Paradise Square represents many firsts in the theater industry’s recovery from the pandemic shutdown. It’s the first production to reopen the Nederlander Theatre — a pillar of the Loop theater district — and the first pre-Broadway run of a major new work in Chicago. When it transfers to New York City’s Barrymore Theatre, where it’s slated to begin previews in February of next year, it will be among one of the first new musicals to open on Broadway. A review of the new pre-broadway tryout.

On a deeper note, I Hate It Here from the Goodman Theatre admits that so many horrible things in the world remain unchanged. The show does not suggest things will get better. Yet, if we take a moment to admit how bad things are, maybe we can find some common, solid ground. And that’s a start.

Lyric Opera of Chicago announces The New Classics: Songs from the New Golden Age of Musical Theater, a virtual cabaret starring Broadway’s Gavin Creel, Nikki Renée Daniels, and Norm Lewis, plus Amanda Castro, Jenn Gambatese, Jo Lampert, and Heath Saunders, with David Chase as music director and featuring members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra.