The winter theater season in Chicago is a reliable source of heat. Here are five promising productions.

J.T. Rogers’ superbly crafted, whip-smart, at times fancifully (and farcically) imagined 2017 Tony Award-winning play captures the efforts of a Norwegian husband-and-wife team to forge a peace process between the Israeli government and the PLO.

With its incendiary production, Firebrand Theatre easily secures its place among the handful of Chicago’s hottest “smaller” musical theater companies. Though there is nothing at all “small” about this formidable assemblage of talent.

The Chicago Sun-Times theater critic reviews four plays that address societal challenges and conflicts, including Goodman Theatre’s revival of the rarely staged second play by “Raisin in the Sun” author Lorraine Hansberry.

Hedy Weiss devours the latest version of Sweeney Todd to hit Chicago.  She reviews that and three more shows.