Despite a number of fine performances and a gorgeous “flower power” set, the whole thing ends up feeling more clunky and exhausting than beguiling. Subtle it is not, and often the poetry and emotion get lost.

The theater company’s new home in Evanston marks a grand, and grandly deserved step upward. Its opening production looks at what happens when men lose their well-paying factory jobs and self-respect.

Alternately farcical and romantic, this very French rendering of the Cinderella story has arrived on the Lyric Opera stage for the very first time in an altogether enchanting production.

In his new book, Chris Jones – my colleague-on-the-aisle in Chicago since the 1990s – has chronicled the American theater in a singularly creative way.

With great bursts of raucous humor, as well as zany rom-com moments and deep anguish, playwright Danai Gurira infuses her exuberantly boisterous play with issues of family contention that go well beyond the usual disputes.

At Paramount Theatre, director-choreographer Amber Mak and her sensational team of actors and designers magically pay homage to the emotional richness of the 1939 film while incorporating some of the newest tricks of technology.

The new touring production of the epic show could not be more elaborate, but it trades more in shock value than pathos, and loses something in the process.

From monsters and novelists to a depressed construction foreman in Belarus, the Chicago theater scene is as varied as ever. Hedy Weiss joins us with reviews and recommendations.

To bring Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” to vivid life, director Mary Zimmerman looks to the English pantomime tradition, and draws on her ingenious, visually stunning storytelling tricks.

From “Angels in America” to “Hamilton,” a new book from Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones looks at the last quarter century of American theater.

Watching Northlight Theatre’s luminous world premiere stage version of Jane Austen’s third published novel, it was impossible not to wonder what the writer might make of her enduring cult status among 21st century audiences.

The recent Broadway musical based on the hit 1942 film is an old-fashioned charmer on every level, with just enough of a sardonic bite to make it feel fresh, and just enough nostalgia to pierce your heart.

Decades after it premiered in London, the mega-musical “Miss Saigon” is still captivating audiences around the world. Meet three of the stars from the new touring production.

This wildly imaginative version of Mary Shelley’s classic is at once handmade and high-tech, and as you take your seat at Court Theatre, you immediately sense that something completely out of the ordinary is about to unfold.

If you think this country’s political culture is the quintessential hornet’s nest, you probably haven’t been exposed to life in the world of scientific research. Jenny Connell Davis puts it under a powerful magnifying microscope in this world premiere work.

As it happens, there are two “ladies” in Dael Orlandersmith’s play, “Lady in Denmark,” now in its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre. But only one is fully seen or heard on stage.