Chicago Theatre Review
Bristol Renaissance Faire: Where You Can Leave 2026 Behind and Become a Knight, Pirate—or Alien!
Reviewed by: Jamail
Want to escape Chicago for a day without getting on an airplane? Want to travel back in time without needing a time machine? And, more importantly, do you want to see grown adults walking around dressed as kings, queens, pirates, fairies, wizards and—yes, I actually saw one—a medieval alien from outer space?
Then I have the place for you.
The Bristol Renaissance Faire!
And I’m not just saying that because it is one of the best Renaissance faires in the country. I have history with this place. I first went back in the 1980s when it was known as the King Richard Faire.
Back then, things were a little different. Think tents, small buildings, a handful of food choices, lots of people in medieval clothing and plenty of sword fighting. It was fun, but let’s just say you weren’t going to get lost trying to find your way around.
Fast-forward to today and—WOW!
The Faire has grown into a 30-acre wooded medieval village, and walking through the entrance really does feel like you’ve stepped into another century. One minute you’re driving down I-94 in Wisconsin, worrying about traffic, gas prices and what you’re having for dinner. The next minute you’re surrounded by knights, peasants, royalty, pirates and people who apparently decided that ordinary clothing was simply not going to cut it today.
And somehow, it works.
YOU ARE NEVER QUITE SURE WHO WORKS THERE
One of the funniest things about Bristol is trying to figure out who is actually an employee and who is just a visitor who REALLY got into the spirit of things.
You might walk past someone dressed as a nobleman and think, “That’s a great costume.”
Then he starts talking to you in character.
Then you realize—he works here!
And then five minutes later you see someone else wearing an even more elaborate costume and discover they’re a ticket holder just like you.
A large percentage of visitors come dressed up, and some costumes are absolutely spectacular. Knights, queens, pirates, fairies, warriors, wizards—you name it.
And then there was the medieval alien.
I’m still trying to figure that one out.
But honestly, that’s Bristol. Nobody is judging you for being too imaginative. If you want to dress like a king, go ahead. A pirate? Absolutely. A wizard? Of course. A medieval alien from another planet? Apparently, that’s perfectly acceptable too!
THERE’S SOMETHING AROUND EVERY CORNER
Bristol isn’t just people walking around in costumes.
There are 16 stages throughout the Faire, with entertainment going on all day. There are musicians, comedians, performers, sword fighters, characters roaming the streets and the famous armored joust.
You can watch a show, walk a few feet and suddenly discover another performance beginning.
And just when you think you’ve seen everything, you turn a corner and find something else.
That’s what makes Bristol different from simply attending a show. The entire village is the show.
BRING YOUR WALLET—AND MAYBE A SECOND ONE!
Then there are the shops.
Oh, the shops.
If you like medieval merchandise, fantasy items or things you absolutely didn’t know you needed until you saw them, you’re going to have a problem.
Swords.
Wands.
Capes.
Leather goods.
Jewelry.
2Clothing.
Artwork.
Handcrafted items.
And enough unusual merchandise to make you wonder how you’re going to explain some of your purchases when you get home.
The Faire features nearly 200 artisans, so there is plenty to look at.
I can practically hear the conversation now:
“Honey, why did you buy a sword?”
“Because it was on sale.”
Case closed.
COME HUNGRY!
Of course, you can’t spend the day in a medieval village without eating like you’re preparing for battle.
There are plenty of food stands, pubs and places to grab a drink. And yes, you can get that Renaissance
Faire favorite—the giant turkey leg.
There is something wonderfully ridiculous about walking through a wooded medieval village while carrying
a turkey leg that looks like it came from a dinosaur.
And somehow, it tastes even better that way.
THE KIDS WILL LOVE IT
This isn’t just an adult playground.
Bring the family.
There are activities for children, games, entertainment and special areas where youngsters can get into the Renaissance spirit. There are even Pixie Stations, where little ones can have their faces painted and receive a set of pixie wings to wear.
You may arrive with a child.
You may leave with a pixie.
That’s Bristol.
AND THEN THERE ARE THE MEMORIES
For me, the best part of this visit was probably the most unexpected.
The memories came rushing back.
I hadn’t been here for several years, and before that, my first visit was way back in the 1980s. Walking
through the Faire again reminded me just how much fun I had all those years ago.
Yes, Bristol has grown tremendously.
Yes, there is much more to see and do.
But the spirit of the place hasn’t disappeared.
That’s important.
Sometimes attractions get bigger and better and, in the process, lose what made them special in the first place.
Bristol hasn’t.
It still has that same sense of stepping into another world.
MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT
If you’re coming from Chicago, this is an easy getaway. The Faire is located at 12550 120th Ave. in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and my drive from Chicago took about 40 minutes.
Why not make a weekend out of it?
There are plenty of hotels, restaurants and other attractions in the area. On my trip, I stopped at Texas Roadhouse for a great prime rib dinner, and I even managed to find gas for about $3.50 a gallon at BP.
You could spend Saturday or Sunday at Bristol and make the next day a trip to Six Flags Great America.
Two days.
Two completely different experiences.
And you don’t have to spend half your weekend sitting in an airport.
One note for anyone thinking about bringing the family pet: check the Faire’s current animal policy before you go. The current policy does not allow ordinary pets; qualifying service animals are permitted.
MY VERDICT
I’ve been coming to the Bristol Renaissance Faire since it was the King Richard Faire in the 1980s. I’ve watched it grow from tents and small buildings into a 30-acre medieval village filled with stages, performers, shops, pubs, food and thousands of people who apparently decided that normal clothes were overrated.
And you know what?
I’m glad it grew.
Because Bristol has managed to do something that isn’t easy: it got bigger without losing its personality.
Whether you’re eight or eighty, there is something here for you.
Come as a knight.
Come as a queen.
Come as a pirate.
Come as a wizard.
Come as a pixie.
Come as an alien.
Or, if you’re feeling particularly boring, come as yourself.
Just come.
The 2026 Bristol Renaissance Faire runs weekends and Labor Day through September 7, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
It’s about a 40-minute drive from Chicago, and believe me, it’s worth the trip.
For tickets, schedules and more information, visit www.Renfair.com.
Bristol Renaissance Faire: You don’t just visit it—you become part of it.
And after all these years, I’m already looking forward to going back.
Side-splitting Scenes From a Marriage
Gus and Alice
“Love is our true destiny,” wrote theologian Thomas Merton. “We do not find the meaning in life by ourselves alone—we find it with another.” And marriage is typically the culmination of sharing our lives with that special other. Joining another person in marriage becomes a mosaic of small and meaningful moments, a lifelong friendship with all its highs and lows, and our daily choice to love the same person over and over again. In Mike Rago’s GUS AND ALICE, a 65-minute one-act play that offers a slew of side-splitting scenes from a marriage, theatergoers will thoroughly enjoy both the comic and consequential moments in the lives of a well-matched couple in their golden years.
Read MoreThere’s Life Outside Your Apartment
Windows
Although there are some similarities, WINDOWS isn’t really an update of the silly 1970’s sitcom, “Three’s Company,” although both focus on two women and a man sharing a flat. And Matt Schutz’s play is definitely unlike the classic 1954 Hitchcock thriller, “Rear Window.” The only similarities are that, like the James Stewart character, Olivia has a leg injury that has stranded her on the sofa. With nothing to do, the apartment windows provide a sort of multiscreen source of live entertainment for both main characters. But in Olivia’s case, the invalid’s voyeurism strongly ignites her imagination. She begins devising complex stories about the people she sees, even inventing their names and character quirks that continually change. And so, as they sing in the musical AVENUE Q, the lethargic Olivia enjoys discovering that “There’s Life Outside Your Apartment.”
Read MoreLaura Benanti On Her Own
Nobody Cares
In a very highly enjoyable evening at the Steppenwolf Theatre, multitalented Broadway, film and television actress Laura Benenti appears “On Her Own.” It’s a cabaret production that’s part original songs and part comical confessional. This one-act performance focuses the spotlight entirely on the gifted and versatile actress, as she shares the highlights of her life in an autobiographical one-woman show. Laura Benenti admits that, throughout her life, she’s always been a “pathological people pleaser.” And as such, Ms. Benenti continues to constantly seek approval from everyone; the actress admits she simply wants to be liked, “even by people who I don’t like.”
Read MoreSadness and Joy
The Notebook
Emotionally moving, unabashedly sentimental, filled with moments of honest and truthful observations about life and balanced by unexpected humor, the National Tour of THE NOTEBOOK is simply magnificent. The musical is based upon the popular novel by Nicholas Sparks, an author known to readers all over the world. He’s written and published 24 novels, to date, many becoming New York Times bestsellers, and eleven having been turned into successful movies. They include such familiar titles as Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember and his latest, Remain: A Supernatural Love Story, will soon be a film collaboration with director, M. Night Shyamalan. The Notebook, Sparks’ first novel, was published in 1996, and was turned into a blockbuster film in 2004. This beautiful love story has been adapted into a gorgeous, heartbreaking stage musical that, incidentally, enjoyed its pre-Broadway debut right here in Chicago, just four years ago. I think the National Tour is actually better. As the main characters, Noah and Allie sing, get ready to enjoy a tale filled with both “Sadness and Joy.”
Read MoreNext to Normal
This is a somewhat unusual review. Normally, reviewers are invited to a show to write a review, but this show I attended all on my own with a ticket I purchased. And instead of seeing the main cast, last Sunday, I attended the understudy performance of Next to Normal at the Bramble Arts Loft. A close friend was the assistant director of this production and his work focused on the understudy cast, so I attended that show to show support. Despite not intending to attend the show as a reviewer and seeing the understudy and not the main cast, I still wanted to share my thoughts on the performance because it was incredible. Next to Normal is a beautiful show and it is both musically and emotionally complex. It’s also in my all time top five, so the cast had a high bar to clear for me to love a production of it. Fortunately, this production knocks it out of the park.
Read MoreAre you wired for this?
Octet
It is the eternal battle for our souls now streaming in 5G hi-def. Will we recognize divinity in the infinity of wonders we behold? Or will we become the greatest monsters ever created? The Raven Theatre’s production of Octet, presented by The Goodman, as directed by Kiera Fromm, is a high-energy, hysterical, and heart-opening experience for everyone who thinks about the intersections of society, technology, and the ineffable human spirit.
Read MoreTopsy-Turvy Turmoil
yo ho
During the Golden Age of Piracy, occurring between 1650 and 1730, groups of brutal maritime outlaws plowed the waves, violently attacking and raiding other ships of their cargo. At that time, their presence struck fear in the hearts of all the merchant ships. However, as unlawful as the pirates were, these brigands lived by a strict democratic code that dictated their voting on who should be the ship’s captain and equally sharing all of the loot stolen during a raid. The goods included money, food, textiles, medicine and other everyday necessities.
Read MoreSuspicion and Inebriation Builds at The Annoyance Theater’s 13th Summer of Suspense – Hitch*Cocktails
Hitch*Cocktails is a 90 minute long-form improvisational show, inspired by the movies of Alfred Hitchcock. It has been running at the Annoyance Theater on. Friday nights at 9:30pm for 13 years. The show is also two parallel drinking games: for every Hitchcockian trope like dramatic screams or slaps, the audience takes a drink. For the actors, on on-stage bartender whips up concoctions and the actors have to drink every cup they are given, in it’s entirety, before they can leave the stage. The combination leads to delightfully unhinged performances, if a nearly completely non-sensical story of murder.
As with most improv, the night begins with a suggestion from the audience. The cast asks for a unique phobia; in this case it was cotton balls, and build the show off the phobia. Unlike the more common short form improv styles, that is where the audience’s participation ends. The rest of the show is built by the actors in real time, with twists, turns, and good-natured confusion. Audience members are given the option of buying the drinks the actors are having on stage, which can add another level of horror and suspense, one of the drinks on the night I attended was vodka with chocolate milk.
Even if you’re not a Hitchcock fan, his movies are so foundational to American pop culture that the tropes will be recognizable. Though some familiarity might make the show even more fun, because the actors will drop easter eggs and borrow story elements from the films throughout the show. As always with improv, part of the fun of this experience is that everyone on stage is clearly having a great time: funny people making each other laugh is its own YouTube genre for a reason. Music Director Karen Sanvoss also plays the piano soundtrack live, which adds another layer of charm, and a reminder that no night is ever like another.
Our show was named “COTTon a nightmare”. While rival fabric companies are maneuvering (illegally) for dominance. One employee goes rogue and starts murdering people and stuffing them with cotton balls, because he doesn’t like to be referred to as “soft.” That sentence makes it seems as though this were planned out or even followed a logical story line in real time, but rest assured, it does not. The night included dead, desiccated family members a la Psycho, a ghost cat, a ghost Italian, death by stabbing and by silkworm, a truncated romance between titans of industry, the “discovery” of the internet, a rousing call against sexism in the workplace and the invention of “quadrilyester” which is polyester, quadrupled (of course). It was raucus, silly and endlessly entertaining.
The Annoyance Theater itself is a welcoming, accessible place. Chicago is no stranger to the price increase in literally everything, but at the Annoyance, the drinks run about $10. On Friday and Saturday nights there are also a few warm snacks like hot dogs, mozzarella and popcorn for equally affordable prices, and the Staff are exceptionally kind. Getting there a bit early is worth it. The Saturday program begins at 7, making comedy something early birds can partake in and still get to bed on time. They really do think of everyone at the Annoyance.
Recommended
Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia
HITCH*COCKTAILS SUMMER OF SUSPENSE runs Fridays July 3 – 31 at 9:30PM, and Saturdays July 11 – Aug. 1 at 7PM. HITCH*COCKTAILS regularly runs every Friday at 9:30 PM at The Annoyance Theatre &Bar (851 W Belmont Ave, Chicago). Tickets are available at theannoyance.com.
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
You’ve Got a Friend
Beautiful—The Carole King Musical
The Highland Park Players have once again proven to Chicagoland that they’re much more than simply another community theatre. In this, my fourth visit to one of this company’s professionally produced musicals, I was entranced by the talent and sheer showmanship of their current production. BEAUTIFUL—THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL is a treat, from start to finish. The Players’ presentation of this bouncy biopic musical, which is pure theatrical joy, totally draws the audience into its catchy music and captivating story. Under Catherine Davis’ expert direction, this exceptional production is, well, beautiful!
Beginning with the artist’s formative years, BEAUTIFUL celebrates the brilliant career of singer/songwriter and musical legend, Carole King. Douglas McGrath’s libretto depicts the many ups and downs experienced by this modest and gifted artist. From a precocious 16-year-old, who skipped two grades in high school to study music education at local Queens College, to her first published and recorded hit song, “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” we watch a talented young woman grow from a sharp kid into a wonderfully wise woman.
Through her whirlwind romance with first love and longtime collaborator, lyricist Gerry Goffin, to their early marriage and the arrival of their two daughters, Carole King hones her talent and learns all the tricks of the trade for surviving in the music business. Eventually Carole also comes to realize that she’s been denying the obvious, all along. Gerry is revealed to be manic depressive and his violent, unexpected mood swings, along with a continual need for something new and different, coupled with a wandering eye for the ladies, leads to a rocky married life.
Along the way to the top, Carole develops a close business relationship and friendship with music publisher Don Kirshner. She also becomes best friends with fellow songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, while composing hit songs for the Shirelles, the Drifters, Janelle Woods, Little Eva and The Righteous Brothers, among many others. Although she worked tirelessly to make her marriage work, Carole finally comes to the realization that her tumultuous relationship with Gerry has become toxic. In order to find her own voice, Ms. King eventually leaves him and begins a new life in Los Angeles. It’s there that Carole King develops her true sound, while writing and recording the songs for her first album, Tapestry. The musical closes as it began, simply, with Carole King, performing solo on a baby grand at Carnegie Hall, joyfully playing and singing her gorgeous musical monologues of self-discovery.
BEAUTIFUL is under the sharp and skillful direction of Catherine Davis, whose adept work has been enjoyed through over 25 production with the Highland Park Players. What the audience is treated to is a polished, energetic, toe-tapping version of the popular, 2014 Broadway hit. The musical earned three Tony Awards, deservedly winning both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Chicago area phenom, Jesse Mueller, as Best Leading Actress in a Musical. At least two National Tours have visited Chicago, and now the Highland Park Players are presenting their own outstanding version.
Chocked full of songs from the 60’s and early 70’s, the score features such pop hits as “So Far Away,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Up on the Roof,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “One Fine Day,” “Chains,” “On Broadway,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Uptown,” “It’s Too Late,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and the joyful, “You’ve Got a Friend.”
Talented Anna Marie Abbate returns to the Highland Park Players in a role that she seems born to play. This lovely musical actress is simply stunning. Ms. Abbate is terrific in capturing Carole King’s subtle nuances, both in her singing, dialogue and mastery of the piano. Her scenes with handsome and charismatic actor/singer Al Katz-Mariani, as Gerry Goffin, are at once romantic, often humorous and eventually dramatic. The always excellent Britain Shutters, whose trained vocals are so smooth and powerful, makes a delightfully droll Cynthia Weil; and Roberto Mata is in fine voice and very funny as hypochondriac composer, and Cynthia’s love interest, Barry Mann. Robin Trevino is funny, fatherly and especially caring as record producer, Don Kirshner; and Kim Buck brings some feisty, well-timed humor to Carole’s meddling mother, Genie Klein.
A particularly gifted musical ensemble sparkles and glitters in this production, both vocally and dramatically. They sound fantastic under Anna Wegener’s professional music direction and look great in Victoria Jablonski’s perfect period costumes and stylish wig and hair designs. Joe Brhel’s versatile scenic design is festooned with records and microphones. The various pianos and various home and office furnishings arrive and depart the stage with ease, thanks to the cast. The show is lit with pop pizzazz by Kurt Ottinger, and talented choreographer Annie Snow keeps the show in continual motion with her exciting, 1960’s-style dance moves.
Celebrating an amazing 39 years of excellence, Highland Park Players’ new production is an enjoyable and jubilant biographical musical from start to finish. No one will leave the theatre wishing for more because this talented company leaves it all on the stage. This deceptively challenging, proudly presented production of BEAUTIFUL—THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL features a large cast of the very best actor/singer/dancers in the Chicagoland area. Catherine Davis’ expert guidance and staging, along with Anna Wegener’s brilliant musical direction, and her talented onstage orchestra, as well as Annie Snow’s sparkling choreography, are a summertime gift to the audience.
The award-winning musical features an array of gorgeous, beloved pop and rock songs that are a BEAUTIFUL blast from the past. And the entire talented company creates an exciting, well-performed tribute to the great Carole King. This is a production that reminds theatergoers that, through America’s many talented musical artists and their great music, “You’ve Got a Friend.”
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Colin Douglas
Presented July 17-26 by the Highland Park Players at the McGrath Performing Arts Center, 3461 Illinois Rd.,
Wilmette, IL.
Tickets are available at the door or by going to www.highlandparkplayers.org.
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
Photos from the Highland Park Players
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