Chris Jones

Chris Jones is editorial page editor, as well as chief theater critic for the Chicago Tribune. He also serves as Broadway critic for the New York Daily News. His latest book is Rise Up! Broadway and American Society from 'Angels in America' to 'Hamilton.'" He has a Ph.D. from Ohio State and lives in Chicago with his wife and sons."

The nightclub room in "Theater of the Mind," presented by the Goodman Theatre in the Reid Murdoch Building in Chicago. (Todd Rosenberg)

Review: David Byrne’s ‘Theater of the Mind’ will make you see your own mind anew

March 26, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.

As part of an audience moving through this theater experience, you are asked to reflect on memory, both its comforts and its limitations, and question whether you are a reliable...

Jonathan Berry at a rehearsal at Steppenwolf Theatre on Oct. 17, 2019. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Raven Theatre announces new producing artistic director

March 25, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

Jonathan Berry, a longtime Chicago director and former artistic producer at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will take the helm.

Alex Grelle in "Grelley Duvall Best Actress" at the Chopin Theatre. (Sarah Elizabeth Larson)

Review: ‘Grelley Duvall Best Actress’ is a charmingly bonkers tribute to ’80s movie moments

March 24, 2026 at 2:10 p.m.

This latest edition of the campy "Grelley Duvall Show" recreates moments from such films as "Showgirls" and "Basic Instinct," with live music and puppets thrown in.

Quinn Simmons, David Moreland and cast in "Jekyll & Hyde" by Kokandy Productions at the Chopin Theatre. (Evan Hanover)

‘Angels in America’ and ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ are big winners at the 2026 Non-Equity Jeff Awards

March 23, 2026 at 10:30 p.m.

They were among 36 winners who took part in 27 different productions by Chicago-area non-union theater companies. The awards were presented in a ceremony Monday night at the Harris Theater.

Aya Cash, John Lithgow, Elliott Levey, and Rachael Stirling in "Giant" at the Music Box Theatre in New York. (Joan Marcus)

Review: In ‘Giant’ on Broadway, John Lithgow plays Roald Dahl in a fight over antisemitism

March 23, 2026 at 10:00 p.m.

This play by Mark Rosenblatt begins in the '80s, after Roald Dahl writes an article in the wake of the Lebanon War that many see as deeply antisemitic.

Alfredo, Daza, Daniela Mack and company in "El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego" at Lyric Opera of Chicago. (Cory Weaver)

Review: In ‘El último sueño de Frida y Diego’ at Lyric Opera, the painters are part of a rich tapestry

March 22, 2026 at 1:39 p.m.

This Spanish-language opera by Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz immerses the figures of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in a wider whole.

The sign on TimeLine Theatre's new home in the Uptown neighborhood was illuminated in a marquee lighting ceremony at 5035 N. Broadway in Chicago on March 19, 2026. (Aubrey Jane)

New TimeLine Theatre marquee illuminates Uptown, at the end of long search for a home

March 20, 2026 at 3:12 p.m.

TimeLine artistic director PJ Powers and executive director Mica Cole led a ceremony to illuminate their new theater in the Uptown neighborhood, a moment decades in the making.

Steve McDonagh as Man in Chair, Trey Plutnicki as Robert Martin and Kevin Chlapecka as George in "The Drowsy Chaperone" by Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre in Evanston. (Brett Beiner)

Review: Theo’s ‘Drowsy Chaperone’ has a fabulous narrator to invite us along for the ride

March 18, 2026 at 5:15 a.m.

Rule No. 1 for any production of "The Drowsy Chaperone" is the presence of a great Man in Chair, the empathetic, sad-sack superfan at the center of this very funny...

Hershey Felder in "Rachmaninoff and the Tsar" at Writers Theatre in Glencoe in 2025. (Stefano DeCarli)

Writers Theatre announces 2026-27 season including the return of Hershey Felder

March 17, 2026 at 3:13 p.m.

The upcoming slate in Glencoe also includes a musical adaptation of Noël Coward's "Brief Encounter" and August Strindberg's "Creditors."

Noelle Oh, Reilly Oh and Sunnie Eraso in "White Rooster" by Lookingglass Theatre Company in the Water Tower Water Works. (Justin Barbin)

Review: ‘White Rooster’ at Lookingglass takes a complicated path through death and life

March 16, 2026 at 2:43 p.m.

Matthew C. Yee's world premiere has beautiful moments, but also so many layers that you can feel separated from the characters and where they are going.

All Stories