Saw Enemy of the People last night. Intense performance, superb acting, immersive set and sound…read moredesign. Highly recommended. The theater is very intimate, with seats on three sides of the stage. Not a bad seat in the house. The facility, recently opened, is itself a thing of beauty. Sleek and modern, with a large bar and lounge area on the first floor. The theatre is on the second floor, accessible by stairs or a very large elevator. The staff is friendly and they are well organized; if your show has an intermission, you can order an intermission cocktail beforehand and it will be waiting for you outside the theatre - no need to hoof it to the bar. Restrooms are gender neutral and each stall is fully secure. Wheelchair accessible stalls have plenty of room to maneuver, and on the second floor it comes with a private sink. George Costanza would love it! There are many seats in the theatre that do not require steps to access, and certain seats can be removed to accommodate a wheelchair. Note that there is a lot of walking from the front door to your seat. For those driving, there is a parking garage just north of the theater and a surface lot on the other side of the Argyle station, a short 5 minute walk.

WOW, the new building is beatiful: modern, well designed, good sound system, multi-level with a…read morenicely welcoming lounge and bar/restaurant at the base. Enemy of the People was a well acted/directed play, genius writing/translation. Engaging space wtih audience on 3 sides of stage. A few quirks to rule out: The directions to seats not quite clear and had to go back and ask usher; the bathroom doors don't seem to easily close/lock causing confusion; lines to bathroom are unclear and cause some confusion; concessions are almost all poor quality though the drinks are nice, hopefully they will upgrade with neighborhood partnerships. However you can't emphasize how amazing this space is, minor criticisms overriden by the strong addition to Chicago and the neighborhood.

I was so glad to support a local theatre. It was a terrific experience…read more The best part of this theatre is indeed how tiny it is - it feels intimate and so welcoming as a result. Walking in, multiple people greet you at the bar (drinks are donation-based and not fancy, per se, but you can get Kirkland brand wine or a local beer, so that's fine!). My ticket's barcode refused to print, but they found my ticket quickly. The stage itself is completely overlapping with the seating. In other words, you sit onstage: it's all one level. The seats, at least when I went, are all one row deep. It is great for short people like me, because we don't have to look over people in front of us. It is also great for tall people, who don't have blocked legroom of any sort (unless you have to pull in some long limbs if the actors are close enough to you where they might trip!). There are two large, ADA-compliant bathrooms, including one within the stage/seating area! Despite being a tiny theatre without a ton of publicity, you can still see brand new plays and similar works, as well as well established plays that have been performed worldwide. There is a personal, inclusive touch here, which is great to see. It was nice that the artistic director welcomed us all before the show started and gave us information about other upcoming productions!

If you want to laugh, see great acting and an entertaining play go to Gary at the Red Twist. The…read moreprice is right (we got a senior discount) and we found the intimacy of the theater inviting. Appreciated the welcoming atmosphere and the devotion to craft (with an irreverent twist :)

More support for the local arts!…read more For some odd reason, I thought Links Hall was closer to The Vic. Boy, was I way off. Does that matter?!? Not an itsy-bitsy bit! This studio is on the second floor of a narrow building, a few steps off of Clark, on Sheffield. If you sneeze, you can miss the joint. Does that matter?!? Heck, no! We ended up seeing a local dancer and her friend. Are they choreographers? No. Are they talented? Yes. Are there some parts of the show that can use improvement? Yes. Was the music great? Yes. Was I entertained? Yes. Would I support another "arts" performance here? Yes. What a great place to see events that may not have the opportunity to make it to a main stage, but still possess a lot of talent!

Cute, small venue. I saw a friend's dance performance here…read more Although this was my first time to Link's Hall, I would imagine it's hub for small dance performances. I would also imagine, that due to the size, it's more for local performances than larger scale ones. There's not much in the realm of food/beverage, though there was a water cooler (THAT WAS EMPTY BY THE TIME I GOT TO IT, BOO) to cool you off. Only downside of Link's Hall is that it gets WARM up in there. Pretty much the entire audience had taken off all the clothes they could by the time the performance was over.

An amazing theater company, with an all-female ensemble, whose productions always feature…read moretheatrical sword combat. We have seen two BWB productions, An Affair of Honor and most recently, MacBeth. Their productions by necessity replace male roles with females, with sometimes powerful and surprising effect. MacBeth, for example, is a play very much about the male psyche. Played by a female actor I felt the performance was emotionally supercharged by the sexual role inversion. Babes with Blades sometimes also does pieces with scenes of partial nudity, as they did with Affair of Honor. An unusual troupe with a powerful feminist message, BWB is a must see for men and women alike, IMHO. Their website features the location of their latest production and email contact info.

i have seen a goodly number of renditions of this "play that shall not be named", so i can't say i…read morewas expecting too much innovation from this production. luckily, i was wrong! the curse of macb was not present in this Babes with Blades production. this was an exciting, innovative experience, with all parts being played by women well versed in swordplay and stage combat. their prowess did not end with their blade work, however; their connection to character was powerful and well developed, and some creative choices and aspects of line delivery that i had never witnessed before were used to interesting effect. for those of you that may be put off by the thought of women playing men's roles, just remember that willie originally cast only men to play all the roles. this is just role reversal par excellence! disclaimer: i do have a close relation playing one of the parts, but this review isn't about her, it's about the troupe as a whole.

UNPROFESSIONAL OWNERSHIP Update: an indication of the lack…read moreof professionalism is the suggestion that I rallied my friends and family to leave low reviews in search of a refund. We already know we aren't getting a refund. The owner made that clear when we tried to remedy the situation with her over the phone. Nicolle was informed of the lack of AC during the event by a staffer who told me herself that she'd contacted Nicolle. Another indicator of her lacking professionalism is the angry emails she sent me regarding my Yelp review - no apology, just anger and threats to have my Yelp account blocked and shut down. She says we toured the venue 6 times... we saw it 3x. Finally, she dismissed the fact that her staffers were unprofessional and didn't know how to tap kegs/mix drinks just because my dad provided a generous tip. If you read the review my dad left (HJ), you'll see that his generous tip does not reflect his dissatisfaction with the service. He's just a generous tipper. I want to start by saying that I had an amazing wedding; definitely the wedding of my dreams thanks to my wedding parties and family. However, the service from the owner Nicolle was just terrible and so unprofessional. When it came to securing a contract or receiving payment, she was on top of the communication. It wasn't until after she met my now-husband and wedding parties that her friendly and responsive demeanor entirely changed. She was condescending and treated us like children. Prior to meeting my entourage, I asked about security and she said that we wouldn't need it unless we wanted it. After meeting my entourage, she told me that since my crowd is mostly younger (it wasn't) she would be contracting security for our event to ensure that we weren't serving alcohol to minors. What an assumption! Whatever age we are, we are paying her and deserve to be treated with respect. Her contract stated that a week prior to the event we would communicate any accommodations or other details for the event, including possible early drop off or arrival of decor. I called her twice and emailed her a follow up - never received a response from her except for her to tell me that she was unable to accommodate us any more - 6 days later & 2 days before my wedding. Her lack of attention to detail could have ruined my day. Bartenders who couldn't tap a keg (she knew we'd have kegs 6 weeks prior to event date) and refused to mix drinks, and her "industrial strength AC" that she promised didn't work throughout the entire 80 degree day and showed "service required." She refused to honor any of these mistakes and stated that there was an event the day after and everything was fine. Maybe a smaller crowd would have been fine but 80 people in suits and cocktail attire were drenched with sweat. Fortunately I had fantastic family and friends who made sure my day was magical. The space is cute but the professionalism is nonexistent and a HUGE headache.

Lovely venue! Attended a dance event here many years ago, and selected this space for an offsite…read morework meeting. We had ample space for 15 of us, with different "work zones" for our meeting activities throughout the day -- and probably would have still felt this way with double the people. It was spacious enough for us to spread out, but still feels cozy with the mix-and-match decor. Appreciated the option to have some light catering to sustain us, without having to do all the legwork for that - and Nicolle was attentive to requests during the contracting/ setup phase. For a corporate meeting - we challenged the wi-fi capacity as we had a lot of folks joining video remotely; if A/V is your top need, this may not be your ideal spot without some additional technology brought in. For a fully or mostly in-person workshop or meeting in a unique space, go for it! Looking forward to hosting here again.

I have heard of Filament--a small storefront, black box theater in Irving Park--from my days as an…read moreusher for the Saints, but hadn't ever visited. It's only in the last couple of weeks that I learned they're a children's theatre. Their mission is somewhat radical, to be honest--adultism as a form of oppression and the need to eradicate it. I totally dig it, and what a thought-provoking place from which to produce programming and events. We went for Forts!, which seems to be a perennial experience here at Filament. Although it seems like just a time for kids to play, it is structured. There's a portion of the event where the kid just get to knock down the boxes. Then they bring down some sheets and blankets for the kids to drape over their forts and make them more fort-like. There are couches littered about the place for children and adults alike. Throughout the rest of the performance they add other elements like flashlights, music, and so on. My babe had fun and I'd bring her again when she's older, as I assume this will return. I'm keeping an eye on Filament for future plays and events so that I can enjoy some time at the theatre with my girl.

Filament Theatre is a cool little place for kids to catch a play. It has a cycling schedule of…read moreshows and seems to cater to you a younger audience. It is intimate and the 30 or so seats are arranged in a circle around the interactive stage. The theatre is located on Milwaukee Avenue in Portage Park and there is plenty of meter parking. We saw "The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles" which was a very unique performance. In the middle of the room is a large sandbox and the kids all sit on pillows and get to play with the sand during the show. The actors were all very talented and they story was interesting. It lasted about 1.5 hours and was the perfect length for youngsters. There was lots of audience interaction to keep the kids engaged. They also do acting lessons here and a variety of camps. There are many options on their website so check that out. Pricing was pretty affordable and they have many options. I highly recommend checking out a play here if you have little kids who show an interest in theatre.

Went to see Misery. The play was very well done. It was a three actor play so the intimate theater…read morewas perfect. I believe it holds less than 100 people inside. It is an older school so the seating is a little tight especially if you are not sitting next to someone you know. The had a small concession area water, coffee, tea, candy and chips.

The theater is in Monroe college, parking is free and a non-issue. Very close to Midway airport. I…read moream not overly familiar with the area but surrounding food options seemed limited to mostly chains on cicero. The surrounding area can seem a bit iffy at times (I.e. blue box) but no issues that I could tell. A midsized theater with good proximity to stage and actors. The Evita cast did a great job with this production, my family really enjoyed it. You could tell that the cast and crew were working hard. A great value and quality show from Goldstar (tip). Seating took place shortly before start of show so hanging in the lobby prior at a minimal service snack bar with limited options. For this production, tickets were will call and I suspect were assigned as you showed up (I.e. fill from the front).

Midsummer's Night Dream was nicely done but Saganash Park was way too small, the sound was terrible…read moreand it was very very crowded in a very small space. The show was crammed into 45 minutes and it was so tough trying to figure out what was going on - and I've seen the play at least 4 times and i even had trouble!! This is not a good venue. Wells Park was fabulous! Pick a bigger park with better sound and better organization! Everyone will enjoy it and want to come back. Taming of the Shrew would be perfect. Not tough to understand and fun. I'm not sure this experience will bring people back. Right behind our space was a large baseball field that was unused. That would have been a perfect place! Lot's of space, clean, grass and good sound. Check these places our before you commit! thanks for doing this! I think it's a great idea. It just needs to be done better

For the second year in a row, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in conjunction with the Chicago Park…read moreDistrict, are presenting Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. Last year they performed "Taming of the Shrew" at a limited number of Chicago parks, this year, 2013, the program has been expanded to include 25 performances at 18 Chicago area parks where they are performing "The Comedy of Errors." Did I mention these are FREE performances? And did I hear correctly that the city has made a minimum 10 year commitment to this program? We saw the second performance of this year's "The Comedy of Errors" yesterday, July 28th, at Eckhart Park, and it was simply charming. It is a short 75 minute production that wonderfully captures the essence of the play, and presents it in "period" costume, using a slightly watered down version of the original language. It has been made to be VERY accessible to children as young as three, based on my audience observations. The physical humor is absolutely hilarious, one that had children in this audience of about 400, riveted with laughter. I had as much fun watching my two kids react to the play (and other children and young adults in the audience), as I did in watching the play itself. This is a GREAT introduction for children to the brilliance of the Bard. It is a great introduction for adults wary of the often present Shakespeare snobbery that turns them off, to the Bard. Please don't misinterpret when I say it is a shortened version with slightly watered down language, it is a faithful and extremely progressional (Chicago Shakespeare Theater professional) short production of the play that would make Shakespeare proud. Granted, yesterday's performance was still a bit rough around some of the edges as some in the cast were get their lines memorized. And the introduction of the play where the cast pretends it doesn't know what play they will perform is a bit awkward. It needs to be worked on more to have the desired effect. Still, this was something only a Shakespeare snob (guilty, as charged) would have noticed. When we saw one of the later productions of "Taming of the Shrew" in 2012, at Welles Park, the production was flawless. I am sure this cast will become more polished as they get deeper into the summer season. Again, the physical comedy in the play was outstanding, and it was what drew the kids into the performance. The onstage "breaking wind" scene is one my 8 year old son is not likely to forget soon, he ROARED. When one of the Dromio's walked through the audience and picked up my son's Gatorade and took a drink from it, he was speechless with laughing eyes of approval and shock. This was a SHAKESPEARE PLAY? For the 2013 season, there remain 23 performances at 16 Chicago area parks, including Tuley, Dvorak, Loyola, Hamilton Parks, South Shore Cultural Center, Humboldt, Rils, Douglas, Piotrowski, Gage, Welles, Washington, Marquette, Ridge, and Frank J Wilson Parks, with a final performance August 25th at Garfield Conservatory at 3pm that Sunday afternoon. Oh, and one last note, arrive early (the parks fill up for these performances), and bring a blanket, chairs and a picnic. New this year is an opening act at some (all?) of the venues, a Green Show featuring local artists. At Eckhart on July 28th, the Green Show as "Forever Flamenco" performed by Soul and Duende Spanish American Theater. I HIGHLY recommend this production of "The Comedy of Errors" to fans of the Bard, and those just getting to know Shakespeare. If you have kids, this is a Chicago summer treat that is NOT to be missed. Your whole family will get a little culture and have a belly laugh roaring good time.