This review is specifically about the facility, the Prairie Lakes Theater. It's adjacent to the…read morePrairie Lakes Community Center and I presume there's a connecting interior hallway between the two. The theatre is part of the Des Plaines Park District and what a great asset for the city. There are a handful of organizations that rent space for their productions here I think, amongst them Big Noise Theatre, which I learned about at a Park Ridge summer event and that's how I found out there's a great black-box theatre in the suburbs. They've hosted various arts companies, including dance and opera. They're also available for rent by other parties as well. Prairie Lakes has just under 300 seats and the sight lines are good; I don't think there are any limited view seats in the place. Seats were very comfortable too. Parking is ample, given its location, and free.

We returned to this nice and intimate theatre to see Big Noise Theatre's kids musical 'Elephant &…read morePiggie's "We Are in a Play!"'. It was a most delightful play, and this is when I learned that the Big Noise Theatre company rents space from the Prairie Lakes Community Theatre for their productions. I guess some previous reviews allude to this arrangement, but I never paid attention until today on what "theatre name" was appropriate here. In any event, we're now 2 for 2 on 5 star outings at this venue.

What a gem! I pass the Oil Lamp Theater all the time, but never went. Purchased tickets for The…read moreOutsider during Chicago Theater Week and so glad I did! We are excited to attend more shows. When you first walk in, you're greeted by a hostess. There's a full service bar and various seating spots you can enjoy before and after the show and during intermission. The theater is cozy with 60 seats. They are moving across the street to a larger space, former Country Cobbler. Fun fact, I used to get my shoes there when I was a child. They are currently fundraising for the transformation. Check out their website to learn more. The Outsider was hilarious. The actors really brought this play to life. During this divisive political climate we are currently in, it was a refreshing perspective of politics and government. Everyone laughed throughout the entire show. I highly recommend checking The Outsiders out!!

I have never been to the Oil Lamp Theater before, but my parents treated the entire family to a…read moreshowing of It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play to cross it off of my bucket list. The parking was a little crowded for a Sunday night so my father dropped us off at the door and parked the car while we ventured inside. We got the warmest greeting from the person behind the desk who gave us instructions on how we could write our own shout outs to be read by the cast. (Probably more relevant to the patrons of the theater than the building itself, but they were a range of hilarious, heartwarming, and professionally personal!) There were free cookies available as well as a full bar menu. I don't drink so I always scope out the non-alcoholic options and I could have gotten a can of Diet Coke for $2--not bad! I did see that they did offer a curated drink that matched the show as well. I appreciate when small details like that are accounted for! I personally did not use the bathroom, but multiple members of our party did and I did not hear any complaints. The theater itself was very small, but it made sense for the show that we were attending? I am deathly curious (Pun not intended) to see how they will pull off Dial M for Murder in that space. I saw it in Oakbrook on a sprawling stage so my brain couldn't fathom how that would work. Anyhoo! Back to what I actually DID see. Again, the set worked for the show that we did see. It had a cool foley studio like I imagine radio stations did back in the day. My favorite contraption was the one that spun with a handle to sound like wind! So cool! The seats were black, plastic, chairs which I did not mind because I have proper posture. I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point during the 2 hour show. My grandma is shorty and had a hard time seeing at times, but luckily a radio play is more about what you hear over what you see. For your reference when picking seats, the the first row of every pair is the front row of another level. So Row A and Row B share a platform if that makes sense. Overall, I had a wonderful time (Again, pun not intended) and I signed up for the mailing list in the hopes that I can support again soon!

I had a ton of fun watching a cover band here. Don't expect a mosh pit, the crowd runs a bit…read moreolder - ha. But everyone was in to it and having fun. The staff there were nice and knew what they were doing. I heard there was a speakeasy there but I didn't go upstairs to see it

This is a pretty nice venue! They've put in lots of work to restore this old theater and it shows…read more Seats are comfortable, decent leg room. Plenty of food and beverages to choose from. The service is fast and friendly too. Prices are not too bad either. About on par with other similar venues. There's a speakeasy two floors up, but we didn't check it out yet. I feel the sound could be better, but I know that's subjective and could be due to many variables. Anyway, check this place out! I think you'll like it.

We were at The Trickery last weekend for a magic show - our age group ranged from teens to senior…read morecitizens and we all had a blast. The highlight of our weekend in Chicago. Aaron and Steve are truly amazing magicians and performers - highly recommend!

We attended Trickery on Saturday 04/18/26. Aaron was adept at working with a diverse audience to…read moreinclude them and maintain control of his performance in a very intimate setting. Because it's BYOB you'll get the 20-somethings that feel they have to get loaded beforehand and then act the fool while attending (do you hear that "Neil"? No one wants the focus on you acting like it was your first experience with alcohol) but Aaron was skilled at bypassing them without causing tension or escalating bad behavior. Aaron's attitude is one of someone who has worked hard to make this little venture work, and he deserves respect and recognition for his obvious commitment and work ethic. His act included variations of tricks performed by other magicians, with his own twists. He is an expert at sleight of hand and distraction, which is considerably more difficult in a room about the size of an average residential living-room. He had an appropriate sense of humor aligned with an audience coming to Boystown, an overtly gay neighborhood in Chicago (if you're not familiar). However he wasn't garish, flaming, flamboyant, or offensive; he managed a perfect balance of innuendo humor and audience engagement without being cheap or ingenuine. The snarky one-liners will likely go over your young kids' heads (although bring them to an early show, your 9 year old doesn't belong in Boystown at 10 pm on a weekend), and he carries himself with class avoiding the use of profanity or graphic terms. Again, I can't overstate that his tricks were amazing, impressive, and captivating - as magic should be. You leave the show shaking your head and wondering how it's done - which truly makes it "magic". You would be hard-pressed to spend $36.36/person for an hour of live entertainment that can match Aaron's performance. Pro-tip: If you're driving there you will need to use an app to reserve parking, as there aren't garages like downtown Chicago and every street is filled with so many signs there's no way you will return and find your car not-towed or not-ticketed. Chicago does this on purpose to generate revenue; you'll see "street cleaning" on Tuesday from xx hour to xx hour, no parking when snow is over 2 inches OR any time from Dec 1 through April 1, loading zone, 15 minute stopping/standing with flashers, no parking, residential permit zone only, bike lanes, bus stop restrictions, etc. If you find street parking and think you've beaten the system, think again. Nobel Prize Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, Ivy League PhDs, Mensa members - you can meet them all at Chicago Central Auto Pound retrieving their vehicles. Stephen Hawking couldn't drive, but if he could and he parked in that neighborhood all the quantum mechanics in the world wouldn't make his towed car reappear from the Chicago Parking space-time continuum. The nice thing is if you do reserve parking and give yourself enough time you can walk to many, many restaurants and bars in the area that are open even after the 10 pm show ends. Thank you Aaron for a wonderful experience, you made my wife's birthday memorable for both of us.

We love this venue! Smaller than the big stadiums, more intimate, better overall sound…read more We've been to a half dozen shows so far and sat in almost all areas of the theater. I believe there is not a bad seat in the house. Parking is easy, plenty of dining choices in the immediate area and drinks available in the lobby to take to your seats. Totally recommend looking into their calendar and if you see an event you like, jump on it.

Nice venue and not over sized and has fun people like Don McLean what a great concert and they are…read morestill playing strong!

Nice staff, people here are always polite and ready to help you. Also they don't watch me while I…read moreplay like another places. I like the cafe lounge setting with quiet music as a background. It's my favorite place to play slots in Niles.

This place is in the same line of stores as T-Mobile and Geico at Dempster and Shermer. I was in…read morethe area and not having seen this place before, decided to stop in and have a beer. They have no beers on tap and just a small selection of them. This looks like more of a mixed drinks bar. The front bar area has the feel of a lounge with couch seating and two wall TVs. The bar has a third TV and the liquor bottles are backlit in violet lighting. It's set up to be a place where you can chill with a large group of friends late at night. They are open until 1 or 2 am depending on the night. Although the music volume was set for background, I can picture this place jumpin' when they crank up the music to give it more of a late night club feel. In contrast to this front area, the back area with the video gaming machines is brightly lit and colorful like you'd expect a casino to be. The separation between the two areas is an open partition.

Beautiful new theatre in the heart of Evanston. Parking nearby off street and restaurants very…read morenear. New theatre has wider seats and much more legroom than their old Skokie location. Great upgrade for them and they richly deserve your patronage.

Great show! Gaslight was terrifically acted and the set was amazing!! I am glad to be a season…read moreticket holder.

A great program run by experienced music, dance and drama teachers. Mrs. Amanda is wonderful to…read morework with! My daughters have been attending Stage School for 4 years and they continue to WOW! us!!

Stage Coach has had a wonderful impact on my daughter Ella! She started when she was 7 yrs old and…read morenow she is just about 9 yrs old! A great place to learn discipline and create beautiful music , drama and dance all in one day! Wow we love it! Sally and Ella Osborne

Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde experience--well, not exactly. More vintage and modern. The theater…read moreexterior has a comfortable vintage feel; for the interior, there is modern, comfortable seating with attractive wood paneled acoustically resonant walls. It was our first time to visit so we can't comment about show-after-show sound quality, but the performance we attended was sounding and viewing great. Driving there, it felt like parking would be a problem. It wasn't.

Came here tonight for the first time to see Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical! IT. WAS. AMAZING. All of…read morethe actors were great and it was immersive because they had real gun pops which kept everyone on their toes because you never knew when the guns were going to really pop. This play had a full house, so all of the workers kept telling people to leave no gaps between seats. That didn't bother me, but the workers in the main lobby weren't the nicest and seemed pretty stressed because of checking in everyone. The one lady who checked us in and gave us our tickets was pretty rude when telling us we couldn't get seated until 7pm (it was 6:45), but we already knew the time we had to wait to sit down... The theater itself is small, but very intimate, and the acoustics are great because of it. I suggest to get here early because you don't have assigned seats, so it's first come, first seated. However, you can't really have a bad seat because the theater is so small, so you can see the stage from anywhere (unless of course someone in front of you has volumized hair or something!) The thing I love about the seating, too, is that all of the seats face right to the stage. No chairs are angled, which is the best because your neck doesn't hurt from watching a play. It was also cool because I sat in the left aisle seat and the actors used the aisles to run back and forth. Overall, I would definitely come here again to watch a play because the quality of acting was spot on and worth seeing!

I came here for a magic show with a group of friends on a Friday. Overall, good facility! There's a…read moresmall parking lot for patrons nearby, which was nice. Bartenders were friendly. Bathrooms were clean. It was cold, but that's typical of buildings in the summer. I'd come back!

What's life without a little magic! We came by to see a show on a Sunday afternoon and we're able…read moreto enjoy the Physician's show. When you walk in there is a bar and some tables but through the double doors, you'll find a 2nd bar with a speakeasy feel. When we checked in, we were assigned our tables. We ordered drinks before hand and the drinks were brought to our tables. We also ordered the pimento cheese and crackers. We snacked on the crackers most of the show as there was quite a bit of pimento in the bowl. The show was great and was broken into 2 parts. There were a lot of great metaphors along with it being a very interactive show with the crowd. Many of the tricks and magic left us in complete awe. We can't wait to come back and see future shows!