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Straight from a twice-extended Broadway run, Jocelyn Bioh's excellent play "Jaja's African Hair Braiding" is making its regional debut in The Yard space at Chicago Shakespeare Theater  at Navy Pier .   It is easily one of the most entertaining and satisfying pieces of theater you're likely to see all year. Tony-nominated Ghanaian-American playwright Bioh and award-winning director (from Chicago) Whitney White bring a beautiful sense of authenticity to this day-in-the-life sto

The Royal Shakespeare Company  has returned to Chicago for the first time in 30 years with a remarkable production of  William Shakespeare 's "Pericles"  direct from an acclaimed run in Stratford-upon-Avon , England. Part of Shakespeare's latter "romances," this epic tale of a prince's journey through battles, marriage, birth, and death is one of the wilder of Shakespeare's works that I was not as familiar with as many of his other, more popular plays. The play is filled with

My girlfriend Julie and I were very excited to have these tickets to Chicago Shake's current production of "Henry V." Founded and formed in 1986 by Barbara Gaines , Chicago Shakespeare Theater has been consistently doing great work for 38 years. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary at their incredible space at Navy Pier , it is home to year-round presentations of plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions, and theatrical works from around the world. Their la

Yes, as strange as it sounds, there is in fact, a musical based on J.R.R. Tolkien' s trilogy of books, the same books that inspired Peter Jackson's magnificent trilogy of movies. When I first heard about this thing, I was immediately skeptical and expected the worst. I mean, how on earth can you condense Tolkien's sprawling work down to three hours? And still have time for musical numbers? And, who the hell wants to see Frodo and Gandalf sing and dance? I know I didn't. Well,