Chris Jones
chicagotribune.com
Chicago, IL, United States
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Recent articles by Chris:
Review: ‘The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window’: The Goodman play shines on Broadway with Rachel Brosnahan
Either Lorraine Hansberry's genius 1964 play was ahead of its time, or we have slid backwards. → Read More
Review: Broadway’s ‘New York, New York’ has hot jazz but a disjointed story
The show based on the Martin Scorsese film has five lyricists and writers, and it feels like all of the writers got to do their own thing. → Read More
Review: Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht heat up Broadway’s ‘Summer, 1976′
When you have actors of the quality and appeal of Laura Linney (”Ozark,” of late) and Jessica Hecht (”Breaking Bad”), the two stars of David Auburn’s subtle “Summer, 1976,” an intimate chance to visit with them can be reason enough to buy a ticket. → Read More
Review: ‘Shucked’ on Broadway is a funny, gag-filled crowd pleaser set in corn country
Like an episode of “Hee Haw” written by Mel Brooks, the timely new musical “Shucked” opened Tuesday night at the Nederlander Theatre with more gags than every other current Broadway show put together. → Read More
Review: ‘Life of Pi’ on Broadway has adventure aplenty but leaves behind the heart of the story
The stage show uses huge puppets that are walking examples of the single greatest innovation in puppetry ever to hit the stage. → Read More
Review: ‘Sweeney Todd’ on Broadway lets Sondheim’s tragedy howl. It will be a hot ticket.
This must-see production lets Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s gothic revenge story do its thing, without reinvention. → Read More
Review: In ‘Right to be Forgotten’ at Raven Theatre, a past mistake is always right there
Sharyn Rothstein’s gutsy play is well cast and sharply staged, with its urgent question right there in the title. → Read More
A new musical about Betty Boop will have pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago
Coming in the fall, the musical will be directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, who long has favored Chicago as his tryout city. → Read More
Don’t forget the old faves: Producer Cameron Mackintosh knows why shows like ‘Les Misérables’ endure
Most people going to the Cadillac Palace Theatre over the next three weeks will not be heading to the barricades for the first time. And they want their show as they remember it. → Read More
Review: In ‘Toni Stone’ at Goodman Theatre, both tension and joy in story about baseball and racism
“Toni Stone” bursts with the joys of life, even as it notes the racist perils of the era. → Read More
Review: ‘A Chorus Line’ at Drury Lane Theatre embraces 1970s Broadway — and why we love musicals
Is there anything more fun than an opening night for “A Chorus Line?” When the curtain rose Friday night on a stage packed with dancers, the place erupted. → Read More
Review: The musical ‘Chicago’ at the CIBC Theatre is a worthy night out, young cast and all
On a gray January night in Chicago, is there any harm in rolling the dice on hearing such songs as “Nowadays” and “I Am My Own Best Friend?” What were you doing otherwise? → Read More
Review: ‘tick, tick … BOOM!’ by BoHo Theatre is a production Jonathan Larson would have appreciated
This musical is a show to which Chicago’s young theater artists long have related. → Read More
Review: ‘The Golden Gals Live!’ is now at Mercury Theater — and if you’re a fan, go
You get an original “Golden Girls” story that employs characters, famous bits and timeless schtick from the TV show from three decades ago. → Read More
What went right — and wrong — on Broadway in 2022
In the last weeks of 2022, failed Broadway shows seemed to stack up one after another. → Read More
‘Into the Woods’ coming to Chicago soon after Broadway
The touring cast of the show is expected to include Montego Glover as the Witch, Stephanie J. Block as the Baker’s Wife. → Read More
Review: In ‘Ain’t No Mo’ on Broadway, Black Americans are offered a one-way plane ticket out. Painful comedy ensues.
This new show is a smart, angry blast of Broadway talent. It abandons caution to the winds and really, really goes there, meaning wherever the heck Jordan E. Cooper wants. → Read More
Theater review: ‘KPOP’ doesn’t fully pop on Broadway
“KPOP” is a backstage story that wants both to celebrate the Korean pop music industry known for its tight harmonies and good-looking young performers, and also critique its rigorous regimentation and stifling authoritarianism in artist training. → Read More
Review: New musical ‘KPOP’ doesn’t fully pop on Broadway
The pandemic was not kind to “KPOP,” the new Broadway show that aims to do for South Korean popular music much of what “Dreamgirls” did for Motown. → Read More
Broadway Review: Juliet hath no need for Romeo in ‘& Juliet’
“& Juliet" is a nonstop party-empowerment show gets its theme of feminist revisionist British history from “Six,” its Shakespearean humor from “Something Rotten,” its nonbinary savvy from “Head Over Heels,” and its collage-like spectacle from “Moulin Rouge.” → Read More