Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – With a Chicago tradition that goes back four decades, the Goodman Theatre presents their holiday chestnut ‘A Christmas Carol’ for 2019, and it is simply stellar.

CHICAGO – It’s that time of year, and many gatherings use the spare time on Thanksgiving weekend to start the holiday movie tradition of the season. Although not many people know it, Chicago was the location used for the first Lifetime Christmas movie in the 1990s. “Solstice” was written and directed by Jerry Vasilatos, and premiered on Lifetime in 1994.

CHICAGO – In Ken Burns recent PBS documentary “Country Music,” there was a considerable segment of Episode Four dedicated to singer Patsy Cline. The voice that made the song “Crazy” one of the most played jukebox hits in history is the subject of a current musical revival by Chicago’s Firebrand Theatre.

CHICAGO – Playwright Hannah Ii-Epstein is a Hawaiian native who is bringing her unique point of view regarding that U.S.“State of Mind” to the Chicago stage. The theater group Nothing Without a Company presents her latest, “Pakalolo Sweet.” through October 5th, 2019, at the Berger Mansion in the Edgewater neighborhood. Click here for more details, including ticket information.

CHICAGO – It is Chicago where New York City native Harry Wood is debuting his first play, entitled “Roast,” through The Comrades theater company at the Greenhouse Theater Center. The comic drama, about a gathering of stand up comics and relatives to “roast” – rather than eulogize – a deceased fellow comedian, is a World Premiere that runs through August 18th, 2019. For tickets and more information, click here.

CHICAGO – Kokandy Productions is one of the best in Chicago doing musicals, and scores again with “Head Over Heels,” through August 25th, 2019, at Theater Wit. For more details and tickets, click here.

CHICAGO – Professor Harold Hill has come back to River City, and that means trouble right here. Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” is now in major revival at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

CHICAGO – The rumors of a series stoppage were just rumors, as Dr. Michelle Oakley is in the midst of production on Season Seven of her popular “Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet,” which airs on the Nat Geo Wild Channel. Soon the continuing story of an animal enthusiast turned Canadian Yukon veterinarian will have new adventures.

CHICAGO – What is life but a constant climb? The Brown Paper Box Co., one of the most vital storefront theater groups in Chicago, asks that question and more in the significant “Grace, Or the Art of Climbing.” Using a woman’s journey through some difficult situations, the parallels of “the climb” become a artfully performed story that is all inspiration and uplift. The play runs through July 7th, 2019, at Stage 773 in the Belmont Avenue Theater District in Chicago. For more information and tickets, click here.

CHICAGO – The recent limited series “The Red Line” on CBS-TV was notable for a couple elements – it was set in Chicago and it featured Chicago actors in major roles. Creators Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss (from here), cast their Chi-town colleague Elizabeth Laidlaw, who portrayed police officer “Vic” Renna.