The Targeted Individuals are a group of people who believe that the government has implanted chips into their brains and are using the chips to torture, track, and control them. They have all gathered at a conference to organize their efforts. 

Hanna Kime has written a fantastic play that starts off very funny until it gets quite dramatic. The audience goes from laughter to empathy. It’s an exploration of whether you can still love someone with a completely different worldview. 

At 95 minutes, it would be nice to have an intermission. There are plenty of scene changes where it can be easily added.  Join the Pro-Intermission movement here. 

Lawrence Grimm (Turret) is excellent as the leader of the group, who does his best to convince the non-TIs of their suffering. Kirsten Fitzgerald (The Cave, In Quietness) is superb as the very intense member who jumps to action quickly. Natalie West (The Cave, Revolution) is so funny as the one who lives in storage units. Sadieh Rifai (You Will Get Sick) is great as the wife whose husband doesn’t believe her. Glenn Obrero (The Chinese Lady) is great as the brother who is very excited to meet other just like him. Lastly, Stephanie Shum (Revolution) is stellar as the sister who is there to support her brother, but also to confront the leader. 

Cost of a ticket: $55

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for The Targeted through June 21^st!  

Quinn Delaney

Spamalot is the musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was released in 1975. The original screenplay was written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. It was adapted into a musical by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. Spamalot’s world premiere took place as a preview at Chicago’s Schubert Theatre starting on December 21, 2004 and then moved to Broadway beginning on February 14, 2005. It was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and it won three including Best Musical. In September 2019, it opened at the Mercury Theatre Chicago. Now, in May 2026, it opens at the CIBC Theatre.

In the story, King Arthur gathers a group of men to find the holy grail. On their quest they come across a wide variety of characters including the Lady of the Lake, the French Taunter, the Knights of Ni, Tim the Enchanter, the Black Night, and many more. One of the best scenes starts with a man ringing a triangle asking everyone to bring out their dead. Bodies are dragged out into the street to be removed. Then, one of the bodies simply says “I’m not dead yet.” “Yes, he is” says the man who dragged him out. “I feel happy”, says Not Dead Fred who then launches into a full song and dance number!

They have thrown in very recent references to keep this musical fresh. The most surprising one was “Hawk tuah and spit on that thing!” 

The songs in the show are very funny and one that tops the list is “You Won’t Succeed On Broadway”. “In any great adventure if you don’t want to lose / Victory depends upon the people that you choose / So listen Arthur darling closely to this news / We won’t succeed on Broadway if we don’t have any Jews”. It also features the famous dance from Fiddler on the Roof with cups on their heads. 

Major Attaway is hilarious as King Arthur. Matching his charisma and humor is Amanda Robles as the Lady of the Lake. Many of the actors portray multiple roles with great style and oh so many costumes. Steven Telsey is so funny as Not Dead Fred, Minstrel, and more. Chris Collins-Pisano is exceptionally cast as Sir Lancelot, the Knight of Ni, and more. Leo Roberts is solid as Sir Dennis Galahad, the Black Night, and Herbert’s Father.  The rest of the cast is absolutely fantastic also.

Get tickets now for Spamalot through May 31st!

Cost of a ticket: $96

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Good Value > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Fox Royale is an indie rock band from Joplin, Missouri, which has a population of about 53,000. On stage tonight are brothers Nathan and Caleb, and their friend Josh. The guitarist, Nathan, says he is married to a woman from Costa Rica, so he is trying to learn Spanish. He is very proud to have an 802 day streak on DuoLingo. 

Later on, Nathan says sometimes he overshares. The following song is a good example of that. It’s the 2023 single, “So Different”. “I like you / I like sex / Even though I know I’m not the best in bed”. 

The bassist, Caleb, says he is divorced, which gets a big laugh after the guitarist talked a lot about being married. This leads perfectly into “Blow This Up”. “Pretend like we got time for each other / Seems like we’re all fine / Someone’s always asking when I’ll blow this up / Just a matter of time”. It truly captures the end of his marriage with great lyrics.

Towards the end of the night, they play “Don’t Call Me When You’re Lonely”. This is their most popular track on Spotify with over 2.2 million streams. “Mary, pick up the phone, I’ll listen closely / Won’t you call me when you’re lonely? / Don’t lie and tell me I’m the only / One you call”. It’s a great song, but with these lyrics, maybe it should have been called “Won’t you call me when you’re lonely?” 

Overall, it was a great 37 minutes that left the audience wanting more. Expect them to continue to be back soon and continue to grow their audience. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $36

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Rodrigo y Gabriela are touring to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of their self-titled debut album. Unlike recent tours that included electric guitar, tonight they only use acoustic guitars and they truly make the most of them. Often they play the body of the guitar like a drum. At times it seems like they are playing six instruments at once in an explosion of sound.

Early on they play “Diablo Rojo” and their talent is instantly on display. Their fingers are in a blur as they rapid fire the rocking notes of this song. This track still holds on to it’s power.

Later on, they play part of “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. They really put their own unique twist on this classic to make it their own. 

For the final song of the set, they play the fantastic “Tamacun”. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 49 million streams. It sounds fantastic in the Chicago Theatre.

In the encore, they play a brand-new song, “Monster”, which hasn’t yet been released. It was inspired by Manga. It’s a powerful track that makes for an excellent closer. 

See a similar recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $80 (Main Floor)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Theater of the Mind is a series of rooms meant to mess with your perception. If you don’t want any spoilers, skip the rest of this paragraph. There are tiles that look different , but that are actually the same color. There is a completely dark room where a flash of light leaves an afterimage in your eyes. There is a magic berry that makes a lemon taste very sweet, instead of sour and acidic.

I would recommend that they end with the dark room, which is the best one. Overall, it’s a very cool experience that you’ll wish would last longer than 75 minutes. 

See the program here. Definitely check out the page on the scientific explanations. 

Cost of a ticket: $76

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Theater of the Mind through September 30th!

Quinn Delaney

Mr. Marshmallow is here to solve major problems for the kids! What’s a major issue like the Iran War or AI? An audience member says “Epstein!” Epstein! He takes a deep breath and then lets out a huge nervous laugh. Ok, here we go! It’s like Santa’s list, but everyone is naughty! Ok, I got it, Let’s put them all in jail, or, I don’t know, kill them all! I’m just an actor! Why am I trying to solve all these major issues? 

In another scene, a man introduces himself as the future of AI Comedy. He asks a lady sitting in the front row, what would you like to see? After a very long pause, she finally says “cookies”. They do a skit where a man has 8 fingers. Ok, can you please refine this? After another long pause, she says, “chocolate chip” and the audience cracks up. They do another skit and then come back one last time for a further refinement. She says “Marshmallows” which leads to the return of the Mr. Marshmallow costume! 

Bill Letz (This Too Shall Slap) is outstanding as Mr. Marshmallow reacting to the audience’s suggestion of Epstein. Eddie Mujica (Soul Brother Where Art Thou?) is so funny as the AI Chatbot patiently waiting for the audience member to respond: “Take your time, we have all night”. Preston Parker (The Best of Second City) is superb all night, especially with his guitar playing skills. Cat McDonnell is great in the “You Should Be Dancing” skit. Zoe McKee (The Best of Second City) is joyful and fun, especially during “In The Air Tonight” skit. Lastly, Yazmin Ramos (What the Elf?) is solid in her many roles. 

Overall, this show is full of non-stop laughs. Do not miss this one!

Cost of a ticket: $67 (GA)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Pandemonium, Please Hold! 

Quinn Delaney

A young TV actor is cast to be Hamlet in New York City’s Shakespeare in the Park production, but he doesn’t want to accept the role. He only auditioned because his girlfriend wanted him to. His agent also doesn’t want him to do it as he prefers him to do TV, which is much more lucrative. After moving in, he meets the ghost of the last great actor to play Hamlet, whose goal is to properly prepare him for the role.  

Paul Rudnick has written a very funny play about an actor torn between TV and theatre. Fans of theatre and especially of Hamlet will truly enjoy the humor in this production. 

Benjamin Chalex is great as the young actor who is conflicted about playing Hamlet. Emma Parsons is superb as the girlfriend who is saving herself for marriage. Jake Schwingshakl is hilarious as the bombastic agent who doesn’t understand the appeal of theatre. Jered Becker is stellar as the very theatrical ghost. Abigail Jimenez is very funny as the real estate agent. Lastly, Ellen Shaw is solid as the lady with a history with the ghost. 

Cost of a ticket: $35
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional –
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Get tickets now for I Hate Hamlet through May 17th! 

Quinn Delaney

The cast is very impressive with Adrian Galante on piano and the three vocalists: Ava Locknar, John Pagano (who toured with Bacharach as the lead vocalist for 26 years!), and Ta-Tynisa Wilson.

Burt Bacharach’s songs are almost always most famously recorded by a different artist. Here is a list of the top songs from this show and who recorded the most popular version. 

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” – 1968 – B.J. Thomas – It’s from the album of the same name which contains songs from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

“That’s What Friends Are For” – 1985 – Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder 

“What the World Needs Now Is Love” – 1967 – Dionne Warwick

“Walk on By’ – 1964 – Dionne Warwick

“(They Long to Be) Close To You” – 1970 – Carpenters

“Always Something There to Remind Me” – 1983 – Naked Eyes

“I Say a Little Prayer” – 1968 – Aretha Franklin – This is the most popular song with over 802 million streams! It was featured in the movie, My Best Friend’s Wedding. 

“Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do)” – 2008 – Christopher Cross – This is the main theme song from Arthur and it won Best Original Song at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes. 

“I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” – 1999 – Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello – Featured on the Austin Powers soundtrack

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $49

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

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Get tickets now for Going Bacharach through May 17th!

Quinn Delaney

This tour is celebrating the 15^th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album. Each of the band members tells a story about one of the songs. The drummer talks about the first time he heard an early recording of “Down in the Valley”. His future wife told him that he needed to drive to Seattle now to meet with them and not to mess this one up! 

Afterwards, they play “Rivers and Roads”, their biggest hit to date, which has over 336 million streams on Spotify. It’s such a great slow build to the climactic chorus: “Rivers and roads / Rivers and roads / Rivers ’til I reach you!” It’s usually their closing song. 

Midway into the set they play “Lost in My Mind”. It’s such a catchy song that is so fun to sing along to and the entire audience does. “Momma once told me / You’re already home where you feel loved / I am lost in my mind”. 

Late in the night, they sing “All We Ever Knew” from their 2016 release, Signs of Light. It’s a great fun song that was one of the first songs where they felt pressure to write a good one. They had a deadline to finish it for the show Roadies with Cameron Crowe. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $150 (Orchestra Center)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Brother Wallace opens with “Electric Love”, a 2026 single. The audience dances and sings along and it’s immediately clear this is going to be a joyful set. 

They follow this with “Who Do You Love?”, from the 2026 EP of the same name. “The path to choose is always love / Now, tell me / Tell me baby, who do you love?” This one is an upbeat rocker! 

Next up is “Gone With The Wind”. It’s a beautiful song that has everyone swaying along.   

Late into the set, they play “Who’s That?”, a single from 2025. Before the song, he told the crowd it was about catching his girl on a date with another man. “Riding round / In his fancy car / Having a real good time / The whole while I’m out here cryin'”. With these lyrics, you’d expect to hear a sad blues song, but it actually sounds like a fun soul song. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $75

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney