Pablo and his pregnant wife Tania have just moved into a fixer upper. They plan on upgrading the ugly chain link fence in their front yard, and their neighbors, Virginia and Frank, couldn’t be happier. Before installing the fence, Pablo goes to measure their yard. He extends the measuring the tape past the fence and across their neighbor’s flower bed! Will they insist the new fence goes where is it meant to be? Will Virginia and Frank invoke adverse possession, aka, squatter’s rights? The drama rises and the laughs just keep coming!

The set is very well done. On the right is the fixer upper with a large tree. On the left is another house with a pristine green lawn filled with flowers. Frank says there used to be a large tree in their backyard, but they had it removed because it was ugly and posed a risk to their house.

The acting in this production is very good. Rio Soliz Ragazzone and Emely Cuestas are great as the owners of the fixer upper. Chuck Munro and Suzy Krueckeberg are solid as their neighbors. 

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $12 and up

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

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

Get tickets now for Native Gardens through July 18th for Native Gardens!

Quinn Delaney

For Guster, who have been a band since 1991, their tour schedule is all about quality of life. They haven’t played a full band show in 274 days (Since September 25th). Also, if they are going to travel to Chicago, they want to play a few other nearby shows as a warmup. Their management adds on Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Paw Paw, Michigan, after their Chicago show! It’s this type of banterand charm on stage that makes a Guster live show so great. It’s a celebration of music with the audience, not at the audience.

https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/track/4wOHTxl4euh0hMGU9CJERL?si=54222c 7823fc4df7

Gallagher Way is packed tonight. Guster immediately gets everyone dancing around early with “Satellite” from their 2006 album, Ganging up on the Sun. It’s their most popular track on Spotify with over 50 million streams.  “You’re my satellite / You’re riding with me tonight / Passenger side, lighting the sky / Always the first star that I find”. 

On “Barrel Of A Gun”, Brian Rosenworcel (Thunderhands) is a frenzy of fingers, sweat, and bongos. He’s the strong beating heart of the band and it’s an absolute joy to watch him perform.

The whole band is smiling as they play “Come Downstairs and Say Hello.” The whole crowd dances and sings along, “tomorrow I start in a new direction!”

For the encore, they return in Cubs jerseys with their last names and 26 (for the year) on the back. They close with “Happier” from their 1999 album, Lost and Gone Forever. Ryan Miller sings “So go on / If this will make you happier /It got you this far / Do what you have to”. 

Guster isn’t coasting on their laurels. They continue to evolve and play fantastic live shows. Catch them on tour now and check out their new album, Ooh La La!

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $64

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

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

Quinn Delaney

Catch as Catch Can is a play about the relationships between parents who are friends and their adult children and how mental illness of one of the children affects them all. Three actors play six characters. Each one plays a parent and a child of that parent. 

The effect of this casting is very disorientating in this play. At times, they are switching between the characters instantly. There is even a scene where the two characters talking to each other are talking to the actor’s other character. To the audience, it feels like having a mental breakdown, just like one of the characters. Everyone working on this play says it’s the hardest one they’ve ever done. It’s also the hardest to watch and figure out what is happening. 

Gary Cole (Office Space, The Good Fight) is great as one of the mother / son combinations. Tim Hopper (The Thanksgiving Play, Mr. Wolf) is exceptional as the other mother / son combination. In one scene he is flipping instantly from one character in tears to another with extreme anger. Audrey Francis (Noises Off, Dance Nation) is superb as the father / daughter combination. Her performance describing a truly traumatic experience is outstanding. 

Get tickets now for Catch as Catch Can through July 12th. 

Cost of a ticket: $67

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

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

Quinn Delaney

Del Amitri formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1980 and became one of the most respected alternative rock bands of the 1990s. While they never achieved the same commercial success in the United States as some of their peers, they built a loyal following through sharp songwriting and memorable melodies.

“Always the Last to Know” from their 1992 album, Change Everything, sounded fantastic in the Vic Theatre. The song’s combination of heartbreak and catchy hooks explains why it remains one of the band’s most-streamed tracks. “The last to know where you are / The last to know if you’re happy now / Or if he’s cheating on you like I cheated on you”. 

One of the evening’s strongest moments came with “Driving With the Brakes On” from their 1995 album, Twisted. The quieter arrangement allowed Justin Currie’s voice and lyrics to take center stage, creating one of the most emotional moments of the concert. “When you’re driving with the brakes on, When you’re swimming with your boots on, It’s hard to say you love someone, And it’s hard to say you don’t.”

Later in the set, they played “Roll to Me,” their biggest hit in the United States. It is their most popular song on Spotify with over 79 million streams. “So don’t try to deny it, pretty baby / You’ve been down so long you can hardly see / When the engine’s stalled, and it won’t stop raining / It’s the right time to roll to me”. It was a bit surprising they didn’t close with this one.

Soon afterwards is “Be My Downfall”. This is an absolutely beautiful song. “Be my downfall / Be my great regret / Be the one girl / That I’ll never forget / Be my undoing / Be my slow road to ruin tonight”. 

The band sounded excellent throughout the night. Currie remains an engaging frontman, while the rest of the group demonstrated the chemistry that comes from performing together for decades. The Vic Theatre was the perfect venue for the show, large enough to create energy but intimate enough that every lyric could be heard clearly.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $59

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value 

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

Quinn Delaney

In the mid 1990s in the New South, a local theatre company is preparing to open a play called Rapture in America. It’s a gay fantasia that has seven seconds of male nudity. Many members of the community protest and try to shut it down with the help of the mayor’s office. 

Eric Coble has written a hilarious satire based on the real events that took place in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina about the opening of Angels in America (See our review of the Chicago production last year here). It expertly explores the backstage of both the theatre and local politics. 

Teddy Boone (Incognito) is hilarious as the Mayor, who doesn’t want any controversy in his city while it is preparing to apply to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Shannon Leigh Webber (Incognito) is excellent as the artistic director juggling many issues from her cast and the public. Michael Stejskal is so funny as the producer who loves the attention the company is getting over the controversy. Mary Anne Bowman is superb in her many roles including being a leader of the theatre’s board. Jenny Hoppes is splendid as the woman at the city council meeting complaining about this play. Jordan Gleaves is stellar as the theatre critic who thrives in this situation. Andrew Bosworth is great as the reverend who rallies against the theatre.     

Check out the program here. 

Get tickets now for Southern Rapture through June 28th! 

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional 

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

Quinn Delaney

The short story was published in The New Yorker Magazine in 1997. Ang Lee’s film version starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal was released in 2005. The world premiere of the stage adaptation was in 2023. And now, in 2026, it premieres at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. 

It’s the 1960s in rural Wyoming. Two men are hired to herd sheep and keep away the coyotes on Brokeback Mountain. Unexpectedly to them, they fall in love. Due to the societal norms at the time, they don’t get together and they try to live normal lives. But their love keeps drawing them back. 

Ashley Robinson has written a powerful and heartbreaking play (based on Annie Proulx’s short story) about forbidden love. The characters truly struggle with how to handle their feelings for each other in their world. 

Harrison Ball is excellent as the engaged man who has no intention of changing his life. Jack Cameron Kay is exceptional as the bull rider who is more willing to take a chance on making it work. Cordelia Dewdney is superb as the engaged woman who suffers through her man going on so many “fishing” trips. Thomas Cox and Alina Jenine Taber are solid in their supporting roles.   

The musical interludes by the band, fronted by Kat Eggleston, are excellent and set the mood perfectly. The set depicting the mountainside is very impressive. All together, this is a production not to be missed. 

See the program here. 

Get tickets now for Brokeback Mountain through June 28th!

Cost of a ticket: $85 (Dress Circle)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

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

Quinn Delaney

James Blake is touring in support of his latest album, Trying Times. In the new tracks, he blends his great singing with electronic music.

Midway into the set, he plays “Limit To Your Love” from his self-titled 2011 album. It’s mostly just vocals and keyboard, which is a rarity for most of the night.  

Soon afterwards he sings “I will always love you how I do” on his 2020 single, Godspeed. His voice truly shines on this song. 

A few times in the night, a song ends with some very heavy electronic beats. It really puts the subwoofers to the test and always results in a big applause.  

To much excitement from the crowd, he opens the encore with “Retrograde” from his 2013 album, Overgrown. The riff that he hums is iconic, and the audience eats it up. 

Fun Fact: James Blake and actress Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, Bad Dates) have been in a relationship for 11 years. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $71

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

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

Quinn Delaney

—-

Early in the set, The Unlikely Candidates play “High Low”. It’s about losing touch with friends over time. “Sometimes I get so high, so low / Where did all my good friends go? / I keep on looking for somebody like me.” It’s a great alternative rock song.

Next, they play “Someone To Remind Me” from their 2022 album, Panther Island. This is an excellent pop rock song and showcases the vocals of lead singer, Kyle Morris. 

They use some extremely bright lights during the show. Wearing sunglass is highly recommended. 

Late in the night, they play “Oh My Dear Lord”, a 2018 single. The guitars on this one sound absolutely fantastic. It has an anthemic rock sound similar to Welshly Arms. 

For the penultimate song, they play their latest single, “Roses”. During the song, Morris picks up a rose and sings with it as a prop. “I fucking hate it when you lie / And I’m so frustrated I could die.” At the end, he tosses the rose into the crowd. The woman who ends up with it asks, “Does this mean I’m the next one to get married?” 

They end the night with their biggest hit, “Novocaine”. It has over 71 million streams on Spotify. Midway into the song, Morris comes down into the audience to jump around and sing. “I can’t change / Guess you could blame it on my left side brain / I should know better but you know I know, I know / I ain’t ever gonna change”! This is a fantastic rocker and the perfect choice to end their set with. It won’t be surprising if they end up playing much larger venues soon. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $28

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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

Quinn Delaney

Surfer Girl takes the stage first. They play “Evil” from their 2022 album, Sunrise. “Evil walks my way sometimes / But I’ve seen where it’s coming from / So I give it hell but let it run / Even if I press rewind / I can’t fix everything I’ve done / So I might as well be giving love.” This song has such a great vibe that takes the audience away to a warm tropical beach.

Iration formed in 2004 in Hawaii and since then they have toured relentlessly earning them the honor to headline at The Riviera Theatre. They are now touring to support their latest album, Where It All Began. Early on they play “My Kinda Vibe” from this album. “Feeling good and it’s Friday, nice / Got the bomb bud and the bottles on ice / Herb smokin’, it’s all green lights.” This song has a great reggae groove and proves they are still making great music. 

Iration also show the rock side of their sound with some shredding solos and heavy distortion. They demonstrate how the sound is evolving and that reggae is still alive and well today.

Midway into the set, they play Wait and See. This song, along with Automatic, which they play later, are great examples of how they have a more upbeat and pop friendly sound than the opener Tribal Seeds.  The contrast between the bands is evident, yet they share a similar reggae rock backbone. The combination of the overhead lights and the large LED screen behind the band made for fantastic lighting the entire show.

Later on, they launch into “Summer Nights”. “Getting high, thinking about the summer nights” sing the whole crowd as they sway back and forth and enjoy this great reggae groove. It truly is a fantastic summer night of music. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $48
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

A man is walking his dog through his neighborhood. He gets distracted and the dog gets away. He finds him shortly afterwards with another dead dog in his mouth. Did he kill this dog? Or did he just find him after coyotes killed him? When he tells his wife what happened, they must decide whether or not to keep this a secret. 

Micah Schraft has written a great exploration of this difficult situation. It cleverly becomes more complicated when they start to develop a friendship with the other dog’s parents. 

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. 

Jack Hradecky is stellar as the man, who thinks his dog did kill the other dog, but wants to get his dog professional help. Kaitlyn Gorman is excellent as the girlfriend, who helps him lie to the neighbors and hide what happened. Hattie Hodes is solid as the neighbor who is so glad to be invited over and to make new friends. James Lewis is superb as the neighbor who has strong opinions and believes he can train their unruly dog. 

Cost of a ticket: $33

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

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

Get tickets now for A Dog’s House through June 14th!

Quinn Delaney