able to score $30 tickets for four different touring Broadway shows, and I...