The Goodman produced Holiday in 1930, 1939, 1947 and 1979. In 1938, the film version was released starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. 

In the story, a couple meet and fall in love at a retreat. After only knowing each other for three weeks, they are engaged. Today, the guy is meeting the family for the first time. Right before meeting them all, he learns that they are very wealthy which is quite a surprise to him.

This is an impressive production that showcases the best of the Goodman. It has impressive sets and costumes that are Broadway worthy. 

The acting is excellent. Jordan Lage is great as the rich father, who wants his children to be just like him. Molly Griggs is so good as the favorite daughter, who is following in his footsteps and the one is engaged. Luigi Sottile is superb as the newcomer, who seems like a perfect match for the favorite daughter, until he reveals that he wants to go on an extended holiday. Bryce GangelIs splendid as the artistic daughter who might be a better match for the newcomer. Rammel Chan is great as the chef, who is hopeful to open up a restaurant with the father. Lastly, Wesley Taylor steals the show as the son with substance abuse issues, but also has such a fun personality. 

The rest of the cast (Christiana Clark, Alejandra Escalante, Jessie Fisher, and Erik Hellman) is solid in their supporting roles. 

It’s no wonder this show has been done so many times. Underneath all the updated culture references, it’s a timeless story about family dynamics.

Cost of a ticket: $54

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional

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

Get tickets now for Holiday through March 8th!

Quinn Delaney

Two men are on trial for the murder of a 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till. It’s 1955 in Sumner, Mississippi. The boy was found murdered in the river. 

This production is very well done. They have expertly recreated the courtroom drama that took place. It’s very professional and polished with an exceptional sound design by Warren Levon.

The entire cast is excellent with the lawyers as the standouts. John Henry Roberts is superb as the prosecutor pleading his case with the evidence he has available. Steve Silver is great as the defense attorney shedding doubt about every piece of evidence and every witness testimony. 

After watching, you can decide for yourself if enough evidence was provided to convict these men. 

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $57.50

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

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

Get tickets now for Trial in the Delta – The Murder of Emmett Till through March 1st! 

Quinn Delaney

Sketch Comedy

The Rules of Bad Behavior at the Den Theatre (Fridays through February 27)

Hilarious sketches about men on ladders, first dates at your family’s restaurant, Roombas, and a memory time machine! 

The cast includes Erik Brand, Marty Hasler, Joe Moore, Mary O’Sullivan, Brigid Reilly, and Sam Simcox. 

Cost of a ticket: $26

https://thedentheatre.com/performances/2026/1/30/the-rules-of-bad-behavior-the-den-theatre-comedy-club-chicago

Theatre

MPAACT Presents Squat at the Greenhouse Theatre (Through March 1)

An interesting play exploring what people do when they find out their neighbor isn’t paying rent. 

Cost of a ticket: $48

https://ci.ovationtix.com/36644/production/1250613

Music

Jazz at Clara (Everyday except Monday)

Cost of a ticket: Usually Free

https://www.clarachicago.com/

Quinn Delaney

A band is in the studio recording a new album in 1976. There are two happy couples in the band. Everyone is drinking, snorting cocaine, and smoking weed. It’s all going great… at first. 

For a play about a band, there isn’t much music. Also, the pacing is very slow. There is a lot of time where nothing is happening. While this may be realistic, it is quite boring for the audience. This production is 2 hours and 50 minutes including an intermission. The original version was 3 hours and 15 minutes. 

Will Butler (Arcade Fire) has written some great songs. Also, the band does sound really good in the few songs that they play. 

David Adjimi has written some great scenes, but they are quite spaced out. The cast is excellent in those scenes and will likely remind you of Fleetwood Mac. 

Cost of a ticket: $106

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted –

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

Get tickets now for Stereophonic through February 8th.

Quinn Delaney

A daughter visits her father every fall. Together, they bird watch from the deck and talk about life. They discuss careers, family, birds, and climate change. As the years pass, it gets warmer and warmer and the topics of conversation evolve. 

Anna Ouyang Moench (In Quietness, Severance) has written a very funny and touching play that will have you calling your father afterwards. The characters are very well developed. 

The sound design by Ethan Korvne is very impressive. It feels like birds are flying right by you!

At 90 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. 

Cassidy Slaughter-Mason (KISS) is superb as the daughter, who is doing her best to make a living and start a family. John Judd (The Cave, A View From the Bridge) is excellent as the father, who is better with facts than emotions. He always wants the best for his daughter. 

See the program here. 

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 Birds of North America through March 8th! 

Quinn Delaney

Humans are living on Roma Prime, an Earthlike planet orbiting a dying star. Many of them have moved to the Flotilla, a large group of starships that form a nation. One of these starships is forced to land on a foreign planet during a mission. A former member of this starship that was exiled already lives on this planet and is working on wormhole technology to reclaim everything she lost. 

Tiffany Keane Schaefer has written a very creative retelling of The Tempest. Half of this play is very dense with Sci-Fi jargon that is hard to follow. The other half uses less jargon and focuses on the relationships between the characters, which is when the play is at its best. 

The great cast includes Stacey Lind, Izzi King, Blake Hood, Jacob Watson, P-Jay Adams, Hayden Lane-Davis, Janice Rumshlag, Hilary Sanzel, and Sydney Ginter. This performance featured three understudies: Charles Brailovsky as Dax, Erin Bonham as Ariel, and Hayden Lane-Davies as Kai-Lune. 

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

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

Get tickets now for Prospera through February 8th!

Quinn Delaney

There is a mumps outbreak at Eureka Day, an elementary school in Berkely, California. The Executive Committee is trying to decide if they want to change the policy about requiring vaccines. Two of the members have unvaccinated children. They are all trying to be politically correct while looking for the best solution. 

Jonathan Spector has written a very funny and topical play. The pacing is excellent and the laughs and the drama just kept coming. 

At 105 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. 

PJ Powers (Lifespan of a Fact) is hilarious as the leader, who tries his best to make everyone happy. Rebekah Ward is excellent as the anti-vaxxer, who wants her opinion respected. Gabrielle Lott-Rogers (Boulevard of Bold Dreams) is outstanding as the newcomer, who catches on to the group dynamics quickly. Jurgen Hooper is great as the guy who wants to add Trans Racially Adopted to the race drop down in the school’s admission form. Aurora Adachi-Winter is superb as the mother who has some surprises to reveal.

Cost of a ticket: $144 (Front Center Section) to $39 (Value Seats)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional (Go with the Value Seats in this small theatre)

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

Get tickets now for Eureka Day through February 22nd! 

Quinn Delaney

Welcome to the World Famous Comedy Store on Sunset in Hollywood, CA! Tonight’s show is called Keys to the Store. It is hosted by Avery Pearson. It features him playing comedic songs on the keyboards (aka, keys) and key comedians from the LA scene.

Alex Edelman (Just for Us, The Paper)

His father is a cardiologist who creates artificial hearts and nearly won a Nobel Peace Prize. But if you talk to his mother, you’d think he’s an idiot!

Marc Maron (Stick, Maron)

After he and his cat take the same drug, the hope is that they will both not fear being killed by the youngest cat!

Iliza Shlesinger 

She tells a bunch of jokes about how she doesn’t think men should nap.  

Cost of a ticket: $46 plus two drink minimum

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value – (This show was a bit shorter than usual at 90 minutes)

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

Get tickets now for Keys to the Store on February 20th!

Quinn Delaney

Kate is in southern Germany visiting her Opa, which is the informal German word for grandfather.  During her visit, she asks him a lot of questions about his time as half-Jewish man during World War Two. These scenes are intertwined with flashbacks to Opa as a man in his thirties with his wife and child avoiding the Nazis. 

Christopher Franciosa has written a very compelling and gripping play based loosely on his grandparents’ lives during the holocaust. It explores what someone would do to survive in very extreme circumstances. 

Meghan Lewis is solid as Kate who is determined to discover what her father did during the war. Allan Wasserman (Nobody Wants This) is excellent as Opa, who would much rather forget those times than talk about them. Jeremy Schaye is superb as the young Opa who is doing everything he can for his family. Lilli Passero is splendid as the wife navigating what life throws at her. Lastly, Victor Montez is great as the young SS soldier, whose intentions are well hidden. 

Cost of a ticket: $38.75

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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

Get tickets now for What Opa Did!

Quinn Delaney

A police inspector comes to the mansion to interview the family about the suicide of a young woman. She first talks to the father and he confirms that the young woman used to work for him, but he fired her after she insisted on getting a raise. She goes on to interview everyone in the family revealing many long-held secrets as she tries to uncover the truth. 

J.B. Priestly has written a thrilling play that is full of twists and mystery. This play from 1946 has truly stood the test of time. 

David Hunt Stafford is superb as the father who is very concerned about his reputation. Katyana Rocker-Cook is excellent as the daughter, who is embarrassed by her actions. Isaac W Jay (Lessons in Chemistry) is fantastic as the daughter’s boyfriend, who does his best to keep secrets. Diana Angelina is great as the mother, who can’t believe the truth that is being revealed. Monty Renfrow is so emotional as the son, who reveals his secrets easily. Lastly, Mouchette van Helsdingen is outstanding as the inspector, who cleverly asks all the right questions at the right time. 

Cost of a ticket: $75

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

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

Get tickets now for An Inspector Calls!

Quinn Delaney