'A Life in the Theatre' on Broadway: Entertaining 'Life' fails to show full toll of years on the stage

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Chris Jones picks his most-anticipated shows of the new season.
• Plus Kerry Reid's chart of 43 MORE in the city and suburbs.

• FALL GUIDE / MATCH YOUR MOOD: Chris Jones suggests shows to fit your personality, "Rock of Ages" to "Big River."

• HOT NEW FACES: Our annual picks
of 10 young actors to watch for on Chicago-area stages.

• 2010 JEFF AWARDS: The nominations are in for the Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards, to be presented Oct. 25.

• DEAR MR. NEW MAYOR: An open letter about the arts in Chicago, and how to follow in Richard M. Daley's remarkable footsteps. Plus HEAR FROM MORE TRIBUNE CRITICS.

• WHAT SHOWS FOR KIDS? What's the right age to bring your child to "Lion King"? To "Billy Elliot"?

• SAME WHEN WE'RE OLDER? Pondering age for artists, critics and audiences.

• "BILLY ELLIOT": When Elton John
first got to know a young dancer named Billy. | REVIEW from the Oriental Theatre

• MEET CHICAGO'S BILLYS:
Sid Smith takes a few moments with Tommy Batchelor, Giuseppe Bausilio, J.P. Viernes and Cesar Corrales. | SLIDESHOW of photos

Shows are rated on a ???? scale

• "The Absolute Best Friggin' Time of Your Life" ? ? ? ?
Open run at Second City e.t.c.

• "At Home at the Zoo" ???½
Through Oct. 31 at Victory Gardens Theater

• "Billy Elliot the Musical" ? ? ? ?
Through Nov. 28 at the Oriental Theatre

• "A Brief History of Helen of Troy" ???
Through Oct. 30 at Steep Theatre

• "The Comedy of Errors" ???
Through Oct. 17 at Court Theatre

• "A Chorus Line" ????
Through Oct. 31 at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire

• "Daddy Long Legs" ???½
Through Oct. 24 at Northlight Theatre

• "Detroit" ???½
Through Nov. 7 at Steppenwolf Theatre

• "Jailbait" ???
Through Oct. 17 at Profiles Theatre

• "The Lion King" ????
Through Nov. 27 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre

• "A Memory of Two Mondays" ???½
Through Oct. 17 at the Greenhouse Theater Center

• "Million Dollar Quartet" ? ? ?½
Through May 30 at the Apollo Theater

• "Night and Day" ???
Through Oct. 31 by Remy Bumppo at the Greenhouse

• "She Loves Me" ???
Through Nov. 21 at Writers’ Theatre

• "Speed-the-Plow" ????
Through Oct. 31 at American Theater Company

• "Thieves Like Us" ???
Through Oct. 30 at the Chopin Theatre

• "The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story"
Through Nov. 7 by First Folio at Mayslake Peabody Estate

• "State of the Union" and "Lullaby"

• "1985"
Through Nov. 7 by Factory Theater at Storefront

• "Company"
Through Nov. 14 by Griffin Theatre at Stage 773

• "The Franklin Expedition" and "A Delicate Balance"

• "Zulu Fits"
Through Nov. 7 by MCPAACT at Greenhouse Theater Center

• "Obscura: A Voyeuristic Love Story"
Through Oct. 23 at Red Tape Theatre

• "The Lady's Not for Burning"
Through Oct. 31 at the No Exit Cafe

• "Seven Snakes" and "DIALogues"

• "The Wedding Singer"
Through Oct. 31 at Circle Theatre

• "Candide"
Through Oct. 31 at the Goodman Theatre

• "Wuthering Heights"
Through Oct. 31 at the Lifeline Theatre

• "That Pretty Pretty; or the Rape Play"
and "The Sound of a Yellow Flower"

• "Menorca"
Through Oct. 16 at the 16th Street Theater

• "Romeo and Juliet"
Through Nov. 21 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

• "Sunday in the Park With George"
Through Oct. 31 by Porchlight at Stage 773

• "Louis Slotin Sonata"
Through Oct. 24 by A Red Orchid Theatre

• "Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies"
Open run on the Second City Mainstage

• "The Addams Family" at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
• "American Idiot" at the St. James Theatre
• "Avenue Q" at the Golden Theatre
• "Billy Elliot" at the Imperial Theatre
• "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" at Bernard B. Jacobs
• "Bye Bye Birdie" at the Roundabout Theatre
• "Fela!" at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre
• "Hair" at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre
• "In the Heights" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
• "La Bete" at the Music Box Theatre
• "A Life in the Theatre" at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
• "Memphis" at the Shubert Theatre
• "Million Dollar Quartet" at the Nederlander Theatre
• "Next to Normal" at Booth Theatre
• "The Pitmen Painters" at the Friedman Theatre
• "Promises, Promises" at the Broadway Theatre
• "Race" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
• "Rock of Ages" at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre
• "Sondheim on Sondheim" at Studio 54
• "South Pacific" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
• "Time Stands Still" at the Friedman Theatre
• "West Side Story" at the Palace Theatre •  'Scorched' by Silk Road Theatre: Siblings' trip to Middle East has all the force of Greek tragedy
•  'Billy Elliot' is closing early in Chicago
•  'La Bete' on Broadway: David Hyde Pierce stars, Mark Rylance is the upstart who steals the show
•  Are we the same person when we're older? From Connolly to Albee, pondering age and art
•  Kerry Reid reviews 'Madness of Edgar Allan Poe'
•  'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson' on Broadway: Seventh president as a Broadway rock star
•  'Pitmen Painters' on Broadway: Art meets the working class in heartfelt 'Pitmen Painters'
•  $1 million in renovations coming to Chicago theater complex
•  'A Life in the Theatre' on Broadway: Entertaining 'Life' fails to show full toll of years on the stage
•  'At Home at the Zoo' at Victory Gardens: 'Zoo' shows an Albee forever at home with the beasts

• "August: Osage County"
• "Billy Elliot the Musical"
• "Million Dollar Quartet"
• "Shrek the Musical"
• "The Addams Family"
• 16th Street Theatre
• 500 Clown
• A Red Orchid Theatre
• About Face Theatre
• Actors Theatre Company
• Albany Park Theatre Project
• American Blues Theater
• American Musical Theatre Project
• American Players Theatre
• American Theater Company
• Annoyance Theatre
• Apple Tree Theatre
• Arie Crown Theatre
• Artistic Home
• Athenaeum Theatre
• BackStage Theatre Company
• Bailiwick Chicago
• Black Ensemble Theatre
• Blair Thomas & Co.
• Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
• Broadway
• Broadway in Chicago
• Broadway Playhouse
• Building Stage
• Chicago Children's Theatre
• Chicago Dramatists
• Chicago Muse
• Chicago Shakespeare Theater
• Circle Theatre
• Cirque du Soleil
• City Lit Theater
• Collaboraction
• Congo Square Theatre Company
• Court Theatre
• Dog & Pony Theatre Company
• Drury Lane Theatre
• Eclipse Theatre
• Elephant Eye Theatricals
• Factory Theater
• First Folio Theatre
• Gift Theatre
• Goodman Theatre
• Greenhouse Theater Center
• Griffin Theatre
• Hell in a Handbag Productions
• Hoover-Leppen Theater
• House Theatre of Chicago
• Hypocrites
• i.O. Theater
• Infamous Commonwealth
• Joseph Jefferson Awards
• Just For Laughs
• Lifeline Theatre
• Light Opera Works
• Live Bait Theater
• Lookingglass Theatre Company
• Marriott Theatre
• Mary Arrchie Theatre
• Mercury Theatre
• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
• Neo-Futurists
• New Colony
• Next Theatre
• North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
• Northlight Theatre
• Obituaries
• Pegasus Players
• Piven Theatre Workshop
• Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
• Profiles Theatre
• Provision Theatre
• Raven Theatre
• Ravinia Festival
• Redmoon Theater
• Redtwist Theatre
• Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
• Rosemont Theatre
• Route 66 Theatre Company
• Royal George Theatre
• Second City
• Shattered Globe
• Side Project
• Sideshow Theatre Company
• Signal Ensemble Theatre
• Silk Road Theatre Project
• Stage 773
• Stage Left Theatre
• Steep Theatre
• Steppenwolf Theatre Company
• Strangeloop
• Stratford Festival
• Strawdog Theatre
• Teatro Vista
• Teatro ZinZanni
• Theater Oobleck
• Theater Wit
• Theatre at the Center
• Theatre Building Chicago
• Theatre Seven
• Theatre-Hikes
• Theo Ubique Theatre Company
• TimeLine Theatre
• Tony Awards
• Trap Door Theatre
• TUTA Theatre
• Uptown Theatre
• Victory Gardens
• Writers' Theatre
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