Lior Shragg News Today

On May 14, I took the Metra up north to City Lit Theater in Edgewater to watch the premiere of City Lit’s 144th show, the musical Aztec Human Sacrifice. Directed by Jay Españo and written by Kingsley Day and Philip LaZebnik, the musical features a ritual human sacrifice that prompts its discussion of love and...

Arriving at the very moment the Supreme Court appear to be poised to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision of a half-century ago, this haunting musical is infused with an intensity and a cry for help in the very midst of a retroactive movement.

Among the shows that have marked the return of live theater in Chicago are three very different music-driven works variously set in the final three decades of the 20th century. Seen during present day upheaval, as well as through the lens of their original conception, the result is an intriguing double vision.