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Chicago Tribune
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Elmwood Park's Jordan Arredondo brings a lifetime of acting experience to the stage at Steppenwolf
Jordan Arredondo was in third grade when he first realized that he loved being onstage. The 30-year-old Elmwood Park resident has been nurturing that love ever since with a career that includes performing with some of Chicago's most prestigious theater companies. His latest is a role in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Chicago premiere of 'You Will Get Sick' by Noah Diaz, running through July 20. While Arredondo was growing up in unincorporated Leyden Township near Franklin Park, he performed in that first show — an elementary school musical, 'It's Saturday.' 'It was very, very fun,' he recalled. 'I got so excited and it didn't feel scary.' He decided, 'I can get down with this because I do this by myself in my room with my toys.' Arredondo admitted that his parents didn't necessarily expect that experience would lead him to a career in the arts. 'My dad was very excited about the potential for having a sports son,' he said. Arredondo performed onstage all four of the years that he attended West Leyden High School. 'I started with plays and then slowly got roped into musicals even though I wasn't fully wanting to do those,' he said. 'That was my little segway into the choir in high school as well.' The actor had high praise for choir director Stacy Cunningham and her influence on him. 'She really instilled a lot of love for the arts in me,' he explained. 'She took us to a bunch of shows. And also instilled a very good hard work ethic.' One of his favorite roles at West Leyden was playing Dr. Herman Einstein during his freshman year in a production of 'Arsenic and Old Lace.' 'I had never auditioned for a play before that,' Arredondo said. 'The farcical aspect of that show was so fun to do.' He particularly enjoyed doing the part with a German accent. Arredondo credited his high school teacher Mark Bernstein, who directed him in several shows, with encouraging him to pursue a professional acting career. 'He saw something that I was not super aware of at the time,' Arredondo observed. He decided to attend the University of Illinois Chicago where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting. Arredondo's first professional production was playing the role of Lucky in 'Waiting for Godot' with Tympanic Theatre in 2017. 'The director had a very fun twist on it,' Arredondo recalled. 'We had just come out of the 2016 election. He placed it at the border and the cast was all Latino. We were able to try anything. That was a really fun and wonderful way to enter the professional world.' He fondly recalled his experience playing the role of Oscar in 'Sweat' at Paramount Theatre in Aurora in 2022. 'Something clicked there for myself and my family,' he recalled. 'I felt I had found a character connected to me as a person. You feel like all the training that you have done finally becomes an unconscious competence situation — something so ingrained in you.' Arredondo has been in a number of high-profile musicals, including 'In the Heights' at Marriott Theatre, 'Grease' at Drury Lane Theatre,' and 'Fun Home' at Paramount Theatre, among others. To prepare for these roles, the actor has been taking vocal training since graduating from college in 2017. He also praised the help he received by working with music directors on those projects. 'I have taken some dance lessons,' he added. 'I intend to still get better at dance.' He particularly loved the production of 'In the Heights' at Marriott last year, where he played Sonny. 'That production changed my life in so many ways,' he declared. 'It was a production I'd been chasing for a while, and the stars aligned. That was a show where I could bring so much of my acting training into it and go really deep into the characters and the situation. It was so wonderful to do that show in a community where that show had never been done.' That's also where Arredondo met his future wife, Addie Morales. They will be married in August. Even though he has had great experiences in musicals, Arredondo admitted that he prefers performing in plays. 'It's where I got my training in high school,' he explained. 'It's where I found a deeper love for what we do.' His latest project, 'You Will Get Sick,' by Noah Diaz, at Steppenwolf Theatre through July 20, is a play in which the actor takes the role of #5. 'All the actors are labeled numbers 1 through 5,' Arredondo said. '5 for most of the show is the voice that you'll be hearing — the narration.' He is enjoying the challenge of this role — but he can't explain why without giving away too much. You'll have to see the show to understand. For details, visit To unwind, Arredondo likes to hang around with his dog Liora, watch films and TV shows, and go to the movies. 'I'm also a big hotdog connoisseur,' he revealed. Arredondo is convinced that he made the right career choice. 'More and more I find comfort and a home on the stage,' he declared.
Chicago Tribune
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: ‘You Will Get Sick' at Steppenwolf is a slow reveal that's worth the wait
In a graduation speech I heard this May, the physician-writer Abraham Verghese talked about his experience as a small-town doctor during the AIDS era and how he found, to his amazement, that rural emergency rooms had filled up with AIDS patients even as everyone assumed the crisis was restricted to large cities. But many of these mostly young gay men had chosen, Verghese said, to come home from New York or Chicago to the likes of rural Tennessee to die. And for the most part, he observed in another stereotype-busting comment, he found they were treated by their families with compassion and love. The word AIDS is not mentioned in 'You Will Get Sick,' a rather unusual play by Noah Diaz that opened Sunday night at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company with Amy Morton (making a long-overdue return to Steppenwolf) and Namir Smallwood in the two leading roles. All we know is that the central character, known only in the script as #1, has been given a diagnosis of imminent death from an affliction that is never described. But Verghese's speech did come floating back into my head, because this is a play about how we handle not just death itself, but the period of our lives in chronological proximity to our inevitable exit. To understand the incontrovertible truth behind show's title — not exactly a box office seduction — you have to put the emphasis on the . Moreover, there are powerful themes here of working towards acceptance, of finding the courage to tell loved ones you are leaving. Diaz draws imagery from, believe it or not, 'The Wizard of Oz,' but Dorothy takes a long time to reveal herself, and nothing is solved by any clicking of heels. Here is the initial setup. Smallwood's sick character, #1, is having such difficulty communicating about his fatal illness that he chooses to hire someone to do the job for him. He puts out an advertisement to that effect and gets an answer from a woman, Morton's #2, a matter-of-fact opportunist who negotiates hard for piecemeal rates as she sets about her weird job, some of which involves her client's self-involved sister (Sadieh Rifai). Amy Morton is back on stage in 'You Will Get Sick' at Steppenwolf Theatre. What took her so long?That all might sound straightforward but Diaz freights the play with a much heavier symbolic load, including an amplifed, off-stage narrator who voices the things that #1 cannot bring himself to say, stepping pretty much on top of his lines. That takes a good while to understand and for it to become in any way comfortable as a theatrical experience. Meanwhile, #2 has her own eccentricities; she's a sometime actor who turns this truly bizarre assignment into fodder for her actor's studio and perpetual auditioning for her local community theater production. Other people show up (the cast also includes Cliff Chamberlain and Jordan Arredondo), but the less you know about them in advance, the better. Both Morton and Smallwood are superb here, not least because they are two Chicago actors of different generations who share an obsessive interest in finding the humanity in unusual people and then listening not just to what their character is saying to them, but also to others with whom they share the stage. They're both a real pleasure to watch. I think the play's symbols and metaphors get a bit too dense and oblique in places and this is one of those shows (it recalls the work of Noah Haidle) where you need a lot of patience before it becomes clear what the playwright wants to achieve. It's the kind of show that actors easily understand, being so suffused with the iconography of the theater, but it occasionally crosses the line of self-indulgence; I suspect some subset of the Steppenwolf audience might be a bit too baffled to care. Although sometimes moving, director Audrey Francis' production could have used some sharper edges and more of a forward thrust, especially in the studio scenes. But if you hang in there for just 85 minutes, not only are there twin beautifully crafted performances for you to enjoy but the surprise-filled last few minutes really pays off, not just in the writing but in set designer Andrew Boyce's visual landscape Certainly, you'll leave the theater thinking about what Diaz clearly wants his audience to think about. More specifically, it's hard not to watch this show and think not just about sickness but about how it is described and communicated. By a society at large. By oneself. After all, most of us won't be able to get home without having to tell someone where we are going. Perhaps the hardest cut of all. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@ Review: 'You Will Get Sick' (3.5 stars) When: Through July 20 Where: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes Tickets: $20-$136.50 at 312-335-1650 and
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Marines moved into Los Angeles amid protests
Good afternoon, Chicago. Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan arrived today at the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago for his historic sentencing in a long-running corruption case that shook the state's political world to the core. Madigan, 83, who for years was widely hailed as the most powerful politician in the state, gave a slight smile as he strode past a horde of television news cameras with his lawyers and family members without comment. Carrying a briefcase and umbrella, he then headed to the 12th-floor courtroom of U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey. The hearing is expected to last two hours or more. Check back at for updates. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History A lot of attention has been given to the Sox since the fandom of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, for the South Side baseball team was revealed. But religious women from local orders have frequented Sox games for decades. Read more here. More top news stories: An immigrant in Wisconsin has been released on bond after false accusation he threatened Trump Crestwood fire officials suspect natural gas was cause of deadly house explosion President Donald Trump's administration this week provided deportation officials with personal data — including the immigration status — on millions of Medicaid enrollees, a move that could make it easier to locate people as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown. Read more here. More top business stories: Air India survivor Vishwaskumar Ramesh recalls harrowing moment the plane went down Massive Google Cloud outage disrupts popular internet services Andrew Vaughn, the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft, had been a prominent component of the Sox lineup since arriving in the majors in 2021. But he got off to a slow start this season and the Sox optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte on May 23. Read more here. More top sports stories: As Chicago Bears separate for summer, Ben Johnson will stay dialed in — and connected with QB Caleb Williams NASCAR's first Cup Series race outside the US hits travel snags to Mexico City Juneteenth is more than just a holiday. It's a celebration of freedom, community and the rich tapestry of Black culture that continues to shape Chicago and the rest of the country. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: John C. Reilly will bring his show 'Mister Romantic' to Steppenwolf this fall Amy Morton is back on stage in 'You Will Get Sick' at Steppenwolf Theatre. What took her so long? After a week of tense protests over the federal immigration raids, about 200 Marines have moved into Los Angeles and will protect federal property and personnel, a military commander said. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Air raid sirens sound across Israel following an Iranian missile attack on the country Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shows up for Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial but can't get in
Chicago Tribune
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Theater for summer 2025: Our top 10 from '42 Balloons' on Navy Pier to Amy Morton back at Steppenwolf
As our chilly, dusty spring turns into summer, Chicago theaters have a stellar line-up of warm-weather attractions for you and your out-of-town guests to enjoy. Here are 10 shows opening between Memorial Day and Labor Day that look especially promising. Live entertainment can be found all over town, of course, but Chicago Shakespeare Theater will be especially busy this summer with two new shows likely to attract international attention. Before I list my picks, I'll add my annual reminder that some here may disappoint, and that 10 shows hardly do the full seasonal slate justice. You can also find an Ethiopian Circus at Chicago Shakespeare this summer, not to mention magic and comedy all over town, some familiar musicals in the city and suburbs, and a new Second City e.t.c Stage. revue, to name just a few more. And we've also not included the likes of American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, just a short drive away. '42 Balloons' at Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Arguably the highest profile Chicago show this summer, '42 Balloons' is a pre-Broadway tryout from producer Kevin McCollum ('Six') in Chicago Shakespeare's Yard on Navy Pier. First produced at The Lowry in Salford, Manchester, in the United Kingdom and penned by the British writer-composer Jack Godfrey, '42 Balloons' is the real-life story of 'Lawnchair Larry' Walters, a Vietnam veteran who, in 1982, made a quixotic, solo 45-minute flight above Southern California in, of all things, a lawn chair, as lifted by more than 40 helium-filled weather balloons, reaching 16,000 feet. Expect an all-new pop score themed to the power ballads, funk and glam rock sounds of the much-maligned 1980s. 'Diana the Musical' at Theo Theatre: Although a flop on Broadway, this campy musical from Joe DiPietro was to be rethought and retooled in Chicago-style fashion by Fred Anzevino, the longtime artistic director of Theo and a man who deeply appreciated all the former Princess of Wales did during the AIDS crisis. Alas, Anzevino died while in rehearsals for a show now dedicated to his memory. For all its excesses, 'Diana' did have a better score than a lot of critics first realized, so I'll be interested to see how it works as director Brenda Didier and the other Theo artists work to honor a man who did so much for small productions of musicals in Chicago. 'Iraq, But Funny' at Lookingglass Theatre: The list of theatrical comedies about Iraq is short, but Lookingglass Theatre, experiencing a rebirth this season after a long hiatus, is adding to the canon with this semi-autobiographical show about five generations of Assyrian women, as penned by ensemble member Atra Asdou and starring Asdou, Susaan Jamshidi, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, James Rana and Sina Pooresmaeil. Asdou describes her show as a 'raucous satire,' and the narrator is 'a British guy.' Intriguing. 'You Will Get Sick' by Steppenwolf Theatre Company: The title might not suggest summer frolics but few will care, since 'You Will Get Sick' represents the return of the much-loved Amy Morton to the Steppenwolf stage after an absence of eight years (since her appearance in 'Hir' in 2017). Since then, she's been one of the main characters on the massively popular Dick Wolf TV show 'Chicago P.D.,' which has been good for her and the franchise's global viewers but less good for Chicago theatergoers. Morton returns to the mainstage of her home theater in a much-acclaimed play by Noah Diaz about a young man and his caregiver, a role first played off-Broadway by Linda Lavin. Co-artistic director Audrey Francis directs. 'Kimberly Akimbo' at CIBC Theatre: Chicago gets its first look at the first national tour of the justly acclaimed Broadway musical from 2022 about the 16-year-old title character who has a rare genetic disorder — meaning that she ages very quickly and has the appearance of a 62-year-old woman, even as she is just trying to go to junior prom. The gorgeous score is by the incomparable Jeanine Tesori with a book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, after his own play. This affirmative and teen-friendly piece, fundamentally, is the quirky story of a stranger in the strange land of her own body. And it's far more life-affirming than its plot might first suggest. 'Dhaba on Devon Avenue' by Writers Theatre: I'm a sucker for locally set plays and this summer attraction at Writers Theatre in Glencoe is set on Chicago's famously rich and diverse Devon Avenue, the Far North Side artery and early epicenter of the Indiana diaspora in the Midwest. Homing in on a big dilemma for family restaurants, playwright Madhuri Shekar writes about a small Indian eatery that has to contend with the economic struggles of the restaurant business at large and generational change within a hard-working family that has long served hungry diners on Devon. 'Beauty and the Beast' at Cadillac Palace Theatre: This 1994 live adaptation of the beloved animated movie was a seminal event in the launch of Disney Theatricals, a producing entity that went on to create 'The Lion King,' 'Aladdin' and many others. The first Broadway project of the mighty mouse basically set about putting the movie on stage, replete with the fabulous songs by Alan Menken, the late Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. It was masterfully done and never repeated, even by Disney, who then turned to distinctively theatrical artists like Julie Taymor. This summer, Disney is bringing back this title in a whole new touring production. I'll be fascinated to see what decisions they make for the tale as old as time. Better yet, the Chicago great Kathy Voytko is playing Mrs. Potts. 'Twisted Melodies' at Northlight Theatre: The talented and longtime Chicago actor Kelvin Rolston Jr. has written this new show for himself about the late Chicago-born musician, singer and composer Donny Hathaway, known for his soul music and R&B hits, as well as his duets with Roberta Flack. Expect to hear Hathaway classics like 'I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know,' 'The Ghetto' and 'The Closer I Get to You.' The highly experienced Ron OJ Parson directs this show about a musical giant who, alas, lived only for 33 years. 'Billie Jean' at Chicago Shakespeare Theater: In one of the biggest shows of the post-Wimbledon summer, Chicago Shakespeare Theater explores the life and times of the tennis icon and LGBTQ activist Billie Jean King, who lived for many years in Chicago. I'm told King is involved with a show likely to have a future beyond Chicago. Penned by the popular and prolific Lauren Gunderson, 'Billie Jean' will be directed by Marc Bruni and already has a commercial producer attached. How the show will handle the action on the court itself remains to be seen but you can expect a celebration of King's ground-breaking achievements in and out of the great game. 'Things With Friends' at American Blues Theater: The high-profile writer Kristoffer Diaz ('Hells Kitchen,' 'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity') is now an ensemble member at American Blues and he has given them the coup of producing the world premiere of his latest play, 'Things With Friends.' Therein, we meet Adele and Burt throwing a dinner party for their dearest friends, even as the George Washington Bridge and Brooklyn Battery Tunnel have collapsed into their respective rivers. Things apparently go from there.
