Anne Spiselman

Maybe David Javerbaum's “An Act of God” seemed edgier and funnier when it premiered on Broadway almost a decade ago. Nowadays, many of the tropes in the 80-minute one-act, which started life as a series of tweets and then a book, have become familiar, and some of the pop culture references are showing their age. But that doesn't detract all that much from enjoyment of the production at Paramount's intimate Copley Theatre directed by Keira Fromm.

(Center, left to right) Zach Wyatt, Leah Haile and the company of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s "Pericles."

Renowned playwright and Wilmette native Sarah Ruhl has been criticized for cramming too much into “Becky Nurse of Salem,” which is having its Midwest premiere directed by her frequent collaborator

If it wasn't for Steppenwolf ensemble member Jon Michael Hill's stellar performance, the world premiere of Ngozi Anyanwu's “Leroy and Lucy” in Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater wouldn't be half as enjoyable

Times are tough for Chicago theaters, and one way they're coping is by collaborating with each other. Each project is unique, but in general, they offer opportunities to share resources,

(Left to right) Jason Evans, Charlie Long and Stephen Schellhardt in “Falsettos,"a joint production of Hyde Park's Court Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company.

You don't have to be a Potterhead to love “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which launched its first national tour at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, but it probably

(Left to right) Alexis Primus, Charlie Irving, Wain Parham, Seoyoung Park and Huy Nguyen in TUTA Theatre's "The Long Christmas Dinner."

The biggest news for Goodman Theatre's 47th annual outing of Charles Dickens'“A Christmas Carol” is a new Ebenezer Scrooge. Renowned actor Christopher Donahue has replaced Larry Yando who, after 16 years as everyone's favorite miser, has gone off to play Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore and Amos Diggory in the national tour of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” currently at the Nederlander Theatre down the block.

The world premiere of Lauren Gunderson's “Louisa May Alcott's Little Women” at Northlight Theatre is an exercise in innovation both artistically and practically. Unfortunately, that doesn't make it the ideal adaptation of Alcott's beloved Civil War-era novel “Little Women”—but more about that later.