Why subscribe to Storefront Rebellion?

Hey! I’m Kris Vire. If you’ve made it this far, I assume you care about theater in Chicago. Congratulations on your extremely niche interest!

After more than a decade on staff at Time Out Chicago, covering theater (and a lot of other things, but mainly theater), I was laid off in May 2018. I quickly found a few new freelance homes, writing reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times and theater listings and features as a contributing critic at Chicago magazine. But with shrinking space and budgets for criticism at legacy publications, I found myself seeing more shows I wanted to write about than I had outlets that could make space for them.

So in November 2018, this experiment was born. Paid subscribers to this newsletter will get my exclusive reviews of Chicago productions direct to their inboxes. Free-tier subscribers will get an occasional digest of teases to premium reviews, links to my work elsewhere, openings, closings, recommendations and more.

I get reviewed, too:

American Theatre @AmericanTheatre

Longtime Chicago theatre critic @krisvire, formerly of Time Out, has started a subscription newsletter featuring his exclusive Windy City stage views, reviews, and news. https://t.co/RZCiMu3eEQ

8:17 PM ∙ Nov 19, 2018

---

44Likes9Retweets

Amanda Drinkall @amandadrinkall

I love how @krisvire loves Chicago Theatre. Join me & subscribe to Storefront Rebellion https://t.co/nNQrmef6Kd

6:32 PM ∙ Nov 19, 2018

Cliff Chamberlain @ClffChmbrln

Love the way @krisvire writes about theatre, even when said theatre is in interview-style podcast form. Thanks for taking the time to listen, Kris! #HalfHour @SteppenwolfThtr #StoreFrontRebellion

Kris Vire @krisvire

New in the newsletter: Steppenwolf debuts its new podcast, plus new streaming theater offerings from Goodman, Pride Films & Plays, Back Room Shakespeare Project and Otherworld Theatre. https://t.co/PdooWEIWEL

2:57 AM ∙ Apr 8, 2020

Emily Dendinger @emilydendinger

@krisvire is my all-time favorite Chicago critic. Very excited about this!

Kris Vire @krisvire

I’m launching an email newsletter for Chicago theater reviews and commentary. Find out more and subscribe here: https://t.co/otMxFkfVin https://t.co/u2heWk6iaS

7:54 PM ∙ Nov 19, 2018

Steven Strafford @StevenStrafford

.@krisvire is a voice in theater criticism that both holds us to the fire to do our best and celebrates us when we try and fail. We should support his new venture! #chicagotheatre

Kris Vire @krisvire

I’ll be on @WGNRadio with @DeanRichards in a bit, talking theater and my new newsletter.

4:26 PM ∙ Dec 16, 2018

16th Street Theater @16thTheater

We love reading Kris Vire's take on Chicago theater so we just subscribed to Storefront Rebellion https://t.co/9NZahZQnLB @krisvire

6:36 PM ∙ Jan 3, 2019

Jackalope Theatre @JackalopeTC

Excellent news. Congrats @krisvire ❗️ https://t.co/Swflsqf7x6

American Theatre @AmericanTheatre

Longtime Chicago theatre critic @krisvire, formerly of Time Out, has started a subscription newsletter featuring his exclusive Windy City stage views, reviews, and news. https://t.co/RZCiMu3eEQ

8:18 PM ∙ Nov 19, 2018

Hamish McKenzie @hamishmckenzie

@delia_cai @mwmoretti @LaurenAWaterman @BookPostUSA @abigailcoughler I can't imagine how anyone could be covering the Chicago theater scene better than @krisvire in Storefront Rebellion.

storefrontrebellion.substack.comStorefront RebellionReviews and commentary about theater in Chicago from critic Kris Vire.

5:36 PM ∙ Jun 13, 2019

Stay up-to-date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.