I took expert theater goers Megan and I a minute or two to figure out this one. The Lincoln Square…read moreTheater is a performance space used by the Lincoln Square Community Arts Center. The theater is located in the Berry Memorial United Methodist Church basement. You got that?? Basically a small playhouse in a church that is used by many production companies. But, it doesn't just have plays, it also hosts cultural discussions, stage readings, live music, and dance. One evening Megan and I decided to track down this theater for a "Babes and Blades" production called "The Double". A screwball comedy meets swashbuckler in a tribute to Cyrano de Bergerac and the 1940s. Megan liked it but I did not. It's nothing against the actors or playwright, I'm tired of old fashion period pieces. Again it's a personal thing. The actors were great, singing, dancing, sword fighting (though I expected more), and an easy to follow story filled with romance and comedy. It really did remind me of 1940's film, the way they spoke, the way they dressed, and even the dance numbers. Anyways can't hurt to keep an eye out for future shows at LSAC.

UNPROFESSIONAL OWNERSHIP Update: an indication of the lack…read moreof professionalism is the suggestion that I rallied my friends and family to leave low reviews in search of a refund. We already know we aren't getting a refund. The owner made that clear when we tried to remedy the situation with her over the phone. Nicolle was informed of the lack of AC during the event by a staffer who told me herself that she'd contacted Nicolle. Another indicator of her lacking professionalism is the angry emails she sent me regarding my Yelp review - no apology, just anger and threats to have my Yelp account blocked and shut down. She says we toured the venue 6 times... we saw it 3x. Finally, she dismissed the fact that her staffers were unprofessional and didn't know how to tap kegs/mix drinks just because my dad provided a generous tip. If you read the review my dad left (HJ), you'll see that his generous tip does not reflect his dissatisfaction with the service. He's just a generous tipper. I want to start by saying that I had an amazing wedding; definitely the wedding of my dreams thanks to my wedding parties and family. However, the service from the owner Nicolle was just terrible and so unprofessional. When it came to securing a contract or receiving payment, she was on top of the communication. It wasn't until after she met my now-husband and wedding parties that her friendly and responsive demeanor entirely changed. She was condescending and treated us like children. Prior to meeting my entourage, I asked about security and she said that we wouldn't need it unless we wanted it. After meeting my entourage, she told me that since my crowd is mostly younger (it wasn't) she would be contracting security for our event to ensure that we weren't serving alcohol to minors. What an assumption! Whatever age we are, we are paying her and deserve to be treated with respect. Her contract stated that a week prior to the event we would communicate any accommodations or other details for the event, including possible early drop off or arrival of decor. I called her twice and emailed her a follow up - never received a response from her except for her to tell me that she was unable to accommodate us any more - 6 days later & 2 days before my wedding. Her lack of attention to detail could have ruined my day. Bartenders who couldn't tap a keg (she knew we'd have kegs 6 weeks prior to event date) and refused to mix drinks, and her "industrial strength AC" that she promised didn't work throughout the entire 80 degree day and showed "service required." She refused to honor any of these mistakes and stated that there was an event the day after and everything was fine. Maybe a smaller crowd would have been fine but 80 people in suits and cocktail attire were drenched with sweat. Fortunately I had fantastic family and friends who made sure my day was magical. The space is cute but the professionalism is nonexistent and a HUGE headache.

Lovely venue! Attended a dance event here many years ago, and selected this space for an offsite…read morework meeting. We had ample space for 15 of us, with different "work zones" for our meeting activities throughout the day -- and probably would have still felt this way with double the people. It was spacious enough for us to spread out, but still feels cozy with the mix-and-match decor. Appreciated the option to have some light catering to sustain us, without having to do all the legwork for that - and Nicolle was attentive to requests during the contracting/ setup phase. For a corporate meeting - we challenged the wi-fi capacity as we had a lot of folks joining video remotely; if A/V is your top need, this may not be your ideal spot without some additional technology brought in. For a fully or mostly in-person workshop or meeting in a unique space, go for it! Looking forward to hosting here again.

Nothing fancy, but quiet and cheap. Good for headshots, rehearals, music rehearsals. Tough to do…read moreauditions because there is only the one room. Close to Walgreens, liquor, Staples - everything you need!

Imagine you're at a party. Quirky theme. Fun vibe. All of a sudden, a woman kills the music and…read moretells everyone at the party that she miscarried a week ago. Before you have time to understand what just happened, the music clicks back on. Someone yells "let's do a line dance!" No one misses a beat. Everyone starts dancing. You are bewildered and vaguely upset. You consider joining the dance, but you can't because the music clicks off again. A guy grabs a mic talks about how his uncle assaulted him when he was 14. You begin to think that maybe this party isn't intended to be fun. But then, suddenly, the party music clicks back on and someone shouts "let's play musical chairs!" It goes on like this. If you ever begin to enjoy yourself, you know that at any second a partygoer will cut the electricity and monologue about gun violence or Palestine or climate change. You try to wrap your head around it. Maybe it's supposed to be a critique of parties in general? Before you can figure it out, the party is over. Everyone says they loved it. Anyway, that's what the Infinite Wrench feels like. $25 bucks. 5 stars I guess I don't know anymore.

This review is for the theater itself, not the performing group…read more The entrance to the Neo-Futurarium Theater is on Ashland Thrift the red doors in the middle of the building. Then you climb three flights of stairs (I did not see an elevator), down a long corridor to head into the waiting area. This has been the permanent performance space since 1992 of the Neo-Futurist Theater company. The theater is a comfortable size and seats from 140-154. We saw a performance of That's Weird Grandma's 25th Birthday. It's not the worst, and it's not the nicest theater that we've ever been in, but, it looks like the whole building is in sore need of refurbishment. It does seem to be the perfect venue for experimental theater.

So, it's Halloween time, so that means it's time for another production by A&E…read more Seance is the latest presentation, and I thought it was a lot of fun. It's interactive for the first half, and you become an audience member for the second. For people who are looking for a traditional, plot-driven theater experience, this may not be the ticket. This is improvisation, and you could theoretically go see this more than once and see a different production every time. Without giving spoilers, it was a blast. A seance with two parts to it. Pro tip: BYOB! This is a fun one!

From the owner: Immersive Rituals of Living. Now showing at River Park…read moreField House Theatre. Find forgotten fun and lost connections Your own personal Hero's Journey Audiences and performers engage in playful physical rituals, emotional poses, and inspiring rhythms to open doors to a new form of entertainment where forgotten fun and connections are found. Inspired by the Hero’s Journey of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, which binds and propels people to a full life. The production features a multimedia-projected dream space that transforms into a mythic setting where audiences embark on a quest to discover the secrets of their own personal "Hero's Journey". This is the next evolution of interactive immersive theatre where “doing” opens new ways to experience the universe. Audiences declare "Cathartic, Great Show ,SO MUCH FUN,Did not disappoint.Great Experience,Kept thinking about it, Beautiful, A Dreamscape"

A friend invited me to a show at Chase Park Theater. Community theater? I wasn't enthused. The show…read morewas Romeo and Juliet no less. The whole bike ride there I was trying to think of things I could say after the show to look on the bright side, fully expecting to feel as if I had just wasted two precious hours of my life. However, I could not have been more wrong. The play was a delight! The staging and direction was really well done. It was a HUGE risk to update the play with modern costumes and settings, while retaining the certain authentic aspects (most notably the weaponry). The risk payed off! The play was sophisticated and yet accessible to a much wider audience. The actors were very diverse and represented the whole community. Some were really fantastic (I'm talking to you Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, Tybalt, Mercutio.). Among them were recent theater grads from DePaul and other respectable programs. From the opening scene I was really impressed with the high quality of acting (Gregory and Sampson nailed it!). The fight choreography was intricate and fun to watch. I'm not saying this play was perfect, but it was really, really good and worth way more than the cost of admission. I look forward to seeing what Chase Park Theater is putting on in the future.

The stage is small and so is the audience space. The actors for romeo and juliet were awesome…read more All those lines by shakespeare they learned holy appraisal to them rehearsing that stuff. I laughed hard I cried hard. This romeo and juliet play was fun and long. It was magically majestic. Beautifully performed. Colorful and creative. Wildly entertaining. Thank god for this friday night walk in the park date. Living around the corner to this theater park is a real impressive place to be. The actors were out of this world brilliant in their acts.

I must say that this review is long overdue, but it must be done…read more I visited Chicago for the first time ever back in May and did all the touristy things like taking my photo in front of the Bean in Millenium Park and going on an architecture boat tour along the Chicago River. One of the best experiences, though, was a local gem lesser known to tourists and quite possibly even Chicagans - the Albany Park Theater Project. I had my taste of APTP on what was their second to the last performance of "Feast," a play about something Yelpsters can appreciate - FOOD! All I can say is that you need to see it for yourself to understand how amazingly talented this youth theater ensemble is as they sing their hearts out and tell delicious stories about one's first memory of food from the perspective of immigrants, working class Americans and urban teens. Loved it! "Feast" was simply captivating. It brings on all sorts of emoticons like :) and :( and :') and :D. I don't know if there's an emoticon for hunger out there, but I probably had a drool-face/nom nom nom look going on for the most part. If you ever get the opportunity to watch, participate and/or sponsor APTP, I'd highly recommend it. It looks like they're performing "Feast" again this October and November. GO SEE IT! APTP is like the best thing since, well, the Chicago-style hot dog!

It took me a while to write this review but I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the…read morebreathtaking theater from APTP. I've seen a few APTP productions and they are awe-inspiring to say the least. The true raw talent, the attention to historical facts, the captivating music, song, and movements. I was lucky because I learned about APTP almost a decade ago when they first started out in Eugene Field School. I happened to see the last performance of "Homeland" at the Goodman Theater and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen (this includes Broadway in NYC). The stories are real... I think that makes it even more captivating. APTP is very accessible to all as it has tickets for a very reasonable price. This is a true hidden gem. Okay enough raving :) Go check it out, you'll know what I'm talking about then.

Passionate, skilled Professionals, sharing the classics for no charge to audience. AEA actors…read more Great dramaturgy before each show and talk-back after. True community.

Yesterday would have been William Shakespeare's 449th birthday (and also the anniversary of his…read moredeath), which proved to be the inspiration to write this review. Maybe you've not heard of The Shakespeare Project of Chicago, and that's a shame, but I'm happy to tell you all about it. This is NOT the place down on Navy Pier (although they do wonderful work as well). The Shakespeare Project of Chicago is a non-profit organization that has been in existence since 1996, and its goals are pretty simple: bringing Shakespeare's beautiful words to life, for the community--to create, as their tagline says, The World in Words. For free. That's right, for free. Theatrical readings are performed throughout the year at several venues in the city and nearby suburbs (mostly libraries, which is highly fitting). These smaller venues lend a much more intimate feel. The talent pool is deep--these are professional actors with impressive credits that run the gamut from Broadway, film and television, to Shakespeare festivals, both regional and international. Over the past 18 seasons, Shakespeare's canon of classic plays has been performed; from all of the popular comedies, tragedies, and histories, to the less well-known ones that you may not be familiar with. They've tackled them all, with precision and aplomb. The actors perform the plays without benefit of fancy costumes or elaborate sets, instead choosing to focus on the text. Believe me when I say that you won't miss the costumes; in fact, you won't even notice they're not there. Prior to the show, a dramaturge will introduce the play and offer some background, and after the show, questions and comments from the audience are encouraged. Perhaps one of my favorite things about The Shakespeare Project is their Education Outreach Program. This program is intended to bring Shakespeare into the middle or high school classroom at a completely accessible level, via their "50 Minute" versions of classic plays like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. The Education Outreach Program has been extremely well received and a godsend to English and drama teachers through the city and suburbs looking to get their students excited about, and interested in, Shakespeare. I'm lucky enough to know someone closely affiliated with this organization so I've seen countless performances over the years. I'm consistently impressed with the level of artistry that comes through in each and every production. Again, performances are free, but a small donation is always greatly appreciated. There's usually a jar next to the programs and information in which to bestow any amount you wish to contribute. There's no pressure whatsoever, but as with any not-for-profit organization, they still have costs that are incurred to put on these wonderful shows. Get thee to a performance! Be not afraid of greatness.

We were at The Trickery last weekend for a magic show - our age group ranged from teens to senior…read morecitizens and we all had a blast. The highlight of our weekend in Chicago. Aaron and Steve are truly amazing magicians and performers - highly recommend!

We attended Trickery on Saturday 04/18/26. Aaron was adept at working with a diverse audience to…read moreinclude them and maintain control of his performance in a very intimate setting. Because it's BYOB you'll get the 20-somethings that feel they have to get loaded beforehand and then act the fool while attending (do you hear that "Neil"? No one wants the focus on you acting like it was your first experience with alcohol) but Aaron was skilled at bypassing them without causing tension or escalating bad behavior. Aaron's attitude is one of someone who has worked hard to make this little venture work, and he deserves respect and recognition for his obvious commitment and work ethic. His act included variations of tricks performed by other magicians, with his own twists. He is an expert at sleight of hand and distraction, which is considerably more difficult in a room about the size of an average residential living-room. He had an appropriate sense of humor aligned with an audience coming to Boystown, an overtly gay neighborhood in Chicago (if you're not familiar). However he wasn't garish, flaming, flamboyant, or offensive; he managed a perfect balance of innuendo humor and audience engagement without being cheap or ingenuine. The snarky one-liners will likely go over your young kids' heads (although bring them to an early show, your 9 year old doesn't belong in Boystown at 10 pm on a weekend), and he carries himself with class avoiding the use of profanity or graphic terms. Again, I can't overstate that his tricks were amazing, impressive, and captivating - as magic should be. You leave the show shaking your head and wondering how it's done - which truly makes it "magic". You would be hard-pressed to spend $36.36/person for an hour of live entertainment that can match Aaron's performance. Pro-tip: If you're driving there you will need to use an app to reserve parking, as there aren't garages like downtown Chicago and every street is filled with so many signs there's no way you will return and find your car not-towed or not-ticketed. Chicago does this on purpose to generate revenue; you'll see "street cleaning" on Tuesday from xx hour to xx hour, no parking when snow is over 2 inches OR any time from Dec 1 through April 1, loading zone, 15 minute stopping/standing with flashers, no parking, residential permit zone only, bike lanes, bus stop restrictions, etc. If you find street parking and think you've beaten the system, think again. Nobel Prize Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, Ivy League PhDs, Mensa members - you can meet them all at Chicago Central Auto Pound retrieving their vehicles. Stephen Hawking couldn't drive, but if he could and he parked in that neighborhood all the quantum mechanics in the world wouldn't make his towed car reappear from the Chicago Parking space-time continuum. The nice thing is if you do reserve parking and give yourself enough time you can walk to many, many restaurants and bars in the area that are open even after the 10 pm show ends. Thank you Aaron for a wonderful experience, you made my wife's birthday memorable for both of us.

Fun show with two amazing performers! Harrison's magic act…read moreis peppered with perfectly timed humor and deadpan jokes; Kayla's friendly and sincere personality is endearing. The evening was enjoyable and lots of fun. I recommend this show for date night, family fun or anyone who wants to laugh and leave feeling happy!

We had a fantastic time, Kayla and Harrison are both very talented, engaging, and all around fun!…read moreAnd don't let the audience participation part scare you off, it's very easy and the vibe is like hanging out with friends! Also, it's BYOB but they have snacks and n/a drinks : )