A Raisin in the Sun, Berlin, and Big White Fog in Chicago Tribune’s Top 10
We’re ending 2025 on a high! Three productions—A Raisin in the Sun, Big White Fog, and Berlin—made the Chicago Tribune’s Top 10 Theater of the Year.
A stunning American theatrical staple, a rarely produced South Side marvel, and a strikingly original world premiere. Each of these productions was markedly different, but each represented the excitement and timeless relevance of classic stories. Read what Tribune reviewer Chris Jones had to say below, and see who made the list here.
A Raisin in the Sun
The first of three excellent Court Theatre shows on this list, director Gabrielle Randle-Bent’s production understood that in Chicago, and Hyde Park especially, “Raisin” is a local play. That’s thanks in no small part to a gorgeously crafted set design from Boyce (what a year he had). Not only did this feel and move like Chicago, but the staging felt wholly reflective of the genius of Lorraine Hansberry, one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century whose life was cut short when just reaching its creative prime. Randle-Bent’s overtly kinetic approach to classics has sometimes come off as pretentious, but here it worked superbly well, as she crafted the movement of a South Side Chicago family, fighting off racism and internal conflicts as they all lived out their frustrations and pursued their varied dreams even as they went about their everyday business. The director had a superb cast, including Kierra Bunch as Ruth Younger and the riveting Shanésia Davis as Lena Younger. All of the issues of interest to this singularly intellectual author were honored, but never at the expense of the simple reality of a family who just wants to breathe fresh air.
Big White Fog
Director Ron OJ Parson took on one of Chicago’s mostly lost plays, a 1938 drama by Theodore Ward that clearly influenced Hansberry when she wrote “A Raisin in the Sun.” “Big White Fog” is not the poetic equal of that classic, but Parson gave this inter-generational story life, vitality and exuberance as it charted the difficulties and victories of another Black Chicago family, this one living on South Dearborn Street during the Depression. Parson’s cast included 17 actors, and its director clearly realized that the title of the drama referred not only to the racist attitudes against which the family must fight but to how the “big white fog” influenced how early 20th century Black Chicagoans felt about each other. I saw an understudy, Bridget Adams-King, in an important role and the difficulty of her assignment only deepened her work, matching the other members of Parson’s superb ensemble, including the superb twosome of Greta Oglesby and Joshua L. Green.
Berlin
Court Theatre had an extraordinary 2025, with the majority of its productions among the best of the year. Adapted by the Chicago writer Mickle Maher and directed by former Court Theatre artistic director Charles Newell, “Berlin” was based on the graphic novel by Jason Lutes, recounting the story of Berlin from 1928 to 1933, through a variety of characters who occupy its streets and bedrooms. Metaphorically speaking, this Court world premiere was a multifaceted exploration of the fall of a free and liberal city and its authoritarian takeover. Not everything worked; the project was immensely challenging. Yet it somehow managed to contain as much of Lutes’ vision as would be humanly possible. It was quite the experience and indicative of Newell’s decades-long legacy of excellence at this theater and in this city.
Thank you for joining us for an incredible year, and please join us in sending a huge congratulations to the casts, creative teams, and crews who brought these productions to life.